Chapter 60: Easter Egg Hunt: Ghoul Edition

Author's note: I will be changing my upload schedule to once a day until the end of next week. Finals are painful. Anyway, back to the story…

When Doevm looked around, all walls were transparent. The survivors were scattered throughout the ruins. Even if he wanted to get to the surface quickly, he needed to spend time fighting his way through Ghouls and getting each one of his and Frey's men. 'This is going to be a pain,' he thought as his hair went every which way. He put the book in his spatial ring and flew up to the level of the closest survivor. When his feet touched the ground, they made a soft echo.

Since he couldn't see anymore and couldn't use any obvious magic in front of his men, he pulled out his dagger. Its red runes weren't the best source of light, but he could see. Going deeper into the cavern, stalactites stared from above him. Various random openings in the claustrophobic cave slowed him down. He had to check behind every pillar by sheathing his dagger then throwing rocks. After throwing, he waited for anything to move. Ghouls were slightly intelligent, so this bait shouldn't usually work. However, when Ghouls have been isolated from the world this long with nothing to eat, their hunger made them prone to mistakes. After throwing a third stone, sure enough, a Ghoul pounced on it. It bit down only to taste its own blood and broken teeth. Before it had time to shriek and alert the others, its head separated from its shoulders.

Doevm searched it, but the only thing it had was rags. 'I guess I should take this as a good thing,' he thought. 'If it's not wearing any of my men's clothes that means it wasn't one of my soldiers. I just hope they all know that Ghouls can turn humans into Ghouls.' He pulled off a few of its claws and stored it away in his spatial ring next to the Manticore's acid. 'Their claws are highly infectious and sharp. It's a deadly weapon but highly valued.' He pressed on.

'Ghouls don't usually work together like the one from before. I guess the group that attacked us were brought together by their collective hunger. The smell of death lingered around the tree from battle. I wonder if Marcus found out about this place. I doubt it. Even if he did find out, he wouldn't use his men to form a rescue team.' He stopped before a small puddle of blood. He brought the dagger close for a better look. 'It's human blood. Recent too.' Next to it was a Ghoul's corpse. 'I'm glad he can at least defend against a single Ghoul. Although he was hurt… The blood should attract more.'

Getting desperate, he activated magic circles around his eyes again. A thousand feet away were three Ghouls surrounding one of his soldiers. He activated his life essence and shot forward. While he was making a lot of noise, the Ghouls were too focused on their prey. The man swung his bulky longsword which bounced off the cavern walls. One Ghoul got hold of his leg while the other two tore off his arm. He screamed for the goddess to help, but she was busy doing other things.

Doevm stabbed the one in the back and slammed it into the ground. The other two didn't pay attention to him so he killed them a few seconds later. The man lay on the ground whispering to himself. Doevm kneeled at his side and held him close.

"Squad leader…" the man grabbed Doevm's shirt. "I guess I wasn't able to make it. I thought you had died." He coughed twice. As he talked, Doevm slid off his bag and counted up the amount of food and water he had.

"Tell me what happened to everyone." 'Five days worth of food. Three days' worth of water. The others will die of dehydration at this rate.'

"I-I need you to tell my fiancé something." A bit of blood dripped down his cheek onto Doevm's shirt. "It's like you said, the one who will be a hero will be the one who suffers the most. I missed my chance to come back to her. I still remember our time on the farm. Life was simple, but it was fulfilling. She told me she was pregnant before I left. She told me to run away with her and raise little Abigale."

'I can't heal him, and he'll turn into a Ghoul if I leave him.' Doevm changed his grip on his dagger and raised into the air. The man couldn't even see it. His eyes stared into an unknown space full of precious memories.

"She had the cutest smile. The way her freckles dotted her nose made me remember my time as a-"

'Couldn't they have hit an artery?' Doevm stabbed the man straight through his heart and twisted the blade. After a few annoying seconds of confused gurgling, the man died with his hands still clenched around his shirt. Doevm laid him down flat and called upon his mana. Instead of a black orb, this time mist flew over his eyes and mouth.

"I name you Drama." Doevm put the man's things into his own bag. "Now what happened to the others?"

The man's mouth and now black eyes opened. His neck twisted as he looked around. "I remember you falling and your last order. Those that hesitated were killed. Those that realized what happened dove in right after you."

"How many died?"

"I-I don't know. Five, maybe six were killed by either Ghouls or the enemy. Everyone dove into the hole through the leaves. It was so dark. I think the Ghouls and the enemy fought each other. Everyone tumbled down different caverns. I heard so many screams over the night. I never slept. I tried to hide but the Ghouls found me. After you killed them, you killed me."

"Did you see a pillar of mana earlier? A blue light should have shown throughout the various caves."

"I'm sorry master. I remember no such thing." His skin grew paler by the second as did his body's temperature. "I'm getting so cold and I'm so hungry. Please, can I get something to eat?"

Doevm shoved the man off him and walked away. 'He was able to hide for a bit but was overwhelmed. He was one of the weaker ones so I can't assume none of my men will survive this place.' He returned to where the main shaft branched off into hundreds of other tunnels. 'Why are humans so weak?'

"Master, I'm so hungry." Drama shouted. "I'm hungry!" the voice turned more agitated after each yell. "Master!"

'I'll get you some food.' Doevm send a mental command. 'Just keep yelling so I don't lose you. Make sure everything in here can hear you. Don't worry, I'll protect you.'

'Really master, you would do that for me?'

'Yes, just keep yelling. The Ghouls will come, and I will slice off their flesh for you. Yell louder if you want your meal sooner.' He activated magic circles around his eyes once more and searched the caverns, which were now laden with Ghouls. They all converged onto the sound. Doevm's body turned into mist. He floated upwards through Ghouls and around the floor until he materialized at the next cavern. 'Just a few seconds of that spell took out half my mana. Hopefully this human stays alive. That diversion should keep the Ghouls occupied for at least an hour.'