Chương 48: Labyrinth - Into the Depths
Wiping the blood from her face, Aurelia rushed towards Sionn; noticing his ashen expression twisted in anguish, she touched his arm, a that was swollen with a purple bruised from the impact.
"Zireael, can you teach me how to heal?" Aurelia hastily asked, surprising the young lord.
"And here I thought you would have asked me to heal him. Sorry, but that will cost you." He lightly said, not daring to look into the fierce eyes of the Golden demon beginning to shiver in rage. "I will not just give you spells; you must earn them. isn't that right, my little Coo."
"COOO COOO COO!!' Siad the young baby owl flapping its arm about.
Nodding in agreement, Zireael crossed his arms, "Don't look at me like that. The Great Coo has spoken."
"It's fine," Sionn charmed, hiding his anguish behind a mask of joy. "I'll be fine,"
Noticing the heavy strain tension within his jaw, Ella remained silent for a while before speaking, "Let's just rest. We could all use a break."
Agreeing with her words every one cuddled next to one another while the silver-headed devil narrowed his gaze towards the depths of this labyrinth. There was apparent hesitation upon his brow the longer he remained.
"Coo, I may actually need to take action. There is something powerful there. What is this place? I want to look, but I also want to be surprised." He whispered with a faint smile.
"Coo?" The Baby Owl responded, rubbing its head against Zireael's.
Drawing his blade, his body grew a little tense as he waited for everyone to once again head deeper in. This time, no words were spoken between the group as more skeletons began to become more and more apparent.
Scavenging through the skeletons for a wand or anything magical, Ella could only sulk helplessly, not being able to help like Aurelia or Sionn, who could at least shield them. She felt useless, knowing she was stronger than Sionn but could not display her true strength without a wand.
"Hey Master, can you give me a staff-like Aurelia?" She inquired in a hushed tone for no one to hear.
"I could, but the deal is the same one I have with Aurelia. You need to earn it. Something you did, according to Anima, but it's not enough. Help out Sionn with this trial, and it's yours fail, and well, no dice."
"I thought you did not care about him," whispered Ella, following behind the vigilant Sionn.
"I see potential,"
"Shh," said Sionn swiftly, noticing the small group of leaches, similar to the ones they found the purple toad eating.
"Anima, what do you know about these things?" Aurelia whispered as they hid behind a rock.
"Larva Leaches are known for their poison. A single touch will kill a grown adult. The Purple leach you found before are poisonous to the touch; you are lucky none of you made any skin-to-skin contact. However, the Larva leach is slow to move and attack. However, they do pose the ability to release a miasma that will weaken a grown adult."
"I will handle this," Aurelia hastily said, "I cast firebolt to—"
'use Force bullet; it moves faster, is more silent, and will not kill everyone in your group. These Leaches can release a miasma, which could be combustible. Meaning it could blow up, killing you all." Said Zireael, amused by the ashen grimace upon his young student.
"R-r-right," She fearfully whispered, slowly climbing high on elevated ground. Pointing her staff towards the seven Larva leaches, slowly tree sigil of power began to form around her staff.
Flashing with the shadows of the cave, the echoes of piercing flesh resounded, followed by soft groans. Widening her eyes, she leaped from off high landing beside Lord Zireael.
"It didn't even fight back," She peculiarly responded.
"Element of surprise is a wonderful thing, but it works both ways. The Alarm spell is life, even as a god." Said the Young Lord, "There are better spells than alarm, but you need to understand in higher levels of magic everything comes with a price."
"A price?" Ella asked, focused upon his words
"What I speak of is Life Force, money, power, memories, anything could be given and taken, that is the price, and also a prerequisite to some spells or rituals. Do you recall what happened to Aurelia when she cast that Tier one spell? Her skin shriveled and cracked. The spell she cast required life force."
Lifting her staff, Aurelia frowned, "So can I cast it now if I have this so-called life force? You said that was the prerequisite."
"Of course, but I wouldn't. Not till you you know life steal. The ability to drain your enemies of life, of course, they must be dead and fresh for it to work. It's a low-level spell, but it does the job, albeit very slowly. "
Staring at the boy for a while, Aurelia touched her chin, grinning from ear to ear, "If this staff made it so I can cast such a spell, would it not also give me that knowledge to take such life force?."
"It would," Siad Zireael without expressions, "But be warned. The dark arts are quite different. Necromancy can corrupt your soul in more ways than you can imagine. Fall into its clutches, and those by your side may end up on your blade one day."
Suddenly trembling at the heavyweight of her staff, Aurelia bit lips gazing into the hollow stare of Zireael, "I won't." she promised not to Lord Backwater but her friends and herself.
Scuffing, Zireael lifted her chin with his finger. "There is a reason I gave you that staff. It's not up to you." he amusingly said, "But do try to resist. I will enjoy watching."
Pulling away, she stared for a bit, turning around, "Let's go,"
Reaching for her hands, Ella smiled, "You be fine. It's his way of testing you, is all." She whispered in her ear with a cheeky smile, yet deep within her heart, a fear noticed by none but Zireael began to grow.
Smiling within the shadows, he narrowed his eyes, not speaking a word as he followed behind the group feeling a powerful aura beginning to grow.
Slowly the dark caves began to shift, from wild unsculpted ground to something that appeared to be one created by man or beast. Like a work of art, they came upon an entrance littered with bones and dust. Noticing the finely crafted marble entrance depicting dragons twirling around each other, a vibrant flicker appeared, bringing with it the shadows of waves.
"A flame?" Zireael whispered, gripping his sword tighter. Peering towards the flicker of light, he confirmed his guess. He gestured to hold, taking note of the grand entrance that was in a way untouched. There was no dust upon it, cracks much less a single scratch—a strange occurrence when these caves were littered with corpses.
Stepping past the entrance, a chill filled the young children sending their hearts into fear. Yet none spoke of it. Trying to be brave in front of each other, they ignored the cold sweat flowing from their bodies.
Passing the torches that hung upon the wall, Aurelia peered into what seemed like an old chamber. The floors were dusty, and various harsh objects, such as beds covered in spikes, morningstars, crosses, and other means of torment appeared.
Coming to a halt, Sionn shuttered, recalling memories he would hide deep within his mind, "This looks like were they tortured mother and father." He whispered, revealing bits of his history to the young children.
"What is this place? And why was there an entrance?" Zireael asked. However, his eyes suddenly grew wide when he turned back, finding the entrance gone. There was no sign of activity, much less movement. Yet the entrance was missing, leaving only a stone wall.
"Ok, it may have been a mistake to bring you all here."
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