Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 395: Sealing Hall

Chapter 395: Sealing Hall

Even as the narrow structure of the hole created by the Draconic Centipedes proved difficult to scale, Alex refused to give in to the dreaded feeling of claustrophobia rising within, instead pushing forward with renewed resolve.

It took time but soon, his climb paused as the hole came to an end.

As was the way with the tamed Draconic Centipedes, as long as a sufficient amount of blood was provided, they would accept requests from the person who offered them blood, dispersing once the task was completed.

Known to be ardent diggers amongst Mutants, the only thing they couldn’t eat through was Quillion which meant that the wall Alex was currently staring at was made from such substance or at the very least, was partly composed of it.

Taking a deep breath, Alex took out one of his tonfas and felt its handle for a bit before finding his finger pressed upon a button installed on it.

Pushing it resulted in metal blades emerging from both ends of the weapon, one of which he used to pierce through the wall above with care, unwilling to make too much noise.

Aragon metal, tempered with liquid fire and forged by the greatest craftsman, was said to be capable of cutting through the toughest of metal.

Alex planned to test that notion.

The next two hours were trying as he sweated and thirsted, yet continued regardless of the stress that accompanied the work.

Yet another hour passed before he finally had a breakthrough, but even then, it only marked the beginning of his troubles.

Soon, he had cut the hole in a circle before using as much strength as he could muster to shove it upwards before climbing through the hole only to find himself in a grand hall lit up by candelabras and occupied by a curious number of pedestals placed at strategic locations.

The pedestals seemed to have once held something, Alex guessed it to be a statue of some sort judging by the alabaster feet that remained.

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Alex quickly set back the piece of flooring he’d ripped off for fear of causing a disturbance in the balance established in the catacomb.

Once done, he took a deep breath before going ahead to inspect his surroundings.

The flames spluttered precariously on the candelabras spread across the grand hall, trying their hardest to illuminate the incredible edifice.

Alas, it was hardly enough to beat back the squirming darkness that persisted in the structure, seemingly alive as it twisted and turned like dark ichor while strange arcane voices, seemingly far away yet so close, whispered into his ears.

Alex barely stopped himself from imagining anything while trying not to focus on the voices as he couldn’t help but feel like incorporeal entities existed within the darkness, threatening to move the moment the teetering flames were extinguished.

Unwilling to face off against such supernatural entities in his current state, Alex thought it best to get a move on.

He could already feel his vague connection to the aether severed the moment he entered the hall, the Quillion melded into the walls performing as expected.

Taking a deep breath, Alex began to make his way through the hall, his gaze flitting across a few of the Relics sealed within the sixth floor of the Archives.

There was a jack-o’-lantern trapped in a block of ice persistently reinforced by a large canister of what he presumed to be liquid nitrogen, another was a scarecrow wrapped in chains with a sackcloth placed over its face.

Several more were sealed, each with a unique method.

Alex noted the presence of tags on the Relics, thinking this to be how they documented which was which.

The thought to head for the Records room came up but was quickly shoved aside as it was never a part of the plan.

According to the blueprint Ana held, the records room was on the 2nd floor, the same floor the Conductor of Ordnance was sure to be on.

The risk involved in going from the sixth to the second floor, only to then end up facing off against a Family head made it so that the trip to the record room was completely purged from the plan.

Now, Alex could only resort to the old-fashioned way of going through each one, one step at a time, to find what he was looking for.

He hoped it would be on the sixth floor, or else he’d have to risk heading to the fifth.

Of course, he decided not to overthink things as he continued his search.

Surprisingly, the sealing hall, as Alex decided to refer to the grand structure, was empty with nary a Taskmaster in sight but he understood why.

There was no need to have human guards watching over the Relics considering they were already sealed.

In fact, it seemed dangerous to allow that considering the whispers that were said to warp the mentality of those who listened to them for too long.

So the Taskmasters were better served watching from outside the sealing halls, which Alex expected to be the case which meant heading to the fifth floor would not be an easy task, though considering everything he’d done so far, Alex didn’t really think about it.

And so, his search began, crossing various sections as he kept his eyes open.

He didn’t dare to cross any place in which the darkness was greater than the light as he worried it might cause problems, the likes of which he couldn’t contend against.

The whispers persisted throughout his quest, speaking of sweet nothings while tempting him to do unthinkable things.

Alex kept calm as he moved, taking solace in the fact that the horrors, though present, were manageable as, during the planning phase, they served as one of the few uncertainties he’d have to grapple with mostly unprepared.

Keeping tabs on the amount of time he spent, Alex soon came to a stop, roughly 45 minutes after he’d first entered the hall.

Just then, he paused as he heard a door, most likely the one leading into the sealing hall, open causing him to immediately seek cover which was quite difficult considering he couldn’t exactly jump into the dark spaces.

After much thought, he decided to hide in a place with just enough light to not get devoured by the squirming darkness.

Soon, he heard footsteps.

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