Tenebrous Wolf
Chapter 65: Forsaken Cavern

Chapter 65: Forsaken Cavern

Slowly opening his eyes after hearing the ominous voice of Chaos upon his First Departure, Klaus first noticed a strange ceiling above. At a glance, it was rough and crude, marred with cracks that occasionally released drops of salty water.

Immediately, he tried to move his body and survey the new environment, only to stop with a groan as a throbbing headache surged out of nowhere. It was as if someone had taken a swing at his skull with a sledgehammer, leaving behind a dull, pulsating pain that clouded his thoughts and made even the slightest movement unbearable.

Damnit! How kind of bloody headache has decided to assualt me?!

Naturally, this was a side effect of crossing the gateway. Fortunately, it only afflicted first-timers, as the body would gradually adapt to the atmosphere of Chaos. If that weren’t the case, suffering these so-called side effects repeatedly would be nothing but unpleasant.

A few seconds later, the throbbing pain inside his head gradually faded, giving Nikolaus enough strength to send a mental message to Briar within himself.

’Hey, are you alright in there?’

’Ugh. W-what.. was that? My h-head feels dizzy...’

’Guess that would be Chaos. Is it too much for my little succubus?’

’Tch. Don’t misunderstand! I just feel a little dizzy, that’s all! I won’t be disoriented by something this lo... oh no... I don’t feel so good...’

’Hey, hey, hey! What’s going on? Don’t you dare throw up in there!!’

Sensing a terrible premonition, Klaus hurriedly ejected Briar from his Soul World. The next second, her body doubled over, and with a disgusting sound, she vomited onto the stony floor.

In such a situation, the young Awakened could only sigh as he rubbed her back. The succubus was quite confident before they departed from Earth but now she was busy puking her guts out.

I guess even a demon cannot resist Chaos. Or is this part of the irony? By the way, where are we?

Thinking so, Klaus shifted his gaze from the still vomiting Briar while continuously rubbing her back and surveyed the new environment.

They appeared to be inside some kind of cave. The walls were jagged and had uneven surfaces damp with condensation. The air was thick with the scent of salt and something faintly metallic.

The cavern extended into a deeper darkness, leading toward a faint crimson glow in the distance. The ground beneath him was uneven. Upon closer inspection, it was a mixture of damp stone and patches of crystallized residue, almost as if something had seeped through the cracks and solidified over time.

Moreover, he could hardly see anything. To be more specific, instead of the place being dark, there was no sound of light around — Normally, in this kind of situation where there was no light source, one would be completely disoriented. However, he could see just fine; his eyes were slowly adapting to the darkness.

He wondered if this was another benefit of his Adaptation. Either way, with it and the lessons he had learned from Teacher Rex, he should be able to navigate this unknown cavern.

Still, a question lingered at the back of his mind, refusing to fade.

Briar groaned beside him and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Ugh... That was awful..." She shuddered before glaring at Klaus. "And you just watched me suffer? Where’s your chivalry?"

Klaus raised a brow, still rubbing her back absentmindedly.

"Well, I did rub your back. What? Do you want me to give you a tissue?"

Briar clicked her tongue before straightening up, albeit unsteadily. Her tail flicked behind her irritatedly as she took in their surroundings.

"Where the heck are we?"

"That’s what I was just wondering. I don’t know why, but it seems we were dropped off inside a cave or sorts."

"That’s certainly weird. At least, we weren’t dropped off inside a monster’s nest."

No, no, please don’t say that. It’s not like we’re entirely safe either. Klaus thought worriedly.

The three dangerous locations the gateway could drop a person within the Shadow Realm were; the air, the ocean, and a cavern. The first two were self-explanatory; if one appeared in the sky or sea, they would be doomed unless a miracle intervened. As for caverns, there was always a strong possibility that they served as the lairs of lurking monstrosities.

Out of those three, their situation matched the latter, which filled Klaus with unease.

As someone who had known nothing but misfortune, he could immediately tell that something was off.

Just why were we dropped off inside a carven? Was it completely random? It would have been better if we dropped off in an open field. Wait, is that right? We should be able to—!!

Inadvertently, Klaus felt the ground beneath the soles of his feet tremble, accompanied by a distant, rhythmic sound. It wasn’t just one thing... no, it sounded like a multitude of ’somethings’ were marching straight toward them.

Where is that sound coming? Is it from behind?

Glancing back, he caught sight of several dark silhouettes rapidly closing in. Fortunately, they were still hundreds of meters away, but the real problem lay in how quickly that distance was shrinking. More than that, even from their shifting shadows, it was clear that they were anything but human.

Not good! This is seriously bad!

In a situation where the distance was rapidly shrinking, escaping was nearly impossible, even if they ran at full speed. To make matters worse, the pathway ahead was utterly straight, offering no turns or hiding spots.

Even worse, Briar had yet to notice the approaching danger, and with her only slightly above-average athletic stats, she would inevitably tire out and fall behind. At this point, Klaus had completely forgotten that the demoness could simply retreat into his Soul World.

But what would be the point if he ended up dying anyway? She’d still be screwed over in the end!

Gripped by momentary panic, and eyes filled with horror, Klaus darted his gaze around frantically, searching for something — anything! — that could save them.

And there, a short distance away, he spotted a narrow gap in the right wall. It was tight and barely wide enough, but with some effort, the two of them might just be able to squeeze inside.

Not wasting even a second on thinking, simply following his survival instincts, he quickly grabbed Briar and pulled her toward the wall.

"Quick! Come this way!"

"Hey, what’s going on?"

"Shhh! Don’t make a sound and follow me!"

Seeing the uncharacteristic terror in his pale face and the seriousness in his eyes, the demoness did not protest. Soon, the two pressed themselves against the wall, inching toward the narrow gap. Klaus squeezed through first, wincing as the jagged rock scraped against his arms. The space was just barely wide enough for his weight, and he had to twist his body awkwardly to fit.

Briar followed suit. Her smaller frame and small bat wings made entering the narrow space much easier, but the problem was her tail. She bit her lip to stifle a grunt as her tail got caught on a protruding rock, forcing her to yank it free.

As soon as they were fully inside, Klaus pressed his back against the cold stone and peered out. His heart pounded in his chest as the rhythmic tremors grew stronger, the marching figures now close enough for their forms to take shape.

From the dim glow reflecting off the cavern walls, he could make out the towering grotesque monstrosities as they passed their position one by one. Their bodies were twisted and deformed, with layers of decayed flesh covered by her armoured body skin. Empty, glowing eyes burned with an eerie light as they trudged forward in eerie synchronization and shook the ground with each step.

There was no need to question the identity of those creatures.

Hollows.

Creatures of Chaos. And there was a whole squad of those "things" too!

Klaus sucked in a breath and pressed himself further into the gap. Briar did the same, pressed her lips into a thin line. Even she seemed to grasp how dire the situation was.

If their hiding spot was discovered even accidentally, then it would be game over for reals!

The squad of hollows marched past them, spreading vibrations throughout the vicinity. Klaus remained absolutely still, barely daring to breathe as he watched them pass.

One of the creatures suddenly paused and slowing turned its head toward their direction. Klaus felt his pulse skyrocket. Had it noticed them?

He didn’t even had the courage to mumble a shot prayer!

Seconds stretched into eternity as its empty gaze lingered, sweeping across the area like it was searching for a presence. Then, without warning, the damn abomination let out a guttural growl and continued forward, following the rest of its kind deeper into the cave.

Klaus remained frozen, waiting until the last of the hollows had disappeared into the distance before finally exhaling.

Then, the two of them cautiously stepped out of the narrow space and fixed their gazes on the darkness where the pack of hollows had vanished.

A few seconds later, still visibly shaken, Briar turned to Soulless.

"That was way too close."

"Tell me about it. I always wondered what Shadow Creatures would look like up close. Guess my curiosity finally got an answer, huh?"

"Are you seriously saying that with a smile on your face? We could have actually died back there!"

"Yeah. And once again, I was the one who noticed them first and dragged you to safety, so... you’re welcome."

"T-That..."

Briar opened her mouth several times as if searching for a retort, but in the end, she clamped her lips shut and lowered her head slightly.

She knew he was right. If he hadn’t pulled her away in time, she would have been caught off guard before being torn apart by those damn monstrosities.

The mere thought of it made her skin crawl.

It was truly terrifying. She really understood the danger.

Looking back into the echoing darkness of the cavern, the passage seemed lonely and at the same time, it excluded an ominous air, as if something unseen still lurked within its depths, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

What kind of unknown horrors were hiding beyond the darkness?

Thinking so, the demoness glanced back at Klaus, whose face was etched with a serious expression. Even though it went against the very prideful nature of her species, Briar swallowed her dry saliva before she hesitantly asked:

"Do we really need to head down that passage?"

Klaus didn’t answer immediately. He continued to stare into the darkness with eyes of matching colour. Those eyes were void of life, emotion and utterly calculative as if constantly solving a mathematical equation.

Then, he shrugged and spoke with a grave voice:

"What choice do we have?"

† †

A few seconds later, Klaus and Briar cautiously moved along the dark passage. By now, the young Awakened’s vision had fully adjusted to the darkness, allowing him to navigate their surroundings. Acting as both a guide and protector, he led the way while keeping a watchful eye on the demoness beside him.

It was only natural since they were in this together and had cooperate for survival. More than that, their souls were bound by a mysterious contract they had yet to fully understand. Neither of them could afford to let the other perish; where the demoness was an important asset to Klaus, while Briar, had no choice but to protect the so-called human.

Deep down, the succubus both resented and admired the human infront of her. He was her Master, after all.

That’s strange. Where did all those monsters disappear to?

Completely unaware of the thoughts running through Briar’s mind, Klaus frowned suspiciously.

Given their lack of knowledge about the cavern’s layout, it made sense to follow the path where a faint ray of light and a subtle gust of wind hinted at an exit. However, the troubling issue was that a large group of Hollows had recently passed through here. Even stranger, despite walking along the same path for some time, they hadn’t encountered a single trace of those creatures, aside from the massive footprints they had left behind, forming a straight trail ahead.

Which raised the question: where had they gone? Perhaps there was something waiting ahead, but what truly unsettled him was what that might mean.

Fortunately, they didn’t have to walk much farther. After only a few more steps, they arrived at an opening.

However, the moment they crossed it and glanced below, both of them froze in place as their bodies stiffened with fear.

"This is..."

"Wha... Are you fucking kidding me right now?"

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