Dungeon Raider System-Chapter 785: The devil’s monastery Part 3

The small flame seemed to dwindle for a brief second causing the twisting shadows to drift from side to side and painting the walls with the warmth of the hug between the two hunters. From a distance it seemed like a lover's embrace, though in reality Nika was seeking for shelter against her fear of the dark and Uriel was holding onto her as a lifeline to sanity.

It wasn't the sight of the creature what got to him, but the fact that his mystical sense didn't work and he was only able to spot it in the corner of his eye and now he couldn't stop his eyes from roaming the room in a vain attempt to spot it before it was too late.

"Where is Alfaro?" Uriel asked.

"I don't know, didn't get to ask him a single question. All I know is I was there one moment and the next I was here, it felt similar to my shadow blink." Nika replied in whispers. fгeewёbnoѵel_cσm

"And Luna, did she also get here?" Uriel asked, though the chances were slim since he couldn't see her.

"No, I've been alone this whole time."

"Does your shadow blink work?"

"Let me check real quick... no, it doesn't." She tightened the grip onto a hug that could have crushed an average man's spine.

"Alright, that's enough playing damsel in distress." Uriel pushed Nika off, but due to his temporary downgrade to ascended he was no match for Nika's grip.

"But I'm a damsel and I'm in distress right now."

"Luna might be down here somewhere. Just picture her all alone in the dark, don't you want to protect her?" Uriel said in a clear attempt to manipulate Nika since he knew Luna would likely find the darkness to be soothing rather than unsettling and she could always use her trait to illuminate the area if she felt she was in danger. The actual reason why he wanted to search for Luna was that she was the only one who could possibly have an insight about that place or the cryptid he thought he saw.

Needless to say, just thinking about the 'poor' Luna cradling herself in the dark was enough to make Nika drop the helpless act and put on her game face. She unholstered the Peacemaker and nodded towards Uriel who waved his lantern around trying to look for a door, but all he saw was the dumbwaiter he dropped from and a dark hallway that extended as far as the light could reach which, admittedly, wasn't that far.

"Something's off." Uriel said the moment he attempted to take a step forward and realized his legs were shaky. His first thought was that Nika's embrace had caused him some damage, but then he realized the dizzying sensation that came with flux deprivation.

"I noticed too, our flux is being drained." Nika said.

"Uhm, yes, we are currently being digested by a cryptid." Luna said from a dark corner.

"How long have you been here?" Uriel growled.

"Long enough." Her eyes glinted softly as she channeled some flux just to make sure Uriel noticed her icy cold glare.

"Are we being eaten? Is that what she said or am I crazy?" Nika asked in a thin voice.

"You are correct on both accounts," Luna nodded as she walked closer to them. "I don't know what cryptid we are currently facing, but I think it would fit in the demonic category. First, because this place used to be a monastery and the monks who lived in here became 'insane'. That is usually how things go down in corrupted churches."

"Corrupted churches? Is that a thing?" Nika asked.

"Forget about that, how do we fight it?" Uriel promptly said disregarding Nika's obvious quesiton.

"There are many ways to fend off demons in the lore, like holy symbols for instance. A crucifix, holy water, things like that, but they won't work." Luna informed.

"How do you know they won't work?" Nika asked biting her nails.

"Because if they did, the monks would not have died. Also, we are inside a church and weak demons wouldn't be able to even set foot in a sacred place. This likely means we are facing at least an entity level cryptid." Luna's assessment was spot on, though Uriel still had one lingering question.

"Did you see it too?" He asked.

"No, but I heard you talking about seeing something in the dark. That is why I remained in silence, so I could take it by surprise."

"Luna," Nika grabbed Luna's hand and continued with a pitiful tone of voice. "I know you don't like using your trait, but I beg you..."

"Uhm... fine." She replied and activated her trait, illuminating the entire room up to the corners. The sudden shift in brightness blinded Uriel for a second, but Nika was already prepared as she had kept one eye closed the entire time and she was able to immediately scan their surroundings heaving a sigh of relief after confirming there was nothing there.

They walked further inside the now not so dark hallway and although darkness was no longer a thing, the air was stale and the walls were damp which caused Luna's keen sense of smell to become ineffective. Because of that they treaded with caution despite Uriel wanting to get out of there as soon as possible since every second they spent he felt his flux energy being drained at a rapid pace.

"There's something over there." Nika said after focusing on her 'shadow sense' which didn't do much other than letting her know there were shadows being cast in close proximity.

"It's the missing hunters," Uriel said after noticing many people laying in the ground and after giving Hazel, the leader of the Defenders, a soft kick on the leg to check if she was conscious he asked. "are they dead?"

"No, they're still alive, but we need to get them out soon or they might end up passing away." Luna said.

Luckily for everyone, Uriel tore apart the dumbwaiter box but the pulley and the rope remained intact. This allowed them to get all the unconscious hunters outside and they each climbed safely out of the duct.

"That was crazy, we almost got eaten!" Nika let out after she felt safe enough. Uriel, though, didn't feel safe as his flux reserve was almost depleted and without any meddling words started patting down the unconscious hunters looking for batteries.

"It's not much but it will do." Each member of the Defenders had a single tier 1 battery all of which Uriel lined up in front of his smartphone before activating them. Arcs of electricity were sparked and he felt an instant relief.

"Someone's got his fix," Nika chuckled then asked. "won't they be mad when they wake up and notice their batteries were depleted?"

"They can be angry, but they're lucky that's all we took considering we just saved their lives." Uriel shrugged.

Luna kept watch of the unconscious hunters during the following hours as they naturally regenerated their flux energy until each of them woke up. Nika then explained them the situation and although they weren't mad about their batteries being taken, the same couldn't be said about the fate of the member they left behind.

Hazel was the first one to rush to their room and found her companion still laying in the ground, though now the pool of blood was dry and the corpse stiff. All the other members seemed pretty shaken, but Hazel was the only one who refused to let out a single tear and Uriel took the chance to ask her the question that had been going around his mind the entire time.

"Is there some of your belongings missing?" Uriel asked prompting Hazel's face to become pale as she started rummaging through the bags.

"Did you take it!? Answer!" She snarled at Uriel channeling what little flux she could muster to create a stone blade that came out of her arm and pressing it on Uriel's neck.

"He would never steal from you guys!" Nika exclaimed offended, then continued. "Except for maybe the batteries he just... nevermind."

"Take what exactly?" Uriel replied looking her in the eye seemingly unfazed by the stony blade that possessed so little flux it started crumbling down the moment she created it.

"I'm sorry for snapping at you, but we spent most of what we made in Gibraltar on a mace with the ability to increase its weight. Depending on the amount of flux used it can be a deadly weapon." Hazel said in a composed manner after noticing how deranged she acted.

With the loss of one of their members, their little flux energy reserve and the stolen weapon the Defenders were now at a disadvantageous position which forced Hazel to understand her group had already been defeated and could not carry their mission to completion.

"It seems we bit more than we could swallow, is there a chance you could help us out complete our mission for half the reward?" Hazel probed to which Uriel replied with a wide grin.

"All the reward, but you get to keep the credit."

Much to Uriel's surprise, not a second passed before Hazel replied.

"Agreed."

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