Garden Of The Abyss

She looked at Felix, "He's right; we have to move fast. I don't know what you've experienced in the past…but I wouldn't be an adventurer if my experiences led me to abandon my comrades."

Felix' eyes widened a bit as her words made him silent. The priest sluggishly rested his hammer on his shoulder as he looked up at Akanni.

I've seen it too many times to count now. It doesn't matter if its lowly, bottom of the barrel goblins, orcs, or lacyrie–adventurers somehow always get taken off-guard by them, and everything crumbles. But, even if it happens again…this is a good excuse to kill some orcs, Felix thought.

"Sorry," Felix apologized, "I just let my fear get the better of me."

Though his apology came to her, it was more meant for Akanni, who didn't respond as he simply turned his back once more with his jet-black locks brushing against the deathly winds of the lacyrie-infested mountain.

"...If you aren't up for it, then you don't have to come with us," she told Felix.

"I'm fine, really," Felix assured her.

Even as he said that, it seemed the draconic man had his own quiet doubts about the priest's words as his scale-laden tail flicked to the side.

She took in a deep breath, moving past Akanni towards the entrance to the cavern, "Then let's save her and wipe them out."

Though she took the lead at first, Akanni was the first to step into the enigmatic cavern once they reached its entrance, pushing in without a single shred of fear clinging to his form.

The forefront of the cave was unlit, completely cast in shadows as nothing could be seen–only heard as echoes of footsteps and squelches resounding from within the bowels of the accursed cavern.

"We should still take things carefully," she whispered, but it was only a suggestion to the tall, well-built man of draconic blood.

Akanni replied, "Forgive me, but I don't believe there is a point in that anymore. They know we're here."

"He's got a point, unfortunately," Felix added, "with how they grabbed Elena, there isn't any doubt about it."

It was true, but she still wanted to hang onto that faint hope of taking things with caution, but she begrudgingly agreed.

"What's with this, though? I mean, it's totally dark in here," Felix whispered.

"They're subterranean creatures, right? They probably don't rely on sight–more likely their sense of smell and hearing," she told him.

"Good point," Felix sighed, "I didn't consider that."

With the darkness clinging so vigorously to the cavern, she held her staff up as she released an illumination spell, bringing light into the unseen cavern at once.

As sight returned to them, her heart dropped at the revelations the light brought.

Somehow, they didn't hear it.

All around them, lacyrie had gathered, surrounding them and blocking off the entrance to the cavern as they wielded a variety of shoddily-refined weapons in their hands, looking at them with their sightless, clear eyes.

Even with the illumination of the sphere of light she manifested, the cavern itself couldn't be seen through the horde of lacyrie that surrounded them; they breathed heavily with drawn breaths as their saliva dripped down onto the rocky, blood-stained flooring below.

–In that moment, they both hesitated, though it wasn't from biting fear, but from a variety of thoughts flooding through their minds in what the right move was to make.

For Akanni, however, his thought process was simple: kill all lacyrie.

"RAAAAGH–!"

For the first time, they witnessed the towering, draconic man set out into battle, all with the fury of a radiant flame as he charged forward, eviscerating a pair of lacyrie with his dragon-like claws before they could react to his assault.

In that moment, they were left stunned at the aggression the demi-human posses in battle, wasting no time as he swept his claws through the nearest lacyrie.

Without armor or a shield, he guarded against one of the dark-infused blades of the subterranean orcs with his scale-clad forearm, unflinching as his scales proved too durable for the lacyrie as it received a visceral slap of the man's claws against its head, tearing its flesh, skull, and brain matter apart.

Though there seemed to be an almost endless amount of towering, slobbering orcs occupying the illuminated cavern, Akanni cut through one after another all the same without a moment's hesitation.

He fights completely differently from Valerie. She relied on magic, but he just seems to use his own draconic physiology to fight…She thought.

After those few seconds of nothingness, she gathered herself just as a lacyrie attempted to grab her from behind, pointing her staff towards its belly.

"Brigid: Flame Dance!"

Manifesting from the tip of her magical staff, arms of flames pierced through the abdomen of the lacyrie, stopping it in its tracks as the spell continued forth after protruding through the brute's back, piercing two more lacyrie that approached from behind it.

Witnessing the others' battle, Felix brought himself steady as he wielded his hammer with a wry smile, "Guess I should join in."

Stepping in front of him, an abnormally tall lacyrie stood in his way, wearing an abhorrent coat of skin around its shoulders. In each of its hands, it wielded massive cleavers that were still dirtied with crimson liquid and entrails.

"...You're a big one…" Felix said with a nervous chuckle.

The white-robed man dodged a wide strike of the giant lacyrie's cleaver as his clunky armor screeched and clanked with his movements.

From the strength of the abhorrent brute's meat-cleaving weapons, he was unable to do anything but remain on the defense, as the swings of his hammer were deflected by the superior strength of the blind orc.

"Ngh–!" He grunted as even guarding against one of the swings with the handle of his hammer was felt through his bones.

After a kick to the gut from the lacyrie, he was plunged against the back wall of the cavern, picking himself up groggily as his head slammed against the rocky wall.

As he looked behind him at what the squishy feeling was behind him, he realized the horrors that inhabited the lacyrie hive; chained up to the walls were humans–or rather, the remains of bodies, half-eaten and left stationed like trophies.

Seeing that sight, he gripped his head as unwanted memories seeped through; hearing jarring screams inside of his mind as his lip trembled.

Get it together, man. If you don't do anything…if you don't do anything, again, more people will die, he thought.

As he looked up, he could see his two companions still fighting, giving it their all as the draconic man shredded the lacyrie in his path apart, while Iris fought them with a combination of flames and light.

"...What am I doing?" He questioned himself with a light laugh.

Standing back up, he was immediately met face-to-face with his colossal opponent again, who reared a cleaver back in front of him, forcing him to move without thinking.

After running back to gain some distance, having to jump forward to evade another swing of the visceral edge of the lacyrie's weapon, he stopped, gathering his composure as he drew in a long breath.

"O' Holy Lord, blessed thee with the strength to combat the dark forces of evil!" Felix prayed, closing his eyes for a moment, slamming the pommel of his hammer against the ground.

His unique incantation was heard as a white light briefly enveloped his body, leaving white bands around his arms, prompting him to raise his hammer with the intent to take the initiative this time.