The sound of hacking could be heard, somewhere underground, as the slaves chipped away at the volcanic rock.

The air smelled like dust and rotten eggs, the walls rough, hard, and crumbly in places. It was dark and dangerously hot, with streaks of magma flowing within the cracked walls illuminating the darkness slightly.

It had been five days, and Mr. Valen sat there, having explored most of the volcanic cave, he was out of things with which to occupy himself.

He still had not found the source of that feeling no matter how thoroughly he searched, although he couldn't call what he did a thorough search.

Most of the time, he was stopped by the intense heat, which produced unbearable fumes that his body had to heal from, stopping him from reaching the deeper ends of the cave.

Even now, the feeling still lingered, making his hair stand at its ends, but he chose to ignore it.

Turning to look at the slaves hacking away at the cave, he observed faint strands of glowing threads flowing within their bodies. 'They look delicious,' he thought before shaking his head slightly.

It would seem that his constant exploration did come with some drawbacks.

He knew all too well that the more he had to heal, the quicker his hunger would resurface, and yet he still went.

«Such is the power of human curiosity.»

"My uncle kicked the hole though, he was the kind of guy that... wait, was it my grand aunt, no I'm..." Dynatós ranted beside him, his words fading into the background, but Mr. Valen did listen, just not enough to regard it.

«His incessant storytelling seems to be a pitiful attempt to foster some semblance of emotional attachment. While he does possess a keen intellect, his strategic execution and vocabulary leave much to be desired.»

"You see my uncle and my aunt-"

"Be quiet," Mr. Valen interrupted Dynatós, who shook slightly at such a cold command, like a child who had been let down. His shoulders dropped slightly while he lowered his head.

Looking at this man, Mr. Valen drew a breath, once more. He wondered how this man, who had not eaten in days, had the energy to talk.

'In the five days I have been here, food has only been provided once,' He thought remembering the tasteless, hard bread they had been given.

But Mr. Valen did not shut Dynatós down because he wished for him to preserve his energy; rather, it was because of a different reason entirely, his ears twitching slightly, his eyes narrowing to slits.

Quietly, Mr. Valen stood up and undid his collar, attracting the attention of the old slave, who narrowed his eyes and stopped hacking.

Mr. Valen also noted his gaze, but as soon as his eyes met the old man's gaze the slave swiftly averted his eyes and resumed his labor.

"Are you going to explore again?" Dynatós asked, observing the man before him, but there was no response.

The other slaves also went about their hacking not paying Mr. Valen any mind, some shivering nervously as his gaze passed over them.

They knew that he would not help them, no matter how much they begged, and after he had slammed the head of one of the slaves against a wall after a small argument, they knew he did not shy away from violence.

With a resounding clang, his metal collar dropped to the ground allowing Mr. Valen to walk, not into the cave but out of it.

He was heading for the exit, which shocked and surprised Dynatós.

"I'll be back," Mr. Valen muttered before Dynatós could say anything and proceeded to investigate a question that had recently surfaced in his mind.

'What was that sound?'

--------

Meanwhile.

"Clang!" Holdo blocked a heavy claw to his torso, sparks flying as his knees buckled under the weight of his sword.

Fortunately, that strike has left the Skilion open-

"Slash!"

In an instant, Olga's flaming sword tore through, splitting its neck, black blood gushing out as the monster shrieked.

The soldiers struggled, the ones that were left that is, one of such soldiers, a man, his features hindered by his battle helmet ran up to a Skilion with his companions.

The Skilion was feeding on the body of a fallen comrade, and upon seeing this rage bubbled within him.

"Accendere!" He muttered through gritted teeth, his footsteps heavy in the black rainwater as green flames erupted on his blade.

But the Skilion was faster, as though sensing the flames, it turned, blood and bits of gusts falling from its maw as it struck with a growl.

"Clang!" The soldier blocked, his form sliding back while his two colleagues pushed forward.

"We must protect the mine, you will not stand in our way," he yelled, his voice trembling as he struck, drawing blood from the thing's torso.

In provoked retaliation, the thing struck him back, its claws digging into his head before throwing him to the side like a ragdoll.

Fortunately, that bold maneuver had left the Skilion open enough for another soldier to strike it with his sword, severing its head and letting its body fall to the ground with a wet thud, water splashing, blood flowing.

Bodies littered the battlefield, most of them Skilion's with some being soldiers who had fought valiantly.

The camp was in chaos, battle cries sounding out as the soldiers renewed their vigor:

"For Veridiana!"

"Fuck their mothers!"

"Brace! Brace!"

Even amid this chaos, two fighters remained the source of attention, as they moved on to the next beast after killing another.

It was a Skilion which was chewing on the remains of one of their soldiers.

"Fragor!" Olga chanted, flames igniting under her feet pushing her forward, her sword dragging behind her, her brows furrowed as she ran up to it.

"Swoosh!"

She struck but it dodged like a phantom, a grunt escaping the beast as its fur burned from the remnant flames.

That strike had left Olga open, but Holdo was there to compensate, blocking the beast's retaliation with a grunt while Olga struck again.

But the beast was persistent, biting down at Olga's burning blade despite the pain, and with sheer force it hurled her into the air.

"Accendere!" Olga shouted as soon as her form left the ground, and in that moment, her entire blade erupted in violent, green flames more deadly than before.

"Ahhhhh!" The beast screamed in a disturbingly human-like manner, its face charred beyond recognition, and yet while it staggered back in pain and confusion, Holdo closed in.

Meanwhile, as Olga was flung in the air, she gritted her teeth as she landed with a heavy thud, black water flowing down her face from the constant rain. 'I can't appear weaker!'

"Swoosh!" Meanwhile, Holdo swung his blade at the Skilion, but as though by instinct, the beast swung its silver claws, which had a hint of gold in them.

'It's no wonder it's so strong, it's evolving!' Holdo thought.

"Clang!"

His blade was flung from his grasp, his form pushed back, but in that moment, the beast screamed as a thin blast of flames impaled it, leaving a finger-sized burning hole in place.

The beast staggered forward, ailing in agony, it turned back, its charred face scrunched in bloodlust and it caught sight of someone, the culprit:

A woman who stood like an apparition risen from the mud, short black hair plastered to her skull by the relentless rain, armor and skin indistinguishable beneath the grime. Only the venomous glare burning in her eyes marked her as human

It was Commander Olga now brandishing two daggers, red-hot, engulfed in emerald flames.

"Fragor!" She chanted and flames erupted at the soles of her feet-

"Boom!" She was upon the beast in a flash, "Fragor!" she chanted while stabbing, releasing another blast, but it was only the beginning.

"Fragor!" "Fragor!" "Fragor!" "Fragor!" "Fragor!" She was like a madwoman. Her quick jabs creating hole after hole in the beast's torso, thick blasts of flame escaping its form and lighting up the battlefield.

The thing which had stood there in shock with widened arms slumped down soon after, hitting the ground with a thud.

Commander Olga, on the other hand, stood there, her breath heavy, her face pale, her heart pounding in her chest; she had overexerted herself wielding her Nethercraft Technique in rapid succession.

"Argh," she fell to a knee, her form shuddering slightly.

"Get some rest, we'll make quick work of the rest of the beasts, at least you aren't weak," Holdo said as he walked past.

Suddenly, before Olga could retort, "shreeek!" A maddening shrill caught Holdo's attention causing his heart to skip a beat.

Commander Olga also shuddered as a thought entered both their heads, one that they had dreaded. 'An evolved beast was controlling this wave.'

The remaining beasts, upon hearing the ghastly shrill, stopped what they were doing and pulled back, rushing down the slope they had climbed and into the darkness beyond.

The battlefield became quiet, too quiet, with the soldiers murmuring but never celebrating; they knew the battle was not over.

Holdo skimmed through the battlefield, his face scrunched as he took account.

His remaining soldiers numbered around twenty all exhausted.

One of the wooden watchtowers had been torn down, leaving only two left; the tents were trampled over and stained with the blood of both man and beast alike, and the smell of metal was in the air.

'All my men are low-level Hellfire Novices, for high-level Hellfire Novices there's me, Olga, and Cerberus,' Holdo thought grimly.

"Regroup! Close ranks! No quarter!" He suddenly barked out commands, promoting the soldiers to get into a desperate formation, awaiting what was coming.

"You," Holdo pointed to one of his soldiers and growled. "Get Cerberus here now!"

"Yes sir!" The soldiers answered jogging towards the interior of the camp where the battle had not reached.

"What are you doing!" Olga yelled at Holdo through heavy breaths her steps frail as she approached him.

"Stay back," Holdo responded coldly, his eyes softening. "You're experiencing burnout and need rest, hence you can't fight anymore, I need Cerberus!"

"He has to protect the High Scioness!" Olga shot back but stopped to catch her breath.

Holdo, on the other hand, shook his head. "If this beast kills all of us, the High Scioness would end up dead either way."

"Don't, something's happening," Olga cut herself short, her eyes narrowed as she gazed above.

Holdo also gazed above, his eyes widening slightly. "Archers! Get that thing to the ground he yelled!"

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