Chapter 15: Deep in the Cave

In the meeting room, Cassadra repeated Rudoff’s doubts. “So, you are saying that Kael forcefully took Milian into the cave?”

“Yeah. The guards at the entrance said they were attacked by the person you brought, and he was with her… That makes it clear that we must—”

She interrupted him. “I don’t think so…” Pausing to gather her thoughts, she stated the facts: “Kael was protesting our decision to enter the cave earlier. Above all, let me confirm—did the guards say they felt anything suspicious from Milian, such as fear or hesitation?”

“They denied it.” His gaze lowered. “They said Milian didn't seem forced at all.”

“Then it’s clear. The main person planning this is her, not Kael.”

“But…! Why would she do that?” Rudoff asked in worry, raising his voice.

“I don’t know, but I think we had better head toward the cave. Wait for me there—I need to change first.”

“Hmm.” He nodded as Cassadra left for her room.

Meanwhile, the mud wall shook as it receded into the ground, opening a dead end. Kael turned to Milian. “Let’s go. The route is clear now.”

“Y-Yes,” she nodded, stepping forward slowly. Stumbling over her feet, she was about to fall when Kael grabbed her hand. “Ah… Thank you.”

“Watch where you step. The path has become much slipperier now,” he said as she followed his lead again.

As they walked deeper, the greenish crystal light began to fade. The echo of their footsteps was soon joined by a foul smell reaching their noses. Milian quickly realized what it was.

“Is this…?”

“Yes, it’s the smell of blood, and it’s getting stronger as we go deeper. We don’t know what might happen ahead, so stop here. If something attacks, scream. I’ll go check out the area.”

Holding a knife in his hand, he leaned against the wall to peek around the corner, where he saw a pile of corpses.

So this is where the missing people went. We should leave this place quickly. There are soldiers here, too… Whoever did this might be far out of our league.

As he turned back, his eyes widened and he froze. A naked, faceless, shadowy human figure stood right next to his face. It tilted its head left and right while Kael stood paralyzed, unable to move or scream as sweat rolled down his cheek.

Kael gripped his knife tightly. If the shadow made a single move, he would strike.

Thud!

A rock fell on the other side of the passage. The shadow quickly turned its head toward the sound and stumbled away. Once the figure vanished, Kael let out a deep breath.

“What was that? I was lucky it didn’t attack me,” he muttered to himself.

Is this the reason? Is this why the survivors in the next area looked so drained?

He looked down at his hand; it was shaking violently.

I need to tell Milian. She’s alone right now and might be in danger.

He ran back to reach her.

At the entrance of the cave, Rudoff stood talking with the soldiers. He wore his Crown uniform—a mixture of white and brown—and carried a large axe strapped to his back.

Cassadra walked up to him and called out, “Is everything ready?”

He turned and grinned at her. “Well, I packed all the essential items in this bag.” He pointed to a large pack resting beside him.

“Good. Now, let’s go.”

They stepped inside the cave.

While the members of the Crown entered the cave to search for them, Kael reached the spot where he had told Milian to wait.

She was nowhere to be found.

He rushed around, checking his surroundings, but only found the empty water bottle she had been holding.

That’s a problem. Where did she go? I told her to wait right here. He ground his teeth in frustration until a sudden scream echoed from another direction.

It was Milian.

“Milian!” he shouted, dashing toward the sound.

When he reached the source of the scream, he saw her on the ground, clutching her ankle. He rushed to her side in panic. “Hey, are you alright? Why did you—”

Milian’s eyes widened in horror. From Kael’s shadow, the same faceless, shadowy human figure emerged.

“Kael, watch out!” she screamed.

Before he could react, the shadow swiped its arm, sending Kael flying into the hard stone wall. Blood leaked from his mouth as he slumped to the ground. He looked up to see Milian crawling backward while the shadow advanced on her.

“Stop! Stay back!” Terrified, she thrust her hands forward and shot a ball of shadow magic. But as soon as it hit the creature, the shadow absorbed the spell and grew even larger. Closing the gap between them, it dropped to its knees and reached out its hands toward her.

She closed her eyes in terror.

“Milian!” Kael shouted in a panic, looking around wildly for the knife he had dropped when he was hit.

He lunged for the weapon, but as his fingers touched it, his vision went dark and his hearing faded away.

When he blinked again, he found himself back in the Aura room. However, the space looked completely different now—it was cold, pitch-black, and the windows were covered with thick curtains.

“Huh?” Confused, he tried to move, only to realize his hands and feet were bound with rope.

Why am I here again? I have to get back fast—Milian needs my help!

He struggled against the bindings and looked around for Aura, but she was nowhere to be seen. He froze as he caught the faint sound of sniffling and sobbing nearby.

Is this… if I’m thinking right… is this Sad Aura?