CHAPTER 44: CAVE CRAWLER II.

"You want to speak with these animals?" Lili threw Dorian a snarly glare. "They look like they only want to kill you, master. We should just kill them and be done with it."

"Erkrk!"

One of the cave crawlers voiced out, its growl echoing right after Lili’s comment.

As soon as Dorian noticed the way Lili glared back at the monster, he asked,

"What did they say?"

"Apparently, they are agreeing with him. They do intend to make sure no one lives here alive. And they also claim to want you to serve their king. You specifically."

"Oh..." Dorian kept his attention on the monsters, realizing their eyes were locked on him as well. "So that is why their death intent is not fixed on me. They need me for something, to serve their king. Why me...?"

"I still say we—"

"Shush, they can understand you, right? It’s best not to do anything that will anger them. For now, only say anything I issue to you, got it?"

Lili sighed and pouted, "Master is too kind to them. I understand."

She suddenly hardened her gaze at the cave crawlers.

"My master has something to say, so you better listen!"

’This girl!’ Dorian gave her a fierce look.

"Krrkk! Errrk!"

One of the monsters spoke again.

However, when Dorian took a look, he could not see a single monster opening their mouth to speak or even attempting to do so. The growling was coming from the darker, farther part of the darkness.

He tried to look further, but the crawlers were all squashed together, as if forming a wall to block anyone from seeing what lay beyond.

"Master, they are claiming to want the humans dead for trespassing in their territory."

’Just as I expected.’

"Tell them we are here for business and mean no harm, and we want to speak to who is in charge."

Hesitant, Lili spoke the message to the cave crawlers.

"My master would like to speak to your leader. He means no harm and only wanted to talk."

"Krrrrsh!"

The monster’s growl sounded even more aggressive. Along with that, Dorian could see the crawlers moving forward in a group, their green eyes glaring with intensity.

"They refused?" he asked.

"Yes, master, as I said, they are not worth reasoning over; they simply want to kill. There is nothing we can do to change their mind."

"Don’t go deciding that on your own." Dorian assessed the monsters for a while, watching as they were now crawling out of the tunnel.

Seeing this, the workers all stood their ground, though fear was still hinted on their features, but they were ready to run for it the moment they were given a signal.

As for Seraphina and Maria, they were prepared to sprint towards Dorian’s side.

Maria’s blade had already been coated with golden mana, while Seraphina had two small spinning magic circles dancing at the back of her hand.

’Their attention is not on me. Still, if I prove to be a big enough threat, they will surely turn it my way; their intelligence doesn’t seem all that high. The only way to settle things here is simple: the strongest gets the final say. Question is, can I handle these many monsters?’

His fist clenched as the monster drew nearer.

’Probably not. But what’s success without a little risk?’ a thrilling grin spread across his face.

He quickly turned around, locking eyes with Maria.

"Now! Go!" he alerted them before the monster could charge past him.

However, he noticed something strange right after. Rather than following the workers who were already running for their lives, Seraphina and Maria were doing the opposite.

’What the fuck are they doing?!’

In a single motion, he found that he was getting pulled into the dark tunnel, the wind blowing against his face.

A monstrous crawler, its multifaceted eyes gleaming with malevolent intent, ambushed him from the inky blackness. Its razor-sharp claws, tipped with a glistening venom, seized him by the neck, crushing his windpipe and silencing the scream that was about to erupt from his lungs.

The air was ripped from his chest as he was violently yanked off his feet, the sudden motion disorienting him. With a chillingly swift and powerful motion, he was dragged into the gaping maw of a dark, pulsating tunnel.

The wind, now a violent gale, whipped against his face, a cacophony of unseen horrors echoing around him as he plunged deeper into the unknown. The stench of damp earth and decay filled his nostrils, a grim prelude to whatever nightmare awaited him in the depths.

"Maria!" With her hand still out in front, creating the barrier, Seraphina screamed at the sight of this.

"I know!"

Maria wasted no time.

She charged forward, moving as fast as she could, despite the number of monsters heading towards her.

"Dammit, here, I’ll give you assistance; don’t lose track of him!" Seraphina stretched her other hand toward Maria, who was still running.

A red magic circle appeared before her palm.

"Speed boost! Mana boost! Agility boost! Endurance boost!"

With every resonant chant, a shimmering magic circle would bloom around Maria, its ethereal glow pulsing in rhythm with her accelerated heartbeat, fusing her with the spell and strengthening her even more.

In that heightened moment, Maria found herself moving faster than the wind, a blur of motion that seemed to defy the very fabric of reality.

She easily cleaved through the monstrous walls, a force of raw, untamed energy. The air crackled around her as she tore through their grotesque forms, their cries of pain echoing in the cavernous space.

As she went through them, the ruptured walls seemed to writhe and fuse back together with an unsettling squelch, their numerous crawlers now having their malevolent gaze locked with a chilling intensity on the lonesome Seraphina.

"Honestly. Why am I the one stuck here?" she turned around, fully turning around to face the monsters. "I am a support white mage, dammit; I should have been the one to go after him. Stupid Maria getting the jump on me again."

She knew if she ran away, the monsters would immediately go after Dorian and Maria. She couldn’t allow that; as such, she had no choice but to battle them.

Sigh.

’I can obviously not fight them and win, all by myself. The most i can do is probably buy time. That should be more than enough for Maria to get Lord Dorian out.’

Or so she believed.

From nowhere, a flying bat appeared next to her, glowing with a bright golden light, only to transform into a beautifully latex-wearing bat person.

Seraphina stared at Lili for a while, obviously surprised as to how Dorian’s summon had a human form all of a sudden.

"You know, master told me to stay here and make sure you people are safe. Ugh, If I am being honest, I really don’t care one bit about you."

Seraphina raised her brow in annoyance.

"But orders are orders, I guess. I can’t disobey my master. So let’s get this over with. I don’t like the fact my master is somewhere in there getting touched by these disgusting animals. I’d like to finish this fast," she cracked her neck and then leaned forward.

"Don’t be a burden, aunt, okay?"

"A-a-aunt?!!!"

...

[A/N]

The class Alchemist works in two ways, though this will be explained later; just know they are able to use white magic, which is basically support magic, and also, Lili will probably be the strongest summon Dorian would ever get, and there are a lot of weird ones: mouse, fly, but never a dragon lmao.