Chapter 25

Duncan woke up in a dark cave. The first thing that he does was to search for his young lady. Fortunately for him, she was lying unconscious near a waterfall nearby. He breathes a sigh of relief before finding out that Diane and Eru weren't with them. "I hope those two are together", he somberly said. He then picked up Davida and leaned her on the wall nearby, removing his cape and putting it on Davida. Duncan sat cross-legged while his great-sword was placed in front of him. "Be safe, everyone."

===

Diane walked inside a giant chamber. Inside, a row of golden weapons and armours greeted her. "Whoa, a treasury!" she said with stars gleaming in her eyes. She walked around the room, seeing all the items inside were all made of gold. "Doesn't this all just a waste of money?" she rubbed her chin, "If it were me, I would just melt them all and buy loads of food."

She walked deeper into the treasury. She got curious and picked up a gold vase, "This is definitely a waste of money", she pouted before putting it back. Unbeknownst to her, a tiny pair of eyes was observing her from afar. "Uhm… What am I looking for again? Oh right, the key. A star-shaped key. Maybe it's in the treasury," she said, continuing on her happy-go-lucky stroll inside the treasury.

===

"Urgh", Davida groaned. Opening her eyes, she looked at Duncan's back, sitting cross-legged in front of her. "Duncan? Where are we?" Davida weakly asked. "Oh young lady, you're awake", Duncan flashed a smile, "I don't know. The last thing I remember was when we're at a shed and fall through a trap door", Duncan explained. "Oh", Davida eyes glanced left and right before softly said, "Where's Diane and Eru?"

Duncan lowered his head, "I'm afraid we've been separated", he said somberly. "I see" Davida too lowered her head, "So, what's our next move?" she asked. "Well, if young lady able to move, let's find a way out of here."

"Alright, lead the way," Davida said while getting up. Davida took out a magic device, small in stature and shaped like a pencil. "A new device, my lady?" Duncan asked. "Yes," she nodded before twisting the lower part of the device as light comes out. "Here, use this" Davida tossed the device at Duncan, "A flashlight?" Duncan observed the small flashlight in his hand. Then, Davida and Duncan begin to explore the cave.

They came into a forest deep within the cave. Lush greenery of foreign plants surrounded the edge of the cave with vines hanging down from stalactites. "Whoa, amazing. Look at all these plants," Davida said, her eyes shining with curiosity, "How can they live in this environment? Is it bio-luminescent found on the walls of this cave or…" She approached the plants with glitter in her eyes. "Whoa, interesting. From the looks of it, these plants don't need lights very much as evident from their leaves…."

Duncan looked at his young lady with a smile, but his eyes were still vigilant. Suddenly he noticed something was moving towards Davida, "Young lady, look out!" he warned. Davida quickly responded by throwing a ball-shaped device, and a round barrier was erected surrounding her. A tentacle made of plants rammed straight at her barrier, breaking it and knocking Davida back to Duncan.

Duncan managed to catch Davida in mid-air, "Are you all right young lady?" he asked as he helped Davida stand. Davida didn't reply as she saw a horror came out from inside the forest. "What's wrong young…." Duncan slowly turned his head, and he saw the monster. A giant plant with a big red flower walked towards them. The red flower itself was beautiful to look at, but the terrifying leaves with mouths and sharp teeth spurting from its body made it looked like a nightmare.

The big red flower bloomed, showing its mouth with a row of giant teeth. Its roar reverberated through the whole cave as its tentacles were pointed at Duncan and Davida. "Get ready"

"Right"

The plant roared once more, marking the beginning of their fight.

===

"Are you all right, Ducan?" Davida asked. She held her staff in front as she chanted, "Fire Wall." A large wall made of flames appeared in front of her, charring the plant tentacles. Duncan propped himself up, "I'm alright" he held his sword wide, "Let's do this again, you dumb plant." Duncan roared, surrounding his body with aura; he charges ahead at the plants. "Young lady, back me up."

"Right" red magic circle appeared in front of Davida, "Fire Arrow" as arrows made of fire were launched from inside the circle. The fire arrows hit cleanly at the giant plant's body, making it scream. "Take this, you fuck, Crescent Slash!" Duncan used his aura-clad sword, cutting one of the plant's tentacles. A green liquid splurted as the plant scream in pain. "Not yet, I'm not finished yet!" Duncan's eyes flashed. He slashed and slashed until the plant has no tentacle left.

The plant screamed was inhuman as it stood without its tentacle. "Young lady, finish it!" Even without Duncan saying it, Davida was already on the case. She pointed her staff at the plant as a burst of flames appears, "Flamethrower!"

The flames engulfed the plant, slowly burning it. Screaming in pain, the plant flung around, damaging the cave and making the stalactites fall unto it. After a while, the plant stopped moving, and it laid on the ground. "We did it, Duncan!" Davida cheered. Duncan walked towards his young lady and gently nodded.