Dungeon (2)

BOOOOM!!!!

The entire area is shrouded in black smoke; nothing can be seen from a distance with the naked eye. The dust in the atmosphere makes breathing impossible.

Cough Cough

Eli clears her throat and tries to breath.

The last thing Eli remembers is that Astroth yelled at her, and she closed her eyes in terror.

"What happened after that? I closed my eyes in panic when Ash yelled something, 'Kero'?"

"Should I open them now? Why is everything so stuffy? "

"Ash is not saying anything, and the temperature is rising. I'm feeling uncomfortable and frightened."

All types of questions passed through her mind, but her heart didn't allow her to open her eyes. She was terrified of the darkness, the same darkness she felt three hundred years ago when her parents hid her from humans.

The same rise in temperature she felt when her village burned to nothing. Her rope of patience was about to break as she reached her limit.

She slowly opens her eyes and finds herself enclosed tightly by Astroth. While hugging her tightly; one of his arms grasped her waist, and his wings surrounded her like a shield. Her situation looked like that of a cocoon; she was unable to see beyond the encircling.

She slowly lifts her head to see Astroth. He was constantly looking around, and his other arm was releasing some magic.

Eli focused on his face. His complexion was a bit poor. He had a dark face, and his scales looked as if they were burned.

Despite his condition, Astroth continuously used some kind of magic. Maybe that magic decreased the temperature. Eli was feeling refreshed around Astroth.

Incidentally, Astroth noticed her but averts his gaze to the surroundings. Eli was confused by his behavior.

"Why is he still holding me like this?" Is he fighting some enemy while protecting me? "

For a moment, she felt the grip loosening and the wings wavering from their position. Astroth released his grip and, slowly, his wings retreated.

Eli is conflicted, but she falls into despair when she observes the surroundings. Everything was either burned or destroyed. She glanced at Astroth, and her eyes filled with tears.

His body was burned in lots of places; even his scales were damaged. The scales of his body are strong enough to withstand steel bull attacks head-on, but they were damaged, suggesting the flames were like level 3 magic attacks.

His wings start shedding like crisp paper and fade away with a gust of wind like ashes. His scales also ruptured in many places, causing him more injury and pain.

Watching his debilitating state, Eli cried her heart out. Her tears streamed down her cheeks, and her heart sank. She felt sorry for Astroth, who injured himself to protect her.

However, even in this situation, Astroth paid no heed to Eli. He was busy using [Frigus Aura], which can instantly bring down the temperature with a chill breeze. And [fire barrier] to protect Eli from the heat.

Yet the flames showed no signs of ceasing, and instead, they were facing his magic with even more intensity.

"That's not a fire of kerosene. It's an entirely different liquid which renders the flames resistant to water and even magic," Astroth mumbled to himself.

His breathing was unstable, and his complexion started to deteriorate. Slowly, he reached his limit of endurance.

After his last wisp of mana dissipated, the flames dwindled and died.

Astroth smiled at Eli and fell into a state of coma.

----

Slowly, Astroth opens his eyes, with a headache as if many needles were poking into his brain.

He observes the surroundings, It was a bright space with piercing white light. It took him some time to adjust his vision.

"What is this place? Where is Eli? Did she bring me here and leave? "

Many questions arose in his mind, and his heart and mind disagreed.

Slap

He slaps his cheeks and clears his mind. He moved to inspect the space, which was like an infinite pathway. The more he moved forward, the farther he sensed the exit.

Astroth starts to lose hope of ever leaving this place. He cries aloud.

"Is anyone here? Who brought me here? Come in front of me!"

His voice echoed in the unfamiliar space, yet there was no response.

"Am I trapped in this space alone?"

He attempted to invoke [Astrith] and magic spells but to no avail. His magic and skills abandoned him to roam in this vast place all alone.

Gathering a sliver of courage, he starts moving again. After taking a few steps, he noticed a blurry figure in the distance.

His heart beams with a ray of hope, and he sprints toward the figure. He runs with all his strength and slowly reduces the distance.

The person was sitting on a chair facing the other direction, with two more chairs around a small round table in the center.

Astroth tries to speak with pause and hesitation.

"Um...Hey!.....Wh- Who are you? .. "

"..."

There was no reply from that person, not even a reaction as if that person already knew Astroth was standing behind them.

As he approaches the person, Astroth once again tries to ask, when suddenly a sweet voice pierces his ears, and he realizes that the voice is that of a lady, whose voice can soothe the soul.

"It sure took a lot of time to get here. I've been waiting for a long time."

"Come sit with me."

Astroth starts walking on his own as if the voice hypnotized his body. He moves around and sits on the chair opposite the lady. He was avoiding her gaze by bending his neck to the ground.

With a lot of curiosity about her appearance, he slowly lifts his neck and tries to capture her image in his eyes.

As he lifted his eyes from the ground, he saw the lady wearing blue sandals on beautiful white feet, a fancy white dress, and a red diamond-like necklace. Her figure was shining like a dazzling pearl.

When he looks at her face, her long shiny silver hair is the first thing that catches his attention, but his eyes do not perceive anything about her face. Though he could feel that she was beautiful, her face faded from his memory before he could remember it.

He squints his eyes to take a closer look and forgets his situation. Suddenly, the lady let out a hearty laugh.

"Don't worry, your eyes are alright. You're still not strong enough to remember my face. "

Astroth starts scratching his head while smiling.

"Who are you and where is this place?"

"..."

The lady doesn't respond, but instead pours tea for Astroth and offers him, sweets. He takes a sip while eating some biscuits.

The aroma and taste were profound and incredible, and he felt a deep sense of ecstasy in his heart. It was nearly impossible for him to describe the taste of every single item on the table. The lady smiles and speaks.

"I'm happy that my recipes are up to your taste."

"They're very delicious," Astroth replies in an instant.

"Hehe...You still have your childlike innocence despite being born alone." Her face takes on a sorrowful expression.

She resumes her words after a moment of silence.

"You don't have much time left. You have to become stronger and venture into the death forest. You will find all your answers there. "

"And when you become stronger, I'll call you again."

Before Astroth could say something, she snaps her fingers and a portal opens beneath his position.

"No! Wait! Who are you....."

Astroth wails as he falls into the portal in complete darkness until his consciousness leaves him.