CHAPTER 102:The Heist 4

"More tunnels!" Leo sighed, turning down another corner that looked exactly like all the ones he had passed through before.

Out of sheer boredom, he retrieved the ancient map, taking a satisfied look at the last corner that would finally lead him to the catacombs. "About time." Leo grinned, his azure eye brimming with sheer joy as it narrowed on the fresh mana threads before him.

"I wonder what it leads to?" Leo pondered this a bit, restraining himself from abandoning his mission and pursuing this enticing trail.

And so, he continued, taking what would be his last turn before finally getting face-to-face with a sight that not many could brag about.

Rows of giant earthen shelves were inlaid into the walls, each of them housing skulls of different shapes and sizes. At first glance, one would think these were normal humans, but Leo's brief dabbles into anatomy over the years enabled him to notice one significant difference: the teeth.

A feature—besides elongated ears—that set apart the elves from their humanoid counterparts. Unlike most humans and dwarves, elves had no canines; something that many had attributed to their early ancestors' vegetarian lifestyle. Presently, many elves still hunted and ate meat, though this change had yet to be reflected in their dentition.

"So, these are the skulls of elven royals." Leo stepped closer for a better look. A few he noticed belonged to children, while others had long cracks running across their surface—aftermath from severe battles no doubt. "Come to think of it..." Leo sniffed around, surprised how Elyrian royalty only buried the skulls of their dead. "And yet this place doesn't have any form of lingering reek." Leo tapped his chin as he came to a sudden realization.

Meaning they didn't bury heads.

"Or..." Leo raised a finger as another assumption hit him. "Perhaps the deceased bodies are buried elsewhere, after which the skulls are removed when decomposed."

"Elves and their customs." He couldn't help but sigh, continuing further down the catacombs toward the center where the Ancients—and consequently Elhyr's corpse—must remain.

Leo's journey had now taken a different turn since it was just straightforward now with no turns of any kind in sight. And yet he couldn't shake off the strange feeling warning him that something was keeping watch over the many mud shelves.

Just to be sure, Leo switched to the azure eye, using it briefly in case he was to run into another threat like the earlier golem. Once again, his instinct was right.

"Another golem?" Leo frowned, watching the maroon-like silhouette standing some meters from him. "How did I not notice this with my night vision?" Another question popped up, and Leo didn't need a soothsayer to tell him that the being in front of him was bad news.

"Maroon?"

"Just great." A silent growl escaped from Leo's lips. As if he hadn't seen enough strange mana signatures. Staring down at his cloak made Leo come to a conclusion that he didn't like.

"The core's mana signature is red." Leo drew both daggers out, creeping forward, though it was very likely that the silhouette in front of him knew perfectly well where he was. "And this one's own is kind of red?"

Leo's mind traveled far back to a lesson with Gerald on colors. "I think maroon was a mixture of red and brown."

"The red of vampires and the brown I see in trees?" Leo was already getting closer, not daring to dismiss the azure eye. "What sort of creature is this?"

"Invisible to all five senses." Leo could only imagine how deadly this foe was going to be. "Unfortunately, though," a low smile crept up to his lips, "I have six."

ROAR!!

"What the—" Leo was taken aback by the creature's sudden outburst. There was no time for any further thoughts because he could now see maroon-colored threads swelling beneath the ground, traveling forward with great speed.

"Just like Wulfe." Leo almost spat on recalling that memory. Still, he made use of that experience and sidestepped a huge attack that resembled swirling maroon threads in the shape of sharp rising roots. Running forward brought him out of the range of a few fast-moving projectiles, and soon enough Leo and the strange silhouette were face-to-face.

ROAR!

A maroon arm burst from the silhouette, piercing through the air as five sword-sized claws aimed to take Leo's head off his shoulders. Leo sidestepped, bringing himself out of harm's way before sending forth an attack of his own.

The maroon silhouette split into five pieces, each falling to the ground in a sort of defeat that would have fooled many. But not someone gifted with the azure eye.

"Below," Leo told himself, jumping out of the reach of other rounds of creeping roots. The creature had Leo where it wanted to be and soon enough took advantage of Leo's reduced mobility.

Whizz

"Sh*t." Leo barely dodged a fast-moving maroon shard.

ROAR!!

Rows of maroon shards soared through the space, many embedding themselves into the tunnel's roof as they still failed to hit their target.

The maroon silhouette seemed surprised by this, especially now that his opponent continued running across the walls, evading the projectiles and getting a new angle for another attack.

"Now's my chance." Azure claws appeared on Leo's hands, each slashing in unity at the enemy below. Again, the attack tore through the silhouette and continued to travel forward, surprisingly fizzling out on striking a nearby earthen shelf; the skulls on it remaining still as though nothing had happened.

"Interesting." Leo thought, hurling his dagger at the seemingly resurrected silhouette.

A quick roll brought it out of harm's way, leaving the blade to get stuck inside the eye socket of a large skull. "That confirms it." Leo smiled, landing onto the floor just in time before a wave of maroon shards struck the wall.

"It's just like the golem." Leo thought, dodging another claw swipe before retaliating with a punch of his own. As he expected, the silhouette staggered back a little, sending a few roots after him to give it time to recover.

"The runes and spells responsible for both of you," Leo tore through the rising roots, gaining distance with a glowing right hand that exuded great power, "protect you from any magical attacks and spells—not physical ones!" Leo finished the statement with a well-aimed punch that the silhouette managed to sidestep, instantly retaliating with a claw strike so close that it was sure his opponent would be affected.

CRACK

ROAR!

The roar this time seemed bewildered, staring at the glowing blue hand still clutching onto the massive claws.

BOOM

The silhouette struck the mud shelf behind it with such force that it seemed to put a crack on whatever protective runes surrounded the catacomb.

"Now what are you?" Leo walked forward, right arm and left leg glowing bright in the darkness. The silhouette responded with another surprise attack.

Leo leapt into the air, evading the rows of roots that desperately tried to impale him. "Another mystery." His glowing right arm recoiled like a tensed bow, releasing a dagger that flew forward with a ghastly light.

"Unsolved." He landed on the ground, cleaning the few drops of blood gathering around his right eye. "I just hope there won't be more of you."

To his amazement, the silhouette vanished without a trace. Stooping down, Leo collected his blade and after one last look with his azure eye, retrieved the second blade.

"Let's get this over with." Leo lost count of how many times he had said that today and soon enough disappeared back into the darkness.