Chapter 4 :Underground

The team slowly descended into the bottomless darkness of the cave. The light had completely vanished. Beatrice took a lighter out of her pocket, and they continued their path by its small flame. Around them lay decayed human corpses and skulls. They kept moving forward until they heard a sound echoing from within the cave.

Kael drew his sword. Four Karnak emerged from the darkness. One immediately leaped at Kael, but as fast as it attacked, it was cut down. The other three began laughing and started transforming into their monstrous forms. Two of them advanced toward the group. Ywain unsheathed his sword and stepped in front of Beatrice.

"Kael, how about we work together?" Ywain asked.

Kael sighed. "Not like we have a choice, do we?"

"I'll take the big one. You handle the smaller one," Kael said before launching himself at the largest Karnak. His first strike landed successfully, but it only inflicted a minor wound, which healed almost instantly. Without hesitation, the Karnak counterattacked, punching Kael with immense force. The impact sent him flying backward, crashing into the ground.

Ywain cursed under his breath. He had no time to hesitate—the Karnak before him struck first. Meanwhile, the other Karnak was moving in to finish off Kael.

"Limit... released," Ywain muttered, before suddenly vanishing from sight. Before the Karnak could react, Ywain had already appeared behind it. In an instant, the creature's body was sliced in two. Without wasting time, Ywain turned to the remaining Karnak.

Kael managed to get back on his feet, but his opponent was still far too strong. He shifted into a defensive stance, parrying the Karnak's relentless strikes. However, each attack wore down his blade, and his strength was fading. Just as hope was about to slip away, Kael took a deep breath. Channeling all his fury, he launched himself at the Karnak and struck it down in a single, final blow.

Beatrice, shocked by what she had just witnessed, dropped her lighter.

"Incredible..."

Meanwhile, Ywain had already engaged in battle with the last Karnak. Despite releasing his limit, the creature was overwhelming him.

Kael, covered in blood, picked up his sword from the ground and rushed in to assist. Together, after a brutal struggle, they finally defeated the Karnak. Both of them collapsed to the ground in exhaustion.

Beatrice walked over and smiled. "A little rest wouldn't hurt," she said.

However, the knight immediately stood up and extended his hand to help Kael up.

"Let's keep moving," Ywain said.

Kael nodded. "Yeah, let's go."

Beatrice, though silent, simply responded, "Very well."

As they continued their journey, they eventually arrived at a strange area. The surroundings were covered in webs, and cocoon-like structures hung from every surface.