Dungeon Raider System

Chapter 64  Odd trio

Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Inside the priestess temple Uriel then studied the dagger on his hands. It was miles apart from the ruinous dagger he picked up from the tomb because it had been repaired after absorbing the mystical essence from the orbs that had been crushed next to it. Thanks to that the carvings on it were now clear enough to read.

[Offer thy heart]

It was all the dagger said, no enigmatic ancient riddle, no clear mundane instruction, it was something in between but cryptic nonetheless.

'This must be how it is activated, but is it literal or is it a metaphor?' If taken literal, it meant that in order to use the dagger Uriel had to pierce his own heart with it, while if it was a metaphor, it could mean many different things ranging from being chaste, to devote oneself to a certain cause. It could even mean to fall in love.

The dagger didn't offer any clue as to what building could possibly be responsible for keeping up the protective field either, so Uriel shifted his attention to the remaining POIs as that could prove to be more useful than lingering on what he couldn't yet decipher.

The worst part of Uriel's situation wasn't being alone inside a decayed and ruined old temple surrounded on all sides by starving cryptids, but the imminent feeling of danger the presence of the two immobile horrors emanated after waking up. Ever since the earthquake shook the earth he had been feeling uneasy and on edge. Despite that, what scared him the most about them wasn't just the oppressing aura, but the fact that Uriel didn't know a single thing about them, there was no mention of any such creature in all of the books he had read, nothing that even resembled them. The only thing he knew was that nothing that came out of the platform of the descending god could be good news.

He needed to figure out a way to seal them or at least to survive long enough to be able to evacuate the site, and he needed to do it fast because as the mist spread across the terrain the battle sounds were muffled and then everything fell into silence. The previously hot and humid tropical air had now become a chilly windless aura that enveloped everything.

Quick footsteps drew in closer by the second pulling Uriel back from his thoughts. It was of no use to solve the mystery if he didn't make it alive. His only reaction was to swiftly summon his magnum revolver, cock the hammer and point it towards the entrance, praying that one bullet would be enough to protect himself from whatever horrible creature appeared in front of him.

"Don't shoot!" Flanagan waved his hands in the air as he got inside the building closely followed by Nika.

"Where's the rest of the team?" Uriel asked worriedly.

"Who knows, there's no time to to worry about other people." Nika coldly interrupted. "Did you figure out which building it is we need to activate?"

Not only did she bring reinforcements, she also brought a backpack filled to the brim with fully charged tier 3 batteries. Uriel picked one and put it in his pocket. It was a bit too big for his small pocket but, regrettably, he didn't have a thigh bag like Nika.

"I'm stuck, there's nothing to go by, no clues to follow." Uriel lowered his gaze.

"You're the smartest man in this site, we need you to figure it out now!" Nika insisted.

"If I'm the smartest then we're screwed! I'm just a college student! What could possibly lead you to believe I can solve this on my own!?" Uriel felt the immense pressure of the responsibility weighing on his shoulders. So far, he had only experienced the good side of being taken as an expert and now he that he had expectations to meet, it had become a burden. Just when he was about to give up, someone he didn't expect came to the rescue.

"I think I may have the answer," Flanagan stated. "But I can't really be sure. An old business partner from back in the day was completely obsessed over the fountain of youth, he told me about..."

"Cut the crap Flanagan, just get to the point already." Nika said in exasperation. It was one thing to endure Uriel's constant ramblings because she was getting paid for that, but Flanagan was one of her subordinates.

"Certainly, Miss Nika. I think it's the pyramid, if I'm correct it was called 'the castle' by the locals. It would only make sense that such a building was destined for defense and fortification of the area." By the time Flanagan finished his explanation, Uriel was convinced and had already made up his mind.

"There's no harm in trying and I can't think of a better option."

Nika quickly poked her head outside the entrance of the priestess temple to scan their surroundings. Everything was covered in mist and there weren't any sounds or shadows, but it was still possible to see at about fifteen meters without problem.

"This mist is giving me the creeps, there's no sounds of fighting but on the way here I noticed the battle was still ongoing." On the way back to meet with Uriel she found several cryptid corpses laying around in the process of vanishing, others were running amok the place and, much to Nika's surprise, some were attacking other cryptids. What confused her even more was the fact that all cryptids, safe for the jaguar, did also attack humans on sight. The only way to describe the battlefield was 'chaotic'. "We won't be able to make a run for it without drawing too much attention." Nika's declared, but it took no one by surprise. Both Flanagan and Uriel knew they were still far from safety and the fact that they couldn't hear any sounds didn't mean the battle had subsided.

"Then I guess I'll stay behind to draw attention and cover your back. We can meet at the castle later." Flanagan proposed and Nika was pleased by his seemingly altruistic initiative.

"It seems you can use your head from time to time." She smiled with pride at his dutiful subordinate.

The odd trio comprised by a young college student, a pretty woman with a belligerent attitude and an old man who used to be a businessman, came out of the building guns blazing as they advanced across the field with difficulty. Trying their best to avoid tripping over cryptid corpses. Unfortunately for Uriel, his ammunition ran out after the first shot and he limited himself to run in a crouched position behind Nika, covering his head as best he could to reduce the chances of friendly fire.