The Wrong Hero

Chapter 15 - Doom's Alchemist

The mining complex looked like it was some sort of small excavation site. Every level was a square ring, starting at around 150 feet long near the top and getting smaller as it went down. Five layers down, there were tunnels that went off in four directions. If Dante had to guess, after finding a large amount of ore near the surface, the miners went down further in hopes of finding more. There were smaller deposits further in, according to Eclair, but nothing like what was first unearthed.

The tunnels seemed to go forward at a decline before turning, if the western tunnel was any indication. It was the one with the most sunlight pouring into it.

Of course, the dead monsters on the ground were more concerning.

"It doesn't look like that thing was responsible for this." Eclair said, pointing out the slash wound on the dead dog monster. It looked like it had been left out to rot.

"That was from the wave..." Raphtalia stared down at the beast.

"I thought you might say that." Dante leaned over and absorbed the monster into his shield.

Black Dog Shield
(abilities locked) equip bonus: agility bonus (small)

Dante looked around the site. There were several more dogs around, but no other monsters.

"Were there any other monsters that came in the wave?" He asked as he went around absorbing more of them.

"Ah, yeah." Raphtalia snapped herself from her thoughts. "There were skeletons, too, and dogs with two head. The largest one had three. That one..."

"You don't need to say it." Dante gave her a look. Raphtalia had told Dante and Sadeena what happened to her parents while on the road from Idol's. Of course, Dante already knew, and he'd told Sadeena ahead of time to prepare her.

What Dante wasn't aware of before was what happened to the other two. Rifana lost her mother to a dog and her father to one of the knights. Keel's father died to a dog, but his mother had died when he was younger. Neither one was happy being around these monsters.

"I don't see any people around." Sadeena noted. "And I'm not hearing anything from the tunnels."

"So they're all gone?" Dante asked, absorbing a pickaxe that was underneath one of the dogs. The mining bonus was sure to be helpful here.

"Hmmm." Sadeena looked toward the tunnel closest to her. "It's more like I'm hearing nothingness."

"I don't follow." Dante said.

"I mean, I don't even hear the echoes from our voices."

"Oh." That could mean something was suppressing the sound. It was good for keeping nosy people away, and for disrupting Sadeena's echolocation.

"How should we do this?" Eclair looked towards the tunnel.

"One tunnel at a time." Dante said. "Although, eight of us going in at once will probably be a bit much."

"Agreed." Eclair nodded. "Who will be going in?"

"Not you. You'll stay out here with Sadeena."

Eclair shook her head. "Sir MacRory, I can fight now. I'm not here to be put on the side."

"That's fair, but you only recently regained that ability, not to mention everything you've gone through already." It hadn't even been a full day since they found her. A good night's sleep helped, but Dante knew she'd need more than that, even with the healing items they used on her. She hadn't practiced much with her gauntlet either, seeing as she spent most of her time riding in the carriage.