The Deal with the Demon Prince

*Chapter Twenty*

*Chapter Twenty*

Thump.

Aurora’s eyes fluttered open, and she immediately sat up, spewing out the water she had gulped when she drowned. Aurora panted and groaned. If she ever planned to die, she would definitely not choose the drowning way. Wherever she was, it was warm. Also, it felt nothing like underwater. The place she was in was pitch black, making it impossible to see even an inch in front of her face. She tried to stand up but was immediately knocked down. Her face contorted in disgust when she felt a slimy substance drop from above her and onto her.

Wait.

What was the last thing she saw again?

Thump.

Aurora bolted upright only to hit her head against the low ceiling once again. Her hair stood up on her arm, and she shivered in utter disgust as she realized where exactly she was. Suddenly, the notion of drowning to death sounded much more pleasant than being digested alive.

Thump.

Whatever was around her contracted, and Aurora felt herself slip lower by a feet. She squealed and recoiled when more of the sticky substance was dropped onto her. She winced when the substance, much like acid, slowly corroded her skin. She tried to remove the substance, but it was futile. Her entire body burned as if it was being set on fire.

Thump.

She would have yelped out if the slimy substance wouldn’t have entered her mouth. She slipped another few inches lower.

Oh god, she was going to be treated as mere food and to be digested. Aurora told herself not to think about it, but the more she tried, the harder it got. Finally, the image of her passing through an imaginary stomach and intestine flashed across her mind. At the end, she flinched at the sight of herself in the form of excretion.

Thump.

Her eyes traveled around even though she could see anything. She grunted. There was no way she was calmly letting herself being transformed into any form of excretion by any creatures.

Thump.

Her head turned towards the sound of the rhythmically thumping sound, and a wild thought crossed her mind. Could that be the creature’s heart? Whatever it was, it sounded incredibly close to her. Aurora twisted around even more, and her stomach sank. She had no weapon. She shook her head. She wouldn’t give up. There was a small spark of light, and Aurora strained her eyes to see into the darkness.

Was that…?

Adrian could swear that it was mocking them. Realizing that their flames dealt as much damage as a feather against a rock, both Adrian and Phoebe resolved to physical attacks. Phoebe, who was adept in demonic flames, was almost useless in physical combat. It was her weakness, and she hated it. The more the creature mocked them, the more furious Phoebe seemed to get. Another thing she hated, insignificant creatures mocking her.

“You’re just a goddamn Lino,” she yelled as she parried another attack from the long tentacle. “How dare you attack the Demon Princess?”

Now that Phoebe mentioned it, the creature did resemble a Lino – Lino was the abbreviation of the creature that looked like a chimera of the Loch Ness Monster and a kraken as the real name was really too long to be pronounced. Adrian almost forgot…

“Hey, Walking Wikipedia, what’s the thing’s weakness?”

“Don’t use that ridiculous human name on me. I’m going to beat your arse,” she threatened, raising her hand and shooting a ball of flame towards the tentacle. It slowed for a moment, but the flame dealt it no harm.