Chapter 39: Chain and Flame
Unlike the Worm Mines, which were full of Worm Crystals, the Crimson Crystal Cavern lacked anything so common and valuable at the same time.
Sure, there were many red crystals constantly growing out of the walls. They lit the way for both humans and monsters and contained a small amount of energy, but mining them was too dangerous and unprofitable.
It was also impossible to use the numerous streams of flame shooting out of the ground, at least with the technology and tools available to the Kreyn or Boneveil Village.
However, for some reason, even the Wurhen Family wanted to gain control of this cavern. There had to be a reason for this, and there was one: the energy.
In places with large concentrations of energy, interesting things happened from time to time, especially if no one interfered with the processes. The Crimson Crystal Cavern was just such a place.
To some extent, this cave was a treasure chest surrounded by traps on all sides.
Crash. Crash. Crash.
Grabbing falling rocks, Kreyn, Daren, and Groza struggled up the slope, which was as easy as a walk for the red lizard.
"Damn it! My arms are about to fall off!" Kreyn made one last push to reach the top.
"Gha... Gha... Gha..." Groza and Daren collapsed on the ground next to him.
The climb had only taken them a few minutes, but it would have been a difficult task even for an experienced rock climber.
The red lizard jerked its head forward as Kreyn’s eyes widened.
A spacious area opened up before them, a veritable field in the depths of the caves, countless crystals covering the many passages leading to this place.
But the main part was the streams of flame raging from the ground like the wrath of an awakened volcano.
The red lizard had brought them here for a reason. After all, it was its chance to survive, so Kreyn quickly noticed the real treasure.
The black chain hovered in the center of the fiery inferno while the red fire flows swirled around it, forming a protective orb.
In a heartbeat, everyone immediately understood what it was, but strangely enough, Daren was the first to speak.
"Artifact... The Natural One...?" He muttered in disbelief.
Kreyn turned to him.
"Do you know something about this?"
"This..." Daren gulped. "Just a bit. I’ve heard that Artifacts born from energy are much more valuable and powerful than those created or even obtained from the Echo. It requires a lot of energy, the right conditions, and a long period of time. At the same time, no one should interfere with the formation process. In other words, it’s freaking rare!"
"I see." Kreyn grinned and turned to the red lizard. "Well done. You are free to go."
As soon as Kreyn gestured to the side, the red lizard turned and ran away as fast as it could. It had had enough stress for one day.
Groza crossed her arms over her chest.
"Don’t you think you’re too kind to monsters? You should have just killed it when that pathetic lizard attacked Daren!"
Her was understandable. Unlike Kreyn, there had been monsters in Groza’s World from the very beginning, and after the arrival of energy, the situation only got worse. Every inhabitant of her world, including her, had seen monsters as nothing more than a threat since childhood.
Kreyn understood all this as well, but his mind worked differently.
"Yeah? And what would you have achieved in that case?" Kreyn gave her a mocking glare. "Would I wander around the caves for hours, fighting off every monster I encountered? Without this lizard, we wouldn’t have made it here in a week."
Groza rolled her eyes. She didn’t agree with that, but she couldn’t deny that the red lizard had actually been useful.
"What are we going to do with it?" Daren pointed to the black chain.
"Hah, isn’t it obvious? We’re going to take it! If something unexpected happens, we’ll run after the one who reacted first. Together, we have a better chance of protecting ourselves."
...
Strangely enough, none of the monsters tried to stop them. There was no one near the streams of flame.
At least, that’s how it seemed at first.
Step.
Kreyn stepped forward, ready to move along the path leading straight to the Artifact. The fire did not scare him, as his eyes saw only the black chain.
At the same moment, the air around him trembled as two flaming spirits appeared out of nowhere. They had no physical bodies, just elongated silhouettes with long arms, eager to cover and burn Kreyn.
Whooooosh.
Immediately, two purple wolves tore the flaming spirits to shreds, but that was only the beginning.
Kreyn turned around to see Groza defending herself from the spirits. She swung her sword as electric discharges blew up the monsters.
However, with each passing moment, the flaming spirits grew in number, forcing Daren and Groza to stand shoulder to shoulder to cope with the pressure.
"Something’s wrong..." Kreyn muttered to himself as his eyes darted from side to side. "We’ve already killed ten of them, but they keep appearing. What’s more, they’re moving from one side..."
Suddenly, a smirk spread across Kreyn’s face as he lunged in the opposite direction of the spirits. Their long arms tried to grab him, and some managed to burn his shoulders, but he didn’t care.
Crack.
His Catalyst appeared in his hand as he swung his dark sword, cutting through the newly appeared spirit and the stone column behind it.
The stones scattered with a crash as two red eyes with vertical pupils filled with fear. The frightened monster seemed unable to believe that Kreyn had figured out its cunning plan!
"Here you are." Kreyn’s hoarse voice rang out as he pounced on the monster like a wild beast.
His sword pierced the ground, cutting the cheek of a short girl. Her unusual eyes, height, two horns, and red demonic wings clearly showed that she was not human.
But calling her a fearsome monster was difficult, at least for Kreyn.
"Wait, wait, wait!" she exclaimed in horror. "Don’t kill me! It was just a joke!"
Clutch.
Kreyn grabbed her face as her cheeks tightened, pushing her lips forward in a funny grimace.
"So..." Kreyn leaned in. "Who the hell are you?"
The girl tried to smile innocently.
"N-No one...?"