The city felt completely silent in the cold night air. The path behind the old church was even quieter – old stone walls, broken crosses, and marks of burnt torches.
Ryu stood at the front, his face calm as always. Elira was slightly behind him, a mix of worry and curiosity reflected in her eyes. Kael held his sword ready, and Saren sat on a small stone, not even trying to hide the smile beneath his mask.
Saren came down to join them.
"You've come at the right time. The path down is through the church… but getting there won't be simple. There's an old lock system that just… needs a bit of breaking."
Kael gave a glare.
"So basically, you mean we have to steal and break it."
Saren laughed.
"Call it whatever you want. You just stay quiet while I open the lock."
Ryu looked directly into Saren's eyes and said simply,
"Hurry up."
---
Inside the church, the scent of old times lingered – damp earth, a faint smell of burning wood, and a slight chill in the air. The torchlight was just enough to make the darkness feel deeper.
Saren found a small compartment on the lower floor and started working on the lock with his knife. Seeing the speed of his fingers, Elira quietly looked at Ryu and whispered.
"We're trusting him… this is okay, right?"
Ryu just looked at her and gave a faint smile.
"We're not trusting him… we're trusting necessity."
At that moment, a soft click sounded. Saren stood up and lifted the small panel of the floor. Below was an old staircase disappearing into the darkness.
Saren picked up a small torch and smiled.
"Welcome to the catacombs."
---
The path down was even darker and damper. Old inscriptions covered the walls, sometimes remnants of ancient graves, and in places, broken skeletons lay scattered. Elira tried to hold her breath, a faint flicker of fear in her eyes. Kael followed behind, alert at every step.
Ryu led the way. Each of his steps was precise, as if he were inside a game, calculating every trap.
For a while, there was only silence, broken by the faint crackling of the torch. Then a strange smell filled the air – something rotting, but mixed with something else… something alive, something mourning.
Elira hid her face slightly and whispered.
"Something's… wrong here."
Ryu just lifted his head and looked at the walls; for a moment, a familiar chill sparkled in his eyes.
"Yes. We are not alone."
At that moment, a terrifying sound came from ahead – like chains being dragged. Saren immediately raised the torch down and said,
"This… this sound… I've never heard it before."
In the darkness, two glowing eyes appeared – not human, but something else. Slowly, the face emerged – a half-decayed body, larger than a human, with long, sharp teeth.
Elira stepped back and Kael immediately raised his sword.
Ryu stood silently, an old faint smile returning to his face.
"So, the real game begins now."
And the face lunged at them…
The creature struck straight at them with a vile roar. Its body was half-human, half something else… its long crooked teeth glinting in the moonlight and torchlight. Its eyes were red, as if it hungered not for life, but for blood.
Saren immediately hid to the side and shouted.
"This isn't human! Ryu, this… this is made by something else!"
Kael swung his sword at the creature, but the blow just scraped its decayed flesh, drawing only a little blood. The creature let out a bell-like roar and pushed Kael hard. He fell to the ground, his shoulder slightly torn.
Elira screamed,
"Kael!"
She started running towards him, but Ryu blocked her path with a single hand, his face completely calm.
"Elira… stay back."
The creature looked at Ryu and leapt at him again with a roar. Its speed was such that the air seemed to rush past for a moment.
Ryu just stepped aside; his hand was so controlled that the creature's strike only grazed the edge of his clothes. He landed a light punch on its neck – a simple punch, but it sounded like a hammer on stone. The creature slid back but did not fall… instead, it roared even more furiously and jumped at Ryu again.
Kael got up and shouted,
"Ryu! Its body is like iron, it's impossible to bring it down!"
Ryu observed the creature's movement for a moment, then a faint, slightly dangerous smile appeared on his face.
"Iron or stone… everything falls."
The creature attacked again, but this time Ryu caught its strike. His hand was just below its long teeth, and with a single jerk, he flipped the creature onto the ground. The thud echoed so loudly that the walls of the catacombs trembled.
Saren, surprised, said from behind,
"This man… he's not fighting like a human!"
The creature tried to get up, but Ryu, without pause, placed his foot on its neck and applied gentle pressure. The creature's roar slowly faded.
Elira looked at Ryu, a strange mixture of fear and concern on her face.
"Ryu… if you kill it, we won't learn anything!"
Ryu looked at her, then slightly loosened his foot. The creature gave a strange groan on the ground and let out an odd roar. Ryu sat close to it and gently held its neck with one hand.
"Who did this to you? You were human… who changed you?"
The creature's red eyes trembled for a moment. It murmured a single word –
"…Master…"
And in the next moment, the creature's body began shaking violently. Its eyes turned even redder, and then it suddenly exploded into tiny pieces – as if someone had destroyed its body in an instant.
A terrifying silence spread through the catacombs.
Kael picked up a small red crystal lying on the ground and said angrily,
"Who… could have done this?"
Ryu looked at the crystal, his eyes shining with that same old chill.
"Whoever it is… is waiting for us."
Saren smiled beneath his mask, though there was a hint of fear in his eyes.
"Master… seems like what's happening in the catacombs is just the beginning."
Ryu stood upright and said simply,
"Not the beginning… he just called us here."
From the far end of the catacombs, a faint sound echoed – as if something else was waiting for them.