The sun had begun to set when Aron, Jagu and Jin finally began roaming the forest below the airship for the exact coordinates they were looking for.
"The coordinates aren't very clear either we're within five hundred meters of it, just keep your eyes open." Aron paused while they were walking and pointed out as he closed the map Scarlett had given them.
"That's not a bad distance, we can split up and cover more ground until one of us gets lucky enough to find whatever it is we're looking for." Jin suggested and Aron began to ponder while looking around for any clue he could use but suddenly Jagu stepped forward and began sniffing the air around them.
"That way, there's a scent in that direction. Don't you smell it?" Jagu asked causing Aron to turn in the direction he pointed out. Aron then took in the air from that direction before furrowing his brows.
"A pungent smell of blood." Aron answered to Jagu causing him to smirk and nod.
"Not, bad human, you have a good nose." Jagu complimented before he began walking in the direction of the scent he had picked up.
Unknown to Jagu and Jin, Aron like most beast mongers had incredible senses. So much so in his case because his resemblance to the Limbo Strider, most of the time he'd dull them himself for convenience leaving only his sight sharpened.
The closer Jagu, Jin and Aron got to the origin of the pungent smell, the more they all became alert. No one had pointed out the change in atmosphere, but it was very apparent from the changing expressions of everyone.
It didn't take them long to arrive at the source of the pungent smell, a cave hidden in behind a bushy area of the forest. On the outside it looked quite beautiful but if one paid close attention they'd notice something was off about the area and that was exactly the case with Jin who always paid extra attention to his surroundings.
"Talk about creepy, I found it a bit odd that a forest this rich in vegetation didn't have a single animal in sight. But the more I look at this cave the more I want to go in, like it's drawing me in some way." Jin's explanation caused Aron to only ponder for a moment before he came to a possible conclusion.
"Then everyone may want to be on high alert and stick close. Until we're sure we can only proceed cautiously, however if you feel anything so much as get close to you...strike first" Aron advised before removing one of his arcane guns from their holster and proceeding forward towards the cave with a small frown on his face and a faint glow in his eyes.
Jagu's ears flattened and his fur seemed to rise a bit all over while the pupils of his eyes became thinner as he followed Aron from behind. Jin only took a deep breath and muttered something in a low tone before performing an odd hand gesture and following as well.
Upon entering the cave, a cool wind breezed by the group causing them to each glance at each other for a moment before proceeding.
Despite the inside of the cave being pitch black, none of them bothered to mention the need for light and continued walking.
As they went deeper into the cave, they began to see more traces of blood and dead animal's parts hung all over, from the ceiling to the walls. The source of the pungent smell, now becoming clear.
"Not exactly welcoming, I don't think I've ever heard of a creature that does this." Jin commentated while letting out a sigh.
"Quite a few do this actually to deter curious beings but not so openly, there's definitely something odd here." Aron replied in a skeptical tone as the group continued to delve deeper into the cave, passing numerous diverging tunnels and only going where the smell of death was strongest.
After walking for a good while, they came to a halt near two large stone doors with many strange markings in blood on them. By the side of the door there were also two dim crystals mounted into the wall, the only light Aron and the group had come across since entering the foul cave.
"Seems we've reached our destination, looks to sophisticated to belong to your average creature." Aron muttered momentarily before continuing forward towards the two large stone doors.
"I'm not sure whether how calm you two are about this situation should be reassuring or worrying." Jin added before following while Jagu shrugged and chuckled confidently.
"I doubt we'll find anything we can not kill." Jagu uncaringly commented before all three held the two large stone doors and pushed.
The stone doors moved slowly and with much friction against the ground as they slowly revealed a dimly lit hall with numerous crystals mounted into it's rocky ceiling.
Aron was the first to enter and upon doing so immediately began looking around the strange room. Everything present within from large odd pillars to a strange altar at the center was made of the exact same stone material that covered the entirety of the cave.
Soon Jagu and Jin walked in as well and went to stand beside Aron while also scanning the room. The most obvious feature present was the many animal and human body parts scattered and hung all over. The largest heap being the one on the strange altar at the center of the room.
"This... doesn't look like somewhere one goes to find treasure." Jin began to feel more uneasy about the room the longer they stayed but Jagu simply saw this as being cowardly and laughed.
"You humans fret over the littlest of things, so what if there are dead bodies all over. Whose to say I'll join them." Jagu confidently declared when all of a sudden the large stone doors they came through slammed shut.
At that exact moment, all three turned around at the exact time and wore serious expressions while reaching for their weapons. Their gazes however weren't focused on the stone large doors but instead two pitch black circles on the ground near them.
The circles continued to expand until suddenly a pale white hand with darkened spots emerged from each one. Not long long after that, an entire body crawled out from one circle while another soon emerged from the other.
Both figures had slightly humanoid appearances. The one to the right was roughly eight feet tall and had it's back arched. It's face had only long curved horns where one would expect to find it's eyes with no nose but it did have an oddly shaped mouth that exposed its sharp teeth.
It's hands looked like that of a human but much larger and held a pitch black bell with a long rope attached of the same color. Then for its legs, they were joined oddly like a deer's hind legs then lastly a long reptilian tail with a spiked end.
The figure to the left was more or less the same except it stood upright and it's face was completely covered by a bloody cloth with a spiked wire crowning it's head. Another feature that separated these two odd creatures was that the one to the left had four arms, the two lower ones held two pitch black blades while the left upper hand held a strange ceremonial object while it's right upper hand had a long black staff that was even longer than its body with a cross at the helm.
"Krish.....Sha....Su....Graku...." The two creature's voices echoed through the room in unison as they muttered these strange words while looking at Aron, Jin and Jagu.
"What are those things?" Jagu asked as he gave them an odd look and prepared to attack. Jin only shook his head before turning to Aron who had his eyes dead set on them.
'They don't match any creature I've read about in any index and the ring isn't responding either...' Aron pondered before firmly gripping his arcane gun in the left hand while holding a sword in the right.
"Just fight like your life depends on it because it does, let's not make the mistake of underestimating the unknown." Aron advised before pointing his arcane gun forward and pulling the trigger.
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