Chapter 426: Another Tunnel

The tunnel was quiet now. Too quiet. The echoes of battle had faded, leaving only the faint drip of water and the heavy breathing of two figures moving through the dark. Damien’s hand brushed against the wall as they walked, his eyes narrowed.

Luton and Fenrir rejoined him first, the slime rippling in faint agitation while the wolf padded silently at his side.

Then, forty minutes later, a familiar shadow swooped in gently—the griffin, Aquila, wings folding neatly as it landed in the cramped space.

“All done,” Damien murmured, studying each of them. Their presence told him what he needed to know—the tunnels were all now cleared. Whatever beasts had been lured or bred into the passageways were gone.

Lyone, perched eagerly on Aquila’s back, leaned forward. “So… we’re done? Heading out now?”

“Not yet,” Damien replied, voice flat but certain. “There’s still the barrier to consider since we’ll be checking out every single part of these tunnels. Once we reach it, I’ll find a way through. Or destroy it.”

Lyone grimaced, but nodded. He’d seen enough of Damien’s power to know that if anyone could tear through the magical fortifications of Delwig, it was probably him. Still, the idea of destroying a city barrier made his skin crawl.

Damien stretched his shoulders, rolling them as if preparing for a long march. “No riding for me. I’ll walk. Burn some of this excess energy off.”

With that, the strange party set off. Lyone astride Aquila, the slime Luton rippling across Fenrir’s broad back, and Damien pacing steadily at their side.

~~~~~

Above, Captain Apnoch stood stiffly before the guards stationed around the barrier nexus. Arielle was beside him, arms crossed, her sharp gaze never leaving his face.

“You’re certain about this?” one of the guards asked nervously. “Disabling even a portion of the barrier leaves the city exposed.”

Apnoch’s reply was curt. “Not for long. Just enough to allow passage.”

The guard still hesitated. “And if something comes in while it’s down?”

Arielle finally spoke, her voice colder than steel. “Damien is down there. If there’s anything foolish enough to try, it won’t live to regret it.”

The guard swallowed but didn’t argue further. With a few quick motions, he and his partner began the ritual, pressing palms to the rune-etched stones.

A low hum filled the air, and faint lines of light spiderwebbed across the ground. Then, with a sound like glass fracturing, a section of the city’s barrier rippled—and deactivated.

The air felt suddenly thinner, raw, unshielded. Arielle’s jaw tightened.

“Done,” the guard announced, beads of sweat clinging to his brow.

“Good,” Apnoch said. “Now pray that man makes it worth the risk.”

Arielle didn’t answer, but in her chest, her heart hammered with unspoken worry.

~~~~~

Damien’s group reached the barrier not long after. Lyone tensed when the smooth surface of energy came into view—or what should have been energy. Instead, the space was empty, the faint shimmer of resistance entirely absent.

Damien stopped, frowning. He extended a hand to touch the air. Nothing.

“…Hn.” His lips curved in a faint, humorless smile. “Apnoch.”

Lyone tilted his head. “What about him?”

Damien didn’t answer immediately. His eyes narrowed, studying the faint traces of dismantled runes etched along the wall. “The captain’s handiwork. He had the barrier disabled. How convenient. Did he come to the conclusion that I’d want to pass through the barrier?”

He almost sounded disappointed, as if a small part of him had wanted to test himself against the city’s defenses. But he shook it off quickly, motioning for Aquila to continue forward.

“Come. This way.”

They passed through the empty threshold and emerged into a different kind of tunnel.

Here, the walls were smoother, worn down not by wild beasts but by repeated use. The stone looked polished in places, the floor tamped flat by countless boots.

Lyone looked around in awe. “This isn’t like the other tunnels. It feels… lived in.”

“Not lived,” Damien corrected. “Used.” His eyes traced the walls, sharp and calculating. “This was no accident. These tunnels weren’t simply dug to bypass the barrier. They were carved for efficiency. Regular travel. A network.”

The further they walked, the clearer it became. Torches had once been mounted along the walls—empty brackets still clung in neat rows. The occasional crate or barrel sat abandoned, half-rotted. The faint smell of smoke and oil lingered in the air.

But there were no people.

“Where is everyone?” Lyone asked, whispering despite himself.

“Gone,” Damien said simply. He crouched near one wall, running a finger along a groove in the stone. “And recently.”

“How do you know?”

He lifted his finger, showing the faint smudge of soot it had collected. “Still fresh. They pulled out in a hurry. Likely regrouped somewhere else.”

Lyone frowned. “Another base?”

Damien straightened, scanning the darkness ahead. “Of course. You don’t invest this much effort into a network just to abandon it.”

His tone was cold, certain. “No. They fled here because they had somewhere else to go. Another nest. Another heart.”

Lyone’s hands tightened around his blade. A chill crept down his spine at Damien’s certainty.

Damien motioned for him to follow and began sweeping through the abandoned space. He checked the barrels, the walls, even the floor stones, searching for traces of symbols or hidden compartments.

Nothing substantial revealed itself, but the details painted a picture—a supply depot, a meeting place, a thoroughfare that had been cleared within the last day.

The boy finally asked the question pressing on him. “Damien… do you think they knew we’d find this place?”

“Yes,” Damien replied without hesitation. “And they wanted us to. This evacuation was deliberate. They didn’t cover their tracks completely.”

Lyone’s throat went dry. “Then it’s a trap?”

Damien’s eyes glinted in the dim light. “Not yet. But it looks like it will be if left alone.”

Up above, Arielle stood at the barricades long after Apnoch had left to see to his men. She watched the horizon where the barrier shimmered faintly, now reactivated, her chest heavy with unease.

“Damien…” she whispered under her breath, fists clenching at her sides. “What exactly are you chasing down there?”

The night air offered no reply.

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