At the far side of the cavern, there was what appeared to be a large crack in the wall just wide enough for a grown man to enter without trouble. Light flowed through the massive crack, brightening the cavern with a radiance that would blind the eyes used to the darkness. Normally, a light at the end of the tunnel would be a comforting sight. However, all the Henrietta Company could think of was what kind of danger could possibly lie ahead. This was, after all, still within the Dungeon. Coupled with the fact that there was a thick smell of blood in the air, they instinctively raised their guard.

Examining their surroundings, the Henrietta Company found pools of blood as well as the fallen and even mutilated bodies of Dreadlings strewn about. Thinking back, it did felt like the Dreadlings they've encountered on the way were in much smaller groups than what they had dealt with before. At the time, they assumed that they might have hunted them too aggressively, causing a drop in population. While it couldn't be said that their hunting did not affect anything, there was clearly another force at work here. If that was the case, what would said force be? Best case scenario, they are Dungeoneers who wounded up exploring further than the Henrietta Company did. Of course, Dungeoneers weren't the only thing that could be out there.

The Dungeon, Hidden Haven, possessed a biome containing an unusual variety of creatures, and of the notable ones discovered around the Rocky Hills, there were the large green-skinned creatures. Though not yet officially named, the Dungeoneers had been calling them the 'Orcus' or 'Orcs', after the mythical, cannibalistic creature of similar appearance. From rumors alone, it has been made clear that even a single one was difficult to take down.

Cautiously, while not losing sight of their surroundings, Auguste and Gladiolus approached the crack. There was a sense of jaggedness to its edges, as if it had not yet been weathered down. On the ground, debris looking like they were made of the same things as the surrounding walls were found. All signs pointed towards the crack being something rather recent. Perhaps someone or something opened it by accident, or perhaps there had already been a small crack there and someone had gone ahead and widened it. Either way, these Dreadlings couldn't have killed themselves. Whatever had killed them might very well be on the other side of this crack.

The party had to decide whether to move together or send a scout. Recognizing that there was a threat of being ambushed the moment they walked out, the Henrietta Company decided to proceed as a group. The decision to stick together was unanimous. The party could not afford, or bear, the loss of a member.

Leading the party through the crack, Finn took the point, followed immediately by Henrietta and Auguste. Behind them were Gladiolus and Morganna. Finally, there was Elaine. When they emerge from the cave, they found themselves in a forest. As if welcoming them, a slight breeze rustled the branches and caressed their cheeks. Above, they spot the luminescent ceiling that created the illusion of an open sky without clouds. They were still within Hidden Haven, that much was certain.

The party was on guard, remaining close to the entrance to the cave behind them, they scanned their surroundings. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at first glance, but after a moment or two, the abnormality stuck out like a sore thumb. In this forest, they could hear the songs of birds in the trees and the cries of beasts in the distance. On the ground, Auguste even spotted the tail of a snake slithering into the bushes, causing goosebumps to rise on his skin. This place, it was akin to a forest above ground.

While it wasn't as if this Dungeon didn't have creatures similar to birds, those were more of a cross between a bird and some kind of reptile, having feathered limbs and capable of gliding across the air instead of true flight. The Dungeoneers called it a Cockatrice, though it certainly did not possess the death inflicting glare or was as big as the mythical counterpart. Here, however, on the other side of the Rocky Hills, there were birds, bipedal creatures of flight that were as mundane as can be flying overhead.

This place that the party had found themselves in was normal, which in turn made it abnormal as far Dungeons were considered.

"We're surrounded," Gladiolus suddenly said.

Auguste did not understand why Gladiolus would think that as he widened his view, trying to catch anything moving or out of place in his sight. He couldn't spot anything and neither could he hear anything out of place. The forest was lively and unafraid, its denizens singing without a care in the world. It wasn't the eerie silence that Gladiolus had taught Auguste to watch out for. But, just as he thought so, the songs went silent and they stepped out of their hiding place.

They had been hidden behind the trees, beneath the bushes, some even had vegetation grown over their bodies and acted as if they were part of the underbrush. Combined with the greenish tone of their skin, they fool the eyes of all but the sharpest of observers.

"Back in the cave, now!" Auguste shouted upon realizing the situation they were in.

At the drop of the hat, the party turned on their heels and rushed back into the cave, with Elaine first and Finn serving as rearguard, standing stalwart and tanking the incoming spears thrown at him by the ambushing enemies. The spears, fortunately, were made of wood and were incapable of piercing his iron armor.

While Finn protected their rear, the rest of the party rushed to get into formation, preparing to receive the enemy once they're all in the cavern. With a narrow chokepoint, they should have the upper hand in this fight, or so they thought.

Suddenly, Elaine who had been running towards the back came to a halt. Her eyes, as they adjusted to the dimness of the cavern, spotted figures coming towards them from deeper in. Before she even said a thing, Auguste jumped in front of her and Henrietta was quick to follow.

"Morgan, I need a light here!" Auguste called out, turning Morganna's attention from the entrance of the cave to within the cave itself.

With a swing of her ashen staff, Morganna formed a ball of fire, instantly lighting up the cavern like a miniature sun.

An audible gulp could be heard from beside Henrietta as she held onto her shield, almost hiding her entirety behind it. As if that gulp was less than sufficient in helping him bury that dread he was feeling at that moment, a curse was also uttered beneath the breath, just audible enough for Henrietta to catch it.

Before Henrietta and Auguste, another group of creatures bearing verdant flesh was spotted marching towards them and they, in turn, spotted the party. These creatures, the Orcus, looked just as surprised as they were from what Auguste could tell from their body language. And looking at the blood splattered on their green skin and the lanky, blackish body they were dragging with them, it seemed as though they were a hunting party returning after a hunt for the Dreadlings. It would seem that while it wasn't as if they had walked into an intentional trap, the party had found themselves caught in a pincer.

They hadn't considered it, that whatever killed those Dreadlings might have headed deeper into the caverns, that with all the branching tunnels within, they might have passed them by without knowing. They were more preoccupied with what lied before them, the exit into what lied beyond the Rocky Hills than what might have been behind them. It was a lapse in judgment, one that they would pay dearly for.

"Henri, go trade place with Finn," said Auguste, his eyes on the approaching hunting party.

"Huh? B-but..."

"Do it!"

Auguste's mind turned like it had never before, driven by his desire to survive. They're not quite doomed, not yet. With her lance, Henrietta might be able to hold off the Orcs trying to enter through the crack. No matter how tough these Orcs are, they shouldn't be able to find a way around Henrietta, not with that narrow entrance. As for the ones inside, Auguste and Finn will have to take them head-on. With Morganna and Gladiolus' support, it shouldn't be impossible to break through. At least, Auguste didn't want to think that it was a hopeless endeavor.

As Henrietta went off to get Finn, the Orcs from the hunting party came charging, their stone axes and spears at the ready. At the same time, an arrow cut across the air to land in the eye of one of the firsts to charge, causing him to falter in pain. Seeing an opening, Auguste wasted no time at all to plunge his hefty blade into the Orc's chest, spraying blood all over. The Orc's blood was red. Despite being green, his blood was as red as their own.

That was one down, but it wasn't time yet to celebrate. Auguste did not even have the time to register this single kill before hastily pulling back, barely able to extract his shortsword from the enemy's chest before leaping out of the way of an axe swinging down upon where his head used to be. When dealing with more than one enemy, one had to be quick on their feet, Auguste knew that. However, that was in practice. To actually avoid being butchered from left and right when facing multiple enemies was downright impossible unless you're far, far more skilled than the rest.

Again, the Orcs came charging, this time, Auguste face three of them in a row. Instinctively, Auguste wanted to run away, but there was nowhere to run to. Behind him was Elaine, and behind her was the horde of Orcs outside. Running was physically impossible.

From Auguste's right, he felt a gale pass him by. Upon registering what it was, Finn was already before his eyes, his battleaxe swinging down on the rightmost Orc charging at him. While at first it seemed as though the axe head would bury itself into the Orc's shoulder, the Orc was much nimbler than its appearance suggested, catching the shaft of the battleaxe as it came down at him with his bare hands.

As Finn was caught in a grapple, another Orc lunged at Auguste with a spear. Extending his arm, Auguste met the stone-tipped spear with his newly bought plated gauntlet, brushing it aside with ease as he went stepped in for a counter-attack. The Orc immediately tried to pull back, but Auguste caught his spear and put a stop to that plan, releasing only a moment later leaving the Orc to stumble backward, his hands holding his own spilling intestines.

That was another clash won, but Auguste had no time for even a pause. Raising the same arm that parried the spear, Auguste blocked a club fitting with stone shards coming from his left. Lifting the club for another swing, the Orc winded up for a blow to break right through Auguste's guard. However, in that moment, an arrow came from its side, piercing its throat. While it seemed as though the Orc had noticed it coming, it could not react in time to save its own life. With a strong kick, Auguste sent the Orc to the ground, leaving it to bleed from its arrow wound as he turned towards the next opponent.

Even as he fought, Auguste felt in the back of his mind that something was wrong. It wasn't until a great ball of fire, the biggest one he had ever seen, flew over his head and erupted within the midst of the Orcus hunting party, did he had the time to pause and consider what was happening.

Wait, the thought dawned on him, weren't they supposed to be strong? Didn't it take a full party to take even a single of them down? What's going on? I just took two out like it was nothing.

At the corner of his vision, Auguste spotted Finn finally being able to shake off the grappler and was attempting to finish off his opponent with a quick swing, only for the Orc to dodge it by a hair's breadth. From the swiftness in movements alone, the Orc Finn was facing seemed far stronger than the two Auguste took out.

Turning his focus back to the inferno, Auguste managed to see through the subsiding flames to find charred Orcs all over the burning ground, consisting of more than half of the Orcus hunting party. It would seem that they'll actually be able to do this. Just a little more and they'll be able to break through.

Then, Auguste spotted one particular Orc, one far in the back, protected by the rest. In its hand, it seemed to have a white staff made of what appeared to be some creature's spine. Gently, it waved the white staff. As if heeding the call, fallen Orcs, each and every one of them, began to rise from the ground. As they rose, their wounds began to close, their bowels resealed, and their charred flesh began to fade, replaced by new tissues that showed not a single sign of scars.

Auguste was familiar with this. After all, he had been on the receiving end of such magic when they were just starting out as Dungeoneers. It was the witch's magic, the Abyssal Art of flesh creation. It's what Morganna would use to temporarily heal him while they were exploring a Dungeon. Of course, the effects would fade as soon after they return to the surface, so they couldn't readily rely on it. If anyone of them were to sustain a fatal wound, they could probably be healed by the magic. However, should they ever leave a Dungeon in such a state, the Heaven's Ward would eventually strip away their Abyssal flesh and render them to their demise.

In that case, what if in a Dungeon, there was a creature capable of wielding the Abyssal Art, a creature that made the Dungeon its home and therefore would never find a need to leave? Perhaps such a creature would effectively be immortal, would it not?

And now, of all things, such a creature, already terrifying enough as an idea, stands before the Henrietta Company. And there is not just one, but at least somewhere around a dozen and a half in numbers.

"You're kidding..."

Eyes wide in both shock and horror, Auguste watched the Orcs being resurrected before him. He raised his sword in preparation for what could possibly be a long fight, or a very, very, very short one. Auguste could feel his will to fight slipping away from him as the realization of how little odds they had of winning slowly sank in.

"L-let go!"

From behind, a shriek was heard.

Auguste could not afford to turn and look, but at that moment, one of the Orcs had gotten a hold of Henrietta's lance. He had caught the wooden lance by its tip as Henrietta thrust forward for the umpteenth time. With a strong pull, Henrietta was dragged forward by the Orc who then landed a kick in her torso, sending her backward. While normally, her strength would not have lost out, but having been worn out by her frantic thrusting in an attempt to keep the Orcs from entering the cave, a single Orc was more than sufficient to overpower her.

With the Orcs breaking through behind them, Auguste only got more desperate.

"I'm going to get that Orc in the back! Finn, Morgan, back me up!" Auguste shouted, summoning up the remainder of his will and bravado before charging forwards.

Beside him, he could hear a powerful warcry from Finn. It was powerful, bestial even, but at the same time, very desperate. From above, bolts of fire rained down, Morganna was no longer holding back, unleashing her magic without considering the consequences of a Rebound.

Against the rain of fire, the Orcs scattered. It would seem that despite being essentially immortal, the fear of fire was inherent to all living creatures. That, and it probably wasn't very pleasant being burned alive.

Within the chaos and flames, Auguste and Finn forced their way forward, disregarding their own well-being. Charging through the flames and cutting down whatever was in their way, they eventually locked sights with the Orcus witch at the very back. Despite being a magic user, he was as muscular as any other Orc, heck, he might be slightly bigger than the rest. On his head, he wore an ornate headdress made of some creatures' teeth or tusks, and around his neck, he wore a necklace with some kind of metallic medallions attached to a string.

"Get him!" Auguste shouted as he moved to intercept a half-burned Orc trying to get in their way, granting Finn the leeway to move forward.

With his battleaxe held up high, Finn swung down at the Orcus witch with all his might. The witch extended his hand outward in an attempt to defend himself but it was to no avail as Finn's axe easily sliced off the top of the witch's palm and cleaved right into his skull... Or so that was how Auguste expected it to play out. However, Finn's axe was stopped right in its track, just before it made contact with the witch's palm. Finn himself was rendered unmoving. Just as Auguste was wondering what in the world had happened, he too felt an unseen force coiling around his body. Auguste knew that sensation, having been on the receiving end on a couple of occasions.

"The Mystic Arts!?"

Auguste was shocked. Not only could the Orcs wield the Abyssal Arts, they could also use the Mystic Arts as well. Auguste, admittedly not very well versed in topics regarding magic, was under the impression that one would usually learn one of the two magic, apparently because the witches and the mystics did not particularly get along. The only person he had met who could wield both was Lyudmila, the witch in Albert's party, and he believed that she was an outlier.

Before he could come out of his shock, Auguste then felt the unseen force coiling around him getting stronger, tighter. He could feel himself getting crushed as air was being squeezed out of his lungs. His vision began to dim and his mind began to fade. And then, only darkness remained.

***

End of Chapter 61