The sun has set with the group still inside the caverns. The group has split into three pairs. The pair of Adam and Joe, as well as the pair of Elise and Damion had set up their camps for the night. Their camps were the same being a hole they had dug out inside the cavern walls with a small entrance. One member of the pair would always be standing guard at the entrance to kill any monsters that try to enter the hole. Meanwhile Julius and Marigold are trying to fill the caverns with holy water mist to remove the dark magic causing the spacial distortion. Julius is currently flying through the caverns as a bright blue speck creating hoses to carry holy water through the tunnels.
Julius-"Creating these hoses also lets me explore the caverns"
Voice-"The spatial distortion has also lessoned in these areas due to the small amount of holy water mist that has entered this far out"
Julius-"Still I can't even reach relativistic speeds in here. If it wasn't for this tardis effect I could have found them ages ago"
Voice-"It's likely that whatever created these caverns didn't want people who fell in to find each other"
Julius-"Hopefully the others were able to find each other. Even Adam and Elise would probably have trouble surviving here on their own"
Voice-"If any of your companions find these hoses they can also follow them back to your location"
Julius-"I wonder if anybody else is also down here besides us"
Voice-"It's unlikely that most people would be able to survive for very long down here. The constant monster attacks prevent sleep and none of the plants down here are edible for the average species"
Julius-"Do you think Marigold will be alright?"
Voice-"No monster can be created in the areas that you have filled with the holy magic mist. It's very unlikely that one will wander all of the way to Marigold's position. Even if one does she is able to defend herself"
Julius-"I get it, you want me to stop worrying"
Voice-"You should be more concerned over your other companions rather than the one you already know is safe"
Julius-"Why do you think we are doing this?"
Voice-"I'm simply making sure you keep your focus. This is an important task that must be completed as soon as possible"
Julius-"I know"
Julius stops flying and puts a cap on the hose.
Julius-"That's two kilometers. Now all ten hoses are at a two kilometer length"
Voice-"Do you think two kilometers is long enough?"
Julius-"There are hoses going left, right, up, and down. If I increase the length of them all by just a little bit that adds a lot of extra matter to transform. I don't have the mana for that right now"
Voice-"There are still a few dozen tunnels you didn't go down"
Julius-"I split the ten hoses into over a hundred different paths. This has taken a few hours and I need to head back to Marigold so she can start filling the hoses with holy water"
Julius begins flying back down the tunnel towards Marigold by following the hose back. A plant monster wanders out of one of the tunnels and tries to attack Julius by swiping at him. Julius easily dodges the attack.
Julius-"Gravity skill: inverse gravity"
The plant monster gets torn apart by the intense reversal of its gravity.
Julius-"We are really lucky that these monsters aren't very strong"
Julius continues flying back through the tunnels making it back to Marigold.
Marigold-"Good your back. Were you able to finish the pipes?"
Julius-"The hoses have been completed"
Marigold-"That's great, now I can fill them up with holy water"
Julius-"My mana is getting a little low now, I'll give you a power boost to make more water and then I'll have to rest for a little while"
Marigold-"Sounds good"
Julius-"Support skill: strength boost"
Marigold has her magic power output increased. Julius floats away and lowers down into the ground to rest and regain his mana.
Marigold walks up to a tiny funnel that leads into metal piece connected to the ten hoses. She squeezes her hands into the funnel and casts a spell.
Marigold-"Holy skill: holy water creation"
Gallons of holy water start shooting out from Marigold's hands into the hoses. The water starts flowing into all of the pipes and is carried throughout the tunnels. During set intervals every five meters there is a small metal valve attached to the hose that spews out mist into the caves.
Marigold-"Hopefully this will be more efficient. Once these caverns shrink we can easily find our friends"
Several hours have passed into the night.
Adam-"(snores loudly)
Adam's shift had ended an hour ago and now Joe is keeping watch.
Adam-"(snores again)"
Suddenly during the middle of Adam's loud snore Joe places his hand on Adam's face.
Adam-"Huh? My-"
Joe puts his finger to his own mouth to make a shushing pose. Adam looks into Joe's eyes and sees a look of fear. Almost instantly afterwards Adam feels a deep pit in his stomach with his whole body freezing up.
Adam(in his head)-"This feeling, this mana, it's filling the air like a dark void that's crushing me"
Adam hears footsteps below them. Underneath the opening to the small camp that Adam made a much larger monster is walking through their cavern. The monster looks the like a large white sponge in a humanoid shape. It has long streaks of messy black hair going down from the top of its head to its waist. It stands at over five meters tall and each footstep shakes the cavern. Its face is made up of two glowing yellow circles for eyes with no mouth or nose.
Joe(in his head)-"Please- don't say anything"
Adam(in his head)-"I don't know what's down there, but if it sees me... we would die"
End of chapter 83