Thuck!
A wet splattering sound echoed through the tunnel.
The noise froze them all.
From the darkness behind, Nergal stepped into view. His eyes burned with deathly fire, his mouth dripping crimson as he spat out a severed human hand. The bloody fingers slapped against the ground with a sickening splat.
He stared at them... unblinking.
Fear and dread slammed into their hearts. Raphael's friend scrambled to the ladder, but before she could climb, the shopkeeper shoved past her.
"Fucker!!" she hissed, clicking her tongue, but she had no time to fight him.
She grabbed the rungs and hauled herself up right after him.
"Come on, bitch, open it!!" the man roared at the woman above, as she still struggled with the plate.
"It's stuck!!" she cried, muscles straining as she pushed against the rusted iron.
"These fucking useless women—"
The man's curses broke as his head tilted down. Below, Nergal advanced, each step slow, deliberate, like the inevitability of death itself.
