Duran's first glowstick was running out. He could see the blood in the lake and he worried for his teammates which distracted him from keeping a consistent light source for just that moment.
"Ah"
Damn, the glowstick ran out. I wasn't even paying attention.
He had stumbled around in the dark for a bit before he remembered that the rest of the glowsticks were in his backpack and not out.
Leaning left, he unknotted one of the side-satchels and pulled out a handful of baton sized glowsticks.
But before he could light it up, the soft sound of a faint stream of air parting was heard.
What's there!
HHe thought, but it was too late.
****
From behind the stalagmite, the lesser imp watched its prey. The battle beneath the water was still ongoing and it did not seem to be ending that soon.
Now.
The glowstick had burnt out.
He crept from behind his hiding spot and encroached upon his unfortunate target.
Being born a devil and in the caves, he had much greater vision in the dark, allowing him the advantage of sight in this scenario.
With the swing of his hand, he shot a handful of bone skewers towards Duran. They scattered in the air, whistling just a little, aimed semi-randomly with just a little bit of mana coating.
As soon as the first skewer hit, Duran screamed.
"AHHH!!! Help!."
But before he could scream or draw his own sword to a defensive stance, the lesser-imp rushed towards him in the shroud of darkness with dark mana primed at his claw-tips.
One swing was all it took.
Duran's head now dangled back, connected only by the skin of his nape.
And as much as the lesser imp wanted to sever his head completely, Duran wasn't a regular human despite his weakness; and he lacked the strength to accomplish the more satisfying slash he envisioned.
Still.
It was an easy kill.
It was his first kill.
A handful of ethereal red strands floated up from Duran's dead body.
The lesser-imp felt some sort of pull towards them. It was calling his name.
He reached out and they came.
He could feel the energy course through his body, flooding his veins. It wasn't much, but it was euphoric; and he could feel his power increasing.
He basked in the glory of blood for a minute, consolidating his foundation before returning to his calculating mind.
Sigh, the cold breath exited his mouth.
It was a mistake. He had let his instincts take over during the fight.
I should have aimed for his throat first.
His target had screamed for help before dying. It was a mistake. It wasn't perfect enough, and it could have cost him if the rest of his team had finished their fight earlier.
So was the way of the universe. Sometimes mistakes cost nothing but a few seconds of time, but other times, it might just be the last mistake you'll make.
Not letting himself get caught up in the past, the lesser-imp grabbed the rest of the glowsticks and broke them against the stone Duran's headless body slumped over.
It was all over fast.
The cave had now returned to darkness with only the lake barely shining.
****
Daryl and the four others began their ascent to the surface.
He had been restrained in their need to return because he knew the illuminator could only last for two hours.
It had cost them a lot of money and was paramount to their survival and in relation, the acquisition of the treasure.
And he needed it. The dream country life in a far-away yet prosperous town demanded him the success of this expedition the party staked their savings on.
Daryl commanded as he swam up to the surface, this time with a slight hint of urgency he tried to hide. "Repair your equipment and rest up fast. We'll only have an hour before the illuminator runs out."
His nature as a cautious person was beginning to slip–and slipping for even a second was not allowed in this cruel world.
Upon reaching the surface, the team realized that something was wrong.
It was awfully dark.
"Duran."
They called out quietly at first as to not alert anything.
Duran!"
"Hey Duran! Are you there?!"
The team members began calling louder.
"Hey Duran! Are your fucking there? This isn't time for a joke!" one of the mages shouted.
"Shit…"
"Does anyone have a glowstick on them?" Daryl asked.
…nothing.
"Shit. Okay, everyone stay close and listen carefully. Don't trip and alert me if you sense anything."
In the darkness, they stumbled over the bumpy terrain of the cave, slowly creeping their way back to the place where they had left Duran before descending the water column.
"Hey, hey, over here." The earth mage called quietly.
"I think… I think I smell something."
"It's.." Daryl was anxious and hoping despite the obvious. "It's blood."
"Eek!" The ice mage tripped over a small protrusion into something still slightly warm.
"Ah…" and as he pulled himself up, the lifeless eyes of Duran's barely hanging head stared right back at him.
"AHHHH!" He screamed, fell over, heart beating fast and breath ragged.
"What!?" Daryl yelled back but was also fear-struck as he came upon the body too.
"Stay quiet. The hunter might still be out there."
As much as the rest of the team wanted to cry, complain, express their pain and fear, they knew such was futile and only dangerous.
Daryl was a composed man, someone experienced despite his lack of talent and in correspondence strength.
He regained his footing much quicker and despite being struck with grief for his dead comrade, knew he was still in charge of the lives of four other party members–and his future-to-be lover.
"Get closer. I want to be able to feel everyone's warmth and presence."
"We move together; make our way back to the lake and go back in. We can't stay in this darkness. And if it's a beast, it likely won't have the balls to step out of its domain."
Slowly. Deathly slowly, they tiptoed back to the pond, reassured by the little light it emitted at the surface from the illuminator.
"Let's go, we don't have time to waste. And don't be afraid. This is the best option we have now. We'll deal with the creature later."
So, they quickly got back into the water they used to fear. For them it was a haven instead of hell, for they knew nothing of what lay above the waterline.
They relaxed a little–still tense–as they submerged.
"AHH FUCK! WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING!" shouted the ranger.
"SHUT UP! Don't be so loud, these water protection pendants let us communicate in water, but it also lets the other creatures hear." Daryl replied.
His personality as the cautious, stalwart leader was slowly beginning to slip under the pressure.
It was his own inexperience in life or death situations.
"Hey, we should just call this off. Grab the illuminator from the bottom and make a run for it." interjected the ice mage.
"Yeah, we have to get out of here man. We aren't good enough for this. That Vargen guy definitely gave you some bullshit again. So, what if there's a treasure if we're all dead?" Added the ranger.
"No…" Daryl said coyly.
"The fuck you mean no!? We're gonna die for god sake!" replied the earth mage fervently.
"What's the point of going back now?" Daryl fought back, "If we go back now, what are we?"
Silence.
"If we go back now, we have nothing left! We put everything on this together. You all wanted to be great adventurers right? Dragonslayer, Demon-hunters? What the fuck are you now that there's danger? Are you all even men? If we can't even overcome some tier-2 trash, what are we gonna do when the monster wave comes back?"
Silence again.
The argument had reached a peak. Daryl had exploded on the backliners of the party and hit a sore-spot: the monster wave that had wiped out their village.
"Daryl! Stop…" It was the first time Syme had spoken for a while. She was the shy type, never interfering in arguments.
But she had had enough this time.
"Make a decision, please…" She said with a pleading tone.
The team members all had an ugly look on their faces.
"I'm going down. We have to retrieve the illuminator anyway." Daryl said. "Anyone who doesn't want to come can go find your way out the dark.
"Fuck! Fine." The three backliners caved.
Syme was watching this all unfold with an even uglier expression.
What's happening… 50 minutes
That was how much time they had left to get out of here now, but instead it felt like a clock ticking in her heart. And she did not want to even imagine what would happen once it struck its final cord.
Tears welled up in her eyes.
Please…someone save me.