The argument over a proper plan had circled for what felt like forever.
Fear made everyone stubborn...
Finally, with tired sighs and reluctant nods, they settled on a plan...
The strategy was straightforward, at least on the surface.
Their first and most dangerous hurdle was the colossal flesh demon.
It was a beacon of pure madness, and getting close to it felt like a death wish...
Seth, using his [Null Presence], would lead them on a wide, cautious arc along the farthest wall, praying the creature's senses were as sluggish as its massive, writhing body appeared.
Since the area around the flesh demon was quite big, there was still hope of avoiding it without causing a fight with it!
Once they made it to the middle in between the two demons, Sophia, as a first circle witch of the sin of filth, would churn the stone floor into a series of deep, sticky mud patches.
It wouldn't stop a demon, but it might slow one down, buying precious seconds.
Then came the dangerous part....
They could not sneak past the suit demon like the would do with the first one as it stood quite closely next to the ladder they wanted to climb.
And so, Arthur would draw the suit demon's attention.
The moment it was focused on him, Arthur would slow its movements while Riko, the best shot among them, would shoot it down.
The best-case scenario was a quick, clean kill.
If the bullets didn't work… well, that's when things would presumably get messy.
Arthur and Riko would then turn and run, leading the angry suit demon straight towards the territory of the flesh demon.
The mud traps would be the only thing giving them a head start.
Meanwhile, during this chaos, Seth, Sophia, and Matthew would make a break for the ladder, slipping past while the demons were hopefully distracted.
A bitter laugh cut through the grim silence.
"Haha," Riko let out, the sound devoid of any real humor.
"So the chances of me and Arthur ending up as a demon's snack are way higher than the rest of you?"
His eyes, sharp and accusing, landed squarely on Seth.
"Why doesn't that guy over there do it? He can just turn invisible, get its attention, and then vanish. Seems a lot safer for everyone, doesn't it?"
Seth met Riko's gaze but kept his mouth shut.
He felt a flicker of guilt, but it was quickly smothered by cold, hard logic.
He had already risked everything by coming back down that ladder.
He did not need to do much more than he needed...
More importantly, he knew the critical flaw in [Null Presence].
It was a skill for avoiding notice, not for escaping it.
The moment a creature locked onto him, the ability was useless.
He couldn't just "vanish."
And he had no idea if a demon's senses worked in a way he couldn't hide from once its attention was on him...
Hence, Seth did not want to volunteer on this role.
Arthur knew this and so he calmly broke the standoff.
"You are the only one who knows how to shoot accurately with a gun. If it ends well and the suit demon does indeed die from the gun, things will be better for all of us."
He paused, his expression unreadable.
"But if you're not comfortable, I'll take the gun. Just know my aim is terrible. The outcome will likely be worse."
Riko let out a derisive snort.
"No. Fine. I'll do it. But if that thing doesn't go down, I'm not playing the hero. I'll save my own skin first. Don't expect anything else."
Arthur gave a single, slow nod.
Riko's sister, Sophia, let out a worried look for her brother as she butted in.
"Brother, run through the corners so it struggles to catch up to you, okay?..."
Through it all, Matthew, who had been a silent shadow at Seth's side, tightened his small hand in Seth's.
He didn't understand all the strategic details, but he understood the tone.
He understood the fear and the anger.
He understood that in this terrible place, some people were considered more expendable than others, and he was terrified he was at the very top of that list...
...
The time for talking was over.
Seth took a deep, steadying breath, as he activated [Null Presence] once more.
The sounds of his own breathing seemed to quiet, and he felt himself blend into the background.
"Stay close and just step where I step..."
He whispered towards them.
Since his teammates attention was already on him, he was not invisible to them and could follow him as long as they weren't distracted.
He led them forward, a slow, painstaking procession along the rough, cold stone of the underground wall.
The path was treacherous, littered with loose stones and ancient debris.
To their left, the flesh demon dominated the space.
The tiny human head perched on top was frozen in a silent, endless scream, a sight so profoundly wrong it made Seth's and the others stomach churn.
He forced his gaze downward, focusing on the next footstep
Behind him, he could hear the others' heavy breathing as their hearts thumped loudly....
Somehow, by some miracle, they made it.
They slipped past the flesh demon's domain without triggering its attention and reached the narrow passage in between the intended location.
Sophia immediately dropped to her knees, pressing her palms flat against the stone.
Under her touch, the solid rock darkened, softened, and churned into a patch of thick, deep mud that smelled of swamp and decay.
She worked quickly, creating several of these traps in a staggered line, a hidden minefield of filth designed to snare their pursuer.
When she was finished, she scrambled back to the corner where Seth and Matthew were hiding, her face pale but her eyes determined.
Now it was up to Arthur and Riko.
Arthur caught Seth's eye from across the passage and gave a single, grim nod.
It was time.
He pulled a small, empty metal can from his pocket.
With a powerful heave, he sent it spinning deep into the darkness ahead, towards where the suit demon was meant to be.
Clang! Clatter-clatter-clang!
The noise was deafening amidst the silence.
For one… two… three heartbeats, nothing happened.
The only sound was the faint, wet squelching of the flesh demon behind them.
Then, a new sound emerged.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
It was the sound of hard-soled shoes on stone, moving with an unnaturally fast speed...
From the shadows in front of them, the tall suited figure emerged.
Its body was stretched out and its suit unwrinkled...
Its face was a pale, waxy skin stretched over a skull, with empty black sockets where eyes should be.
It maniacally ran towards them with great vigor!
After having a clear view of the demon, Arthur stood his ground as he stared towards it.
As the demon closed in, his eyes began to glow with a faint, icy blue light.
The air around him grew cold.
A visible layer of white frost crackled over the demon's fine suit jacket.
Its swift, gliding charge faltered, its movements becoming jerky and slow, as if it were suddenly fighting its way through a field of invisible, freezing molasses.
Seth, who was hiding in the corner, immediately received a system notification after being able to see Arthur use his skill.
[Sin of Coldness, First Circle Ability.]
[Eye of Stillness : Staring at a target slows and momentarily stuns them by inflicting coldness.]
As the tall suited demon's movements slowed down, Riko immediately focused his aim as he shot towards it!
Bang! Bang!
The gunshots were like thunderclaps, so loud they felt physical.
The first bullet tore into the demon's chest, the second smashed right between its empty eye sockets.
The impact threw the entity backward.
It landed on the ground in a heap, twitched violently for a few seconds, and then lay completely, utterly still.
Everyone was stunned as silence fell over the group.
It was over?
Just like that?
The demon was weaker than they had ever dared to hope! It could actually die from bullets!
But that relief was shattered by a low roar that vibrated up from the stone beneath their feet.
From behind them came the sound of crushing stone and splintering wood.
The fleshy demon behind them had been attracted by the noise!
"Quick! Run!" Arthur sounded out!
Sophia was the first to move, yanking Matthew's hand and pulling him forward.
This was their chance!
But as they turned to make their desperate dash, the impossible happened.
The "dead" suited demon on the ground twisted its legs with a sound like snapping tree branches.
In a blur of motion that defied physics, it launched itself from the floor.
It didn't go for Arthur or Riko.
Instead, it soared through the air, its target was the closest person towards it— Sophia!
She had just enough time to let out a short, sharp scream of pure terror before the demon slammed into her, its long, bony limbs wrapping around her body.
They crashed against the rough stone wall with a sickening, bone-jarring impact.
CRUNCH.
Sophia's scream was cut off instantly.
The demon, its jaw unhinging like a snake's, leaned in and bit down on her skull with immense, crushing force.
Seth and Matthew who were near Sophia could only watch, frozen in utter horror, as the life was violently extinguished from their companion.
The demon had tricked and played them perfectly.