Inside the cave was damp, but thankfully not flooded. Sharp edges of rock protruded from the ground and ceiling, making the ground uneven.
The underground cave earned a reputation as a dangerous site, with unpredictable drops, low temperatures, and volcanic-type monsters lurking in its tunnels. It had been abandoned after many adventurers failed to return.
"Fenygom."
Small orbs of light manifested from Seraphine's palm and floated around them, illuminating the dark cave and radiating some warmth.
"Thank you, Lady Mizan."
Seraphine glanced at Armand. "Just call me Seraphine."
"...very well. You can also simply call me Armand."
Sir Kingsley stayed quiet during the exchange, although that might be due to difficulty navigating the treacherous cave. They traversed the steep decline and almost vertical pits until they arrived at a fork in the road. Unbeknownst to them, their speed and stamina were unmatched by any other group, although they still had to stop here and there for Sir Kingsley to catch his breath.
At the junction, they looked at each other and decided to pick a random passage, as the cave was practically unmapped. After a series of tight turns, they arrived at the entrance of a large chamber.
Exhausted and dripping with sweat, Sir Kingsley was about to step into the chamber when Armand prevented him. He put a finger in front of his mouth to indicate silence, then slowly pointed upwards.
On the ceiling of the seemingly empty chamber, dozens of giant worms crawled and squirmed. Their long, thick segmented bodies are covered with dense, hair-like spikes. Their head were bright orange in colour, with rows of sharp teeth visible when they opened their mouth.
Disgust and fear flashed across Kingsley's face. Armand pulled him back and looked at Seraphine, nodding towards the narrow passage they had come from.
Seraphine cast a soundproofing magic the moment they reached a reasonable distance away.
"What are those creatures?" Sir Kingsley's face was pale under the glimmer of the light orbs, his face quivering. "There are too many of them. We should turn back and request reinforcements."
"Archaeas." Armand and Sir Kingsley turned their heads toward Seraphine, who was pulling out a sack of nuts from her waist pouch and started munching on them. "Very resilient creatures. Heat-resistant, good at regenerating parts of their body. Their spikes can stop most physical attacks, and their teeth are venomous. They're very aggressive, too, although their eyesight is terrible. Nuts, anyone?"
Sir Kingsley scrunched up his face and shook his head, looking like he wanted to throw up.
"...no, thank you. Do you know what's the best way to kill them?" Armand gazed in both exasperation and amazement at the mage who was casually savouring the snack.
"Yes. Extreme frost would work. But there're too many of them for me to freeze at the same time. They like hanging on the ceiling to avoid flooding, but they will come down when attacked."
"I can hold some of them off. How long do you need?"
No matter how powerful a mage Seraphine was, a downtime between area-wide spells was still required, as she needed to reabsorb and recirculate a great amount of mana. She cocked her head to the side, thinking.
"Hm...around 5 minutes?"
Sir Kingsley took a sharp breath. A highly advanced mage could hardly cast an area-wide frost spell more than once a day, let alone cast two within 5 minutes. Moreover, usually advanced mages specialised in one element - so far, he had seen her cast water, wind, and light magic. Once again, he wondered about her identity and why he had never heard of her.
Unknowingly thinking along a similar line, Armand nodded. "I'll handle it. Sir Kingsley, make sure to protect Lady-..Seraphine."
"...I will." Kingsley was not sure she would need his help, but even the Magic Tower Grand Magus might have difficulty fending themselves while casting complex, wide-area magic.
With a plan in mind, they approached the large chamber as quietly as they could, this time in complete darkness. Once they were close enough, Seraphine opened her steel fan, held it horizontally in her hand, and concentrated on channelling the mana from the surroundings.
"...fagyos uralom."
The steel fan crackled as it was enveloped with ice crystals. Seraphine lifted it upwards and gently blew on it in the direction of the cave ceiling.
The fine ice crystals swirled silently through the air like glittering snow. When they made contact with the Archaeas in the ceiling cave, a sudden layer of frost hardened instantly, encasing the worms in an icy prison without any warning.
A moment later, loud shrieks came from the surviving Archaeas as they realised their brethren had been attacked. They dropped their thick, spiky bodies on the ground with a large thump that shook the entire cave, and with remarkable speed swarmed towards Seraphine.
Sword unsheathed, Armand jumped in front of Seraphine, his divine power enveloping the blade. It met the spikes of the closest worm with a screeching sound. The force of the impact made him take a few steps back, but he held his ground.
Focusing on her second attack, Seraphine glanced at Armand.
"Their eyes are sensitive to light, and their underside is not protected in parts."
"Thanks."
With a surge of divine power, Armand manifested a strong light magic, blinding the creature in front of him. Armand did not stop and delivered a sharp slash towards its eyes, causing it to shriek again, this time in pain.
Bleeding profusely, the first Archaea writhed away, but more were coming.
Armand expertly targeted their eyes or undersides, swiftly avoiding their sharp teeth and spikes. Although he could not avoid receiving non-fatal injuries due to their sheer numbers, as a Commander of the holy knights, his unmatched divine power almost automatically healed any minor wounds.
Sir Kingsley watched the scene unfolding in front of him in awe. He admitted that he had previously underestimated the young Knight Commander and looked down on him as an illegitimate child. But he could no longer argue that Armand Fontaine deserved the reputation that preceded him.
"...I'm ready." This time, Seraphine did not use her fan. Instead, she channelled her mana to her right leg. "Armand, move aside!"
Immediately after she gave the warning, Armand jumped away from the Archaeas' travel path while Seraphine stomped her right leg hard on the ground.
Shards of frost burst outward from where her foot touched the ground and crept forward, spreading rapidly across the cave surface. It froze everything that it touched in its path, including the remaining Archaeas.
The previously seemingly empty cave teeming with writhing Archaeas was now still, with grotesque statues of frozen worms scattered across the floor and along the ceiling like a scene from a bizarre dream.
Armand released a deep breath. He was about to clean and sheath his sword when he caught a moment from the corner of his eyes.
"Seraphine! Be careful!"