A blurry image of jagged stalactites came into view as Seraphine regained consciousness. Beneath her, the ground felt softer than expected, thanks to a layer of neatly folded clothes cushioning her body. She could also feel some form of barrier encasing her, most likely a holy barrier Armand had cast. Still lying down, she observed her surroundings slowly - she could not see the Archaeas' corpses. Instead, she was tucked in a smaller chamber off a cave passage on a slightly elevated rocky bed.
Her head pounded a little bit from the mana drain, but the worst pain came from her left eye. She slowly sat up, hand covering her eye.
"Don't sit up too fast."
From the corner of her right eye, she saw Armand's figure at the narrow entrance of the chamber. His voice was tinged with heaviness.
"I'm fine. How long was I out for?"
"Barely 5 minutes have passed. Here, have some water." He handed her a water canteen.
After hesitating a bit, she accepted it, feeling too lazy to rummage through her belongings. After cancelling the holy barrier, Armand looked at her with a serious and concerned gaze.
"Your eye..."
"It's fine," Seraphine answered softly but quickly. She dropped the hand that previously shielded her eye "More importantly, have you had a chance to look around for clues?"
Armand sighed heavily. "Just a little bit. I still can't find a trace of the children, but I did find a trace of the search party that Sir Kingsley mentioned earlier. It looks like they might have taken the other way at the fork and avoided the Archaeas, but the two paths joined up ahead in a large chamber. There was a trace of battle and... it wasn't pretty."
"No survivor?"
"...not that I have sensed, but I didn't have time to look around." Even with the barrier, he was worried about leaving her by herself, unconscious, for too long.
Seraphine stood up, swaying a little before stabilising herself. Armand instinctively grabbed her arm to help her, but quickly let go after realising she managed to compose herself.
"Oh....I'm sorry."
"No...thank you."
Slightly flustered from the sudden contact, Seraphine steadied herself. "Please lead the way, Sir."
"Are you sure you're feeling good enough..."
"Yes."
Feeling she would be stubborn about this, Armand sighed a little, packed up, and exited the small chamber. They started to make their way through the claustrophobic passage, which sloped downwards. Neither of them was in the mood for conversation, but Armand stole a glance at Seraphine, noting her slightly pale, tensed face.
"...has your mana recovered?"
"Mmm...not as much as I'd like, but I'll be able to handle myself just fine." In truth, the two area-wide magics, while taxing, would not have caused her to collapse. The authority used for granting Sir Kingsley's wish outside of Mizan was a different matter. Even now, her eye was still pulsating, but she maintained a blank expression.
There were many questions that Armand wanted to ask her, but it was not the right time. They quickly passed an area where two paths converged and arrived at the entrance of another large chamber. Before they even stepped inside, Seraphine could smell the strong stench of blood.
The sight that beheld them was quite horrific.
More than a dozen men and women - or whatever was left of them - scattered around like broken doll pieces. Dry blood was caked on the ground and on their bodies; their expressions showed what must have been a terrifying last moment.
Although he was witnessing it for the second time, Armand still quickly inwardly recited a parting prayer to the World Tree. Seraphine, however, appeared quite unperturbed. She walked to the nearest, most intact remnant, and crouched down to examine the body.
The lifeless body in front of her seemed to belong to a middle-aged knight, his expression of horror etched permanently on his face. However, in comparison to the mutilated bodies around him, his was whole. He had some serious cuts and bruises, but not enough to be fatal. What was curious was his position: he was in a semi-fetal position, head looking towards the exit passage of the chamber, and his right arm still holding the sword rigidly by his side. Seraphine's eyes darkened as she pieced together the picture before her and recalled the wealth of knowledge from Mizan.
Armand bent down to examine and arrived at the same conclusion. "Venom?"
"Seems likely." Seraphine stood up slowly, her hands on her knees. "Looks like they managed to avoid the Archaeas but came across a formidable opponent, one that could paralyse almost immediately and strong enough to cut armour to pieces."
"Did something come to mind for you?" While he was knowledgeable about most land and sea mutants, Armand did not have many opportunities dealing with underground ones.
"Yes," Seraphine muttered solemnly. "The Deathstalker."