It tooks exactly 17 hours for the ropes to get to the top, weird there was no troubles, nor was there any problem or something that's of any obstacles. Kim's eyes were slowly blinking, a bit of tiredness perhaps from holding up Daima's sleeping body.
Finally reaching the top, he saw Yuriel standing there, she took Daima off of Kim hands and once it near the campfire she set up.
Yuriel then tug the rope till it was no longer dangling. Kim thanks Yuriel as he saw something in the corner of his eye. A fiery pole that was used to wrapped the rope and hold onto it as it pulled Kim and Daima up to the top.
Then without realizing it, Kim's body fell to the ground, he was fast asleep.
…
Kim opened his eyes, his body laying against the fleshy wall, he glances over at the camp fire, the flames illuminated the area showing both Daima and Yuriel sitting there.
Since it is a bit clearer and brighter, Kim saw that Yuriel had blood stain on her.
"These blood who are they?"
Kim asks with a concerned look.
"The monsters that was in my way.."
Kim didn't says anything further. After a while of resting, they puts out the fire. Yuriel tried to carry Kim but he refused it and said he is fine.
They walks and walk..
And walk… until Kim stumbles onto an uneven pavement, the ground is a bit slanted however the blood that was gushing out rotate into an infinity symbol.
Kim tried to examine it but he brushed it off, along with Yuriel as well but Daima took a quick glance at it.
"What does that mean?"
He asked.
"An infinity symbol."
Said Kim, he walked ahead without paying to what's in front of him.
*bump* his head face-planted into the fleshy wall, tiny samples of the grotesque blood went into Kim's mouth.
"Yuck!"
He said as he spats it out. Brushing his hand alongside the wall, it slowly guided him to an entrance.
"What is this?"
He mutters.
"It probably the 'maze' Mary told me about. After we cross this, we will find the new town but entering this 'maze' is filled with monster I presume."
Yuriel lights ups a fire from her finger, it look like a candle as it get swung around. She enters the 'maze' without hesitation and frights, both Kim and Daima followed her.
"Shouldn't we be wary of what lies in the dark?"
Kim exclaims but Yuriel told him that everything is going to be alright. Kim walks as he thinks to himself.
"I feel like everything is going fast-paced, like time have speed up. And my memories, can I even trust it again I feel so lost and distracted, it felt so distorted and different."
He says while not paying attention. Just then a monster pops out of the shadows to attack Kim but he was too busy reflecting what had happened.
Before he realized, it had slashed him… or atleast that's what should've happened but Yuriel stops it, she grabs the monster by the tails before effortlessly defeating it. They continue to advance forward, easily beating the monsters that have gone for them.
The walked through the 'maze' it almost seems endless, just when they thought it was an exit, they were wrong, it was either a dead end or another pathway. They walked endlessly as they were traps inside the 'maze'.
The tried to find a way out but nothing, it felt as if the 'maze' kept on stretching out.
"What's going on?"
Yuriel mumbled, she wander the place blindly. Then she told Kim and Daima to wait for a moment so she could check the surroundings.
She went into the dark and there's only silent…
The crackling sound from the flame was the only noise Kim hear, a little whimper coming from Daima, Kim turned his head toward him.
"Huh…"
Daima clenched onto Kim'seught hand tightly, his hand shaking. He covers his face with his left.
Without speaking, Kim just give him a warm hug.
. . .
Yuriel looks back, complete darkness, even the flame from her finger was barely lighting. She placed her hand along the wall as she advance forward.
"I shouldn't wander out too far." She mutter.
Out of the blue, a monster emerged out of the darkness trying to gudge her eyes out but she kick it with a swift clean kick towards the mouth, then roundhouse kick the monster till its head fell out.
"I been out here for four minutes now, so far I have only seen two monster…"
She stares back at the path. Mary told her that monsters lurking around these area.
"For some reason this path is one way so there won't be any monster getting pass me but I have an eerie feeling about this, should I go back to Kim?"
A sense of unfamiliar mana surge within the air, it seems to be full of bloodlust.
With a stern face she looks ahead waiting for whoever that is to come to her but nothing… a full minute have passed before Yuriel realizes.
"It's not coming towards nor in front of me,"
She turns around without any second to waste and swiftly run towards Kim and Daima.
"The mana is where Kim is at!"
. . .
Kim and Daima waited, the silence continued to grow.
"Yuriel been gone for about a few minutes now." Kim's thought.
Daima walked a few distance away from Kim, grieving over his mother death. He walked without looking and accidentally bumped into someone.
"Yuri-"
Before he could called out Yuriel's name, a demon with the long nails and a cheeky smirk on his face emerge, his eyes pitch black hollow as if he had gouge out his own eyeballs himself. He got a skinny build, his ribcage was seen through, it was sharp, it poking out of his body.
He is completed with spikes running down his spines, his legs was like a stick. Two toes and that's all but he wasn't using it. Wait… the {text} felt as is {it} has said this before, words from words.
"Wait if he just come out from the darkness, then what did I bump into?"
He lifted his head up, his jaws dropped as his eyes widen. What lies in front of him is a dead body but it was gory. A mixed of humans and demons flesh sew together.
Daima backs away but the eerie demons slowly walked towards him with a grin.
"Ah~ are you surprised to see my masterpiece?"
The eerie demon points at the sew body. The right side is the human, the eyeball is roll up into the sclera, most of the teeth got taken off. And for the left side is the demon, the eyes hollow out, the teeth biting the lower layer of the skin tissues.
"Well how do you like it?"
The demon asks Daima who is frightened, he backs away til his back's is against the wall, with no way out he scream out for help.
The demon's face frown.
"Aw~ it sound like you don't like it, I'm hurt… well I suppose I should also add you to my collection."
The demon reach out his hands to grabs Daima, the demon's sharp claws rubbing against his cheeks as its begin to chuckle to itself.
"What~ you're not going to speak? That's a shame, it leave a bad taste in my mouth when my victims don't say anything, oh well~."
The demon pressed its claws against Daima's neck. Slowly the demon tightened its grips, choking him till he passed out but without checking its surroundings, Kim came crashing into him with his body.
"Leave the boy alone!!!"
He shout out but the demon didn't back away instead he advanced towards Kim with a cheeky smile.
"Oh lookie here~ a human, ah~ it's like a dream come true."
The demon didn't say anything else further, he simply dashed towards Kim and easily knocked him out unconscious… of course…