Chapter 55: A Smart One
A plan had been hastily formed, and the four of them were moving quickly to see it through. Based on what Kuran had said, it was the best they could come up with, really... And even if it proved more difficult than they had originally believed, they could always prepare contingencies.
’But at what cost?’
That thought gnawed at Megumi every step of the way because, in truth, there was too little known about the enemy. All things considered, they would be going in blind, moving into enemy territory unsure of what the demon’s true capabilities were.
About two dozen meters away from the cave, Kuran glanced over the towering peaks and back at his teammates.
"Is everyone ready?"
Each of them nodded, smiling to hide the tense look on their faces. They had all faced a demon once and knew how terrifying one could be inside its natural habitat—especially one that would be very difficult to see.
Kuran shifted his gaze to the cave in the distance, which looked like nothing but a stark pool of darkness from his angle. The entrance seemed too small to be a cave as well, but that was only because it was man-made... demon-made? And that vile creature had intentionally constructed it so.
It was exactly the kind of thing a fool would be attracted to. Too bad he wasn’t fooled.
At his signal, his shadow split in two and quickly glided away, heading toward the cave. It reached the entrance and swiftly moved inside, providing Kuran with a quick view of the place and the demon’s location.
As quickly as he could, Silver placed his hands and concentrated on using his ability. At such a distance, it was going to put a great strain on him and drain even more energy, but he managed to pull it off regardless.
By using his ability to manipulate earth, he weakened the lip of the cave entrance and then dissolved into his shadow, appearing right next to it. But this time, he was on the other side, in the embrace of the steep darkness.
The sound of flesh tearing echoed in the hollow space, but he tried his best to ignore it, quickly seeing to it that his mission was accomplished. A second later, the walls of the cave trembled and then crumbled, drowning it in shadows even further.