Ancient Gods Reboot - The Beginning

The Dungeon of Hell

"What is this fiery hell?" I asked, looking around carefully, observing the spheres of flame and liquid fire. "Are we in the middle of a volcano?" All around me, the molten lava flowed in streams narrow and wide, intersecting and diverging haphazardly. The hot air felt highly chaotic yet lonely like a dragon's den long sealed away in the pits of a solitary abyss. 

"The Firey cave, or the Dungeon of hell," uttered Lestrade, surprised, or more like petrified. "I never thought I would see this place again." A wave of sadness filled his voice and his face paled like gloomy snow. Does he have some sad connection to this place? I wonder. 

Even so, what reason could Rimuru have for visiting such a forsaken place? As far as the eye can see, there's nothing here but rock and fire. I don't believe any living creature would prefer this inferno as their dwelling. 

"Rimuru san-"

Before I could speak another word, with a flash of deep red fire a creature clad in hellish flames appeared out of nowhere and charged towards me. "W-what!?" 

Before I could realize what happened, the dark firey claws that were about to rip my soul to shreds were deleted out of existence. 

"Are you alright?" asked Rimuru with a smile. 

Gulping down the fear and surprise I finally looked into his eyes and replied. "Y-yeah. I think-" The empty words slipped out of my mouth. I didn't know what to feel. "I think I need to rest a little-" I said, collapsing on the reeling, scorching platform. 

"Yeah, that must have been too much for you," said Rimuru, his eyes fixated on a dark, distant corner in the horizon. 

A tint of dizziness hit my head. A sudden weightlessness encroached on my heart. My sense of direction began to feel messed up, and it seemed a matter of moments before my eyes would fall deep into the dark. 'W-what's happening?' 

I looked at Lestrade. He stood amidst the burning lava, joining his hands and chanting something with his eyes closed. 'Is he casting some kind of spell? Just what is this place?' With each passing second, my consciousness took a step forward into the realm of insanity. 

"R-Rimuru san," I said, reaching out to him with a hopeful arm. A tear trickled down my eyes. He kept staring into the horizon, seemingly unmoved by my desperate plea. 'H-help me!' 

An unknown force seemed to suck at my soul, sipping away at my life bit by bit. I was nearly at the end of my limits. Nothing changed. Nothing moved. It seems this is my end. But why? I don't understand. Why won't he help me? Does he not wish to save me? Did he abandon me? 

As if realizing what I had been thinking, Rimuru turned around and stared at me. "Don't worry, nothing can harm you as long as I am around." 

Suddenly, like a veil being lowered, the red realm turned greenish blue, along with the two creatures staring at us, hiding behind a rock a few meters away, waiting for an ambush. 

"Ah, I am sorry," I spoke, finally coming back to my senses and breathing a sigh of relief. "I didn't mean to be rude. I believed you weren't reading my thoughts anymore." A flow of energy rushed through my body, revitalizing my weak self back to normal. 

He looked at me with a smile. "I don't need to, not with a face such as yours." He then turned around, examining the endless flowing lava and the pieces of stoic rock floating over them. 

"W-what was that, if you don't mind me asking," I asked, staring at the two creatures lurking in the dark. "I have never felt anything like that before." The two creatures, perhaps twice as tall as the one before and three times as fierce, now glared back at us, contemplating whether they should attack right now.