"Alright let's..." Chris started before visibly hesitating. "Figure out how to avoid that?"
"It's patrolling back and forth, but it doesn't seem to even attempt to fly lower." Devin said, noting its aimless pathing. "It's eyes are also missing, maybe it's blind."
Chris took the first steps into the room, the moment the creature detected him it shot over and took a chunk of his shoulder out before he managed to rip it away and crouch down. Only then did it stop it's attack as he sat on the ground clenching his shoulder, making a motion to stay low with his free hand.
As the other crawled slowly towards him Chris could hear Sakuri whimper in fear. His shoulder stung with pain, but it was the only thing he could focus on. "It's fine. I got careless, I didn't think it would've been so fast given how it hovers mindlessly. Enjoy the snack asshole."
"A...Are you sure you're okay." Sakuri's hand outstretched towards the wound, the shaking in her voice becoming more prominent.
"That thing could've infected you with whatever toxins it could produce! I'm not buying that you're okay." Devin growled as they continued to the door of a sickly gray color, not unlike the room they sat in.
"I'm not feeling ill, I'm just hurt. I've tanked worse." Chris said, sliding the tunic and plain shirt underneath to reveal a gnarl, jagged scar across his chest. "What's one more scar to tell my story?"
Without a word Chris reached for the round knob on the door to find it wouldn't open, scanning the room to notice an opening on the opposite end of where they entered. Chris slowly crawled his way over to the opening.
"Down the rabbit hole it is then." Devin sighed as he and Sakuri followed close behind Chris.
Being on the opposite end of the doorway it appeared the flying creature did not follow once he stood up. Again the walls were the same sickly gray color, but a red eye shape glowed on the wall. On the ground nearby amidst the splotches of blood was an old looking key.
"Look! That must be the..." Sakuri ran forward with no thought, tripping the sensor that sent a thick wooden spike outward from the wall in front of them. Chris tried to move her out of the way only for it to impale both of them through the chest, completely blowing through their backs.
"Ch...sorry." Sakuri lightly sputtered as their blood coated the pillar, slowly adding to the blood on the floor. Eventually her shaking stopped as she slumped downward on the pillar.
"Chris! Jesus Christ!" Devin shouted, running to his dying friend.
"Get...the...key." He replied weakly as he pointed at the key before he too slumped downwards. His thoughts remained as his body stayed suffering, unable to move.
With a quick dash, Devin scooped up the key and moved to the opposite end of the room. His breath became heavy and labored from panic. "What now? I can't just leave them here."
Carefully staying out of the way of the light Devin removed the bodies of the two and placed them on the floor. Their open eyes stared right into him when he noticed the light in them had not faded. "They're still alive."
"Don't be afraid." A deep, booming voice called out as a blue spirit with red eyes that hid within a shadow of a face appeared in the room. "They won't die here."
The new creature healed the gaping holes in the two, which restored their breathing but not their movement. It was like they were in a coma-like state.
"What did you do?" Devin growled as he hid the key from the creature.
"I healed them. Although due to the rules of this place it will take some time for them to function again. Right now they're writhing in pain, unable to do anything about it." The creature answered. "Such is the way of Hell."
"How long?" Devin asked, trying to heal them with a basic touch spell with no effect.
"Three days...and call me Ritz." The creature said before disappearing into the void.
Devin grabbed them and sat them near the door they came from, finally getting a look at the old key. It was a dirty round key that was tin in color with only one bit at the end of it. He formed a fist around the key and squeezed it. Not sure out of fear, determination, or rage, he pressed on regardless. "I'll come back for you guys, promise."
Crouching to the floor he, quickly, stepped into the previous hall up to the locked door. Once he got the key into the lock it disappeared along with the door. "Fucking Hell magic."
Stepping in he found himself in a green room with a red creature on the ground crawling towards him slowly. It looked like a skinned torso, its arms ended in two single bone claws. The neck hole revealed a sinister set of teeth in a worm-like mouth. Scanning the room for more details he saw two new rooms, both open. One on the right and one at the very end of the room.
"Can't be picky but..." He started as he began to sprint before sidestepping the creature and entering the door on the right. "You feel like the best option. Could do with less gray though."
The room he stepped in contained a gray pedestal, exactly like the walls, on the other end that held some kind of blue gemstone in it. Taking a deep breath he scanned the room before seeing two scratch marks on the floor. A good foot of distance between them. "A simple floor trap.' Devin smirked before leaping over the distance and snagging the little blue orb in the pedestal. "Yeah, I don't think so."
Leaping back to the 'safe' side, Devin left and immediately went to the room on the other side to see a dark red room, black marks lined the wall. On the other side was a red button with a yellow outer ring. Walking up to it, Devin noticed a small hole just above that. Upon further examination he saw it was the perfect size for the blue gem he found. He placed it in without another word and clicked the button to reveal a new door to his left. 'Hell loves their trinkets.' He thought as he walked to the door before hesitating.
"There's something weird about this door..." He grew cold as he could hear something burrowing in the walls. He swallowed his fear and made his way in. Another dirty gray hall, but this one stretched longer than the rest, but sure enough there was a door at the end of the hall. Not wanting to waste time he began to carefully make his way down until he felt rocks from the ceiling hit him. With little time to react he dived down as a fleshy worm creature shot down, its sharp teeth curled inward as if to trap its prey. Devin knew those teeth with its closing mechanism together were enough to take his head. He flipped himself around to get up as the worm slid back into the ceiling and as he got to his feet the worm shot up from the ground to coil around his body.
"No! Stop!" He struggled against its grip. 'This isn't your standard worm demon. It feels like those that claim to be a 'Prince of Hell' and considering that more of the worm was hidden in its burrow below us this could be what they call Levia...'
'Crack!' Devin couldn't breathe anymore, couldn't move. This thing had crushed his neck and spine to the point of breaking it. He could still feel though as the creature continued to coil around him. It wasn't done punishing him for disturbing its domain as it crushed him to the point that blood was forced from his eyes and mouth. The pain only continued even after it uncoiled and burrowed into the floor once more.
"How unfortunate and you were so close." Ritz appeared from the door to the next area. "But don't worry I'll put you back together. Maybe you'll get it next time."
With Devin's wounds healed and his body returned to its previous state, minus the blood that was squeezed out of him, Ritz teleported him back to his friends before he faded again.
YOU ARE READING
Demonophobia
Horror'Six years ago there was an incident in the Kyoto region of Japan. A book used for demonic worship called 'The Dark Grimoire' was discovered to have been stolen, but the perpetrator was never found. Such a book was told to have the ability to summon...
