As Seth carefully walks through the dimly lit tunnel of this large cave system with his hand firmly gripping the crucifix like his life depended on it, the change of circumstances has brought him more stress than before, having to worry about where or when these demons will come out in due time.
The tunnel he is currently in is eerie and unsettling, with a damp, claustrophobic feel to it, like a grave with no exit in sight. The walls are craggy and rough, and the air is heavy with oppressive, sulfurous heat. The whole tunnel is dark, with only the source of light emitting from above, creating a very gloomy and depressing atmosphere.
On top of that, the sounds of dripping water along with the scurrying rats moving in the background have added more tension and creepiness to this environment. "I have to keep going," he said to himself once more as he forced his legs to move, ignoring the unease growing within him.
Unlike the previous hallways he entered, the air has grown hot for some reason; where it was cold before, it has now become warmer and humid to the point of sweat falling down from his face. "Is the sun rising?" Seth asked the obvious question when he felt his clothes and socks getting wet from the frustrating surroundings overwhelming him.
Hope is still present in his heart, praying for God's or his mother's deliverance in guiding him through the unknown, and thinking to himself, What's the purpose of this predicament? What is Asmodeus hoping for me to accomplish through this? He wants answers that will never come to fruition until he finds that demon.
Even still from being sleep deprived, exhausted, and hungry, he refused to let none of it deter him. "I need to find an exit, wherever it is hidden from me," he continued walking in the pathway without stopping. Focusing on searching for a way out of this place if possible.
He wishes his left leg was healed so Seth could finally run through these pathways. But with it still wounded, the boy couldn't do much except walk at a casual pace. "The quicker, the better," he muttered under his breath with closed eyes.
If only it hadn't gotten injured, everything starting from the moment he arrived in this dimension would make things easier for him. "At least I have my cross," he said, glancing at his only weapon with a smile, feeling assured that it is capable of defending him against whatever danger he'll encounter.
As the time passed, he heard the flapping wings of those demons around him, hiding in the darkness of this area. "They're there." He uttered quietly to himself with fear in his eyes. It was easy for him to pick up the sound of their wings, for it is one of the necessary skills for being cautious around their surroundings when in a foreign place.
It is how he has survived throughout the years when he was still at home; the uncaring blizzard has taught him many things about being resourceful. One of which includes learning the subtle and often unnoticed changes of his surroundings from time to time. "I need to keep an eye out," whispering softly while looking back in time for any suspicious activity.
In life, there are things far more dangerous and deadly than animals; while beasts are usually physically superior in every way, they lack something that they possess. Which is sentience itself, the ability for humans to think and act based on rationality and reason, unlike the animal kingdom, which follows instinct above all else.
And now he's dealing with not humans but intelligent demons who are capable of planning their attacks and using whatever suits their needs. "That's the reason why they're staying back," Seth said to himself in a quiet voice, knowing that his cross can incinerate them nearly instantly. "If they show themselves in front of me, they're risking being burned to dust," talking to himself in order to overcome his nervousness.
Hearing their sinister growl and murmur, Seth continued walking with haste. The teen is anxious about when they will strike for all his bravo in defending himself from the enemies of mankind; he can never fathom having to deal with the likes of them in all places.
He can never understand their hostility against the children of God. Why do they seek to eradicate them for simply existing in the world that the heavenly father has intently created? "For what reason other than pride, do they commit evil deeds against us?" He whispered under his breath, knowing their only goal was to corrupt the human race out of revenge.
Suddenly, the first one came out from the ceiling, dropping down like a meteor as its wings glided him down to the boy, a spear ready to be used. Its grotesque smile widened in delight, preparing itself for the kill. "Die!" It hissed with glee in its voice, getting the prey at last.
However, thanks to his instincts alerting him to the incoming danger, Seth immediately turned around and raised his crucifix above him, aiming it directly towards the monster as it quickly disintegrated into ashes after being burned alive for a few seconds, resulting in its left-overs splattering all over the boy.
Covered by ash, Seth begins to cough as it affects his lungs. But despite being caught off guard by the sudden attack, he kept his focus on what was about to come next as two more of those demons came from his opposite sides, his spear also ready to use, "flesh! Were going to eat you alive!" The demon on his right said it with a wicked laugh.
In panic, he raised his right arm at the demon, quickly killing it after the boy had successfully dodged the attack from his left, nearly only scratching his forehead in the process. Pushing himself down by force, he was able to avoid having his life completely taken.
Falling down with his back, the wind had thankfully removed the ash on his eyes, allowing him to see as the one who had attacked him earlier is now levitating above him, raising the spear with all its might as it began to stab down where the teen's head is.
With his quick thinking, he rolled just in time to evade the attack; with his dominant hand still gripping the holy crucifix, he lifted the bottom side of it straight up. In response to the monster, the demon quickly burst into flame, regardless of whether it sees the cross, as the powers of this weapon will affect the target.
Then he heard a crowd of reverberating hissing and whispers throughout the walls as he straightened his back while Seth lay on the dirty floor, looking at the darkened ceiling and wondering if the silhouette fish-like demons were crawling across them as if they were insects. "There's still a lot of them left," he muttered in a terrified voice.
The sounds of their frustrated murmuring and cursing with their high-pitched voices echoed all over the cavern as they continued to move about in fast motion, likely thinking of a plan for murdering him rather than overwhelming the courageous teen.
Seth wanted to admit that he would like to sleep here, for despite how uncomfortable it may seem, the amount of fatigue he feels makes him not care in whatever place or area he wants to sleep in, for the boy wouldn't care anymore about having a plain old bed as a way to rest.
"What should I do?" He asked himself before standing on his knees, staring at the ceiling full of demons that will probably attack him given the chance, "moving onward," saying the obvious answer in front of him, and turning around to where he was intended to go.
Continuing this long walk again, there were raised voices from those monsters speaking among themselves out of plain sight, presumably arguing among themselves about what to do next. If that was it, then he felt happy enough to have some time to get them off his back.
But he knows this won't last forever; they will come back stronger than ever, not to mention that his current weapon can only hold out for so long before his endurance has completely drained. "How many are there?" He wondered about the numbers he is currently facing: "Will there be more?" He was slightly worried at the idea of coming across multiple demons at once.
Should he expect different types of demons aside from those fish-like things? If so, then that would make it nearly impossible for him to get through this. Not only will he deal with sleep deprivation, exhaustion, and monsters trying to kill him in the worst way possible,
The idea of encountering new types of demons is something he hadn't considered; the thought of facing ones of different forms and abilities is more terrifying and overwhelming. "If I see something new, I will just use the cross to protect myself," he said bluntly, knowing that this is the only thing he can do at the moment.
Moving deeper in the long corridor, a few more minutes have passed without the demons making a move, having been far enough away from them. Although he isn't comfortable sleeping in such a place when they are still around,
Out of nowhere, their whispers, hissing, and curses became completely silent, mysteriously closing their mouths for whatever reason they were doing so. That alone made him more worried about what was about to happen, as Seth tried his best to keep moving with his eyes wide open.
Seconds have past, and not a single movement or word came from them, making him express a horrified look of anticipation at what is in store for him. He has gotten used to hearing his assailants try to attack him. But when it is dead silent, not knowing how his own death will come,
That alone is terrifying and unnerving, as the young boy couldn't imagine what horrors await him. "Please, let this end soon." Whispering to himself with a hopeful and pleading voice, not wanting to experience a fate worse than death already,
He had experienced hell in itself; being burned alive over several years was excruciatingly painful. Now he wouldn't want to imagine his soul being stolen again by those demons. Making him think about this shuddered ordeal of suffering eternity of burning alive is a trauma he does not want to relieve.
Just when things appeared peaceful enough, an echoing horde of shrieks came from his back, swiftly turning his head to see them using their common tactic, resorting to using numbers rather than doing the patient game in taking out Seth with a precise ambush.
Knowing that he would be unable to take them all on, Seth took the only option available as he raised his cross and began to burn the nearest one in blazing flames while walking ahead with his feet moving from time to time, doing his best to keep calm and fight against the fear of their piercing teeth and weapons that could tear him to shreds.
Row after row, they were turned into a crowd of ashes like dust particles as he kept walking with all his strength, refusing to completely rest entirely for even a few seconds of stopping to gather his breath would be a death sentence when they appeared to get closer every time the horizontal line comprised of those demons died from his weapon.
"COME HERE! THERE IS NO POINT OF RUNNING!"
"LET ME CLEAVE YOUR SPINE INTO TWO!"
"I'M GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE WITH MY OWN TEETH!"
"KILL THE CHILD OF GOD! KILL THE CHILD OF GOD! KILL THE CHILD OF GOD!"
The words they uttered were discouraging comments meant to demotivate him, but he ignored them nevertheless as Seth tried to remain focused on getting in safe distance from them while at the same time, he could feel his raised arm slowly lowering itself from the fatigue building up in this peculiar limb.
Tears stream down his eyes from having to endure such a horrible fight in his life situation, with no other options in terms of escaping. The only thing he can do is keep fighting back as hard as he can while walking with his weak legs. "Just a little more," he uttered with an optimistic thought of something or someone saving him.
"God..." Begging desperately as the flying fish demons continuously throw insult after insult, "Help me, please..." Saying in a painful groan, the feeling of his raised hand is steadily losing grip of the holy crucifix. "I know you are there, listening." Feeling like giving up at this moment, "Just save me..." I am requesting assistance in getting him out of here.
Seth knows that God won't physically come here and save him; he doesn't understand why a proclaimed omnibenevolent entity wouldn't do so, but he supposes that God works in a mysterious way, as they always say. Notion he is familiar with the most
But this doesn't alleviate the desperation he is feeling; being in a hopeless situation where he does not know what to do and being alone for so long makes him slowly lose his grip on giving up on this. It would be easier to accept defeat than to wait for miracles to happen.
He wanted to give up now as his eyes focused ahead, ignoring the muffled background of those demons wanting his blood. Seth felt his exhaustion finally taking him over as the sight slowly became blurry, telling him to give up and let them do what they want with him.
If he fell unconscious, then he wouldn't have to feel the pain of being torn apart by a bunch of rampaging monsters. At least his death would be quick and painless, rather than enduring this type of torture. "It'll be easier to die here." He said weakly, with a tear falling down, "Sleep. I need to—"
Widening his eyes from the sight, a black metal door appeared at the end of this tunnel, which made him walk faster than ever from what he saw; it was made of some type of metal, and there was an inscription on the door written in Latin.
Yet he doesn't care about the words anymore. Seth could only smile happily at having his prayers heard and seeing his way out of this mess in such a timely manner. In spite of such a threat still lurking behind that door, the boy wouldn't waste this opportunity when he immediately ran towards it in disarray.
Immense pain was what he felt in his injured leg, but he can't care anymore; the adrenaline is the only thing preventing him from fully collapsing down in a heap, "almost there." Running and sprinting through the darkened corridors, "almost there..." reaching his destination in the middle of this chase.
Using his right shoulder, he charged at it while grunting from the impact. The pain hurt more, but Seth simply ignored it, forcing his way out of this nightmare when the door opened, throwing himself inside as the entrance from behind automatically closed itself.
Landing himself face-down on the ground.
