They descended to the first floor, and a sword appeared in the Viscountess's hand. She stared tensely into the dark corridor ahead, where countless suits of motionless armor stood — the same kind he'd seen in the Courts' entrance hall when he was first brought here.
"They're guard knights," she said quietly. "An entire army protects this floor. Once we move, they'll come to life and attack us with their swords. No matter how skilled we are, neither of us could survive against that many foes. We have to reach the nearest armory — it's not far — and use the grenades stored there. It's the only way to break through to the hatch that leads down to the Courts' dungeons. Stay close to me."
A sword appeared in the Cursed's hand. They moved forward, where sinister iron silhouettes stood in the darkness. They lined the corridor in long rows, forming a narrow passage. When the heroes came closer, several iron figures jerked with sudden, twitching movements — then froze again, as if nothing had happened. The Cursed and the Viscountess were walking between eerie rows of lifelessly standing knights.
They passed several feet without incident, and The Cursed was already beginning to think they would make it all the way—to the hatch leading down into the dungeons. But suddenly, countless knights came to life, raised their swords, and attacked all at once. A brutal, merciless slaughter began. The Cursed unleashed his vampiric power, and his strikes grew impossibly fast. In his left hand appeared a long dagger, which he used to deflect sword blows and strike back. He aimed for the joints—between the armor plates, between the helmet and the breastplate. Black Darkness seeped out from the gaps, and the knights fell, spun as they lost balance, and rolled across the floor.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Visсountess fighting with unrestrained fury and madness. She bared her white teeth like a predator. An unnatural fire burned in her eyes. Her strikes, dodges, and movements were fantastic. And superhuman. The Cursed felt that some unknown magic was aiding her.
In their superhuman combat, they burst into a large room where shelves held swords, axes, crossbows, shields, and armor. The Viscountess fought her way to the containers against the far wall, pulled something out, then cleared space around her with her sword and hurled the item straight into the heart of the knights. A deafening explosion shook their ears and filled the room. The knights were torn apart, their armor scattered in all directions. A cloud of gray smoke billowed. The Cursed was right next to the Viscountess.
"The Cursed, grab the box of grenades. Now we'll break through to the nearest hatch to the dungeon."
They stepped back into the corridor. Knights in dark armor surged at them from all sides. But many couldn't even get close. The Viscountess pulled grenades from the box the Cursed carried and, pulling the pins with a clang, threw them into the thick of the enemies. In various spots along the corridor and adjoining halls, explosions erupted, sending iron remains of knights flying into the air.
In a dark room, there was a large iron hatch in the floor. Viscountess and the Cursed shut the entrance door with a bolt and barricaded it with heavy furniture. Outside, heavy thuds echoed as hordes of knights tried to break in.
The Cursed turned the handle of the mechanism lifting the hatch, and after a minute, an entrance to the underground opened before them. Stone steps descended into the darkness.
The Cursed began to go down the steps, but suddenly, when his feet touched the darkness, he screamed in pain, stumbled backward, and fell to the floor.
"What's happening? Is this some kind of trap?" he shouted, clutching one leg.
"Only a knight of the Courts can enter the underground of the Black Darkness," said the Viscountess.
She picked up the helmet of one of the fallen knights from the floor and handed it to the Cursed.
"Here, put this on."
Hesitating for a moment, he donned the helmet. Through the visor, his eyes burned with determination.
He began descending again, sinking waist-deep into the darkness, then chest-deep, and finally disappearing entirely.
Before him opened a dark tunnel with damp walls. Black slime covered the floor. The walls were inscribed with eerie black symbols and drawings, radiating an ancient, threatening aura.
Viscountess descended into the underground.
"How could you come here? You're not a knight," the Cursed asked.
"The magic of the Courts helps me. It was the Fallen's will to make me his wife."
She glanced around, saw the black symbols and drawings, and suddenly became uneasy.
"We shouldn't have come down here."
The black symbols and drawings on the walls began to stir. A long, resonant hum rolled through the entire building.
"Well, it doesn't matter now. The Fallen Knight has awakened, and with him, his madness."