Kael moved forward in a low crouch, taking measured steps forward, his body ready to react at the slightest shift. The objective echoed in his mind, 'survive the Hollow Layer'. That alone told him this was going to be dangerous.
This place would not be empty.
He had barely taken a few turns when the smell worsened, thickening into something almost suffocating. It forced him to raise his forearm to his nose, breathing through it as he slowed slightly.
Then he heard it.
A thin, grating sound from ahead.
"Khikhikhikhi…"
Kael froze.
His eyes narrowed as he peered into the darkness, forcing his vision to adjust, searching for movement. For a moment, there was nothing, then something shifted.
A small figure stepped out from the shadows.
It was barely as tall as his waist, its skin a dull red that seemed to catch what little light there was. In one hand, it held a crude, trident-shaped black weapon. Two short horns curved from its head, and behind it, a thin tail flicked restlessly. Its wings were small, torn, and full of holes. They twitched against its back as if they had long since forgotten how to fly.
Its grin widened showing rows of yellow teeth.
Another soft, broken laugh slipped out.
"Khikhikhikhi…"
Suddenly, a blue window flickered into Kael's view.
[Imp – Level 1]
[Type – Monster]
Kael blinked.
And took a step back.
The imp mirrored him instantly, stepping forward with eerie precision.
"...Okay," Kael muttered under his breath.
He raised a hand slightly, as if calming a stray animal. "Let's not rush things, yeah? We can talk this out."
Another step back.
The imp followed again.
Its grip tightened on the weapon.
"Khikhikhikhi…"
Kael's eyes flicked to the ground, then the walls, scanning quickly for anything, a loose stone, debris, anything he could use.
But there was nothing.
"I at least deserved some starting gear as a beginner," he muttered.
Before he could adjust, the imp let out a sharp, piercing shriek and lunged forward, its small frame moving faster than he expected, the black trident thrusting straight toward his midsection.
Kael twisted on instinct.
The blade grazed past him, tearing through fabric instead of flesh, and he stumbled sideways, barely keeping his footing. The imp didn't stop. It landed, pivoted, and came again. It was quick and errant.
"Fast… too fast," Kael muttered, backing up.
The trident jabbed again. This time he slapped it aside with his forearm, the impact stinging, and drove a punch straight toward the creature's face. His fist connected.
A dull, solid hit.
The imp's head snapped to the side, its grin faltering for a split second. Kael didn't wait. He followed with a kick to its midsection, forcing it back a step.
"Yeah… that works," he breathed, a flicker of confidence surfacing.
The imp froze. Then its expression twisted.
The grin came back much wider and uglier.
"Khikhikhikhi—!"
Its grip tightened around the trident. A faint red glow began to pulse along the weapon's edges.
Kael's eyes sharpened. "That's not good."
The imp lunged again and it was faster. This time Kael reacted a fraction too slow. The trident drove forward and pierced through his thigh.
For a second, there was no pain, then it came white-hot.
"AAGH—!"
The heat surged through him, like metal fresh from fire driven straight into his flesh. Kael's body jerked as he grabbed the shaft instinctively, trying to stop it—
And his palm burned instantly.
"Shit—!"
He yanked his hand back, skin already searing, but the damage was done. The weapon was lodged deep, heat spreading, his leg threatening to give out beneath him. The imp cackled, pushing forward, trying to drive the weapon deeper.
Kael's vision shook. He could feel pain. He could feel heat and there was panic.
But then came something else.
Adrenaline.
"You….little shit," he growled through clenched teeth.
Instead of pulling away, he stepped in. The sudden movement caught the imp off guard.
Kael ignored the burning, ignored the pain screaming through his leg, and moved closer, inside the range of the weapon. His hands shot forward, grabbing the creature by its throat.
The heat hit him immediately. Its body was burning.
His palms screamed in protest, but he didn't let go.
"Got you."
With a raw, desperate shout, Kael lifted it.
The imp shrieked, thrashing, claws scraping against him.
Kael turned and ran.
Three steps. And then he slammed it into the wall. The impact echoed through the narrow passage. The imp screeched, its body convulsing, but Kael didn't stop.
He pulled it back, then smashed it again.
And again.
Each impact harder than the last, his vision blurring, his hands burning, his leg screaming with every movement.
"Die—!"
Another slam.
Bone cracked.
The creature's movements weakened.
Still he didn't stop.
Until finally, the imp went limp.
Kael held it there for a second longer, breathing hard, his grip still tight even as the heat began to fade.
Then his strength gave out. He let the body drop.
And staggered back.
Silence returned to the tunnel, broken only by his ragged breathing.
"...Okay," he gasped, one hand pressed against the wall as the pain surged back into his body in full force, sharper now that the adrenaline had begun to ebb. "That… could've gone better."
Before he could steady himself, the imp's body began to glow.
Kael frowned, his breathing still uneven, as the corpse broke apart into fine, shimmering particles. For a brief second, he just watched, confused, his mind trying to process what he was seeing, and then the particles rushed toward him all at once. He tried to shift away, but his body was too slow to respond. The light merged into him.
He froze, waiting for something but nothing came. Only a faint chime echoed somewhere deep in his mind.
Kael's eyes narrowed slightly, about to focus on it, when a sudden screech tore through the tunnel, sharp and violent enough to snap his attention away instantly. His head turned toward the sound, and there, standing in the dim stretch of the passage, was another imp.
It was already watching him.
[Imp – Level 1]
[Type – Monster]
"…Damn it," Kael muttered under his breath, shifting his stance instinctively, though the moment he put weight on his injured leg, pain flared up hard enough to make his jaw clench. The trident was still lodged deep in his thigh, and he could feel the warmth of his own blood spreading beneath the fabric.
The imp let out another shrill cry and rushed forward without hesitation.
Kael exhaled sharply, tightening his grip on the situation rather than the weapon he didn't yet have, and then, in one decisive motion, reached down and pulled the trident out of his own leg.
The pain was immediate and brutal.
A raw, involuntary sound tore from his throat as his vision flickered, his leg threatening to give out beneath him, but he forced himself to stay upright, fingers tightening around the weapon even as his hand trembled.
"Fucking hell…" he muttered through clenched teeth.
By then, the imp was already upon him.
Its trident came forward in a fast, precise thrust aimed straight for his chest. Kael reacted just in time, raising his own weapon to knock the strike aside, the force of the impact traveling up his already weakened arms. He tried to follow through, pushing forward with a counterattack, aiming to drive the trident into the creature but the imp was faster.
It twisted out of the way with unnatural agility, circling him in tight arcs as if it could already sense the imbalance in his stance, the delay in his reactions.
Kael adjusted his footing, but his injured leg dragged just slightly, just enough to matter.
The imp lunged again. This time, he couldn't fully evade.