My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 61: The Eternal City

The pair were taken aback. The outcrop was actually hiding the cave system that they had been looking for! When they arrived though the entrance had caved in. Forcing them to rely on Grugda magic to clear the path.

Kace used his [Night Eye] ability immediately. Not wanting to get caught off guard by the possibility that something could be hiding in the dark.

When he seen that there was nothing there he decided to try his luck with [Tracking]. Now that they were away from the crew he would not end up getting confused by numerous trails.

Even though nothing showed up with both of these activated he was not fool enough to be convinced that was entirely the case. Luckily Grugda also had decent vision in dark places. It was not as good as his own though.

This would allow them the opportunity to explore without giving away their exact positioning. As they moved onward they became surprised.

As the tunnel led downwards the once rough floor turned into a staircase. Obviously having been made by intelligent hands. Kace felt a spark of hope ignite in his heart.

There was a good chance that the vampires they were looking for had done this. If they were still on the island then this could simply be an abandoned entrance.

Carefully walking down the stairs and going around a bend they came into contact with an archway. A soft green glowing light exposed itself from beyond. The archway itself had an almost gothic feel to it. Radiating a feeling of wealth and power behind the civilisation that had built it.

The light itself made him feel that his hopes would be true. If the place was abandoned then there would be no need to keep it lit right? Just like how you would turn off the lights in your house when you were not using them.

Silently peeking into the area from behind the archway the pair were left utterly dumbstruck. Their mouths flapped open and closed but words escaped them.

There was an entire city sprawled out before them! The entire area was laid out in a circular formation. The city itself was built in eight circular layers. Each layer was set lower than the one before it but the buildings got even grander in nature the closer they got to the centre.

Right in the middle was an over the top medieval fantasy style castle. Surrounded by nine large gothic towers that were set away from the main body of the castle. Each one connected to a different area by long, thin bridges. Not a single one had any kind of railings or walls to protect anyone from falling to their death.

The windows, of which there were hundreds, were made from stained glass. The smooth and enticing stonework was etched with intricate silver patterns while the stone itself was flawless and black.

The lightself came from dozens of chandeliers that hung from the ceiling of the cavern. Suspending the massive green stones that provided light for the entire city. It was almost too much to take in.

Whoever had lived here had clearly been far to wealthy! 'Share with the rest of us peasants god damn it!' Kace could only swear to himself as he marvelled at the beauty of the place.

Grugda on the other hand felt ashamed. He had been proud of the place his people had created for themselves beneath the earth. Although it had it's own beauty it would not even serve the purpose of a slum district in this place.

This in turn ignited a passionate curiosity in himself for the vampire race. If they could find even just one of them, then the knowledge he could gain could improve the lives of his entire race!

Neither of them held much hope anymore though. The light source clearly maintained itself and there was not even the slightest hint of anyone travelling on the streets. No guards to check them, no everday citizens and not even the sound of merchants hawking their wares that you would definitely find in a city.

Even Kace's [Tracking] did not pick up any lingering trail. Meaning that the place was completely deserted. No beasts had claimed the place as their own.

'Does that mean the guardian that Yul spoke of has already passed away? Maybe he was unaware of the situation?' He had to admit that it was wishful thinking for the task to be so easy but a guy can dream right?

In any case it was obvious that the best place to start searching would be the castle itself. Now that they were certain that there was no life in the area they could walk in casually without having to sneak around.

Their eyes were constantly drawn to the incredible architecture. Everything was done in a gothic Victorian style. What amazed them more was how pristine everything was. No dirt in the streets, windows were spotless. It was as though the place had only recently been abandoned.

It gave the pair an entirely new feeling once their initial excitement wore off. This just did not seem possible no matter how they looked at. Even taking the time to analyse it from various angles. However they could only come up with one thought. 

Something was very wrong here! As far as they knew this place had to have been abandoned for an extraordinary amount of time. The only way to keep a place of this magnitude clean for so long would be for there to be caretakers.

That thought in turn begged the question. Then where were they? Kace felt a chill run down his spine. His eyes were drawn to a nearby rooftop that was situated behind them. Only to discover that nothing was amiss.

Trying to calm their nerves the pair carried on through to the second ring of the city. From that rooftop he had just glanced at a pair of stoney eyes peered over the ridge of the roof. Watching them closely...

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