My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 277: The Risen (2)

"Keep it together, boys," Josh commanded with a grave tone. "There's still hope."

He pointed towards the cavernous entrances with his sabre. The crew glanced in that direction while trying to quieten their tumultuous emotions. Deep breaths escaped the crew as they tried to imagine what might be waiting for them in those dark depths. However, there was one thing they knew would be in there somewhere. It was something more valuable than the most enormous treasure horde anywhere in the world, new bodies.

With the realisation that they had been made whole again by passing into the chamber, another possibility entered their minds. If they escaped now, would they just revert back to their ethereal, ghostly forms? Was this only a temporary measure? It certainly seemed like it could be. There was a good chance that it was some kind of defensive action to guard the Necropolis.

In fact, Josh was confident that this was the case. Since this was a prison of sorts, it was entirely acceptable for the jailor to defend its contents from any kind of invasion. No matter how unlikely it was to happen. Josh continued to curse as he silently tried a few of his abilities. His wraith abilities to turn immaterial and the like were wholly sealed due to his new form. 

He could still wield the more physical abilities, and he was happy to notice that increased physical abilities seemed to carry over as well. The problem was his crew. They had all been normal humans, without the benefits that the heroes received. Only a few of them had managed to pick up any skills. These were mostly parlour tricks. Nothing that could severely affect the outcome of a battle. 

'It would be best if we stuck together to preserve our fighting strength. They can always be useful as a distraction. However, besides the Necropolis itself, we need to find what is fuelling these defensive measures. Otherwise, we'll never escape.' Josh would not lie to himself. The situation was dire.

"Alright, let's get moving!" Josh roared before walking over to the edge of the Freedom. 

He stared at the dark waters momentarily before diving over the edge of the vessel. The crew looked around at each other's faces. None of them wanted to go in there but staying here was not exactly a plausible alternative either. Led by Brenden, they dove into the waters one-by-one. Following their Captain's lead. 

The water chilled them to the bones, threatening to drag them into its watery depths as it weighed down their clothes. They struggled against it as they swam for the water's edge. Josh had a healthy lead on the rest of his crew. He did not even keep an eye on where he was headed. He knew that the mind could make the distance seem further than it actually was. 

Nobody called out to each other. The only noise in the chamber was the continuous splashing as they struggled on. It seemed like it had taken them forever to reach their goal. In truth, the distance was not that far. Barely twenty minutes had passed since the last crew member dove into the water. Josh was standing in front of his men as they sat around in a group. Struggling to catch their breath.

He wanted to push on right away, but that would only damage their morale. He tried studying the different paths in the meantime. To see if they held any details as to where each one would lead. No air currents were coming from any of them, which made the air around them incredibly stale. As if nothing had stirred it in a long time.

'That's a good sign. It means we're far less likely to encounter any living enemies down here.' It was one less thing to worry about, but that just increased the chances of running into traps that they might not be able to detect.

"Alright! That's enough lazing about! Up on your feet! We're moving out!" Josh barked his latest orders to a cacophony of complaints. "Would you rather sit around here and wait for death!" 

That quickly got the crew moving. Nobody wanted to be left behind. They ere aware that the safest place right now would be with their vaunted Captain. In the end, Josh decided to keep the whole crew together. It would make the exploration slower and would threaten to slowly strangle their strength in the process. 

However, he decided that the risks of separating were even more considerable. There would be no way to communicate what they had discovered. Each party would have no idea if the others were even still alive. 'No. It's definitely better to proceed together. But what path should we take?'

The sooner they found what they were looking for, the less likely they were to suffer losses. 'If only we had more information.' Josh sighed as he made up his mind. They would follow a straightforward method of trial and error. Beginning with the leftmost passage and working their way to the right until they found the Necropolis.

Luckily for Josh and his crew, each passage was embedded with the glowing gems, so they did not need to worry about finding a source of light. However, many deep shadows were cast in the passageway. Josh pushed his worries to the back of his mind as he boldly stepped forward. Seeing their Captain acting so confidently instilled a sense of pride in the crew.

It was enough to make them forget their own concerns as they followed him into the partial darkness. Every now and then, someone would exclaim in pain as their foot connected with a rock that hid in the darker parts of the path. The lack of tension made them feel like they were just taking a simple stroll. 

Nothing seemed to be amiss with the passage, and Josh began to wonder if his concerns about traps were pointless. 'No, there should be something. Why else would they bother barring the entrance with those doors and whatever did this to us.' Josh frowned as he tried to figure out what was going on. 

By all rights, his instincts were telling him that they should have encountered something by now. 'I should be thankful, but' It was easy to have misgivings in this environment. All signs pointed towards a hidden threat. There was no way to defend against it for them until they found out what it was. 

The crunching of their boots on the loose dirt that covered the floor of the passage began to grate on their nerves. The walk was becoming monotonous, and the crew was starting to feel the onset of hunger. When Josh felt the weak pangs of his own stomach, he picked up the pace. It seemed like they had wasted more time than he thought. 

"What's that!" Someone exclaimed from the rear of their party. Causing everyone to look at him with curious glances. 

"There's nothing there," Brenden replied with an agitated voice as he stared in the same direction as the man. "Keep moving!"

His comrades around him shot scornful looks at him. 'What's he thinking? Giving us a fright like that! Doesn't he realise this is no time for jokes!' The man looked back at them with a helpless expression.

'I'm sure I saw something!' The man kept a wary eye on their terrain. He was no longer like the others who had long since begun to ignore their surroundings. Every rock, crevice and sound became an unfathomable threat in his eyes as he trudged along behind everyone. It was like everyone had begun to ignore his presence. 

A cold sensation washed over his senses. It was the kind of feeling he used to get when he felt threatened. He paused in his movements to look around. Trying to pinpoint its source. He studied the walls, finding nothing. He turned his gaze to the ceiling, but there was nothing there either. He peered into the path that they had already traversed. Again, there was nothing.

'I'm just letting it get to me. Come on, man. Shake it off. You're better than this! Are you really going to let a little cave beat you! I think not!' He admonished himself as he around to face the backs of his comrades. They had gained some distance on him in the time he had taken to reassure himself.

He took a few steps only to pause in fear. Something was crawling like a beast on the ceiling above the crew!

"Above you!" He roared in a panic as he spotted the figure. However, nobody seemed to react to his voice. There was not even a twitch from them. 'It's almost like they did not hear me at all!'

He panicked as he ran after them! Shouting the same warning over and over again! However, they did not even react when he was calling from only five steps behind them. 'What the fuck is going on!' He exclaimed in his mind. Just as his vision began to darken