Demons Beside You

The two put on hard hats with a light hanging from it. Otherwise, with their very human vision, they"d probably knock their brains out in the pitch-black cave.

"Did you bring magical phosphor?" Chen Zhao asked.

"Yes," Pierce said. "As a wizard, I have to have some on me."

"Sprinkle some in the front," Chen Zhao said.

"Why?"

"Just do it. Stop asking so many questions."

There were mayflies all over the place. They"d come from h.e.l.l and were trapped here by magic. They weren"t lethal, but if they latched onto someone, they could cast some spells. For example, they could cause insufferable itchiness or pain somewhere.

However, these h.e.l.l mayflies could only survive in damp environments and went to the light. On a full moon night, they would gather at the entrance but not leave the cave. It was difficult to see them with the naked eye.

Pierce took out a bag of magical phosphor. Grabbing some, he asked, "Where should I sprinkle it?"

"The entrance. Ignite it directly."

Pierce sprinkled the phosphor with a bit of magical power to ignite it. Next, he and Chen Zhao saw countless specks of light swarming toward the magical phosphor"s flame. These lights were extremely fast, like moths going toward the light.

"What are these?"

"h.e.l.l mayflies," Chen Zhao said. It was actually his first time seeing them too.

However, he"d heard Winry mention them before, so he wasn"t too surprised. He"d been in h.e.l.l before, after all, and had seen more impressive things.

These mayflies weren"t strange to him.

"Chen, you seem to know this place better than me."

Something charged out of the depths of the cave.

"Careful!" Chen Zhao pushed Pierce aside.

It was a greyhound! However, this one had patches of fur missing. There were red scabs all over the skin too. It seemed to have some infection.

Walter immediately went up to the greyhound. He was twice the size of this dog. The greyhound clearly wasn"t in a normal state. Who knew how long it had been in here?

It still understood basic differences of strength though. When it saw Walter, it immediately surrendered and ran.

Walter chased right after it. The Silly Twins and Obitos also charged deep into the cave.

"This cave isn"t a straight path," Pierce said. "Aren"t you afraid they"ll get lost?"

"Don"t worry, they can find the way," Chen Zhao said easily. "Let"s go in too."

A few steps later, they saw two greyhounds on the ground. Walter and the others must have killed them.

"You"re smart to bring your pets. If it was just the two of us, it wouldn"t have been so easy."

Just then, a black shadow attacked Pierce"s back. Chen Zhao had sharp eyes and reaction speed. He pulled Pierce aside while kicking the black shadow away.

It was another greyhound. Chen Zhao"s kick was so powerful that he killed the hound just like that.

"What do these greyhounds eat to survive in here?"

"Zombie spores," Chen Zhao answered.

"What zombie spores?"

"The thing growing where your hand is."

Pierce"s hand flew back. He clapped his hands hard. Looking at the wall, he saw some fungus-looking things. They were slippery to the touch.

"If they enter your body, you"ll basically turn into those zombies in movies."

Pierce kept wiping his hands on his clothes. "Why didn"t you tell me sooner? Will I get infected by touching it just then?"

"It"s not that scary. You"ll only get infected if you eat it or it touches your wounds."

"If those dogs run out, will they cause a biological crisis?" Horror filled Pierce"s face. He was probably imagining some movie scenes.

"No, they"re not contagious. The dogs can"t survive outside either. They"ll die under the sun like vampires."

"You"re not scared about this at all?" Pierce asked.

"Please, you"re a wizard. Can you not be so embarra.s.sing?"

"I feel like a normal person compared to you."

Chen Zhao had witnessed and experienced many things before. This was nothing.

Two spots of red light appeared right before them.

"And what"s that?" Pierce hid behind Chen Zhao.

"It"s okay. It"s my pet, Obitos."

Pierce shone his light over and saw Obitos sprawled on a greyhound"s corpse. He was chomping on it.

The zombie spore-infected greyhound was already scary enough. Now that it was a b.l.o.o.d.y mess, it was even gorier.

"Won"t your pet get infected by eating the infected greyhound"s corpse?"

"No, this is just a snack to Obitos," Chen Zhao said.

After all, Obitos was a superior demon with the bloodlines of the dragon and Glutton. Nothing could live in its burning blood.

The zombie spores weren"t advanced beings either. They were basically just parasitic spores that the human world had too.

The way was lined with greyhound corpses. No one knew how many dogs Trede had put in here.

However, to Pierce, Chen Zhao"s pets were the more terrifying ones. They weren"t scared of these zombie dogs at all. Even the smallest Carrie and Beelzebub were killing their brethren.

Many of the ravaged bodies they saw along the way were clearly the works of the Silly Twins. Only their size and strength could snap a zombie dog in half with one bite.

Pierce felt like Chen Zhao had an army of monsters instead of pets.

Woof, woof.

Chen Zhao and Pierce heard White Ma"s bark just then. Of course, Pierce couldn"t tell which dog it was, but Chen Zhao could.

"Come here. White Ma found it."

"Found what?"

"What do you think? Our goal this time—Trede"s treasures."