Chapter 716 The Light At The End Of The Tunnel

The three of them waited until morning, but they did not waste a single moment longer than necessary once the darkness began to recede. The moment there was enough light to see their surroundings clearly, Irina was already prepared to leave, her expression carrying the same determination that had kept her searching throughout the previous night. They had discovered a possible location for Eldric’s underground hideout, and none of them wanted to give him an opportunity to interfere before they could investigate it. If they were fortunate, Eldric still had no idea they had found anything significant. That was the advantage they needed to preserve.

Voss had spent years searching Elaris, and he knew how difficult it was to uncover anything Eldric wanted hidden. If the man had learned that they were investigating the slope, he might have already prepared another deception or found a way to conceal the entrance. Worse, he might decide that Liam had outlived his usefulness and carry out his threat before they could reach him. Irina had no intention of allowing that possibility to become reality. Every second mattered, and she was unwilling to risk losing the small advantage they had gained.

"We leave now," she said, looking between Voss and Mira. "Eldric mustn’t know we’ve discovered this place. If he thinks we’re still searching blindly, we have a better chance of catching him off guard."

Voss nodded, pulling the Cryovail Veil over his body. The blue material settled around him, and within moments his figure began to fade until he was almost impossible to distinguish from the surroundings. He adjusted the mask and glanced toward Irina, ready to lead the way.

Mira, however, looked uncertain. She was not accustomed to moving at the speed Irina and Voss could manage, and the thought of travelling across the outskirts of Elaris before Eldric noticed their absence made her visibly nervous. She had spent seven years confined in darkness, deprived of freedom and forced to obey a man who had gradually revealed himself to be a monster. Even now, the thought of acting against him stirred a deep fear within her, although she knew that remaining passive would only allow him to continue controlling her life.

Irina noticed her hesitation and stepped closer. "I’ll carry you. Just hold on tightly, and don’t worry about keeping up with us."

Before Mira could protest, Irina wrapped an arm around her and lifted her with ease. She adjusted her grip to ensure Mira was secure, then looked toward Voss.

"Lead the way."

Voss immediately moved.

Irina followed, and the three of them crossed the vast outskirts of Elaris at extraordinary speed. Voss travelled ahead beneath the concealment of his veil, his movements swift and nearly silent, while Irina followed with Mira held securely in her arms. The landscape blurred around them as they passed through stretches of rough ground, scattered rocks, and patches of wild vegetation. Irina’s powerful legs carried her forward with explosive acceleration, allowing her to keep pace without difficulty despite the additional weight she carried.

Mira instinctively tightened her arms around Irina’s shoulders. The speed was unlike anything she had experienced before. The wind rushed past her face, and the ground seemed to disappear beneath them with every stride. She had lived in Elaris for years, yet she had rarely travelled beyond the familiar paths near the village. Now, within minutes, they were crossing terrain that would ordinarily have taken her a considerable amount of time to traverse on foot.

She glanced at Irina, whose expression remained composed despite their incredible pace. There was no visible strain in her breathing, and her grip never loosened. The woman carrying her seemed entirely unaffected by the distance they were covering, as though running at such a speed while carrying another person was little more than an inconvenience.

Mira could not help wondering just how powerful Irina truly was.

The question was quickly pushed aside when Voss slowed ahead of them. He had reached the location marked on his map, and the peculiar slope rose before them, stretching across a section of land that appeared largely unremarkable at first glance.

Irina came to a halt beside him, carefully lowering her speed before stopping completely. She looked over the area, examining the uneven ground and the subtle changes in the terrain. Now that she was standing directly before it, she could understand what Voss had meant the previous night. The slope did not follow the natural shape of the surrounding landscape. Certain sections dipped at strange angles, while others rose in ways that seemed inconsistent with the earth around them. Someone had clearly altered the ground, and whoever had done so had gone to considerable lengths to make those alterations appear natural.

"So this is the place," Irina murmured.

Voss nodded. "This is where I tried to enter the ground last night. I couldn’t get through, no matter where I approached it."

Irina crouched slightly, inspecting the nearest section of the slope. She could not immediately identify the mechanism that had prevented Voss from passing through, but she was certain there was something unusual about the area. The ground seemed too deliberately shaped, and the irregularities were arranged in a way that suggested the slope had been constructed to conceal something beneath it.

Mira slipped from Irina’s arms and landed carefully on her feet. She looked around, her gaze moving over the slope and the scattered vegetation that partially covered it.

She took a few steps forward, then stopped abruptly.

"There!"

Mira raised her hand and pointed toward a section of the slope partially hidden by weeds and loose earth.

Irina immediately followed the direction of her finger, while Voss moved closer. At first, the object was difficult to distinguish from the surrounding ground, but once they knew where to look, its outline became apparent. Beneath a thin layer of dirt and vegetation lay something that resembled a metal hatch, its edges fitted carefully into the surrounding surface.

Irina’s eyes narrowed.

The metal was old, but it had been concealed deliberately. The surrounding earth had been arranged to disguise its shape, and the vegetation had grown over the edges, making it difficult to notice unless someone examined the slope closely.

She turned toward Voss. "You searched this place last night. How did you miss that?"

Voss shook his head. "I didn’t see it. My night vision doesn’t work properly in this area. I could barely make out the differences in the slope, and even that was only possible because of the moonlight. I knew something was wrong with the terrain, but I couldn’t see enough detail to identify an entrance."

His tone carried genuine frustration. He had spent years relying on the Cryovail Veil to help him perceive things beyond the reach of ordinary senses, and the discovery that his abilities had been compromised in this particular area troubled him. He had approached the slope several times during the night, yet the hatch had remained hidden from his sight. Whatever force was affecting the veil had done more than prevent him from passing through the ground.

Irina looked at Mira with newfound approval. Her sharp eyes had identified the concealed entrance almost immediately, even though both she and Voss had been examining the area for several moments.

"Good catch," Irina said.

Mira seemed surprised by the praise, but she managed a small nod. "I only noticed it because the shape looked different from the rest of the slope. Once I saw the outline, I couldn’t stop looking at it."

"That’s enough," Irina replied. "You found it, and that’s what matters."

She stepped toward the hatch and brushed away some of the loose dirt around its edges. The metal surface was cold beneath her fingers, and a sturdy handle had been fitted near one side. She tested it lightly, checking whether it would move, then positioned herself to pull it open.

Before she could do so, Mira caught her arm.

"Wait!"

Irina turned toward her, surprised by the sudden interruption. Mira’s face was tense, and genuine concern filled her eyes as she glanced from the hatch to the surrounding ground.

"Are you sure that’s okay?" she asked.

Irina frowned slightly. "What do you mean?"

Mira swallowed, then pointed toward the concealed entrance. "If this is where Eldric has been hiding his biggest secret, shouldn’t there be traps? Or some kind of protection? He has spent years keeping this place hidden. Surely he wouldn’t leave an entrance like this without preparing for someone to find it."

Her concern was reasonable. Eldric had deceived an entire village for fifteen years, killed people to harvest their souls, and carefully concealed the truth about his lost cultivation. If the underground chamber was important enough for him to protect, it would make sense for him to install traps or other defenses to keep intruders away. The fact that Voss had been unable to pass through the surrounding ground only made the possibility more troubling.

Under ordinary circumstances, Irina would have agreed with Mira. She would have examined the hatch, checked the surrounding area for concealed mechanisms, and searched for signs of magical wards before attempting to open it. She was not careless, and she understood that charging blindly into an unfamiliar underground structure could easily get someone killed.

But these were not ordinary circumstances.

Liam was somewhere below them, and every minute they spent standing around the entrance was another minute he remained in Eldric’s hands. She could not know how much time he had left, nor could she be certain what the man might do if he discovered their investigation. If there were traps, she would deal with them when she encountered them. If there were monsters, she would kill them. If something tried to stand between her and Liam, it would have to be prepared to face her.

At this point, she really did not give a damn.

"Then we’ll deal with whatever is down there," Irina answered.

Mira’s grip on her arm tightened. "But what if it’s dangerous?"

Irina met her gaze. "Mira, Liam is down there. I’m not leaving him behind because I’m worried about what might happen when I open a door."

There was no anger in her voice, only a cold certainty that left little room for argument. Mira slowly released her arm, recognizing that nothing she said would persuade Irina to abandon the search. Voss remained silent, but his posture suggested he was equally prepared to follow her inside. They had come too far to turn back now.

Irina grasped the handle and pulled.

The metal hatch resisted for a moment before shifting with a low groan. Dust fell from its edges as she forced it upward, revealing a dark opening beneath the slope. She lifted the hatch far enough to expose a narrow tunnel descending into the earth. The passage was built with solid walls, and a series of rough steps led downward into darkness.

Irina leaned over the opening and looked inside. She could see no immediate movement, no visible traps, and nothing that suggested an attack was waiting just beneath the entrance. She listened briefly, but the tunnel remained silent.

Without further hesitation, she jumped in.

Her body dropped through the opening, and a moment later her boots struck the ground below. She bent her knees to absorb the impact before straightening and looking back up toward the hatch. The landing had been easy, and she found nothing immediately threatening in the space around her.

Irina tilted her head toward the opening.

"See? No traps."

Above her, Voss and Mira exchanged uncertain glances.

Neither of them seemed particularly convinced by her conclusion, especially since she had spent less than a few seconds inside the tunnel. Nevertheless, Voss climbed through the opening and dropped down beside her, landing with considerably less noise than an ordinary person could have managed. Mira followed after him, lowering herself carefully before making the jump. Irina reached out to steady her when she landed, ensuring that she did not stumble on the uneven ground.

Once all three were inside, Voss turned toward the passage ahead.

The tunnel stretched deep beneath the earth, its walls disappearing into darkness. The air was colder down here, and the silence carried an unsettling weight that made even the smallest movements seem unusually loud. Irina examined the walls, searching for anything that might reveal how the passage had been constructed or what lay beyond it, but the tunnel offered few immediate clues.

Then she noticed something.

Far ahead, deep within the darkness, a tiny light flickered.

It was so distant that it looked almost like a dying spark, appearing and disappearing faintly against the blackness. Yet it was unmistakably there, shining from somewhere near the far end of the passage.

Mira stared at it, her face paling as she realized how far the tunnel extended beneath the village. Voss narrowed his eyes, trying to determine what could produce a light in a place that had supposedly remained hidden for years.

Irina’s gaze fixed on that distant glow.