Then he bent his knees and jumped.
He cleared the height of the passage in a single controlled motion, mana pushing through his legs, and ca up through the hole and back into the chamber above in one fluid movent. He landed beside the ritual circle and straightened his suit jacket without thinking about it.
The guild mbers in the room looked at him.
His expression had not changed from when he had gone down.
He walked to the far corner of the chamber, away from the others, and took out his communication device. He found the contact he needed and connected the call.
It answered on the second ring.
"This is Carter," he said, keeping his voice level and quiet. "I need a direct line to Hero Association Headquarters. Priority contact. Tell them it’s a category one situation requiring imdiate assessnt." A pause as the person on the other end responded. "Also no, Not tomorrow. I need it now."
He ended that call and made another.
Then he crossed the chamber and walked back out through the iron door and up through the dungeon passages toward the surface, his footsteps steady and unhurried, his face carrying the sa indifferent expression it had worn when he arrived.
Back at the entrance station the woman looked up as he erged.
He stopped in front of her desk.
"The two students who reported this tonight," he said. "Noah Eldritch and Damien Ashworth."
"Yes sir."
"Contact them in the morning. Tell them I want to et with them at the guild office tomorrow. Not a request."
"Understood. I’ll reach out first thing."
Oliver nodded once and walked toward his vehicle without another word.
The forest was dark around the entrance. The night insects continued their noise in the trees above, undisturbed by any of it.
Below their feet, in the cavern beneath the dungeon, thousands of things with white skin and red eyes continued to sleep.
For now.
He turned his gaze back to the sky, his mind working through the details.
"I need to inform the academy about this as well." He paused, a thought surfacing. "Now that I think about it... those two boys were from the academy. Noah and... Damien." He murmured the second na slowly. "I feel like I’ve heard that na sowhere before..."
He searched his mory, and then it clicked.
"He’s one of the academy’s students... which ans..." His eyes widened slightly. "Yes. He’s Morgana’s disciple."
He exhaled a long breath.
"Her disciple certainly has a talent for finding trouble. I should contact her and fill her in on the situation. She can relay it to the academy from her end... we’ll need to handle this together."
He pulled out his smartphone and scrolled to her number, pressing call.
It didn’t take long for her to pick up.
"What’s up? Calling out of nowhere like this?"
"I’ll skip the pleasantries, I don’t have much ti. Let get straight to the point." He steadied his voice. "First things first... is your disciple’s na Damien?"
---
"Yes, he is my disciple. What about him?"
Oliver’s jaw tightened. He began recounting everything. The incident, the two boys, the suspicious man dking so ritual with many human dead bodies, and the monster that had crawled out from below. He kept it brief but left nothing important out. The line stayed quiet as Morgana listened without interrupting.
When he finished, a beat of silence followed before she spoke.
"Understood. I’ll inform the academy and the principal first thing. Leave that side to ."
"Appreciated."
"So you’re calling Noah and Damien in tomorrow?"
"Yes," Oliver said. "I need to speak with them directl– hear it from their perspective and get a clearer picture of what actually happened out there."
"Alright. I’ll let you handle it." She paused briefly. "Oliver... keep an eye on them."
"That’s the plan."
They ended the call.
---
The next morning was a Sunday, quiet and normal in the way only weekends could be. Yet Noah and Damien were already up and moving, seated side by side on the bus as it rolled through the city streets. Neither of them spoke much. The events of the previous night still lingered between them like sothing unfinished.
"i wanted to rest today..but guess I have no choice." Noah finally break the silence and express his thoughts.
"Sa. Master also called and told to got at morning and et her after we ca back. She also call you." Damien was not in much different state than him.
"Damn!! I really don’t want to but guess its important situation after all."
They were heading to the Crimson Vale Guild.
The building ca into view before long, a sleek, towering structure that carried an air of quiet authority. They stepped off the bus and walked through the entrance without hesitation. The mont they approached the front counter, the woman stationed there looked up and seed to recognize them almost instantly.
"You must be Noah and Damien," she said, already stepping out from behind the desk. "Please, follow ."
She led them across the polished floor toward the elevator at the far end of the hall. The doors slid open, and the three of them stepped inside. The woman pressed the button for the top floor without a word. The elevator humd softly as it climbed.
Seventh floor.
The doors opened to a spacious, well-appointed office. Large windows lined the far wall, letting in the pale morning light. And there, seated behind a broad desk with a calm and collected air, was the man they had only caught a glimpse of the night before.
He looked up as they entered.
"Welco," he said, his voice even and asured. He gestured to the chairs across from him. "Please, have a seat."
They settled in, both of them instinctively straightening under the weight of his gaze.
"I am Oliver Carter," he continued, folding his hands over the desk. "Guild Master of the Crimson Vale Guild." He let that sit for a mont before adding, "I am also a friend of your instructor, Morgana."
His eyes moved between the two of them, calm and observant.
"I imagine you both have questions," he said. "So do I. That is exactly why I called you here." He leaned back slightly in his chair. "I wanted to have a talk with you."
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