Chapter 248: A puzzling sight

It took quite a while before the sizable cloud of dust finally settled enough to grant just enough visibility for Roas to see the results of the clash between his young master and the animated stone figurine.

Aiden, his young master, could be seen standing over a small crater that was formed in the ground due to the dense, heavy stone gargoyle crashing into it with great momentum. Besides being a bit dusty, Aiden was unharmed, making him the clear winner of the short clash. He was standing at the edges of the small crater, looking down on it with a solemn expression.

Even though the guardian that deeply implanted into the ground was completely still, unmoving, Aiden could still see traces of the dark magic that made it come to 'life' just a few moments ago, however, it was slowly fading, as if whatever power this energy had granted to the stone figure, was completely defeated.

Still, until the very last traces of the energy left the statue he would not relax. Although the battle was over with one single strike, the enemy was still much more fearsome than most of what he had faced so far. The only reason he could win so easily was due to the fact that the gargoyle was simply being controlled via magic and had no consciousness at all. It couldn't think on the spot and analyze the changes and react to such a sudden change in the situation.

If let's say, the guardian would be truly revived and granted real life, the outcome could have been much different. 

Finally, as the last strands of the dark energy left the statue, Aiden heaved a loud sigh in relief. Deactivating his transformation, his features swiftly returned to their original, Primal Goblin state. 

'I haven't even stepped inside and I have already used up so much of my [Soul Power]... This is not good.' He lamented inwardly, gazing at the cracked body of the statue in a lost, hazy daze.

"[Orc] M-master… are you alright?" The familiar hoarse, raspy voice of his servant, Roas came from his right, awakening him from his momentary stupor. 

Turning towards his devoted servant, he let out a slightly tired, but content, happy smile, speaking in his usual, calm tone.

"[Orc] Yeah, everything is fine. Still…" Aiden paused for a moment, sizing up the broken statue lying in the ground one last time before turning away and shifting his attention towards the still closed albeit disarmed huge, ebony double door. "...Why did a guardian suddenly wake up? Was this some sort of extra layer of defense? And also, why are there such defensive measures put in place?"

Taking a longer sigh, he continued after a short pause before Roas could respond.

"[Orc] We are probably missing something that would recognize us as true members of the horde. What surprises me in that is the fact that you also had no information about this. Although, being an outcast and all could be the reason for you being kept in the 'dark'..." He spoke thoughtfully, measuring the door in the process.

"[Orc] I am truly sorry for my incompetence, my lord! I am just a-" Before Roas could finish apologizing for the nth time this night, Aiden raised his hand, silencing him instantly.

"[Orc] Stop. Don't apologize, it's not something you could have known. What's done is done, we just have to do our best. Most likely they are now aware of us. I did feel a strange presence just before…" 

Not sure how to react or what to say, Roas just stood at the right side of his master in silence, looking at him, awaiting his next command with a pensive look on his face.

Seeing his expression, Aiden gave a light smile, breaking the previous tension that lingered in the air, and walked back towards the double door. 

Slowly reaching out, he gently touched the surface with both hands. Keeping his hands on it just for a few short moments, he made sure that there was no magic, no extra tricks left, and that they would finally be safe. At least for the moment.

"[Orc] Anyway... " Aiden spoke up, breaking the ensuing silence between master and servant. "We have wasted enough time here already. Let's go, we have a job to do!"

Pushing open the door, he was greeted with a similarly stunning, unique, and unexpected sight that stunned him when he saw this out-of-place building for the first time.

Going with the same motif as on the outside, the inside of the building that was revealed was incredible. What they saw, was probably some sort of hallway that snaked and eventually turned into a fork far in the distance. Ruby red carpet was rolled out on the ground, whilst the marble-looking walls were almost glowing in a silvery hue. Embellishing it all the way until their eyes could take them, strange, seemingly random, but most definitely creepy objects were placed on the wall. Several different types of skulls, large gemstones of almost every color… just to name a few. 

The hallway was large, probably designed for creatures of even much greater height than what Aiden had seen so far. Far above them, lavish chandeliers were hanging from the ceiling, shining with the gold which were decorated with a myriad of gemstones.

Looking through the incredible sight that greeted them, Aiden was now absolutely certain; these orcs had nothing to do with the creation of this building. Whoever or whatever made this, was most definitely not of the common races, he couldn't be either an orc, goblin, or whatever brutish creatures they had in their ranks besides these two or any of their variations.

"[Orc] Incredible…" Stunned by the sight, Roas was amazed and was looking around with wide eyes. "So this is what it looks like from the inside…"

Although the sight was indeed stunning, they had a job to do, and time was already rapidly running out. Not to mention that dawn was probably coming on them mercilessly, they have probably alerted the orcs on the outside with the previous battle.

Aiden shook his head and activated his [Dark Sense] ability. As usual, he pooled some of his [Soul Power] into it, empowering it, and sent out several invisible pulses to map out as much of the building as he could. Judging only from what he had seen from the outside and from this first look, if they were to jump into their search blindly, they would need not just a few hours but probably several days or maybe more to even have a slight chance in accomplishing what they set out to do.

Previously he was unable to take a 'peak' on the inner design and map out any potential routes as he was strangely blocked from any attempts, but now that he got inside, there were seemingly no more obstacles. His pulses traveled in every direction, giving him lots of information in the process. He closed his eyes, focusing on the system's map and looking through all the details that appeared one after another as he received the information.

Seeing his master standing still, Roas looked at him with curiosity. Seeing how the young master had his eyes closed but still looking focused, Roas remained silent, and patiently waited, standing by his side, ready to protect him from any incoming danger, just like how a good servant should.

After nearly three minutes of silence, Aiden finally opened his eyes. His previously focused, stoic face revealed an increasingly curving grin stretching out his facial muscles. With a much more delighted tone than before he spoke just as he began marching forward at a steady pace.

"[Orc] This building is incredible! Whoever made it, was clearly a very powerful being!" He exclaimed, stopping after only taking a couple of steps, and turned back looking at Roas. "Come, don't just stand there, we have quite a long way to go!"

Confused about what could have made the sudden change in his young master's mood, Roas was at a loss for words. With a confused, questioning look on his face, he nodded at Aiden's words and stepped forward, following behind his young master silently whilst keeping his confused gaze at his back as if all the answers to this strange enigma could be found there.

Seeing Roas's expression, Aiden couldn't help but let out a chuckle and resumed his trek marching forward, to the stairs just a bit further ahead of them whilst he continued sending out pulses and keeping half of his awareness on the map looking for signs of life. What seemed slightly strange to him was the fact that whilst there was heavy protection set up on the perimeter, barring entry for any unwelcome guests, there seemed to be nothing set up once they got inside. Probably they never expected anyone to be able to overcome such a surefire obstacle...

The reason why he was in a much better state than before was the fact, that while he strangely couldn't detect any enemy signals no matter where he sent out his energy pulses, but on the other hand, he did manage to find a faint, yet familiar life sign just a bit below them...