Chapter 5

Strange Demon Grotto.

Sky was instantly drawn into a different dimension the moment his palm touched the gate, despite the fact that he has experienced this phenomenon a great number of times before, he continued to be fascinated by it each time it occurred.

As soon as Sky entered the demon grotto, he heard a voice which belonged to the leader, "Sky, check around to see if there are any demons around here."

The voice of the irate kid who had previously denounced Sky sounded once again, saying, "Do we really need this guy, his powers are meaningless."

Sky rolled over to face the person who had angered him. This kid's name was Aron Bukley, and he and Sky had gone to the same high school. Aron had always held a grudge against Sky, and the reason for this was that, when they were both in high school, Sky was the smartest kid in the class, while Aron was always at the bottom of the class.

Before Sky did something stupid like confronting the guy, Mr Smith quickly came before them, "Forget about him and check, the surrounding" while resting his hand on Sky's shoulder.

Sky closed his eyes, and as he did so, his senses began to expand outward from his body. As a result of these expanded senses, Sky was able to see an entirely new and different world. In this world, nothing could evade Sky's senses.

The grotto they had entered cosisted of different caves which were linked together, and they were just at the periphery of the caves, Sky searched the area around them but could not locate any demons. Allbhe saw were interconnected caves which were filled with small amount of flora and fauna.

When he told the leader what he had witnessed, the leader immediately began formulating a strategy for how they would attack this demon grotto.

As a result, they moved in an organized and stealthy manner. Typically, when knights first discovered their powers, the Knight's order would train them for several months before allowing them inside the gate. This was done to increase the combat effectiveness of the knights.

Sky was the one who required their protection the most, so the other members of their group formed a protective circle around him as while their leader walked in the lead position.

They explored each cave in the area, but were unable to locate even a single demon. Despite Sky's best efforts, the group was unable to locate any demons despite his repeated use of his senses.

Because it was possible to go into one cave and come out of another, the caves were somewhat similar to a maze. The only reason they were able to navigate the cave without any problems was because of Sky.

As soon as Sky spotted the first demons since entering the grotto, he swiftly reported, "There are five demons north of here, and they appear to be running somewhere."

They sped up considerably as they ran in the direction of the place where the demons were.

The instant the demons caught sight of the humans, they immediately stopped running, turned around, and confronted them with their clubs.

The leader yelled  "Everyone attack!"

They were all use to this routine so, they all swiftly entered a state of battle.

Even though there were only five low level demons , the knights were instructed to never underestimate the threat posed by demons and to utilize all of the strengths at their disposal to eliminate any and all demons, regardless of how powerless the demons may have appeared.

The demons had the appearance of minotaurs, complete with pointed horns that radiated a dark light. They stood approximately 1 meter (3.3 feet) tall and had hoof-like legs. When they looked at the humans, their bloodshot eyes revealed nothing but a desire for human blood.

As soon as the first demon reached the group, the leader of the group, who was in the front, raised his sword. It appeared to be long and sharp, and it pierced the demon in the neck. The attack was straightforward and error-free.

The demon let out a series of groaning sounds before succumbing to its defeat and falling to the ground. When the other demons saw that one of their team members had been eliminated, rather than showing fear, they stepped up their pace and dashed towards the direction of the leader.

The most terrifying aspect of the demons was the fact that they never showed any sign of fear or agony, every time they attacked they went completely insane.

The remaining demons were swiftly surrounded by the other members of the group, who continued to fight them until they were killed.

These demons that had just passed away only possessed the strength of one-star knights, yet they had the strenght of a one-star knight who would have been the strongest of his kind; demons were always more powerful than knights who were on the same level.

After the demons were killed, their bodies were hastily dissected, and the vital organs and other components were removed and stored

Being a Knight was actually one of the most lucrative jobs you could find anywhere, which is one of the reasons why knights were all so interested in clearing demon grotto's. One of the reasons why knights were all so interested in clearing demon grotto's was not all truly saving mankind and all. One of the reasons was because the resources goten from the demon's body was well sort after by alot of people.

All of the weapons used by the knight were crafted from various body parts of demons. The majority of  these body parts contain valuable resources that are highly sought after across the globe.

Some demons could even be used to develop ground-breaking pharmaceuticals products and medicines that are capable of curing practically all diseases and in some cases even extending human lifespans.

Sky had been toiling inside the gates so diligently in order to save up enough money so that he might one day buy his mother a medication that had the potential to completely heal her cancer.

After they had carried the body parts of the demons that had been dissected, Sky informed them where some the demons were hiding. As a result, they went from cave to another elliminating all the demons that they could find.

Due to the fact that Sky lacked physical strength, he did not engaged in a single battle against a demon. This fact did not bother anyone, with the exception of Aron, who never stopped complaining about having to act as Sky's baby sitter.

When the Knights were through clearing out the demon grotto's they would sell the demon body parts they obtained from the trip to either the Knight's Order or another organization that had a need for them.

The money from the sale was divided among the Knights who participated in the expedition according to each person's contribution in the expedition.

Aron had been making noise all along because he wanted Sky's portion to be reduced, and everyone saw through his little display

Even though Sky didn't fight, he had helped them navigate this maze-like cave; if they hadn't had him, they would have probably had to waste a lot of time before finding their way in this cave. Aron became angry as he saw that no one cared about what he was saying.

If Sky was truly taking advantage of them, then they would have all supported him. However, even though Sky didn't fight, he help them navigate the cave while so finding the whereabout of the demons, this in itself was a great job.

"There are a great number of demons gathered around the entrance to the cave, in the front"  sky informed.

"How many of them are in your field of vision?"

The leader questioned.

"I believe I see approximately thirty of them, but there may be more of them. as they seem to be guarding something deep inside the cave"

Sky was able to see that a large number of demons were congregating in a certain area at the back of the cave. These demons all appeared vigilant, looking in every direction for potential intruders.

"It looks like we are going to have a good harvest today."

Mr. Smith stated, beaming like everyone else, since entering the demon grotto, they had killed 20 demons, and now Sky had just Informed them, they were approximately more than thirty in front, this was a very good harvest, at least more than the usual amount they found in other low level gates.

They all sat down where they were, took out medications out of their backpacks, and then all started to apply them. They wanted to be in their best performance before engaging the demons, 

"Kid stay behind me and make sure you take care of yourself," Mr. Smith said as he beckoned Sky to his side.

Sky quickly went beside the old man, but he refused to go behind him as Mr. Smith instructed him to do so. 

Even though he was aware of his own weakness, he did not wish the man to come to harm by remaining in his back.

Mr. Smith noticed Sky's hesitation and shook his head, but he did not proceed to say anything further.

After 15 minutes, they all charged into the cave at the same time, brandishing their weapons as they engaged in combat against the demons.

At first, only half of the demons attacked them; the other half remained hidden in the shadows, as if guarding something.

But very quickly, all of them attacked, and very quickly, the entire area was engulfed in fighting as soon as they witnessed their comrades being killed in large numbers.

Even though they fought valiantly, the demons were no match for the knights and began to suffer significant losses. Blood and severed body parts of demons could be seen everywhere.

Sky, who was the only person who was not fighting, was looking at the battle with tense nerves, trying to prevent a sneak attack by a demon. Soon, his mind was drawn back to the location that the demons had been protecting when the team entered the cave.

He looked deeply into the place, and to his surprise, he found a door that had a demon that looked human crafted on it.

If not for the strange armor the figure wore or the two horns situated on its head, he would have called it human.

Sky was lost in thought as he saw the figure that had been crafted on the door. "I have never heard of anyone mentioning a demon that looks so human like," Sky thought to himself.

"Sky dodge!!" Mr. Smith let out an incredibly loud shout.

Sky, who had heard the shout, swiftly sidestepped to the other side, and that's when he saw a demon that had avoided Mr. Smith and was heading for him.

As Mr. Smith chased after the demon that had gone to attack Sky, he asked the boy, "What the heck were you thinking about?" as he raced after the monster.

Sky extended his gratitude to Mr. Smith for saving him one more time.

Sky couldn't help but be curious about the door he had seen, so he kept looking at it to see if he could notice any more strange things there. At the same time, he used his heightened senses, looking around him to make sure he wasn't being targeted again, 

The battle came to an end twenty minutes later, and all of the demons had been put to rest; this was a complete victory; however, the knights had not emerged unscathed; several of them had sustained injuries, though none of the injuries were particularly severe.

Sky shared with them the information he had gotten from observing the door while they were engaged in combat.

They all became interested in the strange door, but efore heading out for the door, everyone got another dose of medicine to help them recover from their wounds, minutes later  they all moved in the same direction towards the door.

When they arrived, they were greeted by a magnificent door that bore the carving of a demonic figure that resembled a human.

One of the knights questioned the other knights, "Have any of you seen or heard of this kind of demon before?"

They all looked at one another and shook their heads saying no. because none of them had ever heard of this creature before.

Mr. Smith speculated that it was maybe a new species, noting that the Knight Order was continually discovering more demon creatures.

A gleaming smile spread across the face of the leader as he investigated the gate, and then he exclaimed, "This is undoubtedly where the boss of this demon grotto stays."

Bosses are the most powerful demons in any grotto, and the body parts of these bosses are among the most valuable things that can be found in the demon grotto.

Sky made the decision to use his enhanced senses to investigate what was located behind the door while everyone else was speculating about what was located inside.

Just as his senses went further, a terrifying pressure descended on him, and he had the unsettling impression that he was standing in front of a reaper who was about to take his life.

As his senses further went inside it was as if he had entered a cold refrigerator, and everywhere was dark and gloomy. No matter hw far he went he was only able to glimpse the darkness within, not the demon that was contained there.

While Sky sense went through the door, everyone outside had been shouting his name in but all was in vain, as he never replied. The people outside saw sweat coming out of Sky's face in droves and they noticed that he was shaking as he stood.

Even Aron, who had a strong distaste for Sky, was frightened when he saw how Sky was trembling. "What the hell is wrong with this idiot?" Aron exclaimed.

After quickly pulling out a bottle of water, Mr. Smith proceeded to splash it all over Sky's face.

Sky was eventually able to open his eyes, and everyone could see by the way his chest was beating that he was terrified.

Mr. Smith asked Sky in all seriousness, peering at him, "What did you see that freaked you out this much, boy?"

Sky eventually regained his composure and shared with them what he had observed through the door.

Aron sneered at the others, saying, "You guys shouldn't bother with him, he is so weak that he was probably scared by some strong low level demon."

"I will advise you all not to approach that chamber; that thing inside there is the most powerful demon I have ever seen, and the aura of that demon alone was sufficient to almost kill me."

Aron responded, "Don't listen to this weakling, with his poor talents, how many powerful demons has he seen?"

Those who had lost their fighting spirit as a result of Sky's explanation finally regained their fighting spirit once more as they remebered what Aron had said, they were all stronger than Sky, and a powerful demon to him might not really be a challenge for them. 

Sky spoke to Mr. Smith in a pleading tone as he looked at him. "Mr. Smith, please help me and convince them, you know me, I have gone into stronger gates before, and even the demon's there were not even half as strong as this," Sky said.

It was the boss room, and its body could fetch them a lot of money; how could they just leave just like that because of something that someone as weak as Sky said? Mr. Smith tried to convince everyone that Sky would never lie, but no one believed him, even though everyone respected Mr. Smith.

Aron repeated his statement and said, "Even if there is a powerful demon there with the leader strength, it would be a piece of cake to kill it." Aron believed it would be easy to eliminate this threat.

After taking everyone into consideration, the leader came to a decision.

"According to the Knight Order, this is a low level gate; therefore, it is unlikely that the guards will make a mistake, so we should go through it."

Sky gave a frustrated shake of his head. The Knight Order was not perfect; this was not the first time they had made a mistake, and no one knew what the hell was hiding inside these demon grottos. 

Because of the rule of the Knight's Order, they had to obey the leader's command while they were inside the demon grotto. They were only permitted to disobey the command if more than half of the people in the group disagreed with the command. However, looking at their faces, it was clear that greed had blinded them, and they all desired to enter the room. He would have turned back with Mr. Smith if the rule hadn't been in place.

After gathering everyone together and ensuring that Sky and Mr. Smith followed them, the leader proceeded to open the door.