Chapter 157 Lahumir (4) - Royal Library
The creature Damian got was limited, but the usage of the ability was more than that! Damian had many types of summons within his arsenal of spells, and having the new passive would help him control them better and summon more minions.
'When I tried to summon the Bone Dragon, it drained me. Perhaps with this passive, the burden becomes easier?'
Anyway, with that creature there to help them, Damian and Hymot made their way to the bridge, going toward another gate, the last one they had to pass before entering the castle.
The good thing was that there was only one lever to open that gate, and it was within easy access. Before long, the two were inside, yet did not know where to go first.
"How do we find the royal library? And what if there are more of these creatures inside?" Damian said.
"Well, if there are more creatures inside, can't you just control them like you did with this one?" Hymot said, pointing at the floating undead beside them.
"I can only have three at the same time. What if this place is filled with them? Then we are fucked!"
"Oh, so we better be careful…"
There were no signs inside the castle showing anything, so for them to discover the library, they would have to look around manually and hope for the best.
"Look at these statues! They look cool," Hymot said, touching a few armored statues in the castle's hall.
They walked a few steps before realizing something was off, and when Damian turned around, the statue Hymot had just touched was moving!
"Great. Living statues!"
"Should we run?" she said.
Damian rolled his eyes. "Weren't you the one touching them a few moments ago?"
The room they were in was filled with statues, just like the one that was alive, wielding a great sword. If they decided to ran passed all of them, there was no way of knowing if the other statues would chase them as well!
Fighting was the best option, and Damian was ready for it as the statue tried to attack him using the sword, but Damian swiftly dodged to the side.
The sword hit the castle's floor and broke a few tiles!
'Let me see if this undead is good or not,' Damian thought as he commanded the undead to attack the statue.
It moved toward the armored statue, grabbing both arms and pulling them, breaking the armor into pieces! The sheer strength of the undead was extraordinary, one of the greatest Damian had ever seen!
'I think not even me fully using my bloodline can match it, at least regarding strength.'
The thought of having that creature as their ally was just incredible, and it made everything easier! They passed through the hall that was filled with the statues, and each one that tried to attack them ended up destroyed by the undead's hands.
"I am glad this thing is on our side! Good job, Damian," Hymot said, giving him a thumbs up.
"Yes, I know I am awesome. Now, focus on finding the library, please."
She nodded as they continued exploring the castle. Nothing else happened after the fight with the statues, and the place looked devoid of life and noises.
There were many corridors and multiple floors, meaning the possibilities of where the royal library could be were immense, yet Damian had a guess of where it should be.
"The tower. I saw a tower when we were outside."
"Why do you think it is there?"
"Remote, silent, peace. The best attributes for a place that focuses on studies."
Every corner of the city was dead silent, the air heavy with the smell of abandonment, but that was completely different when the dragons were still around. If the library were to be placed in a specific location, the tower Damian saw was perfect, as the noises in the area were more bearable.
"It makes sense."
Hymot liked the thought process of Damian and followed his lead as they made their way toward the only tower around. They hoped the library was there. It had to be.
They passed through many corridors, staircases, seeing the old furniture, paintings and the remnants of what the castle once was: a lair for the mighty dragons.
It was once a place blooming with life, and all the other creatures saw the dragons as a font of endless wisdom, creatures they had a lot to learn from.
"A pity this place this place is dying, and there are no more dragons around here. What do you think it happened?" Damian asked.
The only thing they had to do as they went looking for the tower's entrance was chat, and maybe Hymot had something, a memory.
"I don't know… It just… It feels so bad. It's like I know these things, yet when I try to remember, nothing happens."
"Maybe I can read your mind? You can already tell I have mental powers," Damian suggested.
"Yes, I noticed it, but we dragons are immune to mind abilities."
"Let me try it."
Damian was not an ordinary mental ability user, so he hoped to be different, and prove Hymot she was wrong about that. She agreed to it, opening her mind for anyone who wanted to read it.
He concentrated and tried his best, sweating, but nothing happened.
"You were right. Fuck."
It was frustrating to have his ability turned useless like that, but once Damian realized how powerful the dragons were, he calmed down.
'Hymot was not even supposed to be at that early level in the dungeon. I still do not know why she was there.'
After exploring the castle for around two hours — not finding any other creature like the one Damian had on his side, which was nice — they found the entrance to the tower.
The doors were closed, but not locked, so Damian and Hymot slowly opened them up, and what awaited them on the other side was just like Damian guessed: the library.
"I told ya," Damian said, proud of being right.
"Don't think too highly of yourself! I was just testing to see if you were indeed smart."
"Yeah, of course."
Damian grabbed his flashlight, using it to illuminate the place, seeing many bookshelves with old books. The library was gigantic, but Damian still did not know what he should look for.
"The note said the answers would be here, but I don't think any of these books have it written what happened to this place."
All the books inside that place looked like old ones which had been there since forever. Damian walked to one bookshelf, grabbing one book to see what was inside, only to be surprised.
"There's nothing written on the books."
"What? Let me see it."
Hymot thought for a second that maybe the books' contents were only visible to dragons or something like that, yet when she saw it, there was nothing for her too!
"Strange. Could someone erase all the contents of these books? If that's the case, a lot of valuable knowledge is forever lost." Hymot said.
Damian closed his fist, punching the wall, "Fuck. Why are we so unlucky?"
The punch made some noise, and in no time, Hymot heard strange noises coming toward them. She knew exactly what that noise meant.
"Damian, more of these undead creatures are coming. I think maybe 8. What should we do?"
"E-Eight?"
Damian was regretting punching the wall out of anger, but he did not know the place was filled with undead! They had explored many parts of the castle, and there was nothing inside, so why were all the undead inside the library? Did they like to read or do something?
"We need to run, NOW!"
He let the undead he had under his control there in a way to distract some others, and maybe slow them down. In the meantime, Damian and Hymot tried to find a place to hide inside the library.
They did not want to leave before finding the answer, and perhaps if they left the library, it would be impossible to return, considering they attracted all the undead to the front door of the place.
But where could one hide inside a library? Damian looked for any other adjacent room, a hole behind the bookshelves, anything that could save their asses, yet found nothing.
The undead were getting closer and closer after each second, and Damian was sweating.
'Will this be my end?'
Hope was long gone, and Damian was preparing to use all of his strength to fight against those undead — although he was certain he would perish.
Yet there was a light at the end of the tunnel! An unfamiliar noise, one that was similar to someone tapping on wood.
Hymot and Damian looked for the source of the noise, and could not believe their eyes! An old man with a long beard was behind one bookshelf, one that had a secret passage.
He waved his hand in a sign showing for Damian and Hymot to follow him, and with no other option, they did.