At the Ruins of the Forest of Wolves
Upon reaching the old ruins hidden deep in the Forest of Wolves, the team stayed concealed among the trees and bushes.
The air was tense; everyone waited for the demons to move.
But nothing.
No sound.
No shadow.
No scent of fire.
Only silence.
Andras frowned.
"I don't see a single demon.
I don't sense their presence either.
Do you smell anything, Ironclaw?"
The bandit‑hunter hound lifted her nose and sniffed deeply.
"I don't smell anything strong.
No prey nearby."
Andras looked around.
"Strange… did they leave already?
Ironclaw and I will check the ruins up close.
The rest of you stay hidden."
Andrea nodded.
"Understood."
Among the Ruins
Young Wolf and Ironclaw slipped silently into the area of the old ruins.
Moss grew between the stones, the walls were half‑collapsed, nature had reclaimed the place — yet something felt… different.
They moved cautiously at first, watching every step.
But since nothing stirred, nothing rustled, nothing attacked, they gradually stopped hiding.
Andras signaled to Ironclaw.
"Let's start searching."
The two warriors moved with quick, practiced motions.
They checked under stones, behind rubble, every corner.
But the place was empty.
Too empty.
As if someone — or something — had deliberately vanished.
Ironclaw suddenly froze, ears twitching.
"Master… something's wrong."
Andras felt it too.
There was no demonic presence in the air — but there was something else.
A trace.
A shadow.
A feeling whispering:
They were not the hunters.
They were being watched.
Among the Ruins — Too Much Silence
Silence hung over the ruins.
Too much silence.
Andras slowly turned in place, his magical senses expanding, but nothing stirred within his perception.
"No one is hiding among the ruins.
My magical sight would have detected them already.
Ironclaw's nose didn't catch anything either.
But… if demons really passed through here, they must have left some trace behind."
Ironclaw suddenly lifted her head.
"This way! I smell something new!"
The hound moved forward with quick, decisive steps, and Andras followed her.
Deep within the ruins stood a half‑circular, crumbling wall — once part of a temple long ago.
"This place must have been a temple centuries ago.
It's been abandoned for ages.
Every few years goblins try to nest here, which is why the hunters patrol this area monthly."
Ironclaw stopped at the base of the wall, sniffed, then pointed at the stones.
"Here! I smell a strong scent!
And many weaker ones too."
Andras knelt and touched the stones.
"Yes… the strong one is the demon.
The weak ones are the imp spawn."
Then he felt a strange vibration under his fingers.
"What the hell is this?
A magically disguised passage?"
One of the stones didn't match the others.
Its surface was smoother, and magic faintly pulsed around it.
"No wonder the hunters never noticed it.
And luckily, neither did the goblins."
Andras clenched his fist.
"If I break this stone disguised as a rock… like this—"
The stone shattered into pieces, and the illusion dissolved instantly.
Where the wall had been, a dark passage yawned downward.
Ironclaw peered into the depths.
"A staircase? It goes down deep.
Our prey all went this way.
Are we going after them?"
Andras shook his head.
"First go tell the others to come here immediately."
"On it, Master!" Ironclaw barked, and sprinted back toward the team.
Andras' Thoughts — Something Is Wrong
While he waited, Andras stood at the edge of the passage, staring into the dark depths.
"It's one thing that the demons spotted the illusion…
But what bothers me is that they found it immediately after arriving.
As if they already knew what to look for."
The thought sent a cold shiver down his spine.
"Maybe they didn't want to establish a hideout for their scouts here at the old ruins…
Maybe they were specifically searching for something?"
The passage below gaped back at him like a hungry void.
"If someone went to the trouble of hiding the entrance with an illusion, then something valuable must be buried down there.
Something the demons want as well."
Andras clenched his fist again.
"I have to get whatever it is before the demons do.
Not that I'd let a single filthy demon leave this place alive anyway."
Shadows shifted between the trees.
The team was approaching.
And the demons below were already waiting.
The Team Gathers at the Revealed Passage
The members of the team quickly gathered at the uncovered passage.
Tension hung in the air — this was the first time Wolfwood's elite squad would march into battle against demons.
Andrea stepped forward.
"We're here. What's the situation?"
Andras pointed at the dark, gaping passage.
"A hidden tunnel. It was concealed with an illusion."
Anita's eyes lit up.
"The demons are down there?"
"All of them went underground, according to Ironclaw's nose."
Andrea nodded.
"What are your orders?"
Andras took a deep breath, then spoke firmly:
"My elite team and I will go down after the demons.
The archers and knights stay here at the entrance and stand guard.
If even a single imp tries to escape, shoot it immediately."
"Yes, sir!" the Wolf Hunters replied.
"And if the Fire Demon manages to slip past us, at least try to slow it down until we arrive."
"Understood!" said the Wolf Knights.
Andras nodded.
"Good. Then we're moving out."
Ironclaw was already poised to leap.
"Hunt!"
Anita clapped her hands excitedly.
"Our first battle against demons. I can't wait!"
Andrea shrugged.
"It's only one demon. The rest are just imp spawn."
Noelle sighed.
"For a first time, that's more than enough."
Fireburp blinked nervously toward the dark passage.
"I haven't even fought goblins yet… and now demons?"
Andras smiled.
"You can probably shoot down at least one imp."
"Probably?!" Fireburp protested.
Noelle patted her shoulder.
"Your fireball is three times bigger than the old fossil's."
Anita flashed her teeth.
"Yeah, you're a dragon. Start acting like one."
Fireburp's tail twitched anxiously, but fire was already burning in her eyes.
The Call of the Depths
The team stepped to the edge of the passage.
The stairs led deep — far too deep to be natural.
Cold air drifted up from the darkness, as if something down below… was waiting.
Andras looked over his team one last time.
"Listen up.
The demons didn't find this place by accident.
They were searching for something.
Something we need to find before they do."
The team nodded in unison.
Then Andras began descending the stairs.
The others followed.
The light slowly vanished behind them.
And Wolfwood's elite squad stepped into the darkness of the underground temple — where the demons were already waiting.
The Descent
The team slowly descended the long, spiral staircase.
The walls were densely overgrown with light‑orb flowers — tiny, floating spheres of bluish‑white light that gently illuminated the path.
Andrea looked around.
"This staircase goes really deep."
Andras ran his hand along the wall.
"The entire passage is covered with light‑orb flowers."
Anita nodded with satisfaction.
"That's convenient. At least we don't need torches."
Noelle touched one of the flowers, which trembled softly under her fingers.
"Whoever lived here before understood magic well."