Chapter 57: Cave

As Desire kept walking and only focused on doing that, he soon reached the top of the mountain. It wasn't anything grand or something like that.

It was actually simple. Trees, sky, clouds, and anything you could find in a mountain was basically there.

However, what Desire wanted to see was not this magnificent sight of nature.

What he wanted was monsters, monsters, and more monsters. After all, he was getting desperate now that the sun has risen.

Desire didn't know the time limit because he lost consciousness, so he wanted to play it safe by accomplishing it as early as possible.

That was why when Desire made sure that there were no monsters, he shouted with veins bulging in his throat.

"Why are they not here?!"

His eyes were bloodshot red as he scanned the area with his eyes almost out of their eye sockets.

Although Desire was normally calm about things, he couldn't stay calm after what he just went through just to kill some Muscula that no one wouldn't even care about if they died.

He walked with injuries on his face and body, which accumulated pain for him for hours.

Desire was going hungry since he stayed on this mountain probably for more than a day now.

He also didn't have water to drink, and this was the most crucial thing for Desire. His throat was parched, and every time he spoke, his voice was hoarse.

It would be insane if Desire could stay sane in his situation, even if he has the Heavenly Demon Trait.

After all, not even your trait can help you keep calm when you're literally about to face death.

Right, if what he had on his body was not enough, the mental stress that he has about Desire's Vessel also took a toll on his mind.

He was literally battered both in mind, body and possibly even on his soul.

"Hah. I can't believe this shit." Desire said as he scanned the area once more.

His steps were slow, and his body was swaying every time he took a step.

Even though he was on the top of the mountain now, he still didn't stop walking.

He wanted to scan every part of the top of the mountain now that he was here. After all, it was weird that the mountain called Muscula's nest didn't have any Muscula on it at all.

However, no matter how much Desire looked at the area, there were no monsters that he could see.

It was a dumbfounded sight, and it incurred anger from Desire.

Well, he was already angry ever since he arrived at the top of the mountain.

Desire bit his lips, and because it was dry, blood flowed quickly. Desire didn't mind it as he spoke with a harsh voice.

"What the hell is going on with this god-forsaken mountain?! Is this really the Muscula's nest?! Did Jarina lie to me or something?!"

As Jarina was the one who told him about the mountain being the Muscula's nest, she became the point of anger for Desire, who was frustrated.

It was quite ugly of him to do so since Jarina was the one who took care of him.

However, that soon ended when Desire's eyes met with something interesting.

"A hole?" Desire murmured as he narrowed his eyes.

It was a hole, but it wasn't on the ground. It was on the air, but Desire could tell that it was a hole or something like that.

And when Desire walked towards it, he could finally understand why he thought it was a hole.

"It's a cave...but what is that?"

It was a cave, and it was pretty big. The hole was the entrance of the cave, and the inside of the cave was dark.

However, when you look at it from the outside, there was nothing that could make you think it is a cave.

Why?

"There are no walls?" Desire murmured as he looked at the spot where the hole was standing.

Right, there were no walls, rocks, anything that could make up the cave around it.

It was magical that there was a hole when there was no substance around it.

After all, it wouldn't be considered a hole if it was part of nothing in the first place.

"Hmm." Desire said as he thought that it was interesting.

After all, who wouldn't have his interest piqued after seeing something like this?

Even Desire, who didn't care about things like mountains and caves, had his interest aroused.

However, it wasn't as if Desire could just enter it. Desire has many things to consider before even taking a foot inside of this mysterious hole.

Would he go in just for the sake of going in? Would he go in despite knowing the risks?

He took his time thinking about things like that, and because of that, he was able to calm down.

He wasn't in the state of being a time bomb anymore, and he was able to think things thoroughly.

After all, his trait was still the Heavenly Demon Trait.

And after he finished thinking, the first thing that came out of his mouth was about the thing that he said earlier in a fit of anger.

"I better say sorry to Jarina."

It was about how he almost cursed Jarina just because things were not going his way.

"I can't say that it is because of something else. That would be rude of me, after all."

Desire nodded when he came to this conclusion, and he looked at the hole that was hanging in the sky.

"I'll enter it." Desire said as he finalized his decision.

Even though Desire was in a rush, he needed to take his time to recover. After all, he didn't even have the necessary strength to take down a Muscula.

And he thought that there would be something in there that Desire could drink. After all, he couldn't find any river or fruits in the forest with water.

It would be better to take his chances in this cave.

And so, Desire walked towards the cave with steady steps and a calm mind.

****

Desire entered the cave without a problem. The cave looked the same when he looked at it from the outside: dark and spooky.

When Desire looked at the top, he could see the ceiling of the cave.

When Desire looked at the sides, he could see the walls made of rocks.

It was quite weird as the cave didn't have anything surrounding it from the outside, and Desire could feel that he didn't go down or anything like that.

The cave was a pathway that makes its walker go straight, so Desire was sure that the cave didn't have any tricks on it.

Well, the fact that it has no walls when looked at the outside is already a trick.

Anyway, Desire continued walking for minutes. He didn't stop even though it was scary as hell.

Although he could see in the dark, it doesn't change the fact that the cave was fear-inducing.

Desire thought that the cave was long and huge, but it didn't take him long to see the end.

However, the end was so dark that Desire couldn't see through it.

"Light." Desire activated his skill as he held up his right hand.

And the sight that showed itself blew Desire's mind away.

After all, it was something that he yearned for ever since he started walking.

"Food?"

Desire questioned its existence with a questioning look. After all, why would a cave that is at the top of the Muscula's nest have food?

What's more, the food was something Desire had eaten before: bread and meat that has been roasted. There was water as well in the ground.

Grrr. Desire's stomach growled, but he didn't move at all. He kept calm and controlled himself.

However, when Desire examined the food, he found out that it was okay. Well, he didn't know if it was poisoned, but Desire thought it should be fine.

He ate it with great fervor. It didn't take long for him to finish eating it, and he drank the water on the ground too.

Although he did hesitate, it didn't last for long.

"Haaah. That was good." Desire said as he rubbed his small tummy.

He plopped down on the ground to rest, and he felt refreshed as soon as he did. After all, this was his first rest ever since he started walking.

This was also the first meal that he had ever since entering this mountain.

However, he couldn't continue his rest as something appeared in front of him.

It was a small, blue fire that Desire hasn't ever seen before.

"What is this...?" Desire murmured as he brought his finger near the fire.

The fire wasn't hot, and it didn't hurt Desire as he thought it would. After all, he knew what fire was. It wouldn't make sense if he didn't.

"This is fun." Desire said as he brought his fingers to the fire, and the fire parted perfectly.

He kept doing that for a minute with a smile on his face.

However, everything changed when the blue fire got bigger.

"What the—?!"

Desire was about to tilt his head, but the fire didn't allow him that much leisure.

Why? 

It was because the fire swallowed Desire's head as it got bigger and bigger!

"Arghh!!!!"

Desire screamed as he felt the fire touch his skin, but no one answered it.

Only his scream and the burning of skin and the sizzling of flesh could be heard in this lonely cave.