Adrian pointed at two spots on the plain wall. “Put them here and here.”

“I know what to do.” He took the two slender arms and pressed their palms against the designated spot.

Adrian stood to her left and did the same with the hands at his disposal.

“Ready?” He asked.

“Yes.”

Both of them inserted magical energy into the cut off arms. They coursed to the wall and flowed following a certain pattern. After three complete circulations, the whole wall lit up- a huge magic circle appeared, intertwined with maroon and orange colours.

After a few seconds, it disappeared.

*Click*

A door appeared and automatically opened.

“Quick!” Adrian rushed to the door. “The Imperial family is notified. They will be sending an envoy and a squad sentries here.”

Irene followed. Both of them walked past the door.

The room was dark and small- suffocatingly so. All there was was a stairway that led downwards. Adrian sat on the railing and slid them all the way down.

Irene, who had been watching his tutor, did the same. She was a few meters apart from him.

The whole stairwell was dark, but there was a light at the very depth of the well. After a minute or so of fall, Adrian finally landed on the ground.

He did not give the surroundings a glance and turned around. Both of his arms reached forward and caught the cold princess barely a meter from the ground. She wrapped her arms around his neck. The fall had removed both of their head coverings.

He gave her a smile and put her on the ground. Now was not the time for flirting.

The room was spherical, and it was lit by fire magic lamps. There were corridors that extended outwards from the concave walls.

He pointed at one of the corridors. “You know what we are looking for. It’s there. Don’t forget to wrap it with protective ice. We might have a major battle on the surface.”

She nodded and ran towards the entrance.

Once he was alone, Adrian turned to another corridor. It was giving off an eerie aura- one that could be felt by him, and him alone.

“This continent is giving me too many surprises- The Naysayers Fruit, The Seamstress’s Heart, someone who knows of the Flower of Doom, and now- this. This puny continent is hiding too many secrets.” He muttered as he walked towards the corridor.

The corridor was lit- just like the circular base room. It even had the same magic lamps that were being used there. But the more he walked, the dimmer and dimmer it got. But the fires were still burning to the fullest.

It was as if there were something clashing against the light, and slowly devouring it.

“Heh.” Adrian mocked. “The Empire is keeping all the treasures that they deem to be dangerous and volatile out of their premises. And these ‘hosts’ believed they were chosen since they were competent.”

Soon, it got dark- there was barely any light. At the end of the tunnel, there was nothing but darkness, despite the fires that were still burning on the lamps. It looked as if something orange was dancing at the black of the night.

Adrian used his demonic eyes to the fullest. The darkness did little to his sight. There was a table at the end of the corridor, pressed against the hard stone wall. On top of it was a black orb- not bigger than the size of a fist, which seemed to be rotating. But it was impossible to tell whether it was going clockwise or counterclockwise.

A grin formed on Adrian’s face. “Am I just lucky, or are they unlucky?”

He took the orb in his hand and inspected it. “A Teether’s Stone. The Imperials are fools. To keep a tool this convenient inside a treasury along with other treasures.”

“The Empire itself is offering its treasures to me?” He smirked. “How can I refuse?”

He inserted a bit of his demonic aura into the orb. The darkness inside the room disappeared- enabling the fires to light the room up.

He increased his pace as he began to leave the corridor. Soon, he was running.

Once he reached the central hub, he rushed to another one of the corridors. Irene had yet to return.

At the end of the corridor, there was an apothecary’s place of sorts- filled with exotic herbs. Every one of these plants were either poisonous or unidentified. But Adrian did not care. He reached out the orb in his hand and inserted a bit of his magical energy.

*Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.*

Every single one of the items flew towards the stone and disappeared. It was as if the piece of blackness devoured everything.

Once the room was clear, Adrian did not waste any more time and rushed out.

Irene had come out from her duty. There was a frozen sphere on her hands. Trapped inside it was what looked like a flower with white petals. It lacked any sort of presence. Even with the duo’s strong senses, they could barely detect it.

If not for the fact that it could be seen, the ‘artefact’ would have remained non existent.

“Nice. Keep it safe on your hands and follow me.” Adrian rushed into another one of the outlets. Irene followed.

The room was filled with beast carcasses- all of them giving off wild magical auras. He tapped into the stone. The room was emptied in no time. He rushed out again.

“Can’t you store this too?” She reached out the orb of ice as she chased after him.

“The levels of these treasures are more or less the same. So, it can’t.”

She inclined.

They visited the other rooms one by one. One was filled with ores of magical materials- known and unknown. Emptied. One had a live beast. Emptied. The final one had a ton of magic crystals of all qualities. Emptied.

Finally, they reached the centre- where the stair was at.

He looked up.

“Hell is waiting for us up there.”