Entering the Under Realm

NOELLE'S POV,

When the vortex spits me out, I land on the ground with a hard thud. My body hurts everywhere from the impact of the fall. I cough and slowly sit up to look around me. The Under Realm is everything I expected it to be. As far as the eye can see there is a black and red wasteland of rocks and what seems to be lava. There are volcanoes, big steep black mountains, and strange rock formations. In the rocks, there are faces sculpted with terrified expressions. But what creeps me out the most are the bones laying everywhere.

The first thing I think is that there is no place to hide. They are going to see me coming from miles away.

Besides that, "Where do the people from the Under Realm even live?'' I wonder. I stand up and try to decide where I should go. As far as I can see there is nothing that could represent a castle or a city. So, it would probably be best to go over the mountains and see what's there.

I start to walk towards the mountains, but it doesn't go very fast because I hurt my ankle in the fall. The thought of Roan keeps me going and I walk for a few hours when I decide that I need to take a rest. The Under Realm doesn't seem to grasp the concept of day and night, it's just always the same red glow and heat.

I haven't seen anyone yet, but I stay on my guard when I look for a place to sit. I pick a spot between some rocks that seems to keep me hidden. I eat a bit of dried meat and drink some water. My body feels sweaty and tired and before I know it, I have dozed off.

''We can't get back to the princess without any souls,'' scratchy voices say.

I wake up with a little jump in the air from shock. My head buts against the rock which makes a loud bang.

''What was that?'' the scratchy voices ask.

I have nowhere else to hide so I decide it's better to come out and fight in the open than between these rocks. I walk out and see 2 dark humans staring at me.

''Well, well, well seems we don't have to go back empty-handed after all.''

I take out my water bag and look at them challenging, ''If you tell me how to get to Hella's castle I will let you live.''

The dark humans snort from anger, ''Let us live? you little girl we can rip out your heart before you could even take a step.''

I laugh mockingly, ''Why don't you try.''

Both of the dark humans come running at me and with a swift move I take out the water from my water bag. I make the water go in a big horizontal circle and wait for them to come closer. When they are just 2 meters away from me, I shoot the water circle at them with immense speed. The water slices through their throats like a knife through butter. Their heads roll at my feet and their bodies fall to the sides.

I am pretty pleased with myself and think, ''That was easy enough maybe I will be able to rescue Roan after all.''

I continue walking towards the mountain and after an hour I have to go past a small volcano. Lava bubbles out every few minutes and there are rivers of lava flowing in every direction. I try to step over all the lava but finding a path through definitely slows me down. I was just stepping over a small river when I see lava bubbling up next to me. fast more and more bubbles emerge from different lava spots.

The hot bubbles take shape into a form that looks like a human but also not. I look at the body of fire, horns, and black eyes and decide it must be a demon. I count them quickly and realize I am surrounded by 6 demons.

''Where are you going lovely?'' One says with a sizzling voice.

I reach for my water again but as soon as the water comes out one of the demons throws a hot wave of flame at it. My water turns into smoke, and I have no idea what to do now. They all start chanting some weird incantation in a language I have never heard, and smoke starts to emerge around me. I can't see and it gets harder and harder to breathe. I am starting to feel dizzy and before I become unconscious, I hear a familiar voice.

''Don't kill her you, idiots.''