The angel jolted awake, eyes wide and mouth half-open, his lungs struggling to catch up with the sudden fright, leaving him speechless. The person beside him startled and quickly reached for the angel's cold and trembling hand, warming it.

"Hey. Everything is fine, don't worry," the man called, and Zophiel's vision started adjusting to the dim lights of that room.

Zophiel breathed, looking at the man with sharp, orange eyes he knew very well. "How long was I asleep?"

"Not long," another voice said, but it was a bit softer.

Zophiel scanned his surroundings and found the source of the voice, which he also knew very well. Next to this person, a black-haired boy was watching him with some concern until this person with gray-green hair took his hand and brought him closer to the angel.

He chewed on a few words while looking at the angel's abdomen before he managed to speak.

"I removed the poison and pheromones from you," Addai said, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

The angel noticed the young boy's fingers, blackened as if scorched by fire or coated in coal dust, and dark lines tracing up to his elbows like lightning scars. Despite being firm, the young man still seemed somewhat uncertain about what he had just done and hid his hands at any cost in the hands of the other, who covered them with his smaller hands.

Zophiel faintly smiled and nodded. "Thank you, Mr. Addai."

Addai was visibly flustered, hiding his hands within Mine's, who chuckled at his friend's confusion and the blush spreading across his cheeks. The angel knew things about this young man, and seeing him that way comforted his ancient heart more than knowing they were safe. But that sweet moment was disturbed by the keychain's shivering and trembling, almost as if it was screaming.

Mephistopheles's eyes narrowed on the item, and a low growling came from the depths of his throat. The angel took the keychain from his belt and lifted it, seeing how much it shivered and screamed, and it sure wasn't a good sign.

"What's this?" Addai covered his ears as the item started screeching like a mandragora.

"It's telling us we're in danger!" Zophiel shouted, quickly placing the item back on his belt. "We need to get out of here," the angel said, but when he tried to stand, his knees failed, and Mephistopheles held him.

"Let me hold this sly little thing... maybe this way it won't scream too much and worsen our situation," Mephistopheles growled and looked at the keychain.

"We can't destroy it. It's our key to get out of here and find the main chamber," Zophiel said in a serious tone, looking at Mephistopheles. "Listen, we need to move to…"

Despite appearing to be listening to Zophiel's speech, Mine couldn't take his eyes off that keychain that looked more like an amulet. No matter how often his gaze danced on the details of that strange figure, he felt a certain familiarity with that shape and peacefully closed his eyes.

The keychain's groaning and shaking slightly stopped when Mine aimed his hand towards it, causing the item to turn from side to side as if he were examining it from a long distance, which he was. Appearing in a trance, Mine lightly clenched his hand, and the keychain flexed but uttered a single sharp sound as if in pain. Mine's hair glowed slightly in a reddish and pinkish hue, matching the aura of that weird keychain that stopped screaming and was now shaking. Something inside him said to break it, and something else said to leave it there. But Mine told himself that he wanted to investigate that energy so familiar yet so unknown.

However, Younri covered the item with his hand and lifted Mine's chin slightly, breaking Mine's eye contact with the item.

"Don't worry about this old keychain. I'll deal with this later," Zophiel smiled, and Mine's hair turned back to the usual ashy green color. "Can you trust me?"

Mine pondered for a few seconds, and the keychain finally turned mute. "I can't trust this thing, but…" He approached the angel's ear, "I trust you, Younri," he whispered, smiling.

Zophiel's eyes widened. He was at a loss for words but tried to grip onto some sentences and try explaining himself, not knowing why and what to say. Mine chuckled and took Zophiel's hand, making him touch the diamond pattern on his chest - which was visible under the shirt. 

"Remember? There's no way you could hide it from me," Mine smiled.

Zophiel's expressions relaxed, and he chuckled as well. "There's no way, right?" He patted Mine's head the way he always did. 

"So, let's keep moving," Mephistopheles finished reloading his gun and offered a hand to Zophiel, who gladly held it.

When the angel tried to stand again, still heavy after the procedure and feeling the remaining sensations from the poison, they heard a single acute sound coming from one corridor. The sporadic noises that had once been a regular part of the background began to increase in frequency and volume.

From the three entrances to the irregular corridors, an ominous cacophony gradually emerged. Rustles of creatures crawling on the ground, walls, and ceiling mingled with the dull thuds of them bumping into each other as they tried to reach the gallery where the group was. It wasn't a group of three, four, or five; it was a horde! 

The group's senses sharpened. Something wasn't right with those sounds. As the noise intensified, it became clear there were far more creatures than just the eyeless demons. A foul, musty odor wafted through the corridors, full of miasma dusts and powder.

"We're surrounded and outnumbered!" Mephistopheles stressed, holding his gun.

"Mr. Zophiel, what will we do?" Mine asked, his hands glowing with the diamond shape on the back.

"Run!" Zophiel quickly grabbed the keychain and stuck it on the nearest wall.

The wall shook, muffling the demons' screams, but they continued to approach. The stones shifted, creating a narrow passage just wide enough for them to squeeze through. The mana candles began to go out one by one as the first claws of the demons appeared from the corridors. The angel shoved each member into the tight passage, and, finally, he entered and ripped the keychain from the hole he made in the wall, which began to close as the item was removed.

With his pistol in hand, the angel shot at the hands that tried to grab him and increasingly pushed whoever was behind him away. The stones moving to clump together again caused a thin layer of dust to suspend in the air and make it difficult to breathe.

"Cover your noses and be careful with your eyes!!" Zophiel shouted, still shooting some of the demons' hands that stubbornly dug the closing wall.

The wall finally closed, and the group slumped on the floor of that dark place.

Their heavy breaths resonated in that place that seemed to have a stone floor but was, in fact, a decent floor. The dust suspended in the air made it difficult to concentrate and summon the mana candles, which Mine repeatedly tried to do so.

While trying to resonate where they ended up, the suspended dust burnt their noses and eyes, making them cough. No windows or doors were located, and they were lost in that unknown space.

"Mr. Mephistopheles! Where are you?" Mine's voice called mid-coughing.

"I'm right in front of you, kiddo!" Mephistopheles's voice replied, also coughing.

"Where's Addai?!" Zophiel shouted, but there were no replies from the young man.

When Mine finally managed to light a mana candle, its precarious lighting was enough to illuminate that place that looked more like a rustic waiting room belonging to an old castle – that Gothic style with gargoyles and everything. Even the atmosphere was different, with a little more refinement, but also with neglect due to the chandelier with cobwebs and dust on the floor, furniture, and rug.

Zophiel had fallen onto the dusty carpet and was having trouble getting up. Mephistopheles was at his side, but with the ankle that had just been "arranged back to its place," and...

"I'm sorry to not reply earlier and worry you all..." Addai finally voiced.

He was sitting in a corner of that newly lit room. His nose was red and some tears left his eyes watery and red. His arms were still dark and were crossed as if he was recovering from a fright.

"I almost broke my nose with the crash," Addai said, sounding funny and nasal. "I'm recovering, don't worry."

The other three looked at the young man and sighed, deeply relieved and pitying how he got to that state. Mine approached his friend, a gentle smile spreading across his face when he offered a hand to Addai. But don't get fooled. What seemed to be an act of gentleness, he started slapping Addai endlessly and cursing. Addai protected his hurt nose, apologizing with the same intensity.

Scanning the room, Zophiel slowly stood up and took the keychain, checking if it was still in perfect condition.

"Where are we?" Zophiel asked himself.