The Second Floor and What Seems to Await

As the tension in the room faded, after Sophia's remarks, Zain started looking for the way to the next floor. As he scoured the floor for a trap door to a star case or something, his eyes started adjusting to the room with no light as the only light source had actually been the imp they just killed. As he continued looking, he heard Damascus speak, which seemed to shock everyone else.

"So, what do you guys make of the imps on the first-floor thing? It seems a little out of place if you ask me." Damascus was trying to lighten the mood but did not seem to realize he just made everyone more tense.

"Well, you see, imps usually deal with poison, and these did not." Zain started explaining by pointing out facts while still looking for an exit. "Plus, minus the floor boss summoning imps and what I can only assume are infernal equivalent of fairies, it didn't seem too farfetched for a set of adventurers on a normal scale to take out." At this point everyone had noticed what Zain was doing and lent a hand in searching.

"While you are right son, it is still rare for any infernal to be this close to the surface in a dungeon." His mother spoke correcting the slight misconception of Damascus' question.

"Okay? There was a flood big enough to inhabit three of four floors of a dungeon with at least C class monsters according to the guild. It stands to reason that either the core of this dungeon is that strong or over time it got more cramped, and territories expanded." Zain retorted using the logic of nature thinking that would quiet the nerves of everyone.

His father then climbed into the conversation with, "yes but cases like that are extremely rare and only when a dungeon has a powerful core and more than one-hundred years of being sealed."

"Well at that point I couldn't tell you. This place looked to only has been sealed in the past few decades." With those words unknowingly Zain startled both his parents and Damascus into a silent stupor that was akin to defeat in a way.

Sophia, not being caught up in the circumstances and hypothesis of what was going on, had kept looking and found a door to venture deeper hidden underneath some black ivy that clung to the wall. As she called out the group of them noticed and then continued on their way, unit they finally made it to the next floor. Sophia was all but gagging from the smells and the even hotter temperatures were not helping, the temperature had risen about ten degrees and the smell that used to be only Sulfur was now coupled with that of burning hair and flesh. But the group pressed onwards deeper into this now Scorching labyrinth that was seeming to become more of a hellscape than a dungeon. There was a large dog-like feature that resembled the fernier Zain had said in the flood, but its flesh had been scorched to the cobble stone walls that appeared glowing red from the heat.

Zain reached out to touch the cobble stone and as he kept getting closer, he realized that the stone itself was not hot. The air was scorching still but Zain and the others adjusted rather quickly. Usually with extreme climate conditions changing the body would take a while to adapt to but in the dungeon, Zain noticed it didn't take nearly as long. To be honest, Zain was rather shocked at how quickly they had been making progress, but the first floor was a fairly straight shot. This floor had immediately gone from the stairs to an intersection. As Zain began looking and investigating, he heard a low rumbling grow emanating from the right side. As he peered over his shoulder to go to ask if the others had heard it too, everyone else had gone stiff and pale before Damascus muttered one word that Zain was not ready for.

"Hellhounds."

"Pleas say that again." Zain spoke as if he hadn't heard him, but Damascus knew better than that.

Damascus then cleared his throat and spoke louder and more enunciated this time. "I said it sounds like Hellhounds."

Zain's mother and father seemed somewhat shocked by this, and Sophia seemed frightened to the core. Zain had never been one to back down but as he made his way to where the sound came from taking point Damascus stopped him and put Zain behind him, then they continued walking. As they reached the corner of the corridor about fifty yards from the steps, The hellhound that had been waiting for them peered its head around and bared its fangs as if smiling at its next meal.

The beast had dark gray fur with splotches of skin missing looking like fire was burning through it from the inside. The mouth still smiling at them had a flame burning from behind the teeth and as Zain looked into its eyes all he saw was pure unadulterated black. This thing could fuel nightmares of grown adults who were not mentally prepared for it and yet here was Zain staring at it in the eyes as if daring it to make the first move, neither of them flinching for the other to take advantage of.

It only took a few moments for the beast to realize that a two on one stale mate was not favorable, and it lunged towards Damascus who used his sword to deflect its bite barely, by sliding the dull side of his broad sword to keep its mouth and snout away. Zain by this time had already pulled out his rapier in his left hand and drew his pistol in his right. Hoping not to need the pistol he quickly darted towards the hellhound rapier first acting as a lance to try and pierce the dog like infernal being that had just attacked a mentor, teacher, and most importantly to Zain, a member of his family.