Chapter Fifty-Two: Kidnapped

                                    

                                          

I woke up in a very bad mood. Well, I think that my mood would be a given after being beaten and kidnapped, but in case you were wondering, I felt like shit. 
                          
My sense of smell was the first sense to start working again, and honestly I could have done without it. If someone wanted to make a scented candle called 'death' then I would have brought them to this place for inspiration. After taking in my first breath of the rancid air, it took every muscle in my body to keep from gagging on the scent. The stench of rotten fish and sulfur was so awful that I was tempted to ask my captors to knock me out again. 
                          
The moisture in the air made it obvious that I was in some sort of cellar or dungeon, the rough and cold stone under my body serving as further proof. My mouth had been gagged with a cloth that tasted like old socks, making it even more difficult to take in a breath of air without wanting to throw up the little sustenance left in my body. 
                          
However, no matter how foul the smell or crappy the taste, they did not compare to the feeling of being consumed by death mana. The metal cuff that had been used to subdue me earlier weighed down on my ankle like a five hundred pound weight. I wasn't sure if it was my stubborn will or years of training, but I had somehow managed to keep the cuff made out of Cynth ore from using up any of my life mana. Even if the amount lost would have been equivalent to that of a water droplet, my heightened sense of mana would have made it feel like I had aged ten years. 
                          
As the ringing in my ears died down, they were soon filled with a much more disturbing noise. It was the sound of some creature or animal screaming out as if it was in pain. I tried to lift my head in order to look around, only to realize that I had been blindfolded. I'm not sure why it took so long for me to realize that fact, but I have decided to forget about it because it's embarrassing. 
                          
"Is it really her?" An unfamiliar voice asked. 
                          
"Did you see her hair, there is no way it isn't her." Another man responded. 
                          
"But how was she caught so easily? I also heard that the light mage was with her."
                          
"Don't underestimate our master's skills, of course he was able to defeat the two brats." The second man said. I had to applaud him, it was rare to come across someone who could do such a great impression of a cocky dick-wad. 
                          
"But the light mage escaped after defeating-"
                          
"Don't speak bullshit or the master will kill you."
                          
I tuned out the rest of their conversation, overjoyed that Elaine had somehow managed to escape. If she had escaped, then at least there was someone looking for me. Did she discover who had taken me? Did she take any of the attackers as prisoners? Even though I was confident in her abilities, I had to plan for the worst. I would have to make it out of here myself, I couldn't wait for someone to come and save me. 
                          
Another groan of pain escaped from somewhere within the dungeon, the sound guttural and inhuman. Just what was going on here? I debated whether or not I should move, however it was quickly obvious that I had no strength left. Not only was I battling against the cuff around my ankle, but there was also an insane amount of death mana surrounding me, weighing my body down so that I could barely move. As long the death mana continued to overwhelm me, I had no chance of escaping. My situation was not looking good. 
                          
Though I couldn't move, I somehow managed to use my heat mana so that I could get an idea of how many people surrounded me. However, before I could count the number of people, my attention was immediately drawn to the larger masses of body heat that were also inside the dungeon. There were a total of three large creatures, the one closest to me radiating the same amount of heat as a raging fire. Though I wasn't positive, I had an idea as to what the creatures were.