Juno was smart enough to realize that the Savory Pork Liver Pie wasn’t ordinary food.
The exhaustion that had plagued her only minutes earlier was fading rapidly, and her body felt stronger with every passing moment.
For someone from her background, fifty thousand dollars wasn’t enough money to hesitate over something that could restore a person’s strength inside a place like this.
After swallowing the last bite, Juno let out a satisfied breath and looked toward Lucifer.
“Do you have any water?”
“Of course.”
Lucifer reached into his backpack, secretly retrieving a bottle from System Space before handing it over.
Juno accepted it without taking her eyes off him, and the intensity of her stare made Lucifer slightly uncomfortable.
Why is she looking at me like that?
He quickly turned toward the others.
“We’ve found Juno.
Now we need a way out.”
The collapsed passage behind them had eliminated the easiest escape route.
Lucifer couldn’t help blaming Sheriff Vaines again; even without carrying a gun this time, the man had still managed to panic and trigger another collapse almost exactly as he had in the original events.
Sarah thought for a moment before speaking.
“I might be able to lead us out.”
Lucifer immediately looked toward her.
“This is the route you escaped through before?”
Sarah nodded uncertainly.
“Parts of it are coming back to me.
I can’t promise I remember everything, but I know I reached the surface somehow.”
“That’s good enough.” Lucifer turned toward Dan.
“Work with her.”
Dan nodded without argument.
After watching Lucifer kill the Crawlers and heal Juno, he had become considerably more cooperative.
“We’ll figure it out.”
After a short rest, the group began moving again.
Sarah took the lead while Dan helped confirm which passages were safe, and everyone followed quietly through the twisting underground tunnels.
Juno remained close behind Lucifer.
Her behavior, however, was becoming increasingly strange.
Without warning, she reached forward and slapped him lightly on the backside.
Lucifer almost jumped.
He turned around sharply.
“What are you doing?”
Juno stared at him with slightly unfocused eyes.
“You’re pretty solid.”
Lucifer frowned.
The cold, damp cave should have left Juno shivering after everything she had endured, yet her face was faintly flushed.
She shifted uncomfortably and rubbed one hand along her waist as though she suddenly had far too much energy.
Then she looked suspiciously at Lucifer.
“What exactly did you put in that pie?
I feel…
strange.”
Lucifer’s expression changed.
“Nothing!”
He genuinely had no idea what was happening.
The recipe description had mentioned rapid stamina restoration, physical recovery, and a temporary Stamina increase, but it hadn’t warned him about any unusual side effects.
Before he could investigate further, Sarah stopped ahead.
“We have a problem.”
The others gathered around her and found a flooded passage disappearing beneath the rock.
Sarah pointed toward it.
“We have to swim through here.
Stay calm and don’t waste your air.”
Lucifer stared at the black water.
For the first time since entering the cave, his confidence noticeably weakened.
“Is there another way?”
Sarah shook her head.
“Not that I know of.
This is the route I used when I escaped.”
Lucifer sighed.
Fighting ghosts and Crawlers was one thing.
Swimming through a completely submerged cave tunnel was another.
He had never been particularly comfortable in deep water.
Lucifer looked around.
“Anyone here a strong swimmer?”
Juno immediately stepped beside him and hooked an arm through his.
“I am.”
Lucifer looked at her flushed face.
“You’re also acting like you’ve had five pots of coffee.”
Juno smiled.
“I’ll still get you through.”
“Just make sure you don’t drown yourself first.”
Everyone prepared for the crossing.
Before entering the water, Lucifer took the DV camera from Cath and quietly stored it inside System Space so their footage wouldn’t be destroyed.
Sarah and Dan entered first.
Lucifer followed closely behind them with Juno beside him.
He preferred facing something frightening immediately rather than standing at the back waiting for his turn and imagining everything that could go wrong.
Juno leaned closer.
“Take a deep breath.
Don’t fight the water.
Stay relaxed and follow me.”
Lucifer nodded.
Then he submerged.
The groundwater was freezing, murky, and carried an unpleasant sulfurous smell.
Visibility was terrible, so Lucifer kept close to Juno and copied her movements as they pulled themselves through the narrow submerged tunnel.
His physical attributes quickly proved useful.
Despite his lack of swimming experience, Lucifer discovered that he could hold his breath considerably longer than he expected.
By the time they reached a pocket where they could surface for air, he wasn’t even close to his limit.
Lucifer inhaled deeply.
“That wasn’t as bad as I expected.”
Then a scream erupted behind him.
“Ah!
Something’s got me!”
Lucifer spun around.
Cath had surfaced near the rock wall and was desperately trying to pull herself forward.
Blood was spreading through the water around her lower body.
“Crawler!”
Lucifer immediately took another breath and dove.
Cath had carried the camera without complaint and followed his instructions throughout the rescue.
He wasn’t about to leave her behind if there was still a chance to help.
Juno dove after him.
Underwater, she caught Lucifer’s attention and gestured toward Cath before signaling that they should attack together.
Lucifer nodded.
They swam deeper.
A smaller Crawler had wrapped itself around Cath’s right leg and was biting repeatedly into her calf.
Blood poured from the wounds and clouded the already murky water.
Lucifer summoned the oak club and swung.
The water resistance ruined most of the force behind the attack.
The club struck the creature but failed to crush its skull.
Juno drove her climbing axe down next, opening a deep wound along the Crawler’s head, yet even that wasn’t enough to make it release Cath.
Lucifer’s eyes narrowed.
Cath couldn’t remain underwater much longer.
Then he remembered the Glock.
Lucifer returned the oak club to System Space and summoned the handgun.
He knew firing inside an unstable cave was normally reckless, but underwater the shot would be heavily dampened compared with firing through open air.
He pressed the muzzle directly against the Crawler’s head.
Then pulled the trigger.
Bang.
The muted shot sent the bullet straight through its skull.
Blood burst through the water as the Crawler finally went limp.
Lucifer kicked the corpse away, grabbed Cath beneath one arm, and pushed toward the surface with Juno beside him.
They broke through the water moments later.
Lucifer immediately sucked in several deep breaths.
Cath clung weakly to the rock.
“Thank you…”
Lucifer looked down at her leg.
The calf had been torn apart badly enough that blood continued pouring into the water.
Cath’s face went pale.
“I can’t feel my leg.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“Am I going to die?”
Lucifer gently patted her cheek.
“Not yet.
I still need someone to film me.”
Cath gave a weak, confused laugh through her tears.
Lucifer placed his palm against her forehead.
“May the Holy Light bless you.”
[Holy Light — Level 2 activated.]
Warm golden radiance spread across Cath’s body.
Unlike watching Lucifer heal Juno from behind a camera, Cath now experienced the power directly.
Heat flowed down through her injured leg as torn flesh closed, damaged tissue repaired itself, and the pain rapidly disappeared.
Twenty-two seconds later, the golden light faded.
Cath moved her foot.
Then bent her knee.
Her eyes widened.
“My leg…”
She looked at Lucifer in disbelief.
“It’s completely healed.”
Relief overwhelmed her.
“Oh my God!”
Before Lucifer could react, Cath threw her arms around him and kissed him in gratitude.
Lucifer froze.
Apparently this is how people thank miracle workers now.
The moment didn’t last long.
Juno suddenly surfaced beside them, breathing hard as she looked back into the dark water.
“Stop celebrating.”
Her expression had become serious again.
“The trouble isn’t over.”