The Wrong Hero Has Been Summoned
Chapter 36: The Pit

Chapter 36: The Pit

The city was now a mess. Crumbled buildings lay scattered like broken toys, streets were torn apart, and the air still stank of poison and smoke. The giant worm was dead—its slimy, green body sprawled across the eastern district, leaking ooze that hissed against the ground.

The hunters had finished it off, much to Luther’s annoyance, and now people were starting to crawl out of hiding, staring at the wreckage with wide eyes.

Luther stood near the edge of the destruction, arms crossed, his sword sheathed at his side. His mood was sour—those hunters had stolen his fight, and he wasn’t over it. He kicked a loose stone, sending it skittering into a pile of rubble.

"Tch. Could’ve handled it myself," he muttered under his breath.

Nearby, Luna leaned against a cracked wall, catching her breath. Her arms were bruised, and a thin trail of blood still stained her chin from her nosebleed earlier. She looked exhausted but relieved. "You’re welcome for holding it off ’til you got here," she said, her voice weak but teasing.

He glanced at her, smirking faintly. "Yeah, yeah. Good job not dying, I guess."

She rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. Vess and Selene walked over, brushing dust off their clothes. Vess had a small cut on her cheek, and Selene’s jacket was torn at the sleeve, but they both looked fine—tired, but fine.

"What was that thing?" Selene asked, staring at the worm’s corpse. "I’ve never seen anything like it."

"Big, ugly, and pissed off," he said with a shrug. "That’s all I care about. Too bad I didn’t get to finish it."

Luna sighed. "You’re still mad about that? The city’s safe now. That’s what matters."

He snorted. "Safe’s boring. I wanted a real fight."

She shook her head. "You’re impossible."

Before they could argue more, a crowd started gathering nearby. People whispered and pointed at the worm, their voices a mix of fear and confusion. Hunters also stood around the body, looking proud, while guards tried to keep folks from getting too close.

"Where did it even come from?" a man in the crowd asked, scratching his head. He was old, with a scruffy beard, and his hands shook a little. "One minute I’m selling bread, the next this monster’s smashing my stall!"

"Maybe it came from the forest," a woman next to him said. She clutched a crying kid to her chest. "I heard weird noises out there last week."

"No way," another guy cut in. He was younger, with a sword strapped to his back—probably a wannabe hunter. "That thing’s too big for the forest. It had to come from somewhere deeper. Underground, maybe."

"It came up from underground, I saw it!"

Luther’s ears perked up at that. Underground? He hadn’t thought about it, but now he was curious. He glanced at the worm again, its massive size sprawled out like a fallen tower. Something that big didn’t just pop out of nowhere.

"I’m telling you, I saw it! I was in my cellar when the ground started shaking. Then the floor just burst open, and that... that thing crawled out! Came straight up from below!"

He walked over, pushing through the crowd. "Hey, old man. Where exactly did you see this?"

The man looked up at him, his eyes wide. "The old brewery on East Street. Or what’s left of it. The monster burst right through it and started attacking everything."

Murmurs spread through the crowd. More people began sharing stories.

He exchanged glances with the girls, who had followed him over. Vess looked thoughtful, while Selene’s expression darkened. Even Luna, weak as she was, seemed concerned.

"We should check it out," he said.

Vess nodded. "After we get Luna some help."

---

Two hours later, with Luna left in the care of a healer, the three of them made their way to the east district. The destruction was worse here—entire streets had been wiped clean, leaving nothing but scattered debris and the occasional wall still standing. The air still smelled like poison, though it had mostly dispersed.

Guards had set up a perimeter around what used to be the brewery. A crowd had gathered at the edge, everyone trying to get a look. He pushed his way through, ignoring the complaints, until they reached the front.

What they saw made even him pause.

A hole gaped in the earth where the brewery had once stood. It was perfectly circular, at least thirty feet across, with edges so smooth they looked polished. And it was dark—darker than any pit had a right to be. Torches had been set up around the edge, but their light seemed to be swallowed by the blackness below.

"By the goddess," Vess whispered. "It’s huge."

A guard was keeping people back. "Stay behind the line! It’s not safe!"

He approached him. "How deep does it go?"

The guard shook his head. "We don’t know. We dropped a torch down there, and it just kept falling until we couldn’t see it anymore. No sound of it hitting bottom."

Selene approached as well. "And the worm creature came from there?"

"That’s what the witnesses say," the guard replied. "Burst right out and started attacking. Never seen anything like it before."

More guards arrived, along with what looked like officials. One of them, a woman in expensive-looking robes, was giving orders.

"I want mages examining that hole immediately! Set up more barriers! No one goes near it until we know what we’re dealing with!"

Luther stared into the pit, his curiosity kicking in hard. A monster like that worm, coming from a hole with no end? That wasn’t normal. Not even close. He could feel it—something bigger was going on. His hand rested on his sword, fingers tapping the hilt.

"Whatever’s down there," he said quietly, "it’s not done with us yet."

Vess glanced at him. "You think there’s more?"

He smirked, a glint in his eye. "Hope so. I’ve got some steam to blow off."

Selene sighed. "Great. Just what we need—more trouble."

The crowd kept buzzing, throwing out guesses. Underground tunnels? A demon nest? Some old curse waking up? No one knew, but everyone felt it—the city wasn’t safe anymore. And that hole, that endless dark, was proof something worse might be waiting.

He turned away from the pit, his mind already racing. "Let’s get Luna and figure out our next move. Whatever came up, I wanna be ready when it happens again."

And deep down, he hoped it would. A fight like that worm? He wasn’t done chasing that rush.

Not by a long shot.