CHAPTER 91: SIBLINGS ENCOUNTER A TERRIFYING GLUTTON

“Brother, if we turn there, we’ll be on the seventh floor.” (Haru)

“Already the seventh floor? I guess there are no monsters after all.” (Kei)

　We’ve been running ever since we left the Forest, but we’ve been able to go up the dungeon at a pretty fast pace.

　Thanks to our status, we didn’t get tired, and since no monsters appeared, we didn’t have to slow down or feel mentally fatigued.

　I guess all the monsters have already left the ground. Would it have been better to stay at the entrance and defend myself instead of entering the dungeon? Such thoughts crossed my mind.

　The absence of monsters made me feel uneasy, but I climbed the stairs and stopped.

I looked for a monster using my [Perception]. Nothing is there. I wonder if it’s out of my range.

“Haru, you sense any presence?” (Kei)

　I ask her, but she’s already stiff with a serious expression. I waited for about five seconds, and she shook her head.

“No. Nothing at all. There’s no sign of anything. No monsters, no people.” (Haru)

　If that’s the case, then what is this? The smell of blood drifts from this area.

　The smell of blood.

　Even if you can smell blood during the process of killing a monster, the smell disappears as soon as the monster dies.

　There is no reaction from the living monsters around me even if I search for them with my skills.

　If that’s the case, the smell of blood means that a person has shed a lot of blood here.

“Brother, what are you going to do?”

“No monsters, apparently. There’s no blood anywhere that I can see. Let’s proceed with caution.”

　I think someone died here, a human being. What could be the cause?　A pack of monsters?　Pure lack of fighting ability?

　I really doubt it. There would be no weak explorers entering the dungeon during this stampede.

　The only other possibility is a unique monster. It’s a strong possibility.

　If so, has the monster been defeated yet? Seeing that a powerful unique monster was stranded in the forest, it’s highly possible that the unique monster here is a weaker one.

　Yes, it’s possible.

“Brother, dodge!” (Haru)

　Her voice seemed to be coming from somewhere far away.

　I didn’t have time to think about anything else. I think it was almost a conditioned reflex.

　A glittering wall made of [Intangible Armor] formed beside me.

　Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a red silhouette break through the wall I had just built without any difficulty and I was immediately blown away.

　I feel my consciousness edging to oblivion.

　My body that flew straight to the side probably flew more than ten meters without hitting the ground because I was tossed quite strongly before I fell to the ground.

　Even after I hit the ground, the momentum isn’t dissipated and I just rolled over and over.

　I reached out with my left hand to stop my body from rolling, but it somehow passed through.

　Before I could reach out with my right hand, I slammed into the wall and came to a stop.

　My vision was spinning and I couldn’t see my surroundings clearly. Though I am not dizzy. My vision is covered in red.

“Brother—” (Haru)

　I hear a voice calling me from afar. I felt as if my consciousness had become a little clearer.

　My vision was as dark as ever. I wonder if I’m bleeding. I wiped my eyes with my right hand.

　My vision became a little clearer. My vision was red. The ground, the walls, and the ceiling were all red.

　Is this blood?

　I felt a liquid on my right hand. I looked over and saw that my hand was stained red with red liquid.

　I wondered why this place was so bloody. What was that thing that blew me up? I put my hands on the ground and tried to stand up, but my body rolled to the left.

“Oh, this must, be a joke.” (Kei)

　The words spilled out in a choppy string.

　I should be able to stand with both arms, right? Both arms.

　Holding both hands in front of my face I froze. I only had my right hand in front of me.

　Pain suddenly shot through my left arm.

　It hurts, it hurts, it hurts. No, this is burning!?

“GIIIIYAAAAAA!!!” (Kei)

　I screamed like an animal due to the intense pain.

　My vision becomes distorted again. On the contrary, the pain makes my head clear. I want to faint, but I can’t.

“Brother, are you okay? Wait a minute. Portion, oh. Quickly, quickly.” (Haru)

　Haru comes into my distorted vision.

　Haru takes something out of her bag and drops it.

　She picks it up again, manages to open the lid with trembling hands, and drops it again.

　I roll over and touch the base of my left hand to the spilled potion.

　With a sizzling sound of something burning, the pain fades. The wound stopped bleeding and then closes.

　I guess I didn’t have enough of the potion. The closed wound was a tattered mess, though it was no longer bleeding, there was no left hand there.

“Haru, what happened?” (Kei)

　I said slowly and looked at Haru, who was looking back at me with a frightened look on her face.

“What is that?” (Haru)

　What I saw was a humanoid creature with a height of about 2 meters. It is so close but there is no reaction from [Perception].

　The color of the body is sparse, ranging from black to white, and there are many large and small hands growing out of every part of the body.

　Only one feather sprouted from its waist, and it had a two-pronged tail. One end of the tail was like a pair of scissors, and the other end was shaped like a human face.

　It had no lips, so its teeth were bare and black. A beak sprouted from its cheek, and for some reason, the place where hair should have been was filled with countless eyes.

“Hungry, Eat.” (Creature) [T/N: Its words are in katakana so it must be speaking in a different language.]

　In his hand, he was holding a human’s left hand.

　The left hand that had been attached to my body until just a while ago was slowly brought to its mouth as if it’s making me watch it.

“Don’t eat that!” (Haru)

　Haru shouted. Its arm, which was moving to the front of its mouth, blew off as if it exploded, and my hand rolled on the ground.

　Haru is now holding a morning star.

　Haru’s eyes are full of rage, and there is not a shadow of fear.

“Hurt, No.” (Creature)

　The creature stares stunned at its missing arm. Bubbles gush out from the wound in its arm. The foam becomes finer and finer, and the volume increases. In just a few seconds, it had grown long and thin, and its original hand was there again.

　I pull out my sword with only my right hand and stand up, using it as support. I wobble a little, probably because my weight has changed. I don’t think I can fight like this.

　The wound on my left hand is closed, but it still hurts, and I’m aware that my body is not moving properly in front of that thing. Perhaps it’s the fear of losing my arm.

　Yet, somehow, even though I was supposed to be terrified of the creature in front of me, my head was the calmest it had ever been. Behind me was a wall. The place where I was blown up was a dead end.

　Fortunately, the monster didn’t move. It didn’t attack us, it just stared at us blankly.

　I put my sword back on my hip, put my hand on Haru’s shoulder, and spoke to her.

“Haru, do you know its name and strength?” (Kei)

　Haru glanced at me with a surprised expression and looked at me with a few tears in her eyes.

“Fake Chimera Gluttony. I don’t know what its strength is. The numbers keep changing and changing too fast for me to read.” (Haru)

“Then we have no choice.” (Kei)

　I take out my scythe, my Treasure Tool, in my right hand.

“Haru, there is no way out. We’re going to get out of here alive, no matter what it takes.” (Kei)

“Yes!” (Haru)

　With our determination, the battle was on.