Chapter 42: Costly

Name:Nightmare Mythos Author:


"Argh!"

Frustration? Agony? Resentment?

All these negative emotions filled Cesar's head while facing a creature that managed to hurt him.

Right now, his opposite eye was the only thing working that made him see how dreaded the situation was and he wouldn't even allow it to be removed now, knowing going blindly at the vast hallways spells death no matter what.

If he goes blind now, he might as well die from the monster's clutches which he wasn't willing to give up yet.

'This shit will do it again if I don't move now!'

Cesar didn't want the same thing to happen hence before the corrupted human even made a slight action, he was much faster this time.

Rustle—!

His right dagger which was the only thing that managed to pierce the corrupted's palm, even went further to the point of impact and goes to cut the other arm that poked his eye.

Slash—!

Managing to cut the palm even inside, Cesar immediately took a move to cut the arm of the monster with the creature also returning the favor by pulling his knee, this time, by dragging him and completely making him lose his balance.

Crack—!

But with one arm down, Cesar felt more at ease as he didn't appear as defenseless as before and went beyond to counterattack in the awkward position he found himself in.

Being raised by the same creature in the air with his feet being dragged upwards, Cesar appeared all bloody that came from the monster's sliced chest.

He was ready for the incoming attack the corrupted human was about to pull off since he had a plan in his mind but it never came.

Weirdly enough, the creature remained standing on its own, completely unmoving at his place which brought a moment of confusion on Cesar's face.

'Chance!'

But he immediately used it as an opportunity to execute his plan.

With the blood dripping down his face, Cesar clicked his tongue before pulling his body upwards to cut the hand that was grasping his knee.

Slash—!

"Oh? What's this?"

Cesar's curiosity got the best of him and he moved closer to a glowing object... and could only stare blankly when the shining object was no other than a blackish-grey tooth.

It was oozing out a faint disgusting black aura that a single touch might endanger its user but Cesar bravely grasped it with his hand and looked at it with interest.

But his interest turned serious once he realized that the blackish-grey tooth had a similar aura to the so-called Artifacts, an item made by the Artificers that everyone thought made them.

'How interesting...'

The reason this notion came to his mind was because there are no records of drop artifacts from a Nightmare, much less on a corrupted human. In another sense, artifacts are a rarity on its own.

They were seldom seen on the outside and if they were, either they were used on something special or important.

Now, all this thinking was destroyed once more when he just got a random tooth after killing a corrupted human that almost killed him. It's not a special moment or important situation at all.

He just lost an eye, and now he was partially blind.

"I look like a dumb person who thought I knew everything that is needed to know when I'm just a clueless brat like anyone else. God, what is going on in this world? Wouldn't it be good if dropped artifacts were announced publicly instead of hiding it if there's any reason for hiding it in the first place?"

Cesar put the blackish-grey tooth in his pocket before shrugging his shoulder with a chuckle, "Or maybe I'm just a delusional person thinking this is a tooth and nothing more?"

Aware that some of his wordings didn't make any sense, Cesar kept some of his thoughts to himself and made his way forward to see if any kind of help was coming his way. This time, he wasn't going to wait.

He will be starting to chase it.

He didn't want the same thing to happen when he went to wait and let the dangers come towards him if he were to face them eventually,

Walking into the vast endless hallway, Cesar studied the greyish white tooth on his head.

Its size was normal and nothing noteworthy could be seen to it. Aside from the black disgusting aura it was emanating which seemed to be the reason why it was faintly glowing, one wouldn't even notice it in the first place.

"What does this thing even do..."

While he was muttering it under his breath, an idea popped into his head that made him question it over again, this time, outwardly.

"Do I just have to transfer some of my essence to it?"

Looking at the tooth in the palm of his hand with discomfort and uncertainty, Cesar was ready to test it out since by the looks of it, he'll have nothing to do aside from talk to himself and tread to the hallway that had no end to it.