Chapter Twenty-Seven: Encounter in the Dungeon (R-18 Illustrations!)

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Encounter in the Dungeon (R-18 Illustrations!)

There they were. The gangrenous green bastards stood in a circle, cackling like they were natural-born comedians. It was four spearmen with two archers tucked away in the far back of the room. Sekh tapped my trembling shoulders, and I forcibly got my breathing in order. Tilde was standing on my backpack, and Irisa was waiting with her weapon ready. Glimmers of that awful encounter flashed through my mind.

I was totally helpless once they had closed the distance. My strength reigned supreme at range, where I could pick off these detestable creatures with sharp, pinpoint accuracy.

Shit... If Sekh wasn’t here, those bastards would have used me like a whore and implanted their larvae within me... It makes me sick to my stomach...

“Mila.” Irisa crouched down and held my shoulders. “You can do this. I know you can. I promise I’ll protect you if they ever get close. And Sekh will too. Once you launch the opening strike, we’ll handle the rest.”

Sekh gave me an affirmative nod, and Tilde flew away to watch our backs. I nodded, then steadied Reina’s gun and took a deep breath. With my finger on the trigger, I waited for the green deviants to line up so I could take out two at once with [Piercing Thrust].

Until I find another gun, I have no choice but to rely on this.

Bang!

The earsplitting noise recoiled all throughout the mine, marking my return to harvesting this hunting ground. Sekh and Irisa ran forward, killing the surprised goblins with ease. The two at the back readied their arrows, but I sent them to the afterlife.

The whole battle took just a few seconds, but goddamn if it didn’t feel like a handful of minutes. I walked towards my companions and their bloody weapons while storing my gun in my mana.

Tilde said the coast was still clear, so I ate. I devoured these ruthless annoyances, chopping through their weakened bones and crunching their sorry flesh with the largest boar head hand I could make.

New Skill: [Bow]

And that’s another weapon skill. Maybe I should use Susize’s bow? That’s worth thinking about.

Irisa stared curiously, asking how it all worked.

“Truthfully? I have no idea. It just kinda...teleports to my stomach when I ‘swallow.’ And yes, I can taste every bit of it. I feel the bones when they break.” I searched my map for iron, and there were many hits. This side room was just the closest one, so that was our first destination.

The pathetic goblins were guarding a couple of iron veins. Amongst the three of us, Irisa was the only one strong enough to wield Murag’s warhammer with no issue, so she used that while I used the pickaxe she brought. Sekh relied on her mace. And so, we started to swing away. I lifted it up like Irisa showed me and brought it down. The angle must’ve been wrong because the impact failed to break any ore off, and it sent a tremendous jolt up my arm, causing me to drop it.

I rubbed my wrist and cursed. To my left, Irisa was nonchalantly hammering away, and I was impressed by her sheer strength. She wasn’t even looking, choosing to watch Sekh work in a smooth rhythm. It was supposedly hot inside the dungeon, and with that armor, including the hard labor, she sweated like a storm. Still, she looked so beautiful and powerful. After clipping her helmet to her belt, she retrieved a rag and wiped her drenched face.

Sekh was inspiring, and I went at it until I was totally out of breath.

“Woah... That’s seriously helpful,” Irisa commented on my unique abilities as a dozen chunks of ore were stashed away at once after I connected my webs to them. Tilde proudly hovered in front of her.

“Whahaha!!! I’ll take your praise, and I’ll take it some more. I’ll even let you worship me if you keep gushing about my super helpful skills! Yes, Master only has them because of me! Bwhahahaha!” The flying annoyance let the praise get to her head, but it was cute seeing her in such a happy mood. I knew we all needed it after the disgrace I put the three of us in because of my stubbornness.

As we started to leave, we saw the accumulation of mana and prepared for a fight. And yes, it was a squad of goblins sent by the dungeon to kill us. I aimed my gun to deliver them a quick death, but it couldn’t have been that easy. One of the bastards stared at me with a look. I had to vent my growing displeasure. I approached them with a boar’s head on my hand, bringing one of them towards me with [String Shot] like that web-slinging superhero Greggie liked.

“Guu!!!! Gue! Gue gue!!!” They were laughing, but the screams of that goblin being eaten alive quickly shut them up. But this wasn’t enough. Assimilating a live target was just a drop in the proverbial ocean of what I wanted to do these bastards that nearly succeeded in filling my belly with their sickening parasitic offspring.

You fuckers... You’re better off dead...

I saw Sekh’s black hair rush past me when they charged at me, but I told her to stop because I wanted to personally kill them. Four quick uses of [Web Bomb] immobilized the rest to the ground. Their weak strength couldn’t break my webs, so I had the perfect subjects to further test my Chimeric prowess.

First, I produced a spider leg from my hand because I wanted to take their eyes. Tilde stood guard while I took my time caressing their ugly faces before finally popping those bulging things out of their socket. Eight eyes were stabbed on the end of my arm, and like they were grapes, I popped one into my mouth and chewed.

Those blind, vile creatures produced the most unholy noise while staring up with those empty, bloody sockets. I had fun with them, though. From stomping onto their crotches and hearing the satisfying pop of their tiny testicles exploding to carving my name into their naked chests and ripping away the skin, I put them through hell.

I even used my web abilities to hang one of them. Oh! How humorous it was to watch that little green body swing, seeing his stubby legs kick and flail and fail to find any hard ground while blood from his mutilated crotch fell. While the son of a bitch was on its last breath, I went behind and jabbed my spider leg up its ass so hard and far the tip sprouted from its gaping mouth.

I almost removed it, but I jammed it back in, forcing the goblin to experience what its kind did to the poor men and women that became their victims.

I removed my arm and left the bastard bleeding while I used [String Shot] to retrieve the last living goblin. It grossly squirmed and struggled with all the strength its frail body had. Looking back, Irisa was spewing the contents of her stomach over the ground while failing to hold back her tears.

“You can’t be crying for them, right?” I asked, not hiding my displeasure.

“This... It’s brutal, Mila,” Irisa whispered, her head angled towards the ground. She only vaguely stared at me out of her peripherals.

“They deserve this and far, far more than I’m able to give them. Sekh, new order. If you see any goblins, end their wretched lives.”

“Gladly.”

I strung up the last survivor while finishing off the one I impaled in the ass, and then it was time to eat it alive. Slowly, so very slowly, I used the boar head to eat an inch at a time, making sure to use the boar and everything this head offered me. The scratchy, coarse outer coat had a reputation for being rough, which made it perfect to rub against the exposed flesh and bloodied crotch.

The tortured bastard screamed. For once, they felt the true despair their kin brought to men and women. They felt the torture of being eaten alive, bit by bit and piece by piece. From its nasty feet to the bloody legs and piss-soaked thighs, its scabbed-filled belly, and its scarred chest, I devoured every ounce of this inhuman monster.

“Irisa, this is what I am,” I said, turning my arm back to normal. I turned to find her motionless and crying. “Can you accept a monster like me? I get revenge on those that fuck me over. I have to eat to grow stronger. Even if it means devouring someone alive, I will do it. Those fucking goblins came this close to raping me. In my eyes, they deserve something far, far worse than what I was able to give them.”

“Fine! We’ll... We’ll give you what we have... Just don’t hurt—” said the girl, who cowered and made herself seem smaller. Her eyes were full of tears.

Sekh released her grip, but Tilde flew down to cuss them out. Sekh and I gathered their enchanted robes. They all came with a minor mana restorative effect. The sword and dagger weren’t special, but they could be useful.

The three men wore a pair of ripped shorts and torn shirts under their robes, and they almost shared the same black hairstyle. According to [Analysis], the leader’s name was Max, and his hair was longer in the front. The girl with medium-length brown hair was topless underneath it all, which was why she was hesitant when taking off the robe. She bared her flat chest and string panties to the world with an embarrassing expression. Her hands and arms tried to cover herself.

She started to cry harder, and green snot slowly trickled down her nostrils and onto her quivering lips.

“Don’t make my sister do this!” Max said as traces of vomit dribbled down his lips.

“You’re all family?” He weakly nodded “I’m not a hypocrite,” I said, giving back a robe for the girl to cover herself. “As much as it would amuse me to have you run around naked, I won’t go that far.” I handed my share of the unlawfully gotten loot to Sekh while I delivered one more threat and collected their money.

I don’t give a fuck if they’re poor. I’m taking all they got.

“You almost killed us. It may have been an accident, but it still happened. With this, consider us even. But should you try to get retribution?” I made sure to press my gun against each of their temples, glaring with a merciless smile. “I will end your lives. And that little spirit.” It shivered and hissed, its white fur standing on end. “I will wring its scrawny fucking neck, and you will watch it die before I disembowel you four fuckers. Now get the fuck out of here,” I said, waving my hand towards the only exit in the room. In seconds, they all scrambled to get as far away from me as possible.

Irisa was relieved because it didn’t turn into a bloodbath, but Sekh was upset. She avoided meeting my gaze. When I tried to touch her, she moved at the last second and sulked while leaning against the wall. The flames of violence were alive in her silver eyes, and she wanted to spill their blood.

Yeah, she’s pissed. I know she wanted them dead—I did too— but we’d be the first suspects because people saw Sekh kick him when she ran out of the dungeon with me. We aren’t strong enough to deal with the trouble. My instincts tell me it’s different than when we killed Martin and his cronies.

But I know something Sekh doesn’t... I’ll have to talk to her about the different flavors of revenge when I have a chance. Killing them offers immediate satisfaction, but destroying their world? Flipping it upside down? Causing strife and mayhem within a group to make suicide seem like the golden option? That’s the revenge I want on these bastards.

Irisa grabbed my cheeks, stared into my eyes, and sighed. “I don’t care if you’re disappointed,” I told the Oni. “We almost died, and those four were responsible for it.”

If I’m right, retaliation might come very soon... I’m hoping for it.

“I know, but—”

“I said it before, but this is who I am,” I said, storing the robes and weapons in my storage. Its limit was 95lbs, which was nice. “If it had turned violent, I would not have hesitated to put a bullet in their brains and eat them. I almost wished they were foolish enough to attack.”

“But what if they tell someone about this?” Irisa argued.

“So what? Everything is in a place that’s only reachable by my Master and me. Hey, don’t forget to stash the money,” Tilde said.

“Are you still comfortable teaching me how to craft?” I asked while doing what the fairy wanted.

Irisa didn’t hesitate at all. “We’re friends, right? I know you suffered a lot, and I haven’t experienced your pain. If I were in your shoes, I’d probably want to get payback against the goblins and that group. I’m sorry, Mila.” Irisa hugged me. She was half-a-foot taller than me, so it felt like I was a little kid.

“You don’t have to apologize. It’s not like I’m upset or anything,” I replied from Irisa’s comfortable embrace. After this, I tried to hug Sekh, but she was still silently fuming.

Upon leaving the dungeon, we were stopped by a man you’d find in the dictionary under the definition of large. The badge on the handlebar-mustached fellow’s chest signified he was with the guild as an officer. The jackasses we robbed were standing behind him. Max looked smugly at us, but his sister jittered with anxiety. With a deep voice, the officer asked if we had encountered the four standing behind him, and I shook my head.

“Bullshit! Look inside those packs,” Max demanded. His mouth still had traces of vomit around his lips. “You’ll find our equipment!”

“Fine. Then look.” After a quick search that resulted in nothing but wasted time, the officer let us go and apologized, much to the dismay of Max. The fool started talking about how we must’ve stashed them inside the dungeon.

“What? Are we really that petty to steal from you and leave it behind? It was your fault we lost everything. If I did have your gear, I'd try my hardest to sneak it out. We clearly don’t have it, though. You already tried to kill us, and now you want us to blame us for this? What did we ever do to you?” I asked, carefully keeping my face composed. The leader’s smug grin slowly vanished while I searched amongst my skills.

Yeah, there it is. I saw [Lying] earlier, but I might as well take it. It’ll come in handy.

New Skill: [Lying]

It was their word versus ours, and evidence of the robbery didn’t exist. Using my new skill, I lied just a little bit more to throw the situation even more in our favor. I told the officer that the four siblings were out of line because they threw a lure to send a horde of monsters after us. I exacerbated how awful it was for us.

But only very slightly.

He said he’d heard about that and was about to start that investigation. Irisa mentioned the witnesses Sekh had told her about that saw Sekh leaving the mines with my unconscious body. Irisa also said she had helped her mother nurse our wounds, strengthening our case.

“Out of curiosity, what’s the punishment for something like that?” I asked the large man.

“It isn’t pretty, I’ll tell you that. Accidents do happen, but even those aren’t immune from justice. An accidental death is still a death. Let me get your statements while I’m here,” he replied.

After spending a few minutes telling him our story and mentioning Chax, Ginnie, and the two Racoonfolk, he thanked us for our time and apologized for what we went through. The siblings were ‘kindly’ escorted back to Ria, where, according to Irisa, they would lose favor with the guild, lose any points towards promotion, and even be sentenced to pay a fine.

I didn’t know if I would get a portion of that since I had all their money, but the bells of justice rang in my favor.

But it wasn’t enough for Sekh. She walked a few feet ahead of us under claims of wanting to protect me, but I saw her shoulders sag from a conflicted sigh.

It hurts me to see Sekh like that, but I don’t think she understands what I put into motion. I definitely have to talk to her after she has a chance to simmer off.