Chapter 173: The Knot (13)

Crunch... Crunch...

What lay before me wasn't exactly unfamiliar. Most living things fed on corpses. In this case, it was a plump, legged larva chewing on flesh and bone. I'd seen similar sights at the breeding pens outside the capital.

Yet, this one was different. Unlike the small ten-centimeter-long larvae I'd seen with Rayleigh at the facility, this one was twenty times larger. It sank its teeth deep into the upper half of a corpse, crunching through the flesh and bones.

The gnashing and grinding sounds echoed across the room.

As for whose corpse it was... I didn't want to think about it for now.

Size wasn't the only difference. The larva's mouth was packed with far more densely lined teeth, and the muscles around its neck were layered five or six deep to support its crushing force.

Crunch!

The larva closed its mouth again, sticky mucus stringing between its mandibles. Even the blood that squirted out seemed too precious to let go.

Sword Energy.

Whirrr...

I immediately channeled the aura into my sword. The aura gathering at the blade was far more intense than what I'd used to destroy Steel Golems. I was just about to spring forward and strike, but the creature's slick back suddenly bulged upward.

Gurrrgle... Glorp...

Is it going to explode?

I thought it might be some sort of self-destruct, so I leaped back to put some distance in between.

Groooan...

The larva's back swelled nearly thirty centimeters, its flesh stretching like dough. At first, it was smooth and shapeless, but then, with a grotesque deflating sound, a nose formed. A mouth split open.

Snort! Hrrrk! Hhnng!

Two small eyes appeared on either side of the nose, blinking red and wet. It wasn't self-destruction.

However, the moment I saw the face, I couldn't attack. The shape of those eyes felt oddly familiar. It was the very face I'd come to check on.

Chandler? How?

I froze in utter confusion as the newly formed face tilted its head from side to side. It sniffed with its nose. Its mouth opened and closed. Sticky green mucus clung like webs between its newly formed lips.

Those lips moved as if the larva were trying to speak. "

Huu...

"

Whirrr...

I raised my sword again, cloaked in aura.

The mouth shaped like Chandler's opened once more. "Hungry..."

Hungry?

"I'm... hungry..."

Crunch! Crunch!

The enormous larva continued to gnaw on the corpse before me.

Once again, I had to repeat the question I had asked the silver-masked woman earlier. "What... are you?"

The face turned to look at me again. Its features became increasingly distinct, slowly shaping into Chandler's likeness. That massive red lump of meat formed curves and contours, baring freshly-formed red teeth as it replied to me.

"You... have... a-rrived... benefactor..." the larva uttered.

***

"

Kekekekekeke...

"

When I flinched, the larva raised itself and broke into a manic fit of laughter. Even its shapeless mouth, now chewing Chandler's remains, seemed to jiggle from the sound. It didn't feel like laughter meant to mock or scare me. It was a laugh that burst out involuntarily and uncontrollably. It was something primal.

Plop! Plop-plop!

Before I realized it, several new arms sprouted from the slime-covered larva.

Is this... its adult form?

I recalled what the larva breeders near the capital had once said.

They said adult forms were too dangerous, so training was only allowed under a mage's supervision. I heard they could rip through leather as easily as paper.

However, no one ever said anything about them copying their victims.

I steadied my stance and waited.

A pair of arms that were far too long for any human stretched out from either side, trying to grab me. They slashed through the air so fast they made a sharp slicing sound.

Whoosh!

I ducked slightly and dodged it.

Slam!

The larva smashed into a stone pillar in frustration. The impact rang through the hall as stone chips flew.

It's tough.

The creature extended another two pairs of arms, now four in total, and aimed for me again.

From the larva's back, Chandler's face emerged and muttered, "Dodge... Still eat..."

The larva crossed its long arms and went for me again.

Whoosh!

Just as it lunged at my previous location, I jumped up instead of back.

While airborne, I pulled my sword back 180 degrees and swung it forward with force.

Slash!

Like a spinning top, my sword sliced through the crossed arms, cleanly severing all four.

The larva gasped. "

Uh...

uh?!

"

The panicked larva opened its mouth wide, trying to bite me. It was pathetic. Though it seemed to have strong self-awareness, its combat skills were painfully crude compared to its raw strength. It wasn't even close to the silver-masked woman, nor was it even on Chandler's level. Maybe it was a creature designed solely to mimic others.

To think that someone like this actually got the better of Chandler...

I recalled Chandler seeking out the strongest, learning from strangers in the wasteland, and how he insisted on keeping ridiculous promises.

He was a kind man...

I glanced at the fake Chandler on the creature's back. The face was identical, but not the same. That contrast stirred something bitter and hollow within me.

Frost.

I didn't want to see that grotesque face any longer.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

I swung my sword, now cloaked in ice. The larva, already half-split, froze from within.

***

Sprint!

I dashed forward with even more urgency. Another familiar face had become a corpse, lying motionless in the hallway.

"The butler?" I muttered.

The butler who had served the Chandler family for two generations had died with his back against a pillar. His neat clothes were soaked in blood. His neck was half-severed, his chest gashed by something sharp.

A thin, black stiletto lay beside the pillar. Perhaps he tried to fight back, but its tip was clean, as if it hadn't pierced anything at all. I folded his hands and laid him on the floor, then continued down the hall.

A standing corpse bled silently ahead. Several spears had pierced its body. Its eyes were wide open, filled with regret at having failed to protect the lord.

Christina...

Just as I reached out to gently close her eyes...

Whirr!

From behind a large column, a familiar sword spun rapidly through the air, hurtling toward me. I sidestepped its attack trajectory.

Clatter!

Then, from the dark corridor, a pitch-black chain, nearly invisible, wrapped around my neck and yanked me backward.

Slam!

The sudden pull dragged me in the direction I'd dodged. I was slammed against the floor multiple times before I finally regained my footing.

Clang!

Using the sword as leverage, I spun around and yanked the chain. Two masked men stepped out from either side of the hallway pillars, each holding the chain taut.

Two.

Again, I hadn't sensed a thing. Both men wore black masks. Their black masks fully covered their faces, unlike the woman's half-mask.

"You're pretty fast," one of them said.

The other man added, "That girl's keepsake is right there. No one else is left to take it. All your friends are dead."

"..."

Each man held two long rods—one manipulating the chains, the other gripping a long spear.

Javelins.

They must've been the ones who killed Christina.

***

That makes... nine so far.

Masked attackers emerged from all around. None were as strong as the silver-masked woman I first encountered, but I couldn't keep up with the numbers and ambushes. Parts of my skeleton were freezing, burning, and breaking. I hadn't even been able to check whether Hailey was alive or not. Each one of them wore a mask, and not once could I sense their presence beforehand.

Whoosh!

They had somehow obtained Grassmere's Fire and unleashed it on me again.

I barely avoided it. My Sprint skill was nearly reaching its limit as well.

[Remaining time: 1:13...]

Damn it...

There was no end in sight. None of them matched the silver mask woman's strength, but they weren't weak enough to take down in a single blow either. If I hadn't reabsorbed the marquis' corpse back in the capital, I'd have died at least five times by now.

Each of them was highly skilled. At their level, they ranked just below top-tier fighters like Rayleigh of the Blue Lion Knights or Captain Isabelle of the Royal Guard.

At least two, sometimes three or four, attacked me at once. I couldn't handle that. Even breaking through a window wasn't an option. Their blockade was airtight.

I didn't think I'd be pushed this far...

I descended underground, knowing it might be the end. Thankfully, they seemed unfamiliar with this place. On the narrow stairs, I was able to face them one-on-one and fatally wound two of them. But six still remained.

"What kind of place is this?" one black-masked pursuer roared in frustration and swung a massive iron weight on a chain.

Crash!

The statue of Malphas, sculpted from smooth white marble, shattered into pieces. The sound echoed through the dungeon halls like thunder. I passed the ruins of broken golems and pushed deeper inside.

I heard them shouting from behind.

"Wait! There might be traps ahead."

"So what? You want to retreat?"

"Our intel on the enemy's power was all wrong. Too many variables. Maybe we should report this and wait for his instructions."

"Don't be stupid. If he finds out we lost three already... he'll skin us alive. We'll finish this ourselves. Got it?"

If only they really believed it was a trap...

Or if I'd left the actual trap, like the berserk smoke bomb, it might've helped. Regardless, all of that was wishful thinking now. I kept firing waves of freezing wind down the hall to slow their advance.