The second day of the festival. Since the event that I oversee, the "Long-distance Obstacle Competition", is left unchanged, I think I will pay attention to Kanami today. The event Kanami-chan is in charge of is the "Haunted House".
Asue led her logistics support troops, Pleasure, to diligently make an[Underground Cavern]for Kanami-chan to have[Summoning: Greater Undead]soldiers attack. The putrid smell of the undead teeming with semi-substantial ghosts drifts in the air, a cry of sorrow echoes on the bare rock of the corridor from the chamber space like a labyrinth. If the mind is weak, the spirit crumbles just a little from fear of this place.
While the participants are in the Underground Cavern, they must collect 5 "keys" among the dead, or the doors will not open. The survival of 300 people depends on cooperating, in order to leave this blockaded space which has no refuge or escape. The event progresses solemnly with the screams and blood of the participants.
[Iss Haa: A certain Preying Mantis Insectoid's POV]
Before my eyes, they formed groups. Not even a little, there is no sign of the enemies decreasing, I have had enough. In anger, I strike hard. the sharpness of my proud sickle hand tears at its neck.
With one swing at the neck, 3 bodies were beheaded. It seeks us who are living people. While extending both arms, it approaches. Because it is of the flesh, a putrid decaying odor float so it is hard to touch. It's a disgusting "zombie".
In the undead race, the most renowned and weakest to kill by the living are "zombies". Having only the troublesome ability to congeal corpses into more zombies, it is an existence which can easily be dealt with by one swing of my sickle hands. If there are only 10 or 20, it would make no difference. But there are too many of them.
Before my eyes, zombies file in. Zombie, zombie, zombies crowd and fills the sight. The narrow rock passageway is packed to the end with enemy zombies, with no end in sight, ready to attack us all at once as they rush on.
I am attacked by such a physical quantity that it's a nightmare, but fortunately, they cannot encircle us, because the passageway is narrow. Yet, we can't relax our attention, grappling to control several zombies. If you die while being eaten by zombies, you become a zombie.
I can not relax here at all. They will come to kill us, that's for sure.
"Oh, there's more. It's the same undead, so how about it?! You said you could do control it!"
I swing my sickle hands sending off 3 zombie heads flying. While I listen in secret to the fighting on that side, Guruden-chan is fighting with a spear.
Guruden-chan was a Hobgoblin until a little while ago, but recently has[Rank Up]into a Ghoul, which made her handling of the spear much better than before. 3 piercing thrusts made its way in an instant to the zombie heads, killing them. A little ahead, my elder sister is yearning for a decaying eye, influenced just a little by its special nature yet to be realized, until I am pulled up from slipping into the crowd to feel, for a short time, a reprieve from my weakness because in such a place, I rely on a close friend and colleague.
"Don't be absurd. If it was a normal zombie, it would be possible, but the zombies produced by Kanami-oneesama would not allow the possibility of being controlled." While I say that, Guruden-chan picks up the [Spear of the Rotting Dead] to swing, chopped up the zombies while using an ability of the short spear, [Putrid Decomposition.] Using it further kept the bodies corroding into mud. The species called Ghoul prefer rotten meat and the body fluids of the dead.
Therefore, Guruden-chan slurps up the rotten meat in a liquid form in intervals... watching it feels unpleasant. Well, it's a racial instinct, so it cannot be helped. We, the mantis species, as a matter of fact, often eat and kill our males during love copulation. Because it can't be helped, I avert my eyes from reality, and, with single-minded enthusiasm, destroy the enemy. "Well. Even a mere zombie is super delicious when Kanami-oneesama generates it." I watch, repulsed, as decomposing fluid is drunk "slurp slurp slurp delicious" as Guruden-chan drinks the marrow, and doesn't care.
"You still haven't found it! As one would expect, you are mentally limited!!"
Even if you don't pay attention, there is still a limit. Keep checking. I struggle to reverse the situation at the last moment. No matter how, I must endure the dangers. A layer of my shell is shaved off, this scares me. Although the place is full of enemies, I did not think my spirit could be attacked by an ally.
"Uhhhh, I want to leave as soon as possible."
Tens of hundreds of zombies decapitated from the neck with tainted meat and flesh clinging on gives me shivers that I must turn away my eyes. Zombies destroyed the remains scattered full-length of the contaminated ruins eluding my view. Time stretches and passes extremely slowly. Now the barely to be heard voice from my company give blessings that surely broke the deadlock.
"We found the third key. Time to break away!"
"Okay. Then let us leave quickly!"
In the underground space, you need to have the keys to leave. Upon finally hearing the report of the last key being found, we secured an escape route, and then we ran. At that time, I unintentionally saw the soiled sickle hands that had evaded my eyes. I do not understand where this flesh and meat came from as it's stuck on, rather my doing.
Guruden-chan is eating a zombie hand that was secured. Ew. Ew, ew, ew, ew, ew. I want to get out of here quickly and dip in the hot springs. Before that, we need to clean our whole body. I stood there for just for a moment and wondered what Guruden-chan was saying, and then I understood.
Well, yes. Indeed. The whole group had been washed by a high pressured water hose yesterday, such a thing happened. Our whole body, as a consequence of repeated battle with the undead, has the smell of putrid rot that hung in the air from the remnants that clung to our bodies. A piece of meat is stuck to my armor, the decaying liquid flesh now becomes a stain. Though I don't understand because my nose stopped working, it is undoubtedly that a dreadful smell began to emit.
Indeed, like what we saw yesterday, large amounts of water coming out of a water hose cleansed the entire body, then sterilizing and deodorizing effects of high kill sea grass and kanbu seeds in large amounts for a mineral bath for the armor to soak in was the same as what we were given, I understood well. You can't just enter the hot springs that everyone use. It is necessary to wash off as much filth as possible. Oh, and so it is that we were covered in filth and excrement while looking for the key to escape. The zombies and ghouls reinforced with ice magic come out here and there.
After the desperate struggles at the escape door where we were attacked endlessly one after another, somehow, we returned from undead hell. While we are physically and mentally exhausted, I washed every corner of my body. At last, I was able to finally soak in the hot spring. The armor's putrid smell remains. In order take care of it, I requested a leprechaun wash it some more. Tomorrow is coming and somehow we must manage. While soaking in the hot spring, I genuinely thought.
Tomorrow there is more, it should be better, right. However unreasonable that may be, a certain kind of conviction is held, I looked at the night sky as far as I can see. Oh, my compound eye is bleeding somehow.
[Rou's POV]
Since this is a mentally grinding event, the number of interferers that come out is very large, but each one is weakened considerably. There are zombies that have been strengthened by Kanami's magical ice here and there, but even so, they are still zombies.
The team members who have gone through rigorous training up to this point are not unbeatable. I'm satisfied with the fact that almost no one dropped out this time, but I let the members, who smelled so bad, soak in the specially prepared medicinal bath.
It's a nuisance to leave a rotten smell in the air, and above all, it's too scary, like an infection. I think it would be safe to do it because of its strong life force, but it would be safer to do it. Then you might say, don't do this, but that's it.
It's when you're in an extreme situation that your true nature is exposed, and that's why it's meaningful. We have a system in place to deal with the cleanliness of our armor and other equipment responsibly, so tomorrow they will surely enjoy another event.