Daniel jumped up and almost laid on his stomach on the rocky ground when he heard all the roars that resembled that of a mighty explosion, now as if they were almost breaking the sky. Even the ground he was walking on felt a little shaky. His eyes narrowed far away, uncovering the yellowish sulfuric smoke that enveloped the gloomy world.
The sky still looked the same, the ground still looked the same, but this wasn't the real world, it wasn't the world of humans. He could feel the difference from the sight of his eyes which looked hazy and somewhat different, then to what extent the consciousness of his brain could be awake. Inside the portal of the monsters, Daniel would feel half asleep. But even so, that didn't mean he's become weak.
The portals that appeared at that time were created by the monsters themselves. The portal was like a hole in the ground that could be used for hiding, rather than a road that could connect two distant places, although some monsters could reach several places on earth at a certain distance.
But one thing was for sure, monsters couldn't create portals to take them to other worlds, including the world of Sotah.
Daniel jammed a map into his trouser pocket then pulled out the iron weapon he was carrying from the broken crowbar. His hands were shaking quite a bit as he held the iron with very alert eyes.
In front of him was already a high rocky path that formed a mountain, or perhaps a very large crevasse that did not slope at all. Far in front of him, he could see a collection of rocks that seemed to merge and form a fence. When Daniel managed to reach it, he began to know that it was a kind of nest for illusionist monsters with stone-shaped bodies.
Monsters did have their classifications. One of the classifications that Daniel had discovered was that of the illusionist monsters, often disguised as victims they had eaten for some purpose. However, although they could be grouped into one classification, the outward appearances of illusionist monsters were very different from one another.
Some were shaped like twigs, some were shaped like rock giants, some were shaped almost like humans, only they looked like zombies, and some were shaped like real horned animals. All of them were different. And often they came together and form a colony based on their outward appearance. Perhaps if their personification was applied, it would be more like a community of humans differentiated by skin color.
Daniel had encountered a monster community once in his life when he was a child and still lived with his parents. The monster community consisted of five people, and they lived in a house and disguised themselves as a family. There had been reports of losing livestock as the monster family began to replace the role of the real residents, who had already died from being eaten.
Daniel squeezed closer to the tallest rock, glanced at the entrance, which was a very wide gap, which could fit a monster through, or maybe more. These rocks were infinitely high, perhaps over fifty meters, which could be used to hide the monsters inside that were about ten meters or maybe more.
Daniel took a breath before glancing inside, at an opening that almost was like a wide hall. In the middle of the opening gate, stood two monsters who beat each other over the flesh of a dead squirrel and cut it into pieces.
The shapes of the monsters were the same: tall, stocky, full of rocky ridges growing on their bodies and skins, then a rumbling sound like the crumbling of rocks in a cave.
"Mine! Mine! I found it first!" roared one of the monsters, slightly slender compared to the others. At the end of his hand, which was a stone with a fairly wide slab, was the carcass of a squirrel that was crushed and shapeless, some of which had been scattered on the ground and were trampled on.
One of the bigger monsters approached, gait like a gorilla. He gritted his teeth and then punched him in the chest. The rumbling shook and staggered Daniel, almost the same effect as an earthquake.
"Share !!!!!" he roared, who then attacked the flattened monster to fight over the minuscule squirrel's flesh. All around them were some natural rocks that glowed a yellowish color, which could give light and make Daniel's eyes see clearly. The stones were placed in a container made of stone.
The fight between the two monsters was getting fiercer, they slammed against each other, and the other monsters that remained were shouting and starting to bet.
Daniel tried to get in if only the monster's swarm didn't block the entrance to the inside. He was sure that Wendy was in their lair because the map Sam had given him kept showing similar spots.
If Daniel forced his way in, the risk of being trampled was 80%, the rest was the risk of being caught and then being eaten alive.
Soon another monster appeared and came from outside. He was like a four-legged reptile with a mountainous hump filled with stones. Maybe he sounded like a turtle. When he passed, Daniel immediately went into hiding.
At first, Daniel wanted to wait for the monster's fight to end. however, after thinking again he finally changed his plans. Daniel put the weapon back in his backpack, then darted towards the tail of the four-legged monster. Then he crawled and hid under his stomach, the brimstone fumed spreading and almost suffocating Daniel.
Even though the monster's body was large, the space Daniel had to hide under his stomach was relatively few because the monster's legs were so short. The movement began, and Daniel gasped with his knees starting to ache from the bumps on the steep rocks below.
Feeling thankful for the help of the four-legged monster, Daniel was able to pass through the entrance gate unnoticed and without being stepped on. For a moment the monster stopped and Daniel stopped too. A roar could be heard above him, "What's wrong? Why are they fighting?" The monster that was on top of Daniel asked one of the other monsters, who were watching.
"They're fighting over fresh squirrel meat, as usual."
The monster on top of Daniel grieved, "Like a poor monster. There is still a lot of human flesh inside, why do you have to fight over the small squirrel meat?"
Daniel stiffened when he heard this. That meant the possibility that Wendy was inside was quite large, and unfortunately, he didn't know whether she was still alive or not. He did not predict this matter. If Sam asked him to comb it meant that Wendy was still alive. But if Daniel could only find Wendy's dead body, then what?
The other monsters could be heard answering, accompanied by a roar that seemed to come from their throats, "They can't wait to eat. And honestly, not everyone likes bacon, but if Brok likes it we can't pretend to like it."
"What's so bad about smoked meat? It's more natural." The monster above Daniel sounded indifferent, then he moved again. The swing of all four legs was quite nimble, so different from the giants depicted on TV. The monster's legs moved like centipedes, they were multi-legged and moved smoothly.
The monster sliced through the crowd, avoiding several collisions of the cheering and betting spectators. The walls and ground shook several times, and the gravel stuck out and then flew to dust.
Now Daniel had reached the mouth of the cave, or as it seemed, which was tall and black and filled with mystery. His crawling legs started to hurt, even more, moreover, he had to move quickly to keep up with the monsters above him.
Currently, Daniel felt that his condition was so healthy, very different from the condition when he was faced with the branch monster one week ago. Come to think of it, what's the difference? Daniel was currently at a very close distance from the monsters, he was even right under the stomach of a monster. But his chest was normal, it didn't hurt at all. Instead, Daniel's nose and lungs were disturbed by the pungent sulfur fumes.
Daniel moaned when he found his palms began to be scratched because they rubbed against the rock. He grimaced and held back his screams. When things became unbearable, Daniel chose to stop, roll to one side and hide behind the other rock, escaping under the darkness.
And he saw, not far from where he was standing was a door that led him to the place where Wendy was. How did he know? Because a few moments ago Daniel saw a woman struggling and was forced to enter the room.
Daniel grabbed the weapon from inside his backpack, took a deep breath, and was ready to make the rescue.
***