The mother rat attacked left and right, ensuring that every rat from the enemy faction trying to find the escape route met its end. She made sure that none would leave the site alive, while her reinforcements guarded the other escape route. They would make sure to kill them all at any cost, taking over the territory by force.
"Squeak!"
A loud squeal diverted the attention of the mother rat, who saw someone launching an attack from the shadows, targeting one of her rats.
"This is food. This is food. This is food."
Tenma focused on attacking the rats that were separated from the main group, aiming to defeat them almost effortlessly. Meanwhile, he convinced himself that it was for survival reasons.
But deep down, the smell of flesh and the sense of superiority were taking over him.
After defeating one of the rats, he heard several of them approaching him. He glanced up for a brief moment, seeing the mother rat shrieking particularly at him.
He had drawn too much attention with his size and appearance.
Some rats jumped on him, biting his legs and ears, making the young canine scream in pain as he felt their bites were quite deep, his own body starting to burn from within.
["What are you doing?!"]
The angel appeared from afar, somewhat disgusted, knowing he couldn't do much anyway. He looked around, watching as more brown rats ended the lives of the blue rats.
It was a massacre for the owners of that cavern, as the brown rats overwhelmed them in numbers and ferocity.
Now, Tenma felt the pain those same rats had inflicted. But despite the constant pain, he did his best not to give up.
He grabbed one by the tail that had climbed onto his head and threw it towards the rats on his body.
For a moment, he managed to get up and retreat, but the rats chased him again instantly.
"If I use the fish from my inventory, I can either distract them or knock them down with them. But... I would lose the opportunity to sell them."
As the majority of the colony approached him, he made the decision he had to make, pulling out the pile of fish from his inventory.
Dozens of fish fell onto the rats from a portal, while Tenma watched his inventory emptying. But he wouldn't miss the chance: In the confusion caused by the scent of fish, the rats received a surprise attack from the canine, biting and shaking them as best he could.
[Experience level required reached:]
[Shiba Inu reaches level 2]
Tenma heard the sounds of a pop-up window, seeing how, after tearing part of a rat's neck, its body began to heal on its own.
"I feel much better!"
"..."
"Does leveling up heal my entire health bar?"
In his moment of confusion, the mother rat had approached him from behind, attacking him with a swipe of her tail, throwing him forcefully against one of the walls.
Tenma felt the pain of the hundreds of rocks falling on him, getting trapped beneath them.
The mother rat let out a loud squeal, showing him her huge fangs.
Death awaited the helpless canine.
"Damn, damn, damn," the angel began to panic, looking terrified at the mother rat.
He didn't know what he could do, but he simply attacked it.
Tenma widened his eyes to see what was happening before him, feeling the cave start to tremble slightly.
The angel had managed to enter the rat, possessing it.
The mother rat's eyes changed from red to yellow, with a flash of light within them shining through her eyes, mouth, and ears.
The mother rat looked at her own hands, then her tail, and finally at the canine buried under rocks.
"Could I have all this power all along?" the mother rat shouted, being possessed by the angel, but losing her balance.
"And you can talk!" exclaimed Tenma, trying to free himself from the rocks, letting out a somewhat pained sigh.
Tenma was relieved by the newfound advantage he had gained, but he would see how the brown rats had stopped attacking the blue rats, paying attention to the mother rat, staying still.
"Squeak, squeak."
The rats managed to squeal and murmur among themselves, surrounding the mother rat. In contrast, she tried to get up, but it seemed even breathing was difficult for her.
"How the hell does a mortal body like this work?"
Tenma lowered his ears, fearing what might happen next.
s guild knew him, lay sprawled in the adjacent room. He watched the scene in astonishment, partly unwilling to intervene.
But that call brought out an impulse in him.
"Shinma!"
"Woof!"
Leaping into action, Shinma ran out and bit Doris's leg. She jumped in fright, trying to shake off the puppy. However, he bit down with all his might, refusing to let go.
Melman approached Eva to tie her arms. Then, between him and Gorgon, they pinned her to the ground. The swordsman knelt to grab the girl's chin, but she spat at him.
"Disgusting! It got in my mouth!"
Tenma saw his owner fall to the ground, moaning in pain. It was a strange feeling, but he didn't want her to die.
"Get out of here, Shinma," Doris told him, grabbing him by the scruff and lifting him. "You don't need to see all this. Just go, and we'll come back for you later."
Tenma whined a little, disheartened by his weakness against someone who wasn't even using a weapon on him.
"Woof!"
"Shinma... you're going to make me kill you if you keep insisting—"
Suddenly, Melman drove his sword through Doris's back, leaving everyone stunned.
"You... what do you think you're doing?" Doris demanded, releasing Shinma to cover her mouth, ending up spitting blood. "Melman..."
Melman still held the sword firmly, seemingly unwilling to retract his attack.
Hysterical, Doris looked to Gorgon.
"Gorgon, stop Melman!"
Gorgon kicked his boss hard to prevent her from getting up, heading toward Melman.
But he changed direction and aimed his fist at Doris, punching her square in the face.
Doris, in pain, looked at her two comrades going against her. She began to stutter and tremble, not understanding a thing that was happening.
"The government... won't leave me alone, huh?"
Getting up carefully, Eva stood, adjusting the tie of her suit. Her face was bloody, and her suit dirty, but she kept the strength to look firmly at Doris.
"What's happening...? What is this?"
Eva picked up the knife Gorgon had left on the ground. Melman stepped back, drawing his sword, and Gorgon kept the girl held by the neck.
"How did you find me? Were all our adventures... fake?" the leader asked, pointing the knife at the girl.
In a desperate attempt, Doris raised her gun and shot at Eva, but she deflected it with her sword, causing it to ricochet and hit Melman. He fell to the floor.
"Answer. Was everything fake?!"
Doris began to cry, anguished by the pain and the betrayal of her comrades who were not responding to her calls. When she looked again at Eva, she exclaimed:
"We're just... bounty hunters. No one would join you. You are... the threat the government seeks to eliminate," the girl replied, spitting blood. "The assassin we sent to kill you... didn't do his job... and we paid him in advance. Why couldn't you die there?"
Eva stared at the traitor. She took the gun from her hands and pulled out the explosive material, throwing it to the ground.
Doris was stunned, trying to call out to her comrades to stop her. She screamed in alarm.
Tenma watched everything, scared. He was picked up by Eva and carried to the bar's exit.
"Melman! Gorgon! Why aren't you responding?!"
But both remained still. Doris tried to escape from the explosive material, getting up as best she could, leaving blood in her wake.
But Eva was already at the exit, with an explosive berry in her hand.
"Explosion... goodbye, friends."
With a flick of her thumb, she threw the berry at high speed, making it land on the explosive material.
Causing a massive explosion in the place, with the three guild members inside.
"Woof....! Woof..."
"Shinma...."
Eva hugged her pet in her arms, trying to calm him.
"Forget... everything you saw today. Okay?"
"Woof...!"
...
Eva kept walking, stroking her dog's head until dawn.
Leaving town before anyone could discover she was responsible for the disastrous fire.