Byron fetched two candies from his shoulder bag, standing straight like a body guard. His chest pushed forward and backwards as he panted, a sign that the first battle was not that easy. Now, with his concentration boosted by the sweet taste in his mouth, Byron could see clearly as if in a slow motion.
Once the first monster reached within five meters toward him, he ran aside, leaving the monster to struggle with coming to a halt. That was impossible.
He had made sure to leave no room for such a thing. The monster tried to stop, but it's claws scratched against the dry ground, plummeting into nothingness a second later.
The one close to it shared the same fate.
Now, one small monster remained, four bigger ones and a one mountain of monstrosity.
The pairs of ruby bloodlust eyes changed direction, making something that looked like a back slash if anyone could be crazy enough to draw a line across their standing points.
Unperturbed, Byron faced them, ready to use the same technique. The monsters might have been intelligent, but were not like a human to notice what he was doing... at least for now. Perhaps after more of their brothers plummeted into nothingness, they were going to realize his ill intentions.
Byron didn't want to know what will happen to him at that point. He only enjoyed the sweet taste on his tongue, swirling it so both sides of the candy would reach all of his nerves.
Just like that, two more monsters plummeted down the canyon, their brothers changing their course. Now, Byron could not apply the same technique anymore.
The remaining monsters had reached near the canyon and were running horizontally toward him. If he dodged them, they would not fall down the canyon. That's why he ran as fast as he could, leaving the canyon behind him once again.
To his annoyance, the mysterious voice from earlier whispered to him again.
[Vanquished an Infected Monster, Ruby Wolf.]
[Your Pigment becomes brighter.]
It whispered again but Byron ignored it and continued his mad run.
Meanwhile, the monsters struggled to change their direction, giving Byron more seconds to run far from the canyon. His intention was not to escape the vile monsters by running away from them. No! He knew he would not outrun them. His feet felt sore, his entire body screaming fatigue.
He was trying to run in a zigzag pattern so the monsters would follow him, only to find him running toward the canyon again. By the time they would reach him, he would have already settled himself in a position that would allow him to trick them into falling down the canyon again.
Monsters, being so kind as they were, changed their course and followed him. When they were about to reach the tiny human, they saw him taking a turn, running toward the canyon again. What else would they do? They followed him.
Surprisingly, as Byron approached this side of the canyon, he saw several trees and vines overgrown onto its walls. Seeing their emerald leaves made him wonder if he was not hallucinating. What was down there that prevented the Infection to devour those plants like it did everywhere? Were those plants really normal as they seemed to be?
'Goddess of Beauty, what's that?'
The Goddess of Beauty who could hear his thoughts and perceive the world through his senses saw the plants, too, prompting her to reply, "I'm as confused as you're. This is too far from the Dungeon of Desires. I don't know what could be down there."
Not wanting this to distract him, Byron came to a halt, again not believing his eyes. Unlike other parts of the canyon, this side was not an endless abyss where one could see nothing but darkness below. Here, he could see a garden-like area down the canyon and a small river originating from a lake he could see meters away.
'Interesting!'
With that thought, Byron turned around to face the oncoming monsters.
'Come here, you fools!'
He fished two more candies, adrenaline making him chew on them instead of the usual way of consuming a candy.
The quenchy quenchy sounds could be heard as he chewed on the candies, the first monster reaching within his desired interval.
That's when he ran aside, leaving them to plummet into the abyss... not abyss anymore. The bottom of the canyon was now close to the upper ground. The very reason Byron heard a boom sound when the first monster hit the ground. The mysterious whisper disturbed him once more, this time with a bit different words.
[Vanquished an Infected Monster, Ruby Guardian.]
[Your Pigment becomes brighter.]
...
This time, the monsters were too close so one plummeted after another, giving Byron hopes that all of them would plummet down there. However, the big guy crushed those hopes. With its enormous size, the big bastard managed to come to a halt, turning to its left to face the tiny human.
Byron stared into those three ruby eyes for a split second as he brainstormed ideas. Following, he made a move to run for his dear life. Unfortunately, the big guy was too fast for him to outrun. He couldn't even do any zigzag this time. That would instead give the monstrosity an advantage to reach him fast.
That's why he held his breath and did something he had not assumed he would do. Jumping down the canyon. There was a lake, right?
Now, Byron prayed for the lake to be deeper so he would not smash onto its bottom. That would be ridiculous. Really ridiculous. Being killed by something you thought would save you. Wasn't life like that? People eat to survive. What does food do to them in the end? Some gain much much more weight, a bridge for heart attacks and other diseases. Some...
'The food is good, you fool! Chew on your candy and get ready for a swim in the only lake left in the world. Ha! Ha!'
Some stones plummeted past him, a sign that the big guy had recently came to a halt, probably planning to jump after the tiny human to avenge his soldiers.
Now, Byron's pillow-like bag was in front of him, his right hand holding the strap so the bag would not get away.
The lake kept becoming wider and wider until Byron heard a splashing sound, coldness spreading through his entire body afterwards. Luckily, the lake was normal. Byron pushed aside the worry that he would smash onto a rock or something and enjoyed the coolness of the water.
Like a person who had been walking his entire day in a desert would be, Byron felt like staying into the water but knew better not to be that crazy. He didn't know if there wasn't something that could swallow him entirely inside the waters. That's why he needed to get away from them as soon as possible.
***
Inside a wide cave, so bright and with flowers, an awe-inspiring waterfall could be seen, vines decorating the walls of the jagged rocks around it. Its waters flowed outside the cave into a canyon nearby, creating a lake and a river afterwards. A beautiful woman stood beneath the waterfall as if it was a shower, her breathtaking body in her birth suit.
...Time to tame our first Venomous Beauty.
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