"This is carnage..."
Before our eyes lay dozens of mutilated bodies and pools of blood. All of the corpses were guards, severed and damaged beyond recognition. Human beings that were far superior to any man our world has ever seen, reduced to nothing but pieces of flesh and blood staining the walls.
I thought that the aftermath of our fights were gruesome, but this is on a whole other level. Not even those gore videos that I found on the internet a while ago were as brutal as this.
I looked back to see my friends' reactions. Touji was visibly disturbed, an expression of disgust and concern plastered on his face, Haruto was pretty much the same with the addition of cold sweat falling down his forehead, Sophia on the other hand, was covering her mouth to avoid vomiting.
I wasn't shaken by this view, but I was certainly worried. After all if something had killed so many guards, then we are as good as dead if we try to fight it. However, a thought passed through my mind at that moment.
"This wasn't a unilateral fight...there are too many marks of battle, so it definitely wasn't a quick encounter."
Although mostly covered by blood, the walls and floor had multiple marks, like cuts or cracks probably caused by the guards' weapons. Moreover, there were some broken pieces of armor lying around, and the guards don't use armor of any kind.
"That means that whatever did this is not intact, so we may have a chance."
"Are you crazy? You see this and the first thing that crosses your mind is fighting whoever did this?"
It was Touji who responded immediately. Normally he agrees with my judgement but not this time. I can't say that I don't understand where he is coming from. After seeing such a gruesome scene most people would turn back without thinking twice.
"The most sensible course of action is to search for another route."
"Is it? We have been wandering for weeks following the only route we know it exists. We are already out of water and keeping on wandering means encountering more guards, which means more injuries and probably using the healing vials we have."
Touji didn't seem convinced by my argument but didn't know how to deny it. None of the three wanted to keep walking this way and it's understandable. Even if my reasoning is right I shouldn't force them to follow me.
"Don't worry too much, the last thing I want is for you guys to get injured, so just wait for me here, I'll take care of it."
I said while I started walking towards the chief's quarters. According to the map it should be two long hallways and a room from here, so getting there would be quick, I took some healing vials from my bag and put them in one of my jacket pockets. After all if I get hurt in the middle of a fight, I need to be able to treat myself quick enough.
Before I could walk more than ten steps, I was stopped by Haruto who was grabbing my shoulder tightly. I saw clear worry on his face as well as some annoyance.
"You're being reckless!"
I can't deny that, no matter how you look at it, this is reckless and stupid, probably suicidal too. I'm well aware of it, but I don't really care. I'm willing to take the risk if it means keeping them away from danger...actually I would take the risk even if they weren't here, after all this is the fastest way out of here.
"Maybe, but I don't see another alternative that won't get us all killed, do you?"
Maybe it was my penetrating stare, or the slightly dark tone I used in my voice, but I made Haruto flinch back. It wasn't my intention but I'm well aware that I can be off putting sometimes.
"Scheiß drauf, im going with Nayuta!"
Surprisingly Sophia stepped forward to go with me. Her face made her fear more than obvious, but she seemed determined. I looked back at Haruto and Touj who had a complicated expression on their faces, however it was clear what they would end up doing.
"Fine...I can't let you two go alone and die"
Touji was angry, but he still decided to go with me. He may be the edgy boy of the group but he is a softie inside, or well at least that's how it seems to me. Haruto just sighed and started walking towards me. He always prioritizes safety over anything, but he is aware that he is not going to be able to convince me.
We kept on walking with Haruto taking the lead. He discarded the mace and took the shield with both hands, making for a better defense. Touji ended up carrying the mace. I thought it would be hard for him but apparently it was just slightly difficult. The more we advance the darker it gets. Most of the dungeon has torches on the walls, but not here. Eventually, I had to make an improvised torch with a stick, some cloth and matchsticks. Sophia was somewhat uncomfortable with fire since that recent incident so she has been having a hard time around brightly illuminated areas so i thought that this darkness would be comforting, but i was wrong. She looked even more disturbed while looking at the makeshift torch shining alone in the dark. The moment I noticed this, I wanted to put out the fire, but that would put us in an unnecessary danger.
Our steps and our breathing was the only sound we heard for a little while. It would have been nice if it stayed like that but we weren't that lucky. After walking for a few minutes we started hearing growling. It was similar to the sound a big dog would make but...more aggressive, almost as if whatever was producing that sound was completely blinded by rage. That's the only way I could describe it.
We all stopped for a moment the second we heard the growl. Haruto looked at me for a brief instance before looking forward again. We intended on keeping on walking but we didn't get the chance.
"What the-EEEARGH!!"
Something dashed towards Haruto and crashed against his shield. The sound of cracked bones hit my ears as a disgusting melody that immediately made my blood boil. Haruto had been sent flying against a wall. His shield had a huge dent, a sign that it wasn't able to completely block the impact. His bleeding and almost limp arms just made that clear.
The light provided by the torch was anything but bright, however it was enough to illuminate the room sufficiently enough to see barely comfortably. Thanks to that light, I was able to see our agressor.
His frame was much taller than the guards we had been fighting, almost as tall as the monster we fought to get to the dungeon. Contrary to the guards, this new monster was skinny in comparison, clad in dented and broken metal armor that covered most of his body with the exception of his left leg. His right hand was holding a large sword, almost as big as myself, contrary to that his left hand wasnt holding anything, but not because of choice, it simply wasnt there to begin with, only a tattered and severed small piece of flesh remained where his arm should be.
I just took a second for me to briefly analyze it before I dropped the torch and dashed towards him with the intent to kill. I swung my sword at his head but I only hit the air as the monster quickly evaded with a violent motion to the left before swinging his sword at me. I was barely able to lift the short sword in time to block the attack. I managed to avoid being cleaved in half, but I felt my wrist break from the sheer strength behind that swing.
Since it was so close to me, this time it was easy to land an attack on him. I thrust my sword in between a gap in his armor, piercing his flesh with relative ease. I wanted to keep on harming him but he quickly stepped back, making a good distance between us.
I didn't waste that opportunity as I immediately took out two healing vials from my jacket. I threw the first one to Haruto who was barely able to catch it with his arms in that pitful state and I drank the second one myself.
I felt my broken wrist repair itself slowly. It was a really strange feeling but at least it wasn't painful at all. I looked back at the monster and I saw it looking back at me with his sword lifted in the air. I had a very bad feeling and quickly dived to the side. Right after I felt something fly by inches from me. The place I was just stepping on now had a sword embedded deep in it.
"Watch out!"
As I heard Sophia scream, I also felt an acute pain in my stomach. I looked down only to see an armored fist punching deep into my stomach. It didn't feel as if it had perforated into it probably thanks to the leather vest, but it hurt even more than when I was hit by the mace of that monster in the basement of the town hall.
A normal person would suffer a lot from pain, but not me. I can't ignore most pains and this is no exception. I firmly grabbed the monster's arm and tried to crush it between my hands. The metal creaked under the pressure and the monster tried to escape but I didn't allow it.
It was in that moment that I realized something. This thing isn't strong, it is just absurdly fast. When he attacked Haruto he easily broke both of his arms, but when he attacked me he just broke my wrist even though I was barely able to put my short sword in the way of his to avoid getting cut. The reason he was able to cause such damage to Haruto even though he protected himself with a shield and so little to me, it's because it ran towards Haruto and hit him at full speed.
He is weak, so he couldn't free himself from my grip, but it is not like I can hold him down indefinitely, my stomach is now probably just pieces of meat from that blow, it won't take long before my body shuts itself down due to shock if I don't do anything. Luckily I am not alone, so I don't need to do anything myself.
A spear flew past me and struck the monster on its left shoulder. Breaking through both metal and flesh, making the creature growl from the pain. Maybe it was because of a rush of adrenaline or something similar, but it was suddenly able to overpower me and swing his arm outwards, flinging me towards a wall.
My back hurts, but this monster shouldn't be able to hold a sword now. His arm is basically crushed, only able to do simple movements. He can probably still swing his arm to attack but holding a weapon should be out of the question.
The creature looked at me and growled at me with rage, but before it could take a step towards me it fell to the ground. While the monster was occupied with me Touji sneaked behind it and took the chance to cut his left leg. With one of his legs now severed and being unable to run or even walk, it no longer poses a threat.
The monster tried to get up even with one of its legs maimed, but it was struck by Haruto's mace in the back, crushing metal and bone. It growled in pain and anger, trying to get up even in that state only to be struck again, and again until it no longer moved.
Seeing it finally dead, I took out another healing vial and gulped it down, letting it do its magic
"I'm gonna rest for a little bit..."