Chapter 24: Famine
"I have not come here for you," the blue-haired woman said. "The man clinging to life in front of you holds much more value than your tiny existence. The pink-haired woman is not far behind him. Above all else, the swords of Gula are my concern, which I've easily dealt with courtesy of their efforts, not yours."
"You're not leaving my domain now that you've obtained those swords!" the toad screamed. "After insulting me, a being who has lived for two thousand years, by deeming me less worthy than this human ant, I'll bury you alive on this floor!"
"Departing so early was not my intent," the woman arched her head back, casting a condescending glare at the last boss. "This man may be the one I've been looking for. Our meeting here after he defeated Gula's zealots is a sign."
Clueless about Gula, zealots, and this woman herself, the last boss harrumphed. He moved forward, threatening to squash Nith and Kyouka into pulp.
To his misfortune, the blue-haired woman simply lifted her hand and summoned a flood of ravens, which swarmed the stone toad.
So many ravens teemed around him that he could no longer see anything but them. Their tarsi perched on his stone skin, their toes gripping into his flesh. Their beaks pecked deeper into his flesh, each motion removing a chunk and devouring it.
Thrashing around, the toad tried to use his stone tongue to slap away the ravens, to no avail. His physical attacks had been rendered useless, as each raven reformed into a perfect state after every blow, resuming its assault.
Kyouka, holding Nith in her embrace, stared dumbfounded at the blue-haired woman's might. The scale of her ravens, their fast regeneration and prowess, far exceeded that of hers and Nith's. She also leveraged the wound Nith had left behind, stuffing her ravens directly into the crevices in the last boss's stomach!
There was no telling how strong this woman really was.
"What the fuck is going on?" Nith asked as he gazed at the last boss.
Just a minute ago, this being could have killed him at any moment, but now he was overwhelmed by the pack of ravens devouring him from within and without.
It would have been a truly bloody sight if the last boss had any blood.
"Someone… has come here," Kyouka explained, her voice quiet.
Turning his weary eyes to the side, Nith noticed a blue-haired woman standing over in a dress unfit for an adventurer. He couldn't tell her identity, but there was something unique about her.
Whether it was her golden eyes, that condescending and aloof face framed by medium-length blue hair, or simply her entire presence, something intrigued him, and he was at a loss.
Their gazes met.
"You need not be wary of me," she said. "I hold in high esteem those that stand against Gula and her followers."
"Who the fuck is Gula?" Nith asked, his speech too vulgar due to his exhaustion.
"The one who granted the swords to the people you've defeated here. I've been keeping watch over her followers' movements and saw your fight against them. I wish to know your name," the woman explained.
Nith thought for a second before asking, "You know Nightshade?"
Her eyes widened upon hearing that name. In the next second, she was standing beside Nith and Kyouka, appearing next to them like a ghost.
She cast a faint smile at him. "I do. The one who nullified Serqet's poisons and overwhelmed him in his own field—Nightshade, the legendary player. It's indeed an amazing twist of fate for both of us to have met here... I'm Famine, the one no longer needed in this world, left alone and scorned even by my creator.
"Just as the world received the blessing of sanctuary, my purpose of existence was overruled by the world itself. We're in the same boat."
"Sorry to break your bubble, but I'm not an asshole at heart. I'm not gonna get rid of the sanctuary's blessings. There's no telling what Serqet's zealots are planning," Nith replied.
A small sense of camaraderie sprouted within him after hearing the woman's story, but he stayed true to his character development.
Famine shook her head. "I seek approval. One that I shall achieve by thwarting Gula's plans."
At the same time, the monument of the toad—the last boss—died under the swarm of famished ravens that had devoured him to the last piece.
He was gone. In his place, a white orb manifested out of thin air.
Nith asked, "Will he not respawn?"
"No," Famine replied. "This orb is a dominion over The Swamp Islands. With this core, anyone can establish a danger zone, provided the conditions are fulfilled. If left alone, the orb will form a new last boss and grant him intelligence."
"Does that mean the toad hadn't died for two thousand years? That no one found a way here until today?" Nith couldn't believe it.
That much, however, was the truth.
Famine nodded.