Chapter 25
Chapter 25
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 25
Chapter Title: Floor 4. Beast Hunt
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GRRRRRRRRRUMBLE─
The shaking was so violent it felt like an earthquake had struck.
Accompanied by waves of profane mana, the sewer trembled as the fruits of human labor—sturdily piled up—shed dust and screamed in silence.
It was a brief vibration, but its aftermath seemed to shave a century off the facility's lifespan. Soon, all that mana seeped into the Wanderer.
From the Wanderer's mouth sprouted a bundle of fleshy tentacles that contracted and relaxed repeatedly, flailing through the air like a newborn baby groping at everything it touched for the first time.
As if experimenting, they groped the walls and ceiling, then prodded the severed limbs of the sprawled criminals on the floor.
"That thing's just clumsy 'cause it's out in the world for the first time. Take the limb-less guys and get out while you can. Albert and I'll handle it."
"I've taken a hit too. Lost a claw."
"Since your claw's already out, I could yank the rest for you. Might make you a specialist therapist for ingrown claws on the way back."
"That's too much..."
Ignoring Albert's groan, I kept watch for those suddenly lunging tentacles while waiting for the criminals to slink away.
Honestly, anyone locked up in a dump like this probably deserved it anyway—no great loss if they died. But having them flop around nearby would just get in the way.
The Wanderer was tough, but manageable for players who'd reached Floor 4.
The Bell of the End, though? That was a different story.
You needed properly geared equipment for minimum specs, skills tailored to your build, and consumables at the ready to even challenge it—a quasi-boss. The very fact that it had encounter conditions, like the Giant Slime Blob, was a telltale sign of its difficulty.
'And me...'
My gear wasn't great. I couldn't even equip a full set of Tier 1 leather armor.
Skills were decent. Battle Command was unrivaled for a Lord build character.
Items... who knew? Three unappraised scrolls. Good luck meant a jackpot; bad luck meant straight to ruin.
'Still, Albert's surprisingly good in a fight.'
The knight stared at the Bell of the End with a grim face. I'd pegged him as just another criminal at best, but he'd handled the Wanderer's attacks better than anyone.
And from watching the fight, his stats were clearly higher than the other criminals.
Even accounting for gear differences, the damage gap wasn't just equipment.
With a meat shield—no, ally—this solid, I was set.
"Come forth, Severa."
"The Bell of the End... It's as grotesque as ever, no matter how many times I see it."
Severa gazed at the Bell of the End protruding from the Wanderer's mouth, her eyes filled with pity and disgust.
"Alright, happy birthday—shove your strongest gift right in."
Right then, the passage filled with scorching flames.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ KEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE─!!
The searing heat that cooked flesh and boiled blood was enough to blanket the sewer passage in ash and steam in an instant.
And plenty to incinerate a beast following its instinctual commands.
The beast screamed. Hot, it hurts—why does this agony feel so real?
Having spent eons inside its host, the beast—barely emerged into the world—could only brim with questions at this stimulus.
It didn't take long for those aimless doubts to twist into rage, unleashing its primal aggression on everything around it.
"Duck!"
"Guh!"
The armored brute shoved the black-haired man down, both hunching desperately.
BOOOOM─!!
A paper-thin margin, but the beast's tentacle grazed right over them, blasting the passage entrance away. Solid call.
If all they faced was a mere beast, that is.
The beast awkwardly swung the heavy tool gripped in its host's hand. The host's extremities scorched against the red-hot metal, but mana regeneration could offset that.
With such calculations fueling its combos, the men rolled across the floor, scrambling to evade the host's clumsy swings.
Then a tentacle whip lashed out, catching the black-haired man in the back before he could dodge.
"Gaaahhh!!!"
The sweet texture of mangled flesh, the delicious wail of pitiful prey, the appetite-stirring scent of blood.
The beast realized its innate identity.
Ravage and devour. You are the sovereign who crushes those vermin underfoot. The great seed transcending mortal limits.
Enraptured, the beast fixated on the man rolling on the floor, screaming in ecstatic despair.
So beautiful!
It wanted to savor this moment forever, observing the shrieking man with total immersion—forgetting the battle entirely.
"Get down!!"
The man yelled something, cradling his head in his arms. Protecting his brain to boost survival odds?
Futile against its overwhelming power. The beast found the man's actions adorably futile─
BLAAAAAST─
Its vision went white-hot, the searing heat incinerating its body once more, mind nearly shattering.
Heat, heat, heat. HEAT!
To stave off its host charring to charcoal from this cursed flame, it regenerated with mana, feeling chunks drain away.
The beast sensed crisis, but abandoning the host wasn't an option.
It needed a host to survive, and no suitable one like this would appear in decades.
So, what must the beast do to live?
Simple: kill the ectoplasmic blob wielding that mana-blasting stick.
Thus, the hyperspeed tentacle lashed out─
Sewer walls exploded, dust swallowing the ectoplasm.
SQUELCH─
Relief after "processing" the blob—then the heated metal crushed the host's spine and pierced its gut.
Feeling its innards churned, the beast urgently assessed.
The black-haired man who'd stabbed his silver longsword into the host flipped it the bird and licked his lips at the beast.
"Dumbass. How many holes you got in you already? You think I'd roll into that?"
The beast raged. Fury at the deceiving vermin—rage, rage, and more rage.
SLASH─
A limb severed. The armored man's doing this time.
Blood gushed from the fresh crimson stump, desperately regenerating—but both men rolled away simultaneously.
And mana surged from behind.
Had it failed to eliminate the ectoplasm?
To minimize fire damage after two hits, the beast dunked into incoming sewer water and curled up.
Smaller surface area meant less to regen, less mana spent─
CRUNCH─CRRRRACKCRACKCRACK─
Odd. Not that heat. The opposite.
Freezing chill shattered blood vessels, tore flesh—encasing its body and host's joints, immobilizing them.
Ice? From the host's knowledge, yes—ice encased it.
"Tricked again? That's why you're just a beast."
"If a monster like this showed up in the city, it'd kill hundreds easy... Straight out of myths."
The two men thrust spears. Swung axes. Slashed swords. Bashed clubs.
Immobilized, the beast endured their primal violence raw.
Move. MOVE! It thrashed to shatter the ice.
CRACK─
Broken! Ecstasy flooded the beast. Joy at severing those vermin's limbs in their complacency, just like they'd done.
"Fall back!"
"Mm."
CRASH─!
But even shattering the thick ice and swinging tentacles, the men were already distant, catching breath and observing.
Only then did the beast realize.
It wasn't the ravager of vermin. This was a hunt. It was mere prey.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Severa's Fireballs and Ice Spears, backed by her Mind stat of 20, packed devastating power.
Shoddy quick-finish onahole or not, she was rock-solid in combat. Made my heart swell with emotion.
"You're thinking something weird again..."
"Nah, just that you're pretty."
How'd she know? Anyway, freed from the freeze, the Bell of the End thrashed wildly, tentacles contracting more fiercely—clearly pissed.
'Tanked three spells and still at 60% HP? Regen is filthy.'
"Hm. Reminds me of hunting in the woods with Father. We ran into a bear then..."
"Feeling nostalgic?"
"Can't even speak..."
The Bell of the End extended tentacles, coiling weapons from fallen criminals and those embedded in its body.
"Uh oh..."
"What's up?"
"It's gonna swing those wildly. Dodge on your own. I can't cover you."
"We're screwed..."
Right then, a mace hurtled at my head. I summoned a Slime midair to slow it, ducked, and unsummoned.
One of Unicelia's blessings: no turns wasted on summoning/unsummoning summons.
It fixed the Lord or animal farm build's long warmup for max DPS. But as an onahole user, I wielded it more actively.
Next, a spear thrust sharply. I laid my longsword along its path, forcing it off-course.
Ax at the shin—I lifted my leg. Dagger—I twisted to block with my sheathed sword. Halving overhead slash—I shoved the spear aside and rolled.
SCREEEEECHCLANGCLANG─
Weapons, failing to find a target, gouged the walls viciously, sparking massively as they shredded.
Dodge, block, twist, roll—a dance with death.
My focus was sharper than ever. Armor in tatters—one hit would be fatal.
No choice but to survive!
'I'm a veggie chunk...! Dodging blender blades!'
I endured. Endured and endured.
And it ended.
The passage center was gouged nearly circular from the frenzy. Weapons in the Bell of the End's grasp shredded to hilts.
The thing itself seemed drained, the Wanderer's body slumped exhausted on the floor.
Albert?
"Hey, Albert. Alive? Speak if you're dead."
"Gonna die..."
"He's dead."
"Dead..."
Somehow still kicking, luckily.
Fireballs rained flames. The Bell of the End screamed.
Ice Spears followed with chill. It couldn't even scream.
"Go, Slime! Eyeball special!"
Purrrling!
WHOOOOSH!
Barrage of spells left it groggy. Given time, it'd regen and recover. But I wasn't dumb enough to allow that.
I charged the staggering, rising Wanderer body.
And punched.
Fist sank into its lower belly, skin of muscle and fat yielding, innards pulping under force.
"Onahole Creation!!!"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ You used Onahole Creation on Wanderer (Bell of the End). Wanderer (Bell of the End) resisted. Wanderer (Bell of the End) is at minimum HP. Wanderer (Bell of the End) has become an onahole. You have defeated Wanderer (Bell of the End). A barrage of logs flooded in.
Panting raggedly, I looked down at the fallen prize.
Purple hair shimmering black, unfocused hazy eyes.
An onahole in the form of the Wanderer, barely draped in mana-ruined rags that no longer served as clothes.
Luckily—or not—the Bell of the End hadn't protruded from its mouth.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ You acquired Parasite Knight Onahole. "Wanderer! You're mine now!"
Wonder if there's an Onahole League...