The Shadow of the Rotten Well (1)
Drip. Drip.
“Ugh… it’s so damn humid I could die. What kind of shithole is this?”
Brita swept her hair back with clear irritation.
We were walking through a hidden passage beneath the well.
With no sunlight and thick moisture everywhere, the place reeked of mold and left a clammy feeling on the skin.
This sucks.
I need to finish this quickly, get out, and take a bath…
With my shoulders slumped, I trudged forward.
So annoying…
I walked with my eyes half-closed.
“Hey, hey… already? We’ve only been in here a few minutes!”
“It feels gross… What kind of people even live in a place like this…?”
No matter how you looked at it, this wasn’t somewhere humans should live.
“Because they’re filthy rats, that’s why they live in a place like this.”
Squeak. Squeak.
The moment Brita spoke, the sound of rats echoed through the passage.
“Exactly like that.”
Screee. Screee.
The rats cried out even longer this time.
“…I think they’re mad at what you said.”
“What are they gonna do about it? They’re just measly little ra—”
Screeeeech—!
“!?”
“…the hell?”
That wasn’t just a cry.
It was a death squeal.
Something had just happened to the rats ahead of us.
There was something there.
“Brita, get ready.”
“Yeah. Whatever it is, it’s about time we fought.”
We each drew our weapons.
Is it them?
With that thought, we pressed forward.
Shaaaaa—
“So this is where it connected.”
Brita, walking ahead, scanned the area in front of us.
The passage led into an underground waterway.
It must have been connected to the one we saw outside earlier.
The only difference was…
“Ugh… it smells like absolute shit…”
Brita pinched her nose and shook her head.
It looked like the purification system didn’t reach this far.
God… I really hate this…
That’s when something caught my eye.
“Brita, look at that.”
“Huh? Oh… fuck…”
A swarm of rats.
Or rather, what used to be a swarm of rats.
The corpses were scattered in grotesque shapes.
Black mucus and melted traces.
“A slime?”
“A slime killed these rats?”
It was strange.
Slimes usually didn’t attack other creatures unless provoked.
Sewer rats were aggressive, but not enough to trigger a slime’s attack instinct.
What was going on? Had those bastards done something?
“It might be them. Let’s stay alert.”
“Yeah. I’d rather not melt and die in a place like this.”
Slimes were among the most basic mana lifeforms.
They tended to take on the characteristics of their environment.
For slimes to turn this violent, there were only two possibilities.
One: the area itself was driving the slimes insane.
Two: someone had deliberately altered them.
Either way, something was clearly wrong here.
“Hmm… looks like it went that way.”
Brita traced the trail of mucus with her hand.
“Killed the rats here and headed over there.”
She glanced back at me and added,
“Don’t let your guard down, Krim. It might jump out of the water without warning.”
“Got it. You be careful too.”
Tap. Tap.
We followed the trail while staying on high alert.
“It ends here.”
“It must be somewhere around here. Where is it?”
We stopped and scanned our surroundings.
Where had it gone? Not knowing its location was too dangerous.
Humm— Humm—
“Gram?”
“Huh? Why’s your sword doing that?”
Suddenly, Gram began to vibrate.
A deeper green light than usual.
It felt like it was warning me about something.
What is it?
Just as I thought that, a sinister presence washed over me.
“What is it, Krim? Did you find something?”
“There’s something here.”
I followed the presence with my eyes.
Floor, walls, iron bars, ceiling…
It led straight to the ceiling.
And then—
Drip. Drip.
Shwoooosh—!
“Brita! Above you!”
The shadow hanging from the ceiling twisted and dropped straight down toward Brita.
“Haaap!”
“Gurgle!”
Splat—!
Hearing my warning, Brita swung her axe and sliced it apart.
“What the hell is that? Where did it come from?”
There had clearly been nothing there…?
It looked like it had suddenly appeared out of thin air.
Whoooosh—
“Hah!”
Swish—! Slash—! Thud. Thud.
I sent consecutive wind slashes at the slime’s flying core.
The slime shattered into pieces and fell apart.
The core was the source of a mana lifeform.
Once destroyed, it lost its form and collapsed.
Normally, anyway.
Gurgle. Gurgle.
“Why is it still alive?”
The fallen pieces of slime were each transforming into smaller slimes.
That meant…
“It’s a colony! There must be a main body somewhere!”
Gurgle—!
“Haaaaap!!”
Brita swung her axe and smashed the smaller slimes.
Gurgle. Gurgle.
They began splitting too.
“If this keeps up, there’ll be no end! Krim, do you see anything?”
“I’m looking.”
I calmly searched for traces of mana.
What is this?
An unfamiliar mana was flowing through both the waterway and these creatures.
Something I’d never seen before. Murky and ominous.
That bizarre mana was tangled chaotically, spreading in confusion.
That was when—
Humm— Hummm—
Gram reacted again.
It’s been acting strange since earlier. This sword… it’s never been this active before.
Tap—
Before I could think further, I gripped Gram.
Then—
Fwaaaaa—
“Ugh! What is this?”
A chill ran through my hand.
A cold energy like winter wind.
Through that icy sensation, it felt like the sword was trying to tell me something.
「Accept… ■■■…」
The noise was too strong to make out the full words, but I understood it wanted me to accept it.
Alright… let’s see what it’s been humming about.
I tightly grasped the light swirling around Gram.
Shwooooo—
The light gradually seeped into my body.
I immediately noticed the change.
Now I can see it. The flow of that strange mana.
It had a completely different shape from everything else around us.
…Found it!
“Right in front, to the right! There’s a clump of strange mana there!”
“Ugh, finally! Let’s go!”
While I was communing with the sword, the number of slimes in front of Brita had quadrupled.
“Gurgle! Gurrrrgle!”
Slimes had also approached from behind, blocking our retreat.
They had multiplied into dozens in the blink of an eye,
surrounding us like a living wall.
“Damn it. Are you blocking us?! You little—”
“Leave it to me.”
Kwaaaaa—!!
I summoned a fierce gust of wind and wrapped it around Gram.
Tap!
I leaped into the air and shouted,
“Get back!”
Boom—!
I slammed Gram hard into the ground.
Shaaaaaaaack—!!
“Gurgle!? Gurrrrgle!!”
Blades of wind erupted from the floor,
shredding the slime wall and slamming the pieces into both sides of the passage.
“Whoa. You can do that too?”
“It’s just buying time. Let’s go!”
We dashed toward the spot filled with that strange mana.
“Holy shit… what the hell is that?”
There, a massive slime colony was clinging to the iron bars.
It looked like it was trying to block anyone from going any further.
“Gurgle— Gurgle— Kyuaaaaaagh!!”
The giant slime let out a grotesque cry.
“Ugh!”
“Ah, fuck! That’s so damn loud!!”
Right after, a human scream came from near the slime.
“S-Save me!!!!”
“What? That gu—”
“…”
Leaving the startled Brita behind, I… stared at it coldly.
A man in a black cloak lay collapsed on the floor.
Where his lower body should have been, only a dark red liquid flowed.
His face was twisted in terror, every orifice leaking various fluids.
Hah. Serves you right.
“W-Who are you?? Whoever you are, just save me!! This crazy slime won’t listen to my com— Haaaaaaaagh!!!!”
Shaaaaack—! Crunch!
A massive mucus tentacle slammed down toward the man’s head.
What had once been a human skull was crushed like tofu and scattered.
I looked down at him with cold contempt.
No way I’m helping you. This is your own doing.
“Gurrrrgle!”
Shaaaaack—!
The slime retracted its tentacle and then hurled it at us.
“Brita, watch out!”
“I know!”
Boom—! Crackle—
“Whew… I thought I was dead. How is it so fast?”
She barely dodged it.
Gurgle. Gurgle.
The slime’s tentacles were preparing for another attack.
“Tch! I can’t just cut it like the small ones earlier.”
Anything that touched those tentacles would melt in seconds, no matter how sharp the axe.
“There’s a core in the center. Aim for that.”
I acknowledged Brita’s strength, but she wasn’t a good match for this thing.
Hah… it’ll be a bit tiring, but
I have to step in.
“What are you going to do?”
Kwaaaaa—!!
“You okay? You’ve been using magic nonstop since earlier.”
“Do you have any better ideas?”
“…No, I don’t.”
Whooooosh—
I gathered the power of the wind and wrapped it around Gram.
The sword’s green blade grew darker, and fierce winds began to swirl around us.
“Gurgle— Gurgle—”
The slimes we had defeated earlier were approaching from behind.
“Take care of the rear, Brita.”
“Hah, fine. Be careful!”
Tap— Tap— Tap—
Brita leaped to the back.
“Gurgle! Kyuaaaagh—!!”
Shaaaaack—!
The giant slime screamed and hurled its tentacles.
Whooooosh—
I called the wind into my hand and thrust it toward the tentacles.
Swish—! Slash!
“Kyurrrgle!?”
Thud. Thud.
The incoming tentacles were severed.
Whish— Shuk— Slash—!!
With a wave of my hand, countless blades shot out and completely tore apart the remaining tentacles.
“Hmph…”
Shwooooosh—
I pulled the blades back toward me with a gesture.
“Annoying.”
I pointed Gram at the creature and glared.
Seeing that man lying here meant the bastards were definitely up ahead.
When I wanted nothing more than to rip them apart right now…
…You’re getting in my way?
“Kyuaaaagh!!”
It stretched another tentacle toward me.
“Gale.”
Shwooooo—
The wind was sucked into the sword, and the airflow stopped for a moment.
“Tear the enemy apart!!”
Whooooosh—!! Shaaaaack!!
The wind exploded outward in an instant, racing toward the enemy with devastating slashes.
“Kyurrk!? Kyurrrrrrgle!!!!”
The torrent of attacks completely shredded the slime’s form.
Thump— Thump—
Inside it was a black core pulsing like a heart.
“Hmph.”
Slice—
“Kyurrk. Kyurrrrrr…”
Drip— Drrrrrip—
I cut it down without a hint of emotion.
The slime, unable to maintain its original form, gradually turned into black liquid and was swept away into the sewer.
“Hoo.”
I flicked Gram lightly to shake off the liquid and sent the wind away.
“This is…?”
Where the slime’s core had been, a strange ore was embedded.
A murky black stone radiating ominous energy.
It was a mana stone engraved with the familiar dragon skull emblem.
“Hah, I’m getting really sick of this.”
Brita’s voice came from behind.
“Ugh… those slime bastards. I don’t think I’ll be able to look at jelly for a while. What’s that? Why are you like that? Is there something there?”
“Look at this.”
“So they really did make it. But… what about this guy? Isn’t he one of them?”
Brita looked at the mana stone with a disgusted expression before turning toward the corpse.
The man’s body hadn’t completely melted from the slime’s attack; only his upper half remained.
“From what he said earlier, it seems they created it but couldn’t control it.”
Hah…
“Pathetic fools.”
Swish—!
With a twisted expression, I sliced apart what had once been the man.
Swoosh—
I raised Gram.
“…Stop it, Krim. He’s already dead.”
“…”
I lowered my hand.
I know… It doesn’t mean anything.
But still… they stole the kill right in front of me.
That neck should have been mine to cut.
Only then… only then…
Tap—
Brita placed her hand on my shoulder.
When I wiped the moisture from the corners of my eyes and turned around, she simply shook her head without a word.
“Hoo…”
“You calmed down?”
“Yeah… let’s go.”
I gave her a faint smile.
“Uh… yeah.”
She looked flustered.
What kind of reaction is that…
I turned my head to start walking again when—
“Ugh!”
A sudden wave of dizziness hit me.
“Hey! You okay?”
Brita hurriedly supported me.
Did I push myself too hard…?
I straightened my posture and stood properly again.
I couldn’t afford to collapse pathetically with the mastermind right in front of me.
“…I’m fine.”
Shake. Shake.
I shook my head to clear my mind.
“They’re right in front of us. And… we have to save those kids too.”
“…Understood.”
She stared at me for a moment, then stepped back as if she had read my resolve.
I straightened my back and looked at the iron bars where the slime had been clinging.
There was a door.
It looked like a structure installed by facility managers in the past for maintenance.
Now it had become a barricade for those plotting wicked schemes.
Staring at it quietly…
“…It looks like a prison.”
“If it’s those bastards, they’d definitely use it that way…”
“Let’s go.”
Creeeeeak—
With a horrible screech of rusted metal,
the door separating the two spaces slowly opened.
Humm— Humm—
Gram stirred once again. Its green blade now glowed with a red hue, as if stained with blood.
It was a warning about the presence waiting ahead.