Chapter 59: To the Labyrinth! (5)
Chapter 59: To the Labyrinth! (5)
Various monsters exist within the Infinite Labyrinth.
And among these monsters, there are, of course, characters known as 'Monmusu.'
Why?
—A character born from a beast of the Infinite Labyrinth is now awaiting pickup!!
Because they have to release them as gacha characters!
As if it wasn't enough to claim that characters like Astarotte turned into Succubi because of a curse in the Infinite Labyrinth.
—We have absolutely no intention of making money off beastkin characters.
—However, we were moved by the powerful eloquence of a certain faction who argued, "How can you call them beastkin when they have human forms with only animal ears and tails?!"
—To celebrate, we have prepared a special event starting with 'Furry Characters,' allowing you to recruit certain magical creatures from the Infinite Labyrinth as allies!
It was a cheap trick to satisfy a specific demographic—and to suck their wallets dry.
They called it an event to recruit allies, but in reality, they were just using the monsters of the Infinite Labyrinth as 1-star fodder.
—Hey! Why can't we farm the Naga Queen?!
—That is because she is a pickup target! The Naga Queen is a 3-star limited pickup! Oh, and the Naga Queen's uniform skin package is currently on sale in the shop...!!
—Guaaaah...!! My wallet...!!
...Through PAO, I learned that the world truly contains a vast array of tastes and desires.
—Do beastkin or monster characters look unsightly to you? Ah, look at this skin! Limited gacha characters have 'human-style' skins sold separately as packages! Buy now!
—You bastards! Do you love money that much?!
—To commemorate the Monster Ally Event, we're giving away 100 free pulls!
—I love you guys!!
They were terrifying people.
After talking to some people who knew the industry, I realized that recruiting monsters as allies was ultimately aimed at 'increasing the number of growth characters to prevent content depletion.'
Still, everyone agreed that the primary goal was to sell monster-type characters, the so-called 'Monmusu.'
In other words.
Monmusu exist in this world.
And among them are characters that look like they stepped straight out of a lewd RPG maker game.
Just like right now.
"A-Aaaagh!!"
The man who had tried to target the women of my knight order was pinned to the floor, screaming.
The scream was closer to a 'moan' than a cry of pain, and a red, amorphous mass was squelching on top of him.
"Is that the..."
"A Yaslime. A magical creature that seduces men with sexual acts to drain their essence."
Yurdias replied as she bound the other men tightly with rope.
The other men continued to resist as they watched one of their comrades being raped by the Yaslime—a slime in the form of a woman.
"Mmph, mmmph!!"
"It's no use resisting. You tried to rape us, and this is your punishment."
Shink.
Serica swung her sword, slicing through the items they had confiscated from the men—the rapists.
"Aphrodisiacs, restraints, even drugs. They're quite well-equipped for guys trying to rape women on the lower floors. What should we do, Captain?"
"...For now, let's wait as Sir Lewd suggested."
Laura cast a look of pure disgust at the rape tools scattered on the floor before turning her eyes to me.
"Should we just leave him to be devoured by the Yaslime?"
[Indeed. If someone intends to rape another, they should experience being raped themselves to come to their senses. Of course...]
I had already familiarized myself with the data on Monmusu and Yaslimes before coming down.
[The Yaslime has habits similar to a praying mantis; they say it devours the male after mating.]
"S-Stop...! Please, pleeease!!"
[Too late.]
I stomped on the man's hand as he reached upward.
[The Captain showed you mercy once. She told you she doesn't party with men.]
"T-Then what the hell are you?!"
[Fool. That was her polite way of saying she would eliminate you without hesitation if you approached. It's because you lack such sensitivity that you can't even talk to a woman properly and only think of rape.]
Crush.
I ground my steel boot into the man's wrist.
The Yaslime remained focused only on the prey before its eyes.
Squeltch, squeltch.
It knew that if it didn't focus, it would die.
Most Monmusu possess a modicum of intelligence; they understand the situation well enough and know exactly what actions are required for survival.
If you fuck the human men I bring you, I'll let you live.
I knew there was no point in sparing a beast in the Infinite Labyrinth, but life is all about give and take.
‘Since it’s killing them for me, I should at least let it live.’
Even if the Yaslime I spared went on to attack other humans, it was none of my business.
If I suffered a loss because of it, I might regret it, but I wouldn't take back this choice now.
"Sir Lewd. How about letting it devour all three of them at once?"
[All three? We only caught one Yaslime.]
I pointed behind the Yaslime.
There lay the remains of what used to be other Yaslimes.
Even among intelligent Monmusu, only one was willing to communicate.
The rest were killed because they tried to violate our knight order.
There's no law saying Monmusu only violate men.
[Do you have a way?]
"It's simple. We cut their tendons so they can't move, throw them over there, and it'll eat them on its own."
That's Serica for you.
She says it like that, but she probably just wants an excuse to slice some tendons with her sword.
[Captain.]
"...We have a long way to go, don't we?"
[Yes. We need to keep checking things as we descend.]
"Then."
Laura pulled a bottle of aphrodisiac from her coat.
It was something the men had intended to use on our knights—a new product that hadn't been opened yet, so she had kept it intact.
Cheap aphrodisiac.
"Let's finish this without mercy and move on."
Splash.
Laura hurled it at the Yaslime.
The Yaslime instinctively swallowed it, consuming the aphrodisiac along with the glass.
Gurgle, gurgle.
The Yaslime's body gradually transformed into a firmer female shape, and as it began to take on the form of a perfect woman, it started to divide.
Into more women.
The smaller women absorbed the corpses of their fallen kin nearby to grow in size, and as soon as they had bulked up sufficiently, they climbed on top of the men Yurdias had restrained.
"Mmmph!! Mmmph!!"
[Don't worry. Among those killed by Yaslimes, none have died painfully.]
The death itself might be terrifying, but there is no physical pain associated with it.
[If anything, it's death by pleasure. Not even a corpse will remain; you'll die in the midst of ecstasy.]
"Mmmmmmph!!"
[So don't feel too wronged.]
I grabbed their heads and slammed them against the floor.
[If you had ambushed and raped us, wouldn't you have done the same afterward?]
Yes.
This is self-defense.
The Infinite Labyrinth is a place where the law does not reach.
[If you intend to kill, you must be prepared to be killed.]
And.
Our knight order isn't exactly made up of 'bleeding hearts.'
[Farewell.]
Crunch.
* * *
A short while later.
We set up a temporary tent in the 'Boss Room'—the waiting area before descending to the next floor—to take a break.
"I've heard stories, but seeing it is... something else."
[Do you think it was too much? Captain?]
"No. Not at all. What's truly 'too much' are... the beasts of the Infinite Labyrinth."
Laura expressed her deep loathing for the Infinite Labyrinth itself.
"I don't know who created this place, but they must be an absolute perverted piece of trash with a broken personality."
[Is that so?]
If the Dungeon Master (tentative name) were listening, those would be painful words.
Or maybe not? If it's his younger sister speaking, would he even feel the sting, or would he just wonder, 'What is that animal talking about?'
"It'll get worse as we go lower, won't it?"
[The beasts? Or the people?]
"Both."
Our gazes naturally drifted toward Serica.
Serica shrugged as she wiped her sword with a cloth.
"The Infinite Labyrinth drives people mad the deeper they go. If it's like this on the 1st floor, you'll see things truly beyond words in the deeper levels."
Serica shook her head as if sick of the thought.
"There are women who have been gang-raped by goblins, and those who barely escaped after having their arms eaten by cannibals. Some of the bastards in the lower tiers even use hostages to target other parties."
"They use hostages?"
"Yes. They force the hostage to negotiate. They make them lure people in by crying, 'My companions are captured, please help!' Then they devour that party and release the hostage."
"Release them...? If it were me, I don't think I'd do that."
Yurdias ran her thumb across her throat as she organized her daggers.
"Wouldn't it be better to just kill the hostage too?"
[It's about destroying their humanity.]
"Pardon?"
[It forces them to abandon being human while still being one. Do you think those who survived by letting others be devoured can ever live with a sane mind again? They'll likely go back to the surface and commit even worse atrocities.]
The beasts that appear in the Infinite Labyrinth are all, without exception, incredibly malicious.
[The Infinite Labyrinth isn't just trying to kill humans. It wants to inflict pain, cause mental anguish, and then wither them away. It's the den of a madman who enjoys the process of human suffering.]
It's a pervert's dungeon that fuels human greed with infinitely generating magic stones, then watches them struggle in agony once they enter the labyrinth.
[When we reach the end of the Infinite Labyrinth, we'll see him. The 'Yeolchung' who delights in human ruin.]
"A Yeolchung... Pfft!"
Laura laughed, covering her mouth with her hand.
"You're right. That's exactly it. It's the perfect expression. A piece of trash who jerks off while watching humans fall to ruin. That's probably the true identity of the one who made the Infinite Labyrinth."
[I'm sure of it.]
Because the guy is a pervert.