“I don't like being left in the dark, all alone

But it's much better than to be with others, but still be alone.”

Blanc was a monster.

That was what Ss’zsl thought. Not just in the literal sense, however – he, as a monster, could only think of those words to describe her.

Or maybe it was better to say she went beyond that.

She was extremely popular within the country as the only overworld monster to achieve the rank of captain. However her dismissive, whimsical personality caused a lot of issues within the highly-disciplined structure of their new ‘military’. He remembered what he mentioned to Elaine, that their troublesome captain needed ‘a small calamity to call on, and an equal amount of trouble to keep.’ It was no exaggeration; Blanc would much rather be out doing her own thing, and she would protest to the best of her abilities if she were to be forced to do otherwise, including the occasional show of force. Despite adapting a hierarchical system, everything for monsters was still based on one’s martial ability; merit was a secondary criteria.

“Captain, please be more careful!”

He immediately regretted his words. For a moment, a massive amount of murderous intent was directed at him, causing his heart to stop. Thankfully, it quickly dissipated.

She continued to run onward, unfaltering, despite the swords and claws and traps, slaughtering everything that dared cross her path. Ss’zsl could only hang onto her pedicel as she blitzed through the dungeon with reckless abandon.

The memory remained vivid in his head. The human they had been escorting, Elaine, fell into a pit as they tried to run away from Volren, a captain of the Cyclops race, who had for some reason gone insane. The trap immediately sealed itself; a peculiarity of living dungeons. Try as they might, they couldn’t find the trigger even after a prolonged search for it.

While it was true that even Ss’zsl had grown somewhat attached to the timid girl, the captain seemed to possess a much stronger desire to find her; evident in how she reacted after… getting rid of the other party. In her rage, though, she had carelessly taken a hit on her foreleg.

After the fight, she swung and beat the floor with her scythe repeatedly, oftentimes being able to damage it severely. The strength hidden inside her frail, human-like arms was awe-inspiring. Yet the dungeon always repaired itself again in the blink of an eye. It was only until they heard the unpleasant sound of the blade rolling that she decided to stop.

“Nothing here… Soldier, where was the last staircase?!”

“It’s behind us, past the third room at the fourth corner to the left.”

At that point she had completely forgotten about their prior goal of escaping or looking for her fellow captains. The only thing they kept an eye out for was anything they could use to go deeper into the dungeon, regardless of the risk it imposed. Strangely enough none of the following traps they encountered were pit traps. They had even gone back once to activate the pit traps they skipped, but mysteriously none of them worked.

It gave Ss’zsl a foreboding feeling.

In only an hour they had managed to cover the same amount of ground that would have taken them an entire day if they had to follow the pace of the shambling zombie that came with them. Fortunately or not, the undead fell with Elaine. If they were still alive after the fall, then at least she had a way to fight back. That was, if Elaine could handle her undead well enough.

Blanc ignored every stairwell that lead up, only doing so whenever there was no other choice. Much to their displeasure, that was the case more than they wanted it to happen. And despite the amount of time and coverage they made, they had not encountered anyone else other than the crazed captain before. Ss’zsl thought it was possible that the troops have already escaped – or they were still trapped, and they couldn’t be found due to the scale of the dungeon.

He shuddered to imagine how large the dungeon could be. It was common knowledge that high level dungeons that released two powerful upheavals could have as much as a hundred floors. What about a dungeon that released three? They didn’t even know what level the human fell to. Worst case, she might have fallen to the lowest possible level. That, and the fact that they did not have the luxury to split up to cover even more ground, made finding Elaine by themselves even less likely.

In all likelihood, she might have even—

“Please be okay…”

He shook the thought out of his head.

“FUCK! She’s not—Where…!?”

The captain’s face was contorted. Her normally translucent white face was flushed with frustration. It was obviously not about the Fairy Heart the human carried that the captain was so desperate and flustered over. All the captain mentioned was the human girl’s name.

Honestly, though, Ss’zsl himself also wanted to find the human. After all, she possessed three names – an extreme rarity. And—

“Then it would be strange to call you an ‘individual’, then?”

He felt like he needed to find an answer for her one day.

Then again—

“Hmm, ahh… no more… Romance of Engines… hundred page test… uuu…”

She does seem to have the habit of saying things during her sleep.

.

They continued on for another three hours. The frustration had eventually become unbearable for the arachne. In her rage she had once used the lifeless body of an iron golem in an attempt to break open the floor again. Of course it didn’t work, which exacerbated her anger even further.

But despite the fervor and her seemingly endless stamina, it was impossible for a living monster to continue indefinitely.

After a prolonged time of relentless searching, Blanc was forced to take a rest. Her distressed state was obvious from the way her white skin was mottled with sweat. Her human chest heaved with great effort, and her jaws and arms trembled visibly. The eight legs which carried her like the wind through any and all danger could only barely support her weight. Even at a distance, Ss’zsl could see that her broken foreleg had bent at an unnatural angle. But still, she kept a stoic expression; never expressing the pain she felt, only her determination.

But will could only get one so far. If the physical body could not keep up, then it was simply suicide.

They reluctantly made camp past a floor boss’ room, with the word ‘camp’ being used as loosely as possible. They simply stopped to take a breather and eat for a short while. That was what Blanc insisted.

Her solo battles against floor bosses were incredible to witness. Despite her injury, her speed was blinding and her strength was insurmountable. He could vividly remember the previous battle where she faced a Gem Titan, a high evolution of the Iron Golem which was as large as Kog’s biggest form; how she cleanly separated a three-storey section of a five-meter thick stone pillar with only two swings of her scythe, then used her web to throw the column right at the enemy like a giant flail – all done under one second.

There was no doubt in his mind that Blanc was the strongest captain in the city. But despite that, how was her reputation so bad within a society that held strength as the absolute unit?

Ss’zsl didn’t hold many opinions about Blanc. Everything he knew came from hearsay or from a distant perspective. In fact, this incident marked the very first time they spoke to each other. As such, he knew nothing about how to strike a conversation with her, much less to cheer her up. He was aware that if the captain fell further into the pit created by her emotions, then it would eventually severely affect her performance in battle, and inevitably, their ability to search for the human girl.

Morale was one of the most important resources for an army, after all.

Obviously, they could talk about Elaine, despite knowing even less about her than they do each other. But was that a mistake? If he mentioned her, would the captain feel even more affected?

Various thoughts clashed inside his brain. If only he had more of his bodies with him, then he may have been able to think of a solution. To his dismay, despite the amount of ground they’ve covered, he had not sensed any of his bodies – his ‘cssul’.

Even though he could sense them through walls at a distance of fifty human steps, he could still not find any despite the speed and time they’ve spent roaming; he felt that it wouldn’t be surprising if the dungeon still held even more nasty surprises.

“Soldier.”

Surprisingly, it was Blanc who broke the silence between them.

“How many times have we descended?”

“A… twelve, Captain.”

“How many times did we ascend?”

“… Ten.”

Blanc’s face contorted in rage, and her fists tightened until blood ran through her fingers. Her frustration was such that even her spider half agitatedly clawed the ground underneath it. She even attempted to stand up, but quickly stumbled due to her weakened body and broken foreleg.

It was amazing that she was able to fight like usual despite it. The consequences of her injury had only caught up when they took the time to take a break.

“Captain, your leg—“

“It’s fine.”

“… I understand.”

Obviously, it wasn’t ‘fine’. When she stood, the leg dangled uselessly from the broken part all the way down. The entire limb itself couldn’t fold to rest underneath her body, and instead was stretched out to the side.

The captain closed her eyes to take a rest. Calling her tired would be an understatement. She had run herself ragged.

Part of their essential supplies was an emergency aid kit to treat wounds. As a skilled apothecary, Blanc possessed a unique kit that was well and above the rationed supplies provided to soldiers. But unfortunately Elaine had been carrying the pack when she fell down the hole. The bag also contained all of their pre-prepared meals, glowstones and tools. If they were regular humans, then they would have been at a complete loss over their supplies disappearing.

In a sense, that was actually a source of relief; if Elaine didn’t lose the pack then it meant she would have enough supplies to last her for a while. That was if she was still alive…

No, no. Ss’zsl shook the thought out of his head again.

She’s alive. For some reason, he knew.

As he stared into the dark corridors, well into the distance where his night vision couldn’t reach, he became terribly aware of the unstable ground that his conviction stood on.

.

“Are you alright, Miss Elaine? It’s fine to take a break.”

“Hmph! This is nothing! I-It’s not like I’m tired at all.”

“… Your hands are shaking and your knots are loose. And why was your last line sound forced?”

“Wah?! T-this…! I’m just letting it hold… or something… hahaha…?”

“…”

“How should I know…? I’ve never searched how to dress wounds on the internet before…”

“Inter—what?”

“Oh, uhh, mm well uhh hey how does this look?”

“… It looks and feels fine. We guess.”

“You guess? Well, practice makes perfect. Watch me; I’ll make a perfect dressing by the end of this!”

“Uuu…”

“I didn’t improve any at all.”

“Damnit! Maybe I should have watched more National Geographic!”

“Aahhhhah… Well if he wakes up then it’ll all be too late to complain, right?”

“I’m awake, though?”

“Urk! Umm… Oh. I see. Well then, good night!”

“Hold it. Why does it look like your dressings have only gotten sloppier instead?”

“Ahem, well… Y-you see, I’m quite tired, so…”

“… Oh? You’ve even bandaged me up. But I wasn’t injured?”

“Hey, I know you think you’re a tough cookie, but if we don’t patch even the smallest wounds then it might get infected… or something. Anyway, good night!”

“… It’s not like I was against it.”

“What? You’re going back to the mountain? To look for the dragon?”

“Yeah. Umm… and Sister… Blanc is coming with us.”

“The captain?!”

“So, umm, I just wanted to say goodbye. And see how you were doing, I guess?”

“You… actually came just to say ‘goodbye’?”

“Mhm, why?”

“…”

“Umm…”

“… I’m coming with you.”

“Huh?”

“Quite frankly, Miss Elaine, I don’t believe you have much knowledge of the outside. If the captain alone is coming with you, then she won’t be able to look after you all the time, much less remind you of common sense.”

“Uuu… But… you’re hurt.”

“I’m fine. At least my main body is. My kind are quite useless without our other bodies so there shouldn’t be any qualms about my leaving.”

“You sure?”

“No, but I’m coming either way.”

“… Ah. Okay. Thank you.”

“What do you think?”

“What do I think about what?”

“About the food. The stew.”

“Oh, the captain’s. It’s good. Much better than the rations we are provided.”

“Hmm but I think it’ll be better if it was less spicy. I mean, it’s really spicy don’t you think?”

“That’s… true. Why don’t you tell the captain then? I believe she’ll be more than willing to change the recipe for you.”

“M-me?! B-b-but… Uhh… Mmmmm…”

“What are you hesitating about?”

“Well, I just get kind of nervous.”

“Oh I understand. It’s difficult to talk to someone as powerful as the captain. We monsters share the same feeling.”

“What? No. I mean—it’s just she’s so pretty that talking to her feels like trying to talk to a celebrity. And that body – why don’t I have a body like that…?”

“Cele—what is that? Anyway, pretty?”

“Don’t think you so?”

“I certainly don’t think your fellow humans think so at least. I’ve seen the captain face an entire team of rogue male mercenaries before. None of them saw the captain as an object of their lust at all. In fact they were terrified to the point where some of them wet their trousers.”

“Huh?! Are you sure they’re all not gay?”

“Pretty sure. Those mercenaries have a record of pillaging of villages and the raping of women.”

“Uwah… scum among men…”

“What are you doing now?”

“Huh? Oh… I’m trying to feed my undead?”

“With our food? I know we’re not in any trouble of starving anytime soon, but undead can consume any sort of flesh.”

“Well… I just thought that my zombie would appreciate some hot stew, you know?”

“… What kind of consideration is that?”

“A healthy, balanced meal?”

“I have never seen someone fuss about the diet of an undead. Even captain Tehr doesn’t watch out for their food intake despite his high-maintenance undead.”

“Well, Mr. Ss’zsl, if undead have the desire to eat, then they would appreciate it if their food was tasty at least once in a while, right? Even beasts out in the wild have preferences.”

“… But they’re undead, Miss Elaine.”

“Is there a difference?”

“Weird human, right?”

Blanc suddenly spoke up.

He opened his eyes to the sight of the captain wrapping a bone on her broken leg tightly. It was a temporary fix, and without any herbal medicine around then it could only do so much.

Apparently she did not get a wink of sleep, and only closed her eyes for just enough time for Ss’zsl to think so. If he had to guess, then it had only been a quarter of an hour since then. At that point he wished he had as much awareness of the time as Elaine did. Somehow she could even guess accurately how much time she’d spent asleep. He half expected to see the captain already raring to continue. But instead it looked as if her feeling of exhaustion had only worsened.

“It’s almost like she’s used to seeing monsters. Or…”

“… She’s not used to other humans.”

“That’s right.”

Ss’zsl thought back a few years ago when he had his first encounter with civilian humans. It was during his routine patrol on the edge of their territory within the forest. He was about to finish with the final pass and go back to his den to eat when he met with a group of humans; five men and two women. All of them except a striking woman with blonde hair were wearing poor civilian rags that were easy to move in, but were heavily caked in dirt and stained with all sorts of fluids. The other woman was wearing a mercenary’s outfit of mismatched armors and a sword. The males had a bags slung behind them, one of which had a boar’s foot sticking out of the opening; they were likely out hunting for food. One of them was even carrying a crude bow.

At first he was optimistic about the experience and initiated himself to greet the group. Of course he was aware that humans were averse to their kind, so he did so in as unassuming and non-threatening way as possible. He also couldn’t just leave them alone as they were already trespassing in their territory. So he slung his spear behind him and called out to them from a distance with his hands raised in the air.

“Greetings, humans. You’re trespassing on the lands of the Country of Monsters. Please, leave at once. We’ll guide your group out if needed.”

He thought it was a polite enough of a warning. He even said it in their language, so surely they must understand. However instead of the kind of exchange he was hopeful of from the beginning, the female instead drew her sword with a threatening look on her face. The other humans were no worse, as their faces twisted in horror upon seeing his form.

“Umm… We mean no harm. We’re just a patrolman, guarding the borders between our country and Yllas. Please, lea—“

“Get back! Stay away, monster!”

“… No, as we said, we—“

His words were much slower than the swing of a sword. Before he could reason out their suspicions with a statement from the treaty, one of his cssul had already been cut in half. He did not even know when he himself had jumped away from them and readied his spear. Reflexive action? Perhaps. He was a soldier before any kind of diplomat after all. But the sight of a monster brandishing a spear had cut all possibilities of a peaceful resolution between him and the humans.

And the mercenary woman did not look like she was willing to negotiate even further.

The end to that encounter went as well as anybody could guess. Though he fought a defensive battle, being attacked by a trained mercenary and archer did not give him the leeway to stall for time. He couldn’t target the archer, for one hit might be fatal against his unarmored body, and the mercenary woman was particularly good at covering for her ally. In the end he had no choice but to disable the woman to the point where she couldn’t fight back anymore – by slicing through her tendons.

The sight of their vanguard falling was the straw that broke the camel’s back. The rest of the humans screamed out and ran as fast as they could away, leaving the woman behind. Though they did run towards the border just like what Ss’zsl wanted them to do, it wasn’t on any terms he was comfortable with. Plus…

“You… damn monster!!”

The woman’s eyes seethed with hatred. She looked barely of age, certainly not enough to been born before the last war. But… her animosity was bare, searing and true.

Was her notion the prevalent one among the humans? Ss’zsl wanted to ask, for he believed in his king’s ideal of a peaceful future. Having such knowledge would certainly help his efforts in creating his king’s dream world. However he was also aware that he did not have the time or the luxury or the skill to get past the human’s resentment.

All he could do was to knock her out and carry her away from their lands.

A sigh escaped his scaly mouth.

After Blanc finished patching her leg, she held her head with one hand and felt the ground with the other, looking pained.

“Captain? Does your head hurt?”

“Heh… which head? The one above or below?”

Though she tried to pass a joke, her wince of pain when she tried to smile betrayed her real condition.

Ss’zsl became increasingly worried.

“… Soldier… Remember what happened to Volren?”

“Yes. He broke your leg and—“

“No, not that. I meant… he went insane. Right?”

“Well… certainly. Yes. I believe nobody would question that. He acted out of line and placed everyone in danger.”

“Quite an understatement. He attacked us. With the intent to kill.”

“… Yes, captain.”

“Why? Have you ever encountered a dungeon that turns the monsters mad?”

He knew that was the question that naturally followed the sequence of events. But he was too conflicted to take the initiative in answering before the question was asked. As the undead captain Tehr liked to say, ‘there aren’t enough samples to draw a conclusion from’. Was he mind-controlled? Was there such a magic in the first place? Did he hallucinate due to some drug? Was he acting under orders? Obviously, he didn’t know why. But, he had a foreboding feeling about it.

“You don’t know, right? Because the monsters we’ve naturally encountered here – they aren’t insane.”

“… Yes, I don’t, captain.”

She grunted knowingly, as if she already expected his disappointing answer.

“Well, I think I do.”

Ss’zsl’s eyes opened wide. His reaction made her smile, slightly, as if expressing any more was detrimental.

The captain then stood up and walked unsteadily towards the door from which they came from, her human half swaying from side to side like a drunkard.

“… Maybe it’s fortunate that we haven’t seen dear Elaine yet.”

“Captain?”

“Soldier. Go. Get out of here.”

“What?”

“Retreat to the city. Inform them what happened here. But do not let them send reinforcements.”

“Why?”

“Do not stop for anything. If it’s you alone, then sneaking past the floor bosses shouldn’t pose a problem.”

“What about—“

“Have them announce to all the cities of the races – a dungeon has awakened. This is something we, as monsters, cannot conquer.”

“But—“

“Go. Don’t worry. I’ll get Elaine. I promise.”

A command – from the strong to the weak. No normal monster could go against that sort of primal authority. It was embedded into their hearts and souls – a prime directive that overrode every other priority. All Ss’zsl could do was obey, without rhyme or reason.

As he slithered away from the chamber, he looked at the captain one more time. Her back appeared much smaller than it looked before. In fact, it was as if she stood just as tall as any another human. She still had her enormous scythe on her shoulder, but the arms that held it suddenly didn’t seem so intimidating.

He worried. But being ordered to, there was nothing he could do.

With magic as his feet, he sped through the dungeon, thinking.

“Ah, I had a choice… Maybe we truly aren’t ‘individuals’.”

.

Blanc did not enjoy fighting.

Unlike every other spider monster she knew, she was the only one who had an interest in anything other than poison, meat and hunts. In fact, her preferences were mostly the opposite; she liked daubing into medicine, she enjoyed tending to her plants and she loved the quiet life of a hermit. Above all, she loathed being disturbed for the sake of causing a disturbance. Before she migrated to the country of monsters, she had spent the last century and more living mostly alone in the forest.

Her previous home was located at the depths of the continent’s many forests, near the village of Felarhe to the west. There, she taught and honed her skill in the art and science of medicine, with only the ingredients provided by nature for her to use. She not only became versed with remedies for monsters and beasts, and through her scarce interactions with the village, for humans as well.

She was known back then not as the “White Storm”, but as the “Snow Healer” due to her pure white appearance and the trail of frozen soil she left behind wherever she went. Except for the village witches, nobody knew her, however, especially the fact that she was a monster. She was, essentially, a living legend. Whenever the villagers were in need of medicine, they would write down what they needed on a piece of parchment and then place it, along with an offering of large quantities of food, at an old shrine at the foot of nearby mountain.

Oftentimes they would offer wheat, their staple harvest, but there were scarce times when an offering of meat was made as well. At that time, Blanc was purely a vegetarian; an extremely peculiar case among her race. It wasn’t because she was averse to eating meat, of course. She still loved and much preferred meat. No monster possessed allergies to meat either. Though whenever she would receive some, she would cook it and offer it to a memorial she made in the middle of a field of flowers.

But the ability of the villagers to offer meat did not mean the village was self-sufficient to any extent. In fact, they were extremely poor. As it was located at the end of an extended stretch of a shallow river, no large boats could access the area. The roads were inaccessible during the winter, and were covered in mud during spring. Dust was a major issue during the summer as well. Trade only really occurred during the fall season, but was limited to only after the harvest. The lands were hard pressed to produce any crops as well. Blanc always wondered why people would live there.

Hence, requests to the “Snow Healer” were often few and far in between. Typically, they were only made during dire emergencies, where even the village witch couldn’t treat them. There was even word around the place that she would only accept requests when at least five bushels of grain were offered; an exorbitant fee for simple medicine, she always thought, especially since she never actually asked for a fee in the first place.

“Isn’t it fine that way? We wouldn’t want you to be bought for cheap. Besides, I still come to you whenever someone’s seriously sick but couldn’t afford to pay. Mentor.”

“… And why is the shrine so unnecessarily large now? Back when I made it, it was barely a quarter of the current size.”

“Actually, if grandmother had her way, this shrine would have been even larger than the village chief’s house. You should thank me for my efforts, Mentor.”

“It’s now just slightly smaller than that though…”

“Just this much; it’s fine for a venerated god, don’t you think?”

“’Just this much’…?”

Her name was Tiue. She was the latest descendant of the first Witch of the village who went by the name of Isabella. Since their mother’s death many decades ago, all of their firstborn daughters were trained to become apothecaries – witches by Blanc. Through an amiable relationship and knowledge of their family’s debt of gratitude towards the unrivaled and learned arachne, many of them were very willing to undertake the training.

Enjoying the protection of a catastrophe-level monster was probably one of the main reasons, too.

At that time, talking with their family was the only kind of civilized interaction Blanc had the pleasure of experiencing. Monsters were dreaded as the enemy of all the races after all. Being an extremely rare example of a monster who liked humans, she had the misfortune of suffering such a grievous prejudice. But that was fine. She understood that there were some things that couldn’t be helped. Besides, she was satisfied with that kind of life.

“Say, why do you keep hiding? Since everyone feels indebted to you, then shouldn’t it be fine to reveal yourself?”

“And scare them all half to death? You would do well to remember that I’m a monster, child.”

“Well, duh, but; your human half is very pretty… I’m sure they wouldn’t mind it after I explain.”

“Pff – you know, I once encountered a group of brigands back in the day. The moment they saw me, they all ran in fear after pissing their trousers. Their reactions were quite adorable. Men like those – and they saw nothing on me that interested them.”

“… I think you’re the one who forgets that you’re a monster.”

Those times were some of the happiest Blanc had ever been. Despite having only one person to talk with, it was more than enough for her.

She lived a mostly monotonous life then. To wake up early in the morning to eat, tend to her garden, check the shrine for offerings, experimenting, and finally to sleep under the stars; it was great. She desired no changes at all.

Blanc would have been satisfied with living the same pattern for a thousand years. But change was inevitable.

Then, she met the ‘king’.

“Mentor! “

“I’m fine… this is nothing.”

“Oh? Medicine infused on your blood instead of poison? What’s more, a fighting style more similar to a human’s than a monster’s. And, you’re also worshiped here. Very interesting!”

She had always thought herself to be strong, but she was never conceited enough to think she was the strongest. Strong monsters tended to be attracted to each other, as if there was a desperate need to prove their strength and be acknowledged as the superior one. Monsters tended to fight until they killed the other, so particularly powerful ones that reached high levels of evolution and accumulated the lessons of losing were few and far in between. Blanc was not interested one bit about butting heads. She would much rather spend the entire day watching berries ferment than entertain a challenger.

But when a monster barely half her size appeared and threatened to kill Tiue if she didn’t fight, that quickly changed.

And the result was beyond her wildest expectations.

“Don’t you dare lay your hands on—“

“Oh? The human girl? Don’t worry I never intended to do anything to her. I just wanted to get to know you, yeah? And what better to do so than some good old fisticuffs?”

“Huh?”

“… Ever thought of leaving this place? ‘Snow Healer Blanc’?”

“No.”

It was an instant refusal.

He insisted, repeatedly. She always answered against his wishes. Fortunately, he was not the type to force her to follow. He soon left her with an offer and went away in search of his next target.

“I want to make a nation for monsters; a place where none of us would live in fear of being hunted for sport; a place where we could coexist in peace with the other races. That is my dream.”

She thought him an idealistic fool who was carried away by his power, though on a different way than most other fools. He wasn’t the first one she’d seen who had such absurd dreams. There was a powerful orc lord once, who aimed for a similar world. He crossed the continent’s forests, gathering the fragmented orc tribes. He taught them how to cultivate the land, raise livestock, create tools, and most importantly, how to trade with humans. He was the kind of leader that was extremely rare even among the nobility of the races; he was smart, kind, humble, and open-minded. Though he came to Blanc’s door with a much better example than the former, she still refused him. She was much too attached to her life. When she looked back on it, it had definitely been the right choice.

After all, the orc lord and his people were all subjugated eventually, together with his dreams.

The races always feared monsters. As far as they were concerned, they were eternal enemies. And when a large group of monsters gathered in numbers that could threaten nations, there could only be one response to it.

So why would she agree?

“You should go, Mentor. We’ll be fine. How many generations of us have you trained already? Four? We can’t rely on you forever. I’ve asked my mother, too. We believe you should go. See the world. Experience new things.”

“What’s that out of the blue? You know his words are empty. There’s no way the races will just let a ‘nation of monsters’ be.”

“Oh? Are you sure? Then why did you fight him? Because of me? You already knew from the very beginning that he never intended to hurt me. Even I, a human who should be scared of any monster, knew.”

“... Because—“

“You wanted to see if he was strong enough. Right?”

“…”

Yes.

Though she knew she would not regret living the same life even for millennia to come, it was also true that she desired something more.

“Why did you become an apothecary, Mentor? You’ve never told us all these generations.”

“That’s…”

“You wanted to cure the first village witch. Right? My ancestor from seven generations ago.”

“How did—“

“It’s no secret. I think we’ve already discovered your reason at least four generations ago. We simply pretended to not know. That’s why this debt of gratitude of ours is still as strong today as it was over a hundred years ago.”

“…”

“She had a dream, right? To see the world. But her work brought her into contact with all kinds of diseases and plagues. She grew weak and helpless even at a very young age. She never did manage to even step one foot outside this village.”

“…”

“You wanted to save her. For some reason you, an immeasurably powerful monster, wanted to save the life of a fragile human. So you delved yourself in the arts. But in the end, you failed. So you carry that guilt and teach her descendants everything you know and learn. That way, you can prevent the same tragedy from happening again. After all, the practice can only advance by leaps and bounds if the practitioner lives for as long as you can.”

“…”

“But you don’t have to carry the guilt. Carry her dreams instead. See the world for her. Come back every few years and tell the grave your stories. We’ll be fine here. We’ll miss you, but we’ll certainly continue our duties. It wasn’t your fault.”

Tiue was a good girl. All of her ancestors were as well. They carried themselves like wolves, but their hearts were as soft as rabbits. Blanc was proud of all of them. They were all smart, too. It was like being an apothecary was in their blood. Unlike Blanc, who worked and studied extremely hard just to become what she was, their line was naturally gifted. Each generation’s skill came closer and closer to her own as the years passed by. Undoubtedly, in a few more generations, they would be able to master the knowledge it took Blanc centuries to learn.

Unfortunately, perhaps, that might have also been the reason for them to misunderstand.

“You’re wrong.”

She always had a good memory. Back when she was a weak little spider monster, she used her ability to memorize to her advantage and survived the game of life. But lately, all her memories had started to blur. Only one kind of memory remained ever vivid.

“Why can’t you and I live together? If we can see each other eye to eye, then everybody else could as well, right?”

“My name is Isabella. And I’m the world’s greatest witch!”

“The medicinal arts are all about healing. But it’s not just physical health that we look after. The mental and spiritual health is just as important too. Even if people say you’re a monster, your body can be hurt, and so can your mind and heart. As an apothecary, it’s my duty to treat you.”

“You don’t have a name, right? Hmm, since you’re white as snow, let’s call you ‘Blanc’! I heard that name means white. Cool, right? What? ‘Unoriginal’, you say?!”

“My dream? Hmm… that’s a bit hard. I’m already quite satisfied. I do think being able to see the world would be great, but I doubt I’ll ever have neither the money nor the time to do so. I’ll tell you when I think of something, okay?”

“Don’t worry, I’m fine. You better take care of yourself instead. That man had quite a rough illness.”

“No, I don’t regret meeting you. In fact, if I could turn back time, I’d like us to be friends again.”

“Promise me you’ll do it. I don’t want to die alone.”

“You finally called me by my name.”

“Thanks. Blanc.”

Hot tears flooded her eyes. For the first time in her life since Isabella’s death, she wept. She stared hard into Tiue’s eyes and spoke.

“I killed Isabella. She’s the human you see now.”

That night, she left for the country of monsters.

.

“Huhu… Why would I remember that, now?”

Blanc stood facing the door from where they had come from. Behind it, she felt two presences, waiting, biding their time. Though they burned with a certain desire, they were better than the previous one who simply attacked without a plan.

Her feet – all eight of them, felt light. Not the good kind of light; it was more like she wasn’t attached to them anymore. The same could be said for her human arms, and even to both of her heads.

It was like something was pulling her out of her body – or something else was taking her place.

It started when Elaine had disappeared into the pit trap. At first she thought it was just her emotions coming into play. Anger, disappointment, guilt – many different feelings mixed themselves into a dark substance that clouded her vision. She wasn’t foreign to the feeling, too; she had a similar experience very early on in her life, back when she was just a small spider broodling. Monsters were particularly vulnerable to their emotions. Because they relied mostly on their instincts, they were weak to ‘feelings’ – something they only obtained after being named, a foreign thing that fought with their very nature.

But after a while, she gradually calmed down. Though she was still desperate, her worldly wisdom of a few hundred years eventually caught on and reminded her that panicking would not help her or the girl. In any other situation, she would analyze the paths they have taken, the floors they have explored, and figure out secret corridors and pits that lead deeper into the dungeon in the shortest amount of time possible.

All dungeons had them, numerous ones, even the living dungeons of old. At least, that was what the stories had told.

Though she was not one to believe in tales, the sight of a real fairy heart made her think otherwise. And at that point, she was ready to believe in anything to save the little girl.

But…

“I’m sorry… little Isa… I might not be able to tell you about another precious thing I found.”

Her shoulders trembled violently. The image of the metal double doors narrowed and turned red through her eight eyes. She felt her throat dry up and her mouth… distort. Her scythe felt much heavier in her hand than she was used to. Then, another splitting headache assaulted her.

The need to rage out uncontrollably almost took over.

She bit her tongue hard. The taste of iron pulled her back to her senses just enough to remember what she needed to do. She took a deep breath and collected herself, suddenly feeling better. It wouldn’t last for long, but she did not need a long time anyway.

In order for Elaine, and everyone else, to have a few things less to worry about, she had to act.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, boys. You didn’t want to attack while a weakling was in the way, right? Here, I’m alone. Just as you wanted.”

With a swing of her scythe, she split the doors open through its middle. It fell down to the ground in four pieces with a large, metallic crash. Though it kicked up quite an amount of dust into the air, two pairs of glowing red eyes could be seen through it. Their presence alone far outmatched every floor boss she had fought in the dungeon.

“Didn’t even try to hide?”

At the very last second, she started to have doubts. Maybe it would have been better if she had prioritized escaping first. That way, she could… do what exactly?

Ask for reinforcements? Look for alternate entries?

None of those would work. She already knew. She already felt it. The least she could do was pass on the message.

She wished she could continue looking for the girl. At first, she was just a means for her to entertain herself with. But the girl quickly grew on her. She reminded her of Isabella – the girl who only felt curiosity about the world around her; the woman who wanted to look everyone in the eye, because nobody did the same for her. Blanc’s heart sank at the thought of failing a second time.

“Whatever.”

Two figures appeared as the dust settled. One of them was a giant, and the other, a more reasonable size. The first had the horns of a bull, while the other had no skin at all. They were familiar figures to her, yet at that time she did not know who they were at all. Their red eyes flashed with primal madness.

Blanc sighed. She felt her teeth pierce through her lips. Her shoulders stopped trembling, but it felt… longer. Her eyes, sharper. Her hands, crueler.

She needed to stop them.

And eventually, herself.

So she spoke, a tinge of her own madness staining her bell-like voice.

“You know, the moment we stepped foot in this place, everything had been decided.

The dragon? Merely bait.

Does it exist? Maybe.

We knew nothing, saw nothing, and heard nothing, for everything had been in place since the StaRt.

I mean, there’s no way a dungeon like this could have formed overnight.

There’s no way a dungeon like this could have kEpt quieT all these yEars.

There’s no Way a DungeOn of this size could have escaPed our senses.

Remember the tales? LiVing dungeons possess a miiiinD, but they dO not have any wiSdom.

All arE childreeeeen when they are BoRn.

But thissss dungeon. It waited.

It’s not A chiLD. IT Was a PrEDator.

AaaaAand we wALKed riGHt into Its armS.

LiKE IdioTsss…

Hooowwwww funny iS THAAAAAAt?!”

.

“But it's not my place to die here. And neither will it be hers, or anyone else's.”

Her next words seemed like it addressed a third party around her. She brought her knuckles together in front of her chest with her thumbs meeting midway to point outwards. It was the unique gesture of prayer the village people of Felarhe adapted.

At that moment, the world froze.

A freezing wave burst from her body, instantly solidifying the ground around her. Even the air froze, condensing into flakes of frost that fell slowly. The edges of the tattered qipao that hung loosely around her body erupted into a mass of webbing. It soon gathered again and formed a long tunic, which covered almost every part of her human body unlike the risqué cuts of her previous dress. Her long hair unbraided itself and consolidated into a white coif with an absurdly long veil that split down the middle and almost touched the ground.

A frigid mist of frost continuously came out of the veil, giving her the appearance of a deathly nun. At the cuffs of her long, loose sleeves, cold flames danced like wayward souls at night.

Anything that came into contact with her mist froze solid. The air continued to solidify around her, causing snowflakes to appear as if from nowhere, forcing the temperature around them to plummet even further. In no time at all the ground cracked with a distinctive, disheartening sound when the moisture it contained froze.

Whatever wounds and scratches that were on her body before had all disappeared. Even her broken leg, which used to look like a horrible mess, had straightened itself, as if it never happened.

When she opened her eyes, even the maddened forms of Fyrn and Tehr shivered slightly from the sight. All eight of her pupils stared at them from just the two sockets on her human head. And they were blue, the color of ice, unlike their usual vicious red. Suddenly, her enemies weren’t so sure anymore. They couldn’t even focus on her eyes. Four pupils each, they wandered independently, like eyeballs overlapped. The only thing for sure, though, all eyes were on them.

She, Blanc, was an arachne; a calamity; a disciple of life-giving medicine; a bringer deathly frost—

She was a venerated god.

“Deiute” she declared; ‘Glory’ in the language of her village.

And with a bow, the dungeon trembled.