Part Fifty-Five

“Grr? Grr. Grr!”

The last two days had taught her one thing about this place: that it was hell. The constant smell of blood, which had at first tantalized her hunger, now repulsed her and stifled her senses. The endless hallways that all looked the same confused her. And the monsters inside annoyed her. So this place was in fact her personal hell.

So far, she’d seen three types of monsters aside from the delicious cows she was to hunt. The first were bipedal bovine monsters with exceptionally tough muscles, though they were also brutish, slow, and stupid. Even their muscles weren’t enough to protect them from her claws, and she usually made short work of them when they did appear.

It was the other two monsters that proved to be far more irritating. The first were these pulsing balls of meat that would roll around and charge straight at her. They also had the habit of climbing the walls and sticking to the ceiling so that they could plummet straight down onto her. Their sheer mass made them annoying to kill, and their meat tasted horrible.

*Tink tink tink tink*

And then there was the third kind. That horrible, grating sound accompanied them everywhere they went, and it was always the first thing she’d notice when they were getting closer.

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr…!”

The first time she’d seen them, she’d thought they were humans for a moment. They had a humanoid shape and were flesh colored, so they appeared human from a distance, albeit a large one. But once they’d gotten closer, she’d realized how she was wrong.

“Grooooowwwllllllll!!!”

The shockwave her howl unleashed caused several of the creatures to burst from the pressure alone, though the others were unperturbed by the deaths of their kin. She’d long learned that these monsters had no sense of fear or apprehension in battle. Intimidation tactics wouldn’t work on them.

As such, she had no choice but to battle them herself. Of course, this wasn’t objectionable to her at all. Even without the instincts she’d possessed as a monster, she still craved battle, though now it was for different reasons.

Up close, the differences between the creatures and humans were even more pronounced. For one thing, there was no distinguishing marks or orifices on their bodies. That, and they had blades for hands and feet. They used these blades to both move and attack, and they were the source of the sound that accompanied them.

*Clang clang clang*

They also had the most peculiar battle style. Every movement could chain into an attack, or vice-versa. Destroying them from a distance wasn’t hard, but close-range combat was a pain. They also occasionally became weirdly playful and would cartwheel around the corridor. Thankfully their bodies were extremely fragile, and it didn’t take much more than a large gash to cause the fluid filling their bodies to gush out. Killing them was similar to popping a water balloon.

But there was nothing soft about their blades. Her hide was already covered in multiple cuts from them, and she was bleeding profusely. Her once pristine fur was now matted with both her own bloo, and the various fluids of the monsters she fought. Another thing that contributed to her foul mood.

“GROOOOWWWWWWWW!”

Anger fueled her attacks, and a single slash ripped the four monsters surrounding her into pieces. More of their fluids splattered her, further angering her. I. Hate. This. Dungeon!

It was quite odd how she mirrored her self-proclaimed rival in that moment.

***

“Grrrr?”

The monotony of the Dungeon was rarely broken. Aside from the occasional run-in with monsters, she spent most of her time wandering the Dungeon hunting for the scent of her prey. So the small metal object in front of her was quite intriguing, if only as a minor distraction.

Sniffing it revealed nothing aside from the fact that it was metallic, which she already knew. This wasn’t the first time she’d found weird objects like this. There’d been multiple times where clothes or weapons had mysteriously appeared after she’d killed a monster, but she usually just ignored them since her body was superior to them. But something about this one wouldn’t let her do that.

What is it? Stumped, she slipped the circular object onto one of her fingers. Since it fit perfectly, she assumed it was meant to be worn there. It didn’t interfere with her claws, so that wasn’t a problem, but she couldn’t figure out its purpose. Figuring that there were better things to do with her time, she set off further into the Dungeon.

***

As a former monster, she naturally had no concept of video games or the mechanics within. Thus she didn’t really understand many of the things that happened inside the Dungeon. She’d received some superficial knowledge of the System when she was connected, but she had yet to internalize it. So it was no wonder she didn’t think to use Analyze on the ring she’d picked up. She didn’t even know what the Skill did. If her instincts and curiosity hadn’t urged her to pick it up, it was doubtful she would’ve given it a second glance.

[Regina’s POV]

Hm, perfect. Now Lord Ixan will have the perfect space to relax in when he returns. This manor may have sat vacant for years, but its base was still excellent. It’s taken months, but it is now worthy of my Lord. Ahhh, how wonderful.

“You know, cleaning is supposed to be Emilia’s job. She’ll be all kinds of pissed once she gets back."

“Silence you fool. As Lord Ixan's personal assistant, I am responsible for his private spaces. As such, arranging his study falls under my jurisdiction, not Emilia’s.”

“Haaah, we both know assistant is just a fancy word for secretary-. Whoa! Hey! Stop throwing knives at me! Do I have a target painted on my chest or something!?”

“Not at all. It’s just that I thought I heard a base and vulgar word from you. Surely I simply misheard, correct?”

“Ugh, yeah sure. Just stop pointing that dagger at me like that. Wait, where’d you even get that?”

“Trade secret. Now what do you want? Aren’t you supposed to have duties of your own? Monsters to clean up and all.”

“You’d think that, but my subordinates take care of all that for me now. They won’t even let me fight unless a C-Rank shows up. So I came to bother you.”

“Hurray. But as you can see, I’m quite busy, so if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to get back to work now.”

“Sure, sure. Go right ahead, don’t mind me.”

Even though she gave him a pointed glare, it seemed he had no intention to leave anytime soon. And since she knew trying to forcibly throw him out would only make it worse, she resigned herself to ignoring him for the foreseeable future.

For his part, he seemed quite content to lean against the wall and watch her work, never voicing a single complaint. Though in another light, it meant that he was simply staring at her as she worked. A half-hour passed like this, with nary a word spoken by either of them.

Once Regina was certain that everything was in the optimal position, she finally conceded that she’d done all she could and turned to address the man behind her. Only to discover him on his phone, grimacing at something.

After the disaster began, it was discovered that technology didn’t work as well within the areas affected by World Decay. It wasn’t that the technology was faulty. It was more like the signals used to transmit data couldn’t penetrate the currents of mana found within. Even radios had their effective ranges cut in less than half of the original.

However, the manor was equipped with highly experimental technology that could better transmit and receive these signals, so it was possible to use phones to access the internet. These devices possessed several other functions, but they weren’t important right now.

“What’s the matter? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you make that kind of face before.”

“Nothing. Just a weird message. It’s probably just spam."

He was clearly lying, so she darted up to him and swiped his phone before he could react. The screen did indeed display a message, though it definitely wasn’t spam. A quick glance through it told her all she needed to know.

“Hey, don’t you know it’s impolite to read other people’s messages?”

“Not if they jeopardize Lord Ixan’s plans. So, are you going to explain yourself? You were warned not to contact anyone outside of the circle.”

“Yeah, I know, I know! I didn’t contact her. She contacted me!”

Contained within the message were pleas for information on the sender’s brother. He’d apparently gone missing back during the beginning of World Decay and no traces were ever found, but the woman was certain that he was still alive.

“Even if Lord Ixan would let me, I can’t tell her what she wants to know. She wouldn’t be able to handle it.”

“Who is this woman? She seems quite certain you know where her brother is.”

“Ohoh, do I detect a hint of jealousy? Have you finally given into my charms?”

“Not in a million years. My heart and loyalty belongs only to Lord Ixan. Now answer the question.”

“Yeesh, you could at least play along once in a while. Fine. She’s the sister of my best friend. That’s who she is.”

“Okay. But you made it sound like you know where he is.”

“That’s cause I do. Haaah, remember the mercenaries who cleared the spider nest?”

“Yes, of course I do. I thought that we had no way to reach out to them though, so why..are…you…?”

Realization was often slow to occur, but inescapable once it did. Based on the topic, there was only one answer to her question.

“Yep, that’s right. I only figured it out later. The dual wielder, it’s him. And right now, he’s inside of the Dungeon in Ethiopia. I certainly can’t tell her that. She’ll freak out, and try to go there herself. That’s how she’s always been. They’re both too overprotective of each other.”

“I see. I suppose I’ve intruded on something I shouldn’t have.”

“It’s not your fault. All it is, is another symptom of the fucked up world we live in now.”

“……How did you even figure that out?”

“it wasn’t easy, but they left a paper trail when they went to Ethiopia. All I had to do was follow it far enough to catch them. I just don’t get how I didn’t see it before. He was right in front of me, but I didn’t recognize him.”

“He was wearing armor, wasn’t he? His face was obscured and his voice was probably muffled. It’s no wonder you didn’t recognize him.”

“And yet, it was so clear in hindsight. His posture, the way he spoke. He was right fucking there, and I couldn’t figure it out.”

At this point, Regina didn’t know what to do or say. She’d never seen him in the state. The self-loathing was plain to see on his face and there was no sign of his usual eccentricities.

“Whatever. I shouldn’t be unloading this onto someone unrelated to the issue. I’m gonna go.”

He left before she could protest. He’d been practically forced into this situation, but he’d taken it in stride. To see someone usually so unperturbed start breaking, even a little, was always discomforting.

***

Unbeknownst to the people of Earth, a clock had been ticking away ever since the System’s voice was first heard. A countdown heralding the end was about to reach zero.

For the people of Australia, the disaster taking place on the other continents wasn’t a major part of their lives. Aside from some minor disruptions to the global supply chain, they hadn’t seen a change in their daily lives. Sure, the government had sent aid to those directly affected and volunteers had appeared to join the Committee, but that was a small part of it all.

Until now.

*CRACK TSHSHSHSHSHSHSHSH!*

::Influence of World Decay detected. Individual has been successfully connected to the World System. Generating status……Complete. ::

Words synonymous with a death sentence echoed into everyone’s mind. Within an hour, monsters poured into the continent, doing what they do best. The apocalypse had yet to truly begin.