Chapter 203 – Magical Beasts and the Ancient Caretakers 202 – Magical Beasts and the Ancient Caretakers #2
Too much rest can throw off the body’s rhythm and k*ll motivation. So, we decided to rise, not allowing our bodies to cool down completely.
“Just drinking water fills me up, huh? You’re quite the character! Thanks to you, the scars from that burn have nearly vanished!”
The sand cat, Sand, cuddled the swollen Yingyi and rubbed its face against it.
“Kyuyingying.”
“Ah, the East’s Ancient Nest. So many strange beasts! I definitely want to visit someday,” I said, stretching languidly towards the blacksmith Totuga, who was petting Yingyi.
“You’ll miss this desert once you go. There’s really nothing there except trees, bugs, and beasts. Plenty of monsters beyond the realm of beasts too.”
“Yeah, seeing you makes that seem likely,” Totuga replied. “Anyway, if everyone has had a good rest, let’s get moving again. From now on, if you notice any anomalies or changes, you need to tell me. It’s going to be a tougher path than before.”
“Got it!”
We made our preparations and resumed walking through the underground stone corridor. How long had we been at it?
“Ah, just as I suspected. There’s a caretaker.”
Jack scratched his head, looking troubled as he spotted the stone door.
“Look here; you see the skull symbol on the stone door? This is a warning for intruders. If you pass beyond here, all that awaits is d*ath.”
At Jack’s explanation, we stared at the animal skull patterns etched into the stone door.
It seems that in every world and at every time, skulls symbolize d*ath and a warning.
‘So, beyond this lies the caretaker.’
I recalled what Jack had told me about this “caretaker.”
They were sinners who had defied the gods, like Ojimann, and were condemned to guard the graves for eternity.
“I’ve already faced plenty of those beasts. How strong can these ancient ones actually be?”
Gaining confidence, I pushed the stone door, which creaked open, revealing small torches inside.
“Statues!”
“It’s a statue!”
A wide space with torches dotting the walls housed two massive statues. They resembled armored humans, but their faces were that of a long-snouted crocodile and a dog.
Jack raised his fist slightly over his shoulder, signaling everyone to stop.
“Don’t touch anything. In a caretaker’s room, anything can happen.”
Swish, swish, swish.
The flames on the small torches suddenly flared up significantly. I whispered to Azidahaka beside me.
“Why are the flames getting stronger? Did you do something?”
“I did nothing. I have a bad feeling. Something is coming.”
Creak, thud.
The previously unmoving statues began to crack. Like ancient shells falling away, the statues crumbled to reveal a red glow and wrapped bandages underneath.
“M-mummy! These creeps are mummies!”
With Sand’s urgent shout, Jack drew his bow.
“Mummies are the standard for caretakers. Light the torches! Their weakness is fire! We need to attack them with the torches in this room!”
Jack ignited a torch on the tip of his arrow and aimed it at the awoken mummies.
Whooooosh.
A chilling wind blew, snuffing out all the flames in the room simultaneously.
“I can’t see anything!”
“Danger!”
In the unexpected chaos, Sand and Totuga shrieked in panic.
Both beast-people and stone dwarves relied heavily on sight; being deprived of it just made them panic and fear.
“Stay calm.”
The only one who remained unflustered was Azidahaka.
Since she usually blocked her view by closing her eyes or wearing a tiara, this darkness was no different for her.
Huff.
With a small puff of breath, a gentle light surrounded Azidahaka’s fingers.
“I-I’m okay!”
“Now I can see a little.”
The small light illuminating a few meters around us felt like a protective barrier to the group.
“I’m glad I bought that ring.”
“True that.”
I nodded appropriately at Azidahaka’s remark. My night vision had improved since transforming into a beast, but infrared or heat detection wasn’t quite my deal.
‘Where did the statues go?’
With the small light now illuminating the area, I began to discern objects around me.
Looking around, I noticed the red-eyed beings swirling around us.
“Brother, we can ignore the others and focus on the two left.”
“Yeah, brother. I’ll take on the furry one. You handle the scaled one.”
“Fine by me! Let’s see what you’ve got!”
Whooooosh!
The sound of wind rushing out of the cave shook the air. I immediately recognized that sound as the massive metal sheet being swung by Batus, who had ties to Adam.
Clang! Crash!
The sharp metal struck the ground.
“I was just going to make you into pieces, but you’re pretty good.”
“Attacking out of nowhere? How rude!”
Azidahaka quickly dodged the attack and dusted off her robe. In the dark, the red-eyed crocodile caretaker hoisted a massive sword onto its shoulder.
“I don’t care. You all must d*e. And I will be freed from this punishment!”
Graaaaah!
The crazed, beast-like roar of the crocodile charged at Azidahaka, swinging its massive sword.
Thud! Rumble, bang!
The reptile’s great sword smashed down on the ground and smashed the walls like clay. Azidahaka was narrowly dodging its deadly attacks.
‘Seriously, an alligator beast versus a dragon girl? I feel like I’ve seen that somewhere before…’
In that moment of déjà vu, I felt a chill rush down my back. I quickly rolled to dodge, just as a massive metal rod slammed down where I had been standing.
BANG!
The rod struck the stone floor, creating a small explosion.
“Immortality isn’t for beasts like you.”
“Ha, having the guts to ambush me!”
“Become my sacrificial offering!”
Whoooosh.
A thick metal rod, like a steel pole, swung towards me.
Thwump, crash!
The relentless assaults of the rod raised goosebumps over my body.
‘It reminds me of O Kong’s staff. Not quite as deadly, but if it hit, my bones would shatter.’
The reach of that rod was three times my body length, making it difficult for me to approach; I was forced to dodge his attacks entirely.
“You’re moving around well, but in front of me, your fate is nothing but d*ath! No one can escape decay!”
“Seriously, what are you saying? Ugh?”
The words spilled from my mouth as I felt my body suddenly weighed down as though gravity had multiplied several times.
“Your d*ath will grant me freedom! Your flesh will make me stronger!”
Whoooosh.
While I staggered under the unexpected weight, a metal rod flew towards my head.
“Surprisingly manageable!”
I smirked and sharpened my claws, then swung my front paw outwards just as the rod was about to strike my head.
Clang!
The sharp clang of metal colliding was almost ear-piercing. The force of the impact slightly pushed me back.
But thanks to that rebound, the dog-headed caretaker lost its weapon and stumbled backward.
Crrr.
The mummified arms wrapped in bandages crumbled like a sandcastle.
“To withstand the weight of my curse, {Decay}, is impressive.”
The dog-headed caretaker chuckled darkly as if it found the situation amusing.
I frowned slightly as I watched its arms regrow from the ground.
“It’s lighter than the bulletproof helmet I used in the reserves.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but you made a mistake. You shouldn’t have let that metal rod out of my hands. Hehehe…”
The beast’s threatening growl echoed through the room. The dog-headed caretaker got down on its four legs and began twisting its body grotesquely.
Squish, snap.
The sound of flesh and skin twisting and tearing continued until the dog’s body transformed into a massive four-legged wolf.
“A black wolf.”
“It’s a Black Jackal. It’s been ages since I assumed this form!”
Barking fiercely like a wild dog, the black beast lunged at me. I dodged lightly, swinging my tail to strike its waist.
Clang! Crunch.
A strike that would shatter the bones of an ordinary beast. But the black jackal’s skin crumbled like sand, then reattached and grew back.
“Hey, it seems these guys won’t fall easily!”
“I’m aware! They keep regenerating in strange ways!”
Turning my head, I noticed Azidahaka was also struggling against the crocodile monster. The crocodile’s face was crumbling into sand from Azidahaka’s punches and tail strikes.
“Brother! The caretakers are generally immortal mummies cursed by the king! We need to burn their core, the heart chamber!”
Jack, who had been watching from behind to avoid interfering, shouted urgently. Come to think of it, Jack had intended to deal with these creatures using torches and fire arrows, hadn’t he?
“Fire, you say?”
If it’s fire, I can use my recently acquired special skill. The issue would be creating fire; snuffing it out was the trick, but I had several makeshift elixirs packed, so once should be okay.
Hhh…
I gathered hot bl**d and anger from the depth of my belly and chest.
Flames burst forth.
Heat surged from my tail, through my hips and back, up to my neck.
“What are you planning? It’s useless!”
Did the dog-headed caretaker sense the time it took to charge my flame breath? It lunged towards me with great speed.
‘Not happening!’
I sharpened my front claws and swung with all my might into the air. The air-blade sliced smoothly through the caretaker’s four legs, halting its advance.
The caretaker was now like a mannequin with severed limbs.
I opened my mouth wide towards it, unleashing my fury.
“d*e!”
“Useless! Our bodies are puppets of magical power. Unless you burn that power…! What, hot, h-hot! Aaaaah!”
The dog-headed caretaker began to ignite in blue flames. The floor, walls, stones, and air were quickly engulfed in blazing blue fire.
“It’s hot! What is this?!”
“Danger!”
“Brother, what just happened!? Are you okay!?”
Everyone was panicking as the powerful and indiscriminate might washed over us. The only one unfazed seemed to be Yingyi, who, as usual, poured out the water it had stored onto itself.
“Kyuying!”
Sizzle!
Finally, the blue flames began to lose their strength and retreated.
“Brother! What’s happening? There isn’t much time left before I’m free from this curse!”
The crocodile and Azidahaka, who had yet to finish their battles.
The sand remnants of the now-blue-burning dog-headed caretaker swirled like a cyclone around the crocodile’s head caretaker.
Whooooooosh.
A fierce sandstorm blew through the narrow underground space.
“How dare you take away our freedom! I’ll slaughter this entire world!”
Perhaps because it absorbed the sand, the alligator had grown in size and began swinging its massive sword with one hand.
“Splinter! Tear it apart!”
Bang, thud!
Thud-thud-thud.
The bricks in the ceiling cracked, and dust began to fall. In response, Sand furiously raised its fur and yelled.
“We might get crushed here soon! I swear it’ll collapse!”
“Controlling the magic is quite hard right now…!”
Azidahaka hadn’t breathed fire because her magic had gone haywire since arriving at this pyramid. But given the situation, she seemed to have no option but to act.
“Shudder in the pain of the dead alongside me!”
Whoosh!
The alligator-headed caretaker swung its large sword horizontally. Azidahaka jumped into the air to evade it before leaping onto the crocodile’s body like a mantis.
“What are you trying to do?!”
The alligator, startled, tried to drive its sword into the ground to shake Azidahaka off. However, she held tightly onto its upper and lower jaws, threatening to tear them apart.
“Let’s see you regenerate from this!”
She unleashed a fiery breath into the gaping maw of the crocodile.
Graaaah!
The flames of the fire dragon flowed down the crocodile’s neck, heating the mummy formed from sand to a deep red.
“Gaaarrrgh!”
The crocodile head cried out in agony, its body stained red, then hardened like charcoal, becoming a blackened husk.
