Chapter 25 – Floor 4. Beast Hunt

RUMBLE—

The shaking was so violent it could be mistaken for an earthquake.

With waves of unholy magical power, the underground sewers trembled, causing the fruits of human labor that had been solidly built to drop dust and scream silently.

Though the vibration was brief, it left an aftermath that seemed to have reduced the facility’s lifespan by a hundred years, and then all that magical power seeped into the Wanderer.

The fleshy tentacles that had erupted from the Wanderer’s mouth, repeatedly contracting and relaxing, flailed in the air like a newborn baby exploring everything it touched.

As if in trial and error, they groped the walls and ceiling, occasionally tapping the severed limbs of criminals sprawled on the floor.

“That thing, it’s awkward because it’s moving in the world for the first time. Use this chance to get those guys with severed limbs out of here. Albert and I will handle it.”

“I’m injured too. My toenail got ripped off.”

“Since your toenail got ripped off, I could finish ripping the rest for you. I could pivot to being a specialized ingrown toenail therapist.”

“That’s too much…”

Ignoring Albert’s complaints, I waited for the criminals to sneak away while keeping an eye on those flailing tentacles that might suddenly fly at us.

Honestly, if they were bad enough to be trapped in a place like this, their crimes must have been extraordinarily severe, so I wouldn’t care if they died, but having them lying around nearby would just get in the way.

The Wanderer is strong, but manageable for a player who has reached Floor 4.

But the Bell of Doom is a different story.

It’s a mini-boss that you should only challenge after quickly matching your equipment to meet minimum specs and gathering skills and items appropriate for your build. The very fact that there’s an encounter prerequisite, like with the Giant Slime, tells you about the Bell of Doom’s difficulty level.

‘And I…’

My equipment isn’t that good. I haven’t even completed the leather armor set, which is Tier 1 defense gear.

My skills aren’t bad. Battle Command is a skill with an unparalleled position for a Lord build character.

Items… I don’t know. Three unidentified scrolls. If I’m lucky, it’s a jackpot; if I’m unlucky, it’s not just a bust but rock bottom.

‘Still, Albert, this guy fights surprisingly well.’

Looking at the Knight with a troubled face watching the Bell of Doom, I had thought he was just a criminal at best, but Albert was the one who could best respond to and deal with the Wanderer’s attacks.

Moreover, watching him fight made it clear that his stats were higher than the other criminals.

Despite differences in equipment, the damage difference between other criminals and Albert wasn’t simply due to equipment differences.

With such an excellent meat shield—comrade—it should be enough.

“Severa and I.”

“The Bell of Doom… a hideous sight no matter how many times I see it.”

Looking at the Bell of Doom that had emerged from the Wanderer’s mouth, Severa had eyes that showed both pity and aversion.

“Now, as a happy birthday present, hit it with your strongest attack.”

The next moment, the corridor was filled with the heat of raging flames.

***

SCREEEEEECH!!

The heat that roasted flesh and boiled blood was enough to instantly cover the sewer corridor with ash and steam.

And it was enough to burn the beast following the commands engraved in its instincts.

The beast screamed. Hot, painful, why am I feeling such pain?

Though it had spent a long time inside its host, the beast, having only recently emerged into the world, was full of questions about this stimulus.

Such directionless questions didn’t take long to transform into anger, and it poured out the most primitive aggression toward its surroundings.

“Duck!”

“Ugh!”

The man in plate armor pushed down the black-haired man and hastily ducked.

BOOM!!!

The beast’s tentacle passing above them by a paper-thin margin blew away the entrance of the corridor, so it was a correct judgment.

If what they faced had been a simple beast, that is.

The beast awkwardly moved its host’s body and swung the heavy tool in its hand. The host’s extremities were being damaged by the heated metal, but that could be offset by using magic to regenerate.

The men were busy rolling on the floor to avoid the tool that the host was awkwardly swinging in a coordinated attack calculated this way.

The black-haired man couldn’t dodge the following tentacle whip in time and was hit on the back.

“ARGH!!!”

The sweet sensation of flesh being roughly crushed, the sweet screams of pain from the insignificant creature, the appetizing scent of blood.

The beast realized its inherent identity.

Ravage and devour. You are the ruler who places those insignificant creatures beneath your feet. A great species that transcends the limits of living beings.

The beast was captivated by the man who rolled on the floor and let out that ecstatic despair.

How beautiful!

The beast, with a desire to preserve this moment forever, carefully observed the screaming man. It was so absorbed that it almost forgot it was in combat.

“Get down!!”

The man shouted something and wrapped his head with his arms. Was it to protect his head to increase his chances of survival?

It wouldn’t matter against itself, which possessed irresistible power. The beast found the man’s actions adorably futile—

BOOOOOM—

Its vision whitened, and the heat that seemed to be burning its entire body once again made its mind fly away.

Heat, heat, heat. HEAT!

Trying to prevent the host’s body from turning to charcoal in this cursed flame by regenerating with magic, it felt its power draining in chunks.

The beast sensed a crisis but couldn’t abandon the host’s body.

Not only did it need the host to survive, but it was also convinced that finding a host as suitable as this one would be difficult even if it searched for decades, which prevented it from considering the option of abandoning the host.

Then what should the beast do to survive?

Simple—kill the ectoplasm mass holding the stick that shoots magic.

Thus, the ultra-high-speed tentacle swung—

The sewers and dust exploded, engulfing the ectoplasm mass.

Squish—

After disposing of the ectoplasm mass and feeling relieved, it felt the sensation of heat-seared metal penetrating the host’s spine and abdomen.

Sensing the sensation of its host’s internal organs being stirred, the beast hastily assessed the situation.

The black-haired man, who had thrust a silver longsword into the host, looked at the beast, raised his middle finger, and licked his lips with his tongue.

“Idiot. How many times have you had holes blown in your body already? Are you going to roll after getting hit by that?”

The beast was enraged. Furious at the insignificant creature that had deceived it, furious, and wanting to be furious again.

Slice—

The beast’s extremity was cut off. This time it was the doing of the man in plate armor.

Blood gushed from the crimson cross-section, and although it tried to regenerate urgently, both men simultaneously rolled on the floor to distance themselves from the beast.

And then magical power was felt from behind.

Had it failed to dispose of the ectoplasm mass?

The beast, having been hit by flames twice, tried to minimize the damage by immersing itself in the water flowing into the sewer and curling up.

Reducing its surface area meant less area to regenerate, so less magic would be consumed—

CRACK— CRACKLE—

Strange. It wasn’t that heat. Rather, it was close to the opposite.

A coldness that froze blood, burst vessels, and tore flesh enveloped its entire body, and the host’s joints and the beast’s body were trapped, unable to move.

Ice? According to the host’s knowledge, what covered it was ice.

“Fell for it again? That’s why you’re a beast.”

“If a monster like this appeared in a city, it would easily kill hundreds of people… It’s a creature straight out of mythology.”

The two men stabbed with spears. Brought down axes. Swung swords. Struck with clubs.

Unable to move, the beast was directly exposed to the primitive violence of the two men.

Move. Move. The beast struggled to break the ice.

CRACK—

It broke! The beast was elated. It became joyful at the thought of cutting off the arms and legs of those careless ones, just like the insignificant creatures the host had been dealing with.

“Back away!”

“Mm.”

CRASH!

But despite breaking through the thick ice and swinging its tentacles, the men were already far away, as if they had known, just catching their breath and observing the beast’s movements.

It was then that the beast realized.

It was not the one ravaging insignificant creatures. This was a hunt. It was merely the prey.

***

The power of Severa’s fireballs and ice lances, with her Mental stat of 20, was extraordinary.

Though she was a cheap masturbation onahole, I was deeply moved by how reliable she was in battle.

“You’re thinking something strange again…”

“No, just that you’re pretty.”

How did she know? Anyway, the Bell of Doom, having escaped from its frozen state, seemed thoroughly enraged, with its tentacles contracting and relaxing more violently.

‘Even after taking three magic hits, it still has about 60% health left. Its health regeneration is sickeningly good, isn’t it?’

“Hmm. It reminds me of when I went hunting in the forest with the lord. We encountered a bear then…”

“Feeling a bit comfortable, are we?”

“Can’t even talk…”

The Bell of Doom extended its tentacles and wrapped up weapons from fallen criminals and those stuck in its own body.

“Uh oh…”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s going to swing all those randomly. Dodge on your own. I can’t help you.”

“We’re fucked…”

Right after that, a mace flew towards my head. The slime was summoned in mid-air, slowing the mace’s advance, and disappeared as I ducked my head.

One of Unicellia’s blessings allowed the summoning and reverse summoning of summons without consuming turns.

It’s a blessing that solves the disadvantage of Lord builds or Animal Farm builds—the long warm-up time needed to draw maximum firepower—but for me, using onaholes, I can use it more actively.

Next came a spear thrusting sharply. I placed the longsword on its trajectory, pushing it in to forcibly bend its path.

I lifted my leg to avoid an axe flying at my shin. I blocked a dagger by twisting my waist and using the scabbard hanging at my side. I pushed away the spear and rolled to avoid a longsword swinging down to split my body in half.

CLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANG!!!

Unable to find their target, the swinging weapons roughly scraped the sewer walls, being ground away with a tremendous amount of sparks.

Dodging, blocking, twisting, rolling—a dance with death.

My concentration was incomparable to before. With all my armor shattered, even one hit would be fatal.

Whether impossible or not, I had to do it!

‘I am a vegetable piece..! A vegetable piece avoiding blender blades!’

I endured. I kept enduring.

And then the end arrived.

The center of the corridor was almost worn into a circle from the intensity, and the weapons wielded by the Bell of Doom were all ground down, with only the handles remaining.

Additionally, the Bell of Doom also seemed to be in a nearly exhausted state, with the Wanderer’s body lying prostrate on the floor.

What about Albert?

“Hey, Albert. Are you alive? If you’re dead, say so.”

“I’m dying…”

“He’s dead.”

“I’m dying…”

Fortunately, he seemed to be somehow alive.

Then came the flames of a fireball. The Bell of Doom screamed.

The coldness of continuous ice lances. The Bell of Doom couldn’t even scream.

“Go, Slime! Eye-blinding attack!”

WHOOOSH!

FLASH!!!

Under the continuous magical spectacle, the Bell of Doom was dazed. Given time, it would soon start regenerating and recover its health. But I wasn’t stupid enough to miss that opening.

I ran towards the Wanderer’s body, which was staggering to its feet as if squeezing out strength.

And I thrust my fist.

My fist embedded in the Wanderer’s lower abdomen, forcing through skin mixed with muscle and fat, with the sensation of crushing internal organs.

“ONAHOLE CREATION!!!”

[You used Onahole Creation on the Wanderer (Bell of Doom).]

[The Wanderer (Bell of Doom) resisted.]

[The Wanderer (Bell of Doom)’s health is at minimum.]

[The Wanderer (Bell of Doom) has become an onahole.]

[You have defeated the Wanderer (Bell of Doom).]

Logs popping up randomly.

I looked down at what had fallen to the floor, breathing heavily.

Purple hair with a blackish tint and unfocused, hazy eyes.

An onahole in the form of the Wanderer, barely covered by rags that no longer functioned as clothing due to magic.

Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, it didn’t have the Bell of Doom protruding from its mouth.

[You have obtained the Parasite Knight Onahole.]

“Wanderer! You’re mine now!”

I wonder if there’s something like an Onahole League?