She quickly jumped up—taking deep breaths, sweat rolling down her forehead.
She wasn't sure if she should run away now that she had the chance or stay and face whatever made that terrible noise.
Her hands trembled, and her body was tense. Was she going to run away? Again? No. She couldn't run away; she'd need to fight her fears—no matter how much her instincts begged her to flee.
She slowly moved towards the staircase and started going down to the first floor, her eyes darting around every corner of the room.
She couldn't find anything out of the ordinary, and as time passed, she grew less tense; her breathing slowed, and her shoulders relaxed.
Then—
"Please help me!" she heard the voice of a small girl cry out from the next room, making her shoulders quickly tense again.
Tsukiko dashed into the room without even thinking, only to find a small girl moving around as if she were blind, stumbling over the rubble again and again, only for an invisible force to keep her upright.
The girl's body was rotting, and she had a huge gaping hole in her stomach, through which her internals hung loosely and half-eaten.
"Please help me," the girl said again in a more monotonous and mechanical tone.
Tsukiko's eyes widened at the grotesque scene in front of her, but she steeled her nerves and lunged at the girl, cutting her head off. Her claws passed through her neck effortlessly.
The severed head fell to the ground with a dull thud. It still looked as emotionless and empty as before.
The girl's body remained standing even after decapitation, and blood spilled like a fountain from where her head once was.
Long strings, now glistening with blood, tethered the girl's body like a grotesque puppet.
As Tsukiko's gaze followed the strings upwards, her eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat. She saw something worse than anything her nightmares could create.
A giant spider that had a human torso where its head should be, complete with human arms and a woman's head.
With another screech, it fell from the ceiling, landing perfectly on the floor, its weight making the cement floor crack beneath it.
Each of its eight legs, nearly one and a half meters long, looked like they were made of steel. The spider's abdomen—bloated and pulsating—was even bigger. The human half stood naked, covered in gore, especially around the mouth.
The spider lunged.
The ground shook from the creature's charge, causing Tsukiko to lose balance, but she managed to dodge at the last second.
Gritting her teeth, Tsukiko charged at the creature and slashed at its face—only to be swatted away like a bug.
The hit stole the air from her lungs and smacked her against the wall.
The creature didn't allow her to recover; it quickly closed the distance and attempted to stab her with one of its legs.
She managed to get out of the way, but not fast enough; the creature's leg left a big gash in her left arm.
The beast started laughing, clearly enjoying the pain she felt, a grin making its way across the creature's lips. Seeing the beast distracted and laughing, Tsukiko grabbed the opportunity, sprinted towards it, leaped onto its back, and slashed at the connecting tissue between the human and spider parts of its body.
The spider shrieked and started thrashing about, trying to get her off its back to no avail as its limbs couldn't reach her.
She attacked again, this time slashing its abdomen. The monster let out another blood-curdling shriek and started rolling on the ground, trying to crush her underneath its weight and forcing her off its back.
The creature stood up shakily as thick black blood leaked from its body.
The spider ran towards her again, this time significantly slower. Tsukiko jumped over the creature's attack and drove her claws into the creature's already wounded abdomen.
The monster let out a final screech as it fell to the floor, its body lifeless and unmoving.
Tsukiko stood over the creature, breaths ragged. As the adrenaline drained from her, so did her consciousness.