*Munch* *Crunch* Sounds of tough chewing echoed through the cavernous mouth of the monsters lair. Hard bread was one of the few things I despised about dungeon crawling, the tough gritty sensation grinded against my canines causing me apparent visible distress. Leah chuckled at my poorly hidden grimace, "Kitty just remember the faster we clear the floor the faster we get rid of this" she stated waving around her share of our rocklike food. Leanord ever the tough guy chimed in "Ya knew what you signed up for, stop huffin' and puffin'". I deigned his statement too annoying to respond too and simply levelled him with an even deadpan stare.
"Less talking more eating and walking, we have about 2 rooms left according to the map". Oscar striding in his role as the designated peace maker, immediately shot down the commotion.
His ability to garner respect still baffled me. Seriously, it's not his strength, plenty of people can garner reluctant compliance but for people to actively be willing to follow orders is a whole other ball game. A natural leader, a born one even. A party with 6 strong personalities and he leads it effortlessly. The most experienced, the strongest and the most selfless. A true hero manifest and my inspiration.
I've voiced my goal to him before…
***
"Your recklessness is going to get yourself, or someone else hurt. You need to remain calm in the field, your capable but impulsive". Bowing my head at the reprimand, something else welled up inside me. I blurted without thinking "then teach me, I'll stand in your place". A cold breeze of dread brushed across my face, a newcomer a week and a half in and just told the party- no the familia leader that he was trying to usurp his position. I tensed up, I wasn't stupid I'd heard the stories adventurers have been gutted for less. I slowly dragged my eyes up to meet his. Waiting for me was not the harshness I expected but rather a soft curve under each eye. "Sure kid, back to the point, think before you act"
***
I felt a tug at the core of my body, rousing me from my musing. A new sense, one id recently acquired at the cost of great effort and a fair amount of blood, alerted me to a presence. As a newly acquired ability, it was hardly very useful, perhaps only to alert for approaching enemies. Yet, faint as it was, this signal shook me to my core. I tried to voice out my alarm, do anything to let my party run, get a head start on the approaching grim reaper and yet nothing. A paralysis born from fear and instinct took over.
A few seconds passed, yet for me it was an eternity. Finally, by the grace of god the sole human of the party noticed. "Hey! Kitty what's up with you". Looking at my face she was about to voice her concern over its paleness when a pair of thuds rang out. Her eyebrows furrowed. Then another pair. Then another. The intervals became shorter and then, it clicked. Knowledge of my ability and dungeon knowledge came together and prompted her to scream out
"Get the fuck out now, a-!". A sound of wind being displaced reached my ears. Then time once again became fickle. A crushing sound echoed across the chamber, then a slow wet splattering. then heavy and loud breathing. Where Leah was just leaning over to examine my face was a forearm as three quarters the thickness of my body, draped in pitch black fur that seemed to absorb the minimal light permeating the dungeon darkness, obscuring my vision.
My neck creaked to the left seeing a headless body, neck bloody wearing what was once Leah's combat outfit. I then slowly turned to the right first seeing shard of creamy white bone sticking out from pieces of pink flesh now drenched in blood. Strewn in a vertical formation was what I could only assume to be the pinkness brain matter. Strangely I felt nothing seeing the remains of what used to be my party member, if anything I felt wholly relaxed, so calm my mind felt as if it was floating in detachment.
Oddly enough no movement interrupted my observations, the only sounds which punctuated was the rhythmic heavy breathing. Finally, I decided to observe the cause of this weird situation. Looking up and to my left I locked eyes with a beast, a behemoth even. With a flat nose and horns upon its head. Its eyes were pure black and beady. Every breath it took accompanied my steam on contact with the chilly dungeon air. My first thought was intriguing 'what's a minotaur doing here?'. My second perhaps even more so 'why am I not dead yet?'.
The corners of its lips quirked up, or maybe It was my imagination. I concluded that this was either torture or its last mercy; remembering how and why I died.
Then my body finally caught up with my mind and the adrenaline rush prompted the only reasonable response. Stumbling to the ground and scrambling to back up away from the demon in my vision. I began shouting incoherently "Help! Get awa- *cough* *cough* AAAH! Back! GET BACK!".
I heard a group of reminiscent noises around me. Almost laughable in how light their movement sounded when compared to the demon. "No! NO! NO, RUN! GET AWAY! YOU'LL DIE!".
From the corner of my visions blurry figures burst forth. A great axe swung upwards towards the demon's head and the giant barely flinched as the weapon struck its neck. Whatever embers of hope had surged at my team's charge were immediately doused, when a grinding sound rung out and the only effect from our leader and our strongest members attack was a thin, faint grey line across its carotid region.
From behind I could not see their faces and yet the slight pause in the chaos of battle was enough, we knew we had lost. Escape was our only hope. It seems that the beast disagreed and with one grunt and swipe form its hands hanging at its thighs; three of our remaining members were put out of commission. One with a deep laceration diagonally across his thigh, the second to be hit by the strike, lucky enough to face a blow with most of its force dispersed. The others not so much. The third to be hit by the strike was mid jump hoping to strike from behind, but the claws lodged within his serratus anterior begged to differ.
The animal ripped its hand back and left the body to crash to the ground with a bone jarring thud. Deep within my heart I felt there was no hope, with my meagre field medical knowledge he'd bleed out within minutes. The monster took two steps to the scrambling man, his injured thigh preventing his escape.
"FUCK Fuck fu-". Another familiar squishing and splattering sound echoed across the cavern. Cruel. The only way to describe this animal whose foot rose slowly, almost as if to give a chance and dodging only to bring it down with unimaginable speed and force.
A body lay unconscious to the murderers right. The first to be hit 'Os- Oscar…'. He's dead. No… he's still breathing. It seemed the monster also saw the shallow, slow rise and fall of the Boaz's chest. I could've sworn it grinned. It leant over obscuring my sight, yet as it rose in its extended arm lay my captain.
'Fuck'. I tried to move I swear I did. Fear was my binding, and I was helpless as I saw it bring its prey up to its lip and bite down. Crunch. This wasn't instinct, this was revenge. The way it killed lined up 'exactly where it was injured…'.
There's something wrong, I'm scared yet I've never felt so clear headed. Yet this sudden self-reflection and clarity meant nothing: I'm still frozen and I'm still going to die. Yet even at this realization, I only felt contentment. 'I lived a good life; I met good people. I guess I wish I was with them longer but my teammates- no I guess my family; I'm just happy we met.'.
Blood ran down from cheek straight into my lip. I guess I'm joining Sam, at least we can laugh at the way we died together in heaven. Strange, I thought as the blood seeped between my lip, its salty. I brought my hand up to wipe it away, yet upon inspection the liquid was clear not crimson.
I'm crying.
I don't want to die.
Why, why me.
I'm talented. I have a future. I should survive, even if they don't.
I'm selfish.
No, I'm honest.
Why. Why! WHY!
Tears begin to pour. Between sobs I was confused. Hit by the fact that I should be dead. My blurred vision saw a pair of legs approaching and I ripped my gaze upwards. An unmistakeable grin met my sight. FUCK!
A rhythmic pounding noise sounded in my ears. HATE. Heat rose rapidly from my feet to my neck. Then slowly it crept through my head building behind my eyes and in my brain. KILL. I felt unprecedent clarity alongside a cloud of rage. A growl erupted from my throat "I'm gonna kill you-!".
As I jumped to my feet and started to run to my inevitable death, unwilling to go down without a fight. Something blurred across my vision from left to right across the monster's head. I instinctively tried to track it, before I locked back onto the more pressing issue only to find it falling, headless. The heat immediately drained, leaving me exhausted.
Looking in front, to my right I saw a silver-Gray haired wolf man. He spoke. "Hey..." spotting the tail sprouting from my behind, he grinned and continued "Pussy, quit your crying and report to the guild. 'minotaur's on the upper floors, Loki Familia containment in progress'". He dashed away. Leaving me to drag and cradle the bits and pieces of my teammates. Before Mustering enough initiative following my saviours' orders.