A loud impact echoed.
The girl was thrown into the air, her eyes wide in shock as her stomach felt like it was being pulled downward.
Her body rolled across the stone floor, about thirty feet from the stone path where she had been attacked by the tendriled creature.
Slowly, she tried to sit up. Her right arm was bound by a chain.
In front of her crouched a girl with shoulder-length wavy hair, wearing a long-sleeved white t-shirt and loose ankle-length pants. A small backpack hung on her back.
"Hey… are you okay?" the girl asked softly, almost inaudible.
"I-I'm… very tired…" the fox girl replied, her breath ragged, chest rising and falling rapidly.
The girl in front of her immediately leaned closer and placed a finger over her lips.
"Shhh… keep your voice down."
"Don't be loud…" she said, pointing toward the stone path stretching into the thick fog.
The fox girl nodded.
It was clear she was afraid of making noise that might attract the mysterious creature that had attacked her.
The two of them hid behind a large rock in one corner of the chamber.
Meanwhile, several gorillas that had entered through the portal growled as they searched for their prey.
Three of them ran onto the stone path leading deeper into the chamber.
After a few dozen steps, a hissing sound echoed.
And—the one in front suddenly stopped.
Fresh blood poured from its legs. Its head was gone, and blood sprayed violently from its neck.
The two behind it froze instantly, their mouths hanging open, eyes filled with terror.
Before they could even process what had happened, the headless body was torn apart by massive tendrils.
Crash! Crash!
The second gorilla stood frozen, while the third—closest to the entrance—screamed in terror and ran back toward the portal.
But—
tendrils with massive bud-like heads lined with sharp, saw-like teeth lunged at it.
In an instant, it was shredded. Blood splattered across the stone path.
Outside the portal, the beasts chasing the fox girl continued pouring in.
Brugman, who had just arrived, stopped.
"Hey! Stop chasing! Don't go in there, you idiots!" he shouted.
But many had already entered.
"Morons…" he growled, turning away.
***
As the creatures witnessed their companions being torn apart, panic spread. They shrieked and scattered.
One by one, gorillas and giant centipedes fell prey to the tendriled monster.
Kingkong a large-sized gorilla roared in fury at the sight. With a thunderous cry, it beat its chest and charged toward the stone path.
A hissing sound echoed as the tendrils attacked.
Bugh!
Kingkong caught a snapping tendril head with both hands.
It yanked it violently and slammed it to the ground, then pinned it down, punching and biting it relentlessly.
But—
the other tendrils did not stay idle.
Several attacked at once, wrapping and striking as kingkong the gorilla struggled.
It continued tearing into the tendril, ripping off part of the flower-like head.
But its own body was shredded, drenched in blood.
Then—
a massive tendril head, four times larger than the others, emerged.
It hissed—and lunged.
Crash!
The giant gorilla was split in half. Its upper body was devoured instantly, leaving only its lower torso and legs on the path.
Silence fell.
The beasts that had entered were now nothing more than scattered blood and remains.
The tendrils slowly retreated back into the edges of the path.
Only one gorilla remained, standing frozen.
Meanwhile, the girl in red remained hidden with the stranger she had just met.
"Lean back. Recover your strength," the girl said, offering her some berries and a bottle of water.
"Are you hungry? Or thirsty?"
The girl in red shifted and leaned against the stone wall.
She took the bottle and drank.
"Thank you… for the water and the fruit."
"Who are you? How did you end up here?" the girl asked quietly.
"My name is Akane… Akane Rio… I… got lost and ended up here," she answered hesitantly.
"Alright, Akane. I have a lot of questions. But first, we need to get out of here and avoid that thing," she said, pointing toward the fog-covered path.
"What about going back through the portal?" Akane asked softly.
"That won't work. I've tried. It's a one-way entrance. You can go in—but not out."
"Look over there!" she said, pointing at the last remaining gorilla.
The gorilla slowly lowered itself and began moving carefully, almost crawling. It paused occasionally, checking its surroundings.
No tendrils emerged near it.
It crawled further along the side of the chamber.
"What a smart monkey…huh!. Come on, Akane. We'll follow it. Don't make a sound."
"But those tendril creatures are dangerous!" Akane whispered nervously.
"So what? You want to stay behind this rock forever? Let's go."
They both moved from behind the rock, carefully stepping onto the stone path.
"Akane, stay behind me. Move slowly."
"I'll make sure the path is safe."
Akane nodded and crawled quietly behind her.
Her face twisted in disgust as she saw chunks of flesh and blood stains scattered across the path.
After moving like that for quite some time—
suddenly, Akane's leg cramped.
Her face tightened in pain.
And—she collapsed onto the stone.
A hissing sound echoed.
A dark shape swung above them.
"What's wrong with you?"
"I… I can't go on…" Akane tried to get up, but her legs wouldn't move. She lay flat on the ground.
Zzzing!
A spinning object flew through the air and struck the stone about twenty feet away from Akane.
Clang!
A tendril head lunged at it, slamming into the ground.
It was a shuriken thrown by the girl ahead.
The tendril hissed, then slowly withdrew back into the fog.
"Stay… right there…" she signaled silently to Akane.
"Hey… are you okay? Don't tell me you passed out."
"She can't move… I guess I'll have to carry her. Tch… figures."
She carefully walked back.
"Just as I thought… she's unconscious."
She lifted Akane onto her back.
Her left hand supported Akane's legs, while her right hand gripped a kusarigama.
"Strange… she's so light. Lighter than a child…"
Carrying Akane, she moved forward again in complete silence.
The deeper they went, the thicker the fog became. Visibility dropped drastically.
Parts of the path looked broken—and on both sides, there were sheer drops into a deep abyss.
"So where are these giant tendrils coming from…?"
"That thing reacts to sound. It attacks anything that makes noise nearby."
"Are they growing from the bottom of the ravine?"
"And this fog… where is it coming from?"
"There's probably water nearby—maybe a river. The fog could be condensation from the cold air."
"Oh… look. Up ahead… that might be the end of the path. Finally…"
She was about to pick up her pace—
when suddenly, the back of her body felt heavy… as if something was pulling her.
And—
a low growl echoed.
***