Fast.
"Ugh... ah...!!"
The things that looked like beasts, charging at us with irregular movements, boasted considerable agility.
"Tch..."
Whoosh—!
With their nimble movements causing countless attacks to miss, we were having a rough time of it.
Now and then, we tried forming an encirclement formation according to Ms. Otis's plan, but they simply slipped through every time with their quick movements.
"Ah... ah...!!"
Still, they didn't seem all that aggressive, so I thought we'd win if we just kept this up.
Once they started getting hit, it would never end, so if just one of us could pin them down, we could crush them under a barrage of chained attacks.
That much was true.
With our numbers pressing the attack, even those two beasts couldn't evade everything.
If this kept up, we'd win.
...Yes, if it kept up like this.
The anomaly began the moment one of them was struck by the fourth attack.
About three of the prisoners surrounded it and unleashed a chain attack.
Chain... was a bit generous, since one person had merely managed to pin it down while the other two attacked, but still.
Just as the fourth strike landed cleanly, it let out a huge shriek.
"Ugh... uaaaaah!!!"
And then, somehow, its movements began to grow faster and faster.
As if it had gone berserk.
Whoosh——
It suddenly leaped high and lunged at Ms. Faust, the one who had just pinned it down.
Slash, slash!!
"Damn..."
Crunch, crunch.
And then, under the beast's wild clawing, Ms. Faust was completely deprived of breath.
"Crazy..."
What the hell?
In that split second, it changed its attack pattern and literally tore one of us apart.
Its speed, number of attacks, and the force behind them had all changed drastically compared to before it was hit.
...If I keep listing only hopeless things like this, there'll be no end to it.
With the battle situation turning unstable in an instant, my chilled mind worked nonstop.
Given the circumstances, it was almost certain that this berserk state was triggered on the third hit.
That muscle monster with eyes all over it from before had a similar gimmick, so there was no need to doubt it too much.
The problem was how long that state would last... damn, unfortunately, it had turned its gaze on me.
That alone might not have mattered, but the important thing was that it had crouched low like it was about to charge at any second.
The moment I sensed the threat, I took a stance to counter it.
Even if I dodged that, judging by what it had done earlier, it would definitely lunge again.
Rather than walking a tightrope several times, it would be better in every way to stop it in one go.
And the instant it charged, my eyes—my field of vision—began to accelerate slightly.
Whoooosh—
In the slowed world, I could see it rushing at me, slowly, sluggishly.
My own movements had probably slowed too, but that didn't matter much.
The moment I realized its attack was aimed at my upper body, I bent down.
Then I waited for the timing when it would pass over me...
Now.
Thud——!!
As the focused state of my eyes, which I'd somehow become able to use naturally, released, the sound of a heavy blow landing squarely on the beast's abdomen rang out.
"K... ugh..."
As it stiffened for a moment from the precisely targeted strike, I thrust my spear into it.
Squelch—!
I quickly withdrew the spear and reset my stance.
Thwack—!
"That creature's weakness is exposed."
At just the right moment, Yi Sang completely shattered its posture.
A clear opening.
If we missed this timing, killing it would be a serious pain.
Apparently the prisoners had all reached the same conclusion, because they began hammering the staggered beast with attacks one after another.
"Ugh..."
Before long, it collapsed with a final gasp.
Then... this battle would be over soon.
Before long, the last remaining beast was brought down by the combined assault of eleven people, excluding Heathcliff, who had already died, and Ms. Faust, who had been ambushed earlier.
One more person had died when it suddenly entered its berserk state after we thought we'd taken down about half of them, but the clock was quickly turned back, so it wasn't a major loss.
Though I supposed it might be rather sad news for Mr. Dante.
Still, to think they'd gone mad enough to use an actual inquisitor as a sacrifice and create something like an Abnormality... had they lost their minds that badly?
Honestly, I sincerely hoped those people would never manifest personalities.
I had no confidence I could keep my sanity while fighting alongside monsters like that.
I don't exactly fight in a sane state to begin with, but that doesn't mean I can't tell friend from foe.
Seriously, if they had personalities, I was confident I'd recognize them as enemies and attack them.
...In any case, after that battle, we entered the lower floor.
Well, nothing was especially different.
It was just the second basement of the Lobotomy Corporation branch, remodeled into the inquisitors' base.
Torture devices everywhere, and the residents of Kalf Village dying from torture.
It was a disgusting, loathsome sight no different from the first floor.
Whistle——!
Ah, there was one difference.
That... whistle, heard intermittently from time to time.
My instincts picked up on it so blatantly that gooseflesh rose all over my body.
Every time Sinclair heard that whistle, his face would drain white and his whole body would tremble.
"Hup!"
Crunch!
Even so, there was no problem dealing with the 죄종s, which weren't much different from those on the first floor.
As we advanced while handling the enemies without much trouble, a rotten stench drifted in from somewhere.
"Tch, what is that smell..."
Turning toward the source, I saw a beastified inquisitor collapsed in a corner.
...That smell was really something else.
I had a fairly strong stomach, but this was foul enough to make me want to pinch my nose shut.
If I was reacting like this, the other prisoners didn't need to be mentioned.
"It's dead..."
So it was the stink of a corpse rotting away.
I had smelled that kind of thing before, but this was the first time I'd ever smelled the reek of a person who had been eroded by E.G.O and turned into a beast rotting in death.
I was about to back away a little, wondering if I really needed to approach it, when I noticed something glinting somewhere on the corpse.
"Looks like there's something over there?"
Mr. Dante had seen it too, and spoke to us in a slightly uncertain tone.
I could see something shining, sure... but the prisoners were openly reluctant.
Hah, looks like I'll have to step up.
"Uh... anyone willing?"
I really didn't want to go out there... Apparently there wasn't anyone better suited than me.
Mr. Dante was also just silently looking at me.
...Unable to ignore him, I quietly raised my hand.
"Then please do."
Now I'm even digging through rotten corpses.
I'd thought that while rummaging through rotten organs before, but I never imagined I'd be digging through a corpse itself.
I rolled up my sleeves as far as I could and shoved my hand into the corpse's fur.
Squelch.
The sensation was awful, in so many ways.
When I put my hand into the mane, which probably hadn't felt great to begin with, the first thing I felt was dampness.
Guess the corpse was leaking moisture or something.
It was already foul, and now it was damp too, making it feel twice as disgusting.
Forcing myself to ignore that horrible texture, I relied on my eyes and searched through the corpse until I felt something hard catch against my hand.
Rustle—
I grabbed it and pulled it out.
Ugh, damn. The smell is insane, seriously.
Never in my life did I think I'd smell something like this so close up.
It feels like my right arm has been contaminated.
Still, I did manage to pull out that shining thing, which looked like an N Corp seal, so I guess that's fine.
Ha... how did I end up in a situation like this?
I casually shook off my arm and rejoined the prisoners... wait, Ms. Rodion, where are you going?
"Ugh... Sara, sorry, but that arm..."
"Even so, that reaction hurts my feelings, you know?"
"I-I'm sorry, but could you maybe stand a little farther away...?"
...I can't be the only one dying here.
"H-hey, Sara? Why do you keep coming closer...? Wait, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I said I'm sorry!"
"Who do you think you are, trying to be the only one comfortable here!!"
"Eek!! It stinks, so get away!"
And so, after successfully rubbing my right arm all over Ms. Rodion's body, I stood beside Mr. Dante with a refreshed expression.
Apparently Mr. Dante's body was the kind that couldn't smell anything.
He was also the slowest to react to that rotten stench.
"Saramago, you're really okay...?"
Uh... come to think of it?
"Well... honestly, I hadn't thought about the cleanup afterward."
"······."
For now, the smell had kept Ms. Rodion from coming near me, so wouldn't the future me just handle it somehow later?
What was certain was that the one getting screwed over wasn't me right now.
The future me would sort it out somehow.
It's fine as long as it's now.
Yes, yes.
All I could do was pray for the future me's soul.
Hang in there, future me!