My Demons

The sewer became increasingly monotonous, with its unending darkness, sporadic water droplets, the pungent odor of decay, and occasional appearances of cockroaches.

Although the sewer served as a maintenance facility rather than a labyrinth, it still had a somewhat predictable layout.

Furthermore, my repeated searches and explorations had made me well-acquainted with its layout, allowing me to navigate it confidently even without a map.

While there were occasional encounters with bloated zombies in the water, we rarely came across any other monsters. This was likely due to our diligent efforts in keeping the sewers clean as we moved through them.

Thanks to these factors, we reached the fourth underground floor in less than an hour.

This was the very level where we had disposed of Tobald and his associates and uncovered the secret passage.

At the moment, I believe there are three significant threats.

The first one is undoubtedly the sewer’s monsters. Not just the black slimes or giant crocodiles we’ve already encountered, but if we happen upon something like a ‘Stone Golem,’ it could pose a danger.

Next up are the bandit rogues. We’ve caused quite a commotion by breaching the secret passage twice, so unless they’re foolish, they must have implemented some form of special precautions.

If those precautions involve sealing off the passage, that’s acceptable. However, if their plan is to infiltrate through the sewers, we might encounter bandits down here as well.

Lastly, the city’s traitors… Even if their reinforcements were dispatched promptly, they likely won’t arrive ahead of us. For now, we should be safe.

I listened attentively but detected no signs of anyone.

Neither Luke nor I possessed tracking skills, so we couldn’t discern any traces of Ellen.

There were footprints scattered about, but there was no way to determine when or by whom they were made.

First and foremost, we needed to reach the secret passage as swiftly as possible.

In the game, the size and composition of the ‘Sewer’ mini-dungeon were randomly generated by the server.

It could consist of two surface layers (Ancient Empire’s Sewer) and three deep layers (Decaying Tunnel), or five surface layers and one deep layer… there were numerous possibilities.

From our exploration and mapping thus far, this world’s surface layer comprised of four floors.

Considering the entire sewer spans from a minimum of five to a maximum of eight floors, the deep layer could range from one to three floors. Hopefully, we wouldn’t have to venture into the deep layers.

At the lowest level of the surface layer, the fourth underground floor, there were staircases to the northwest, northeast, and south, centered around the ‘caretaker’s room.’

Of course, this information was based on the blueprint, and due to the passage of time, only remnants remained of the ‘caretaker’s room’ and the northwest staircase.

We opted to use the northeast staircase among the remaining two.

It was the most familiar and convenient route to descend, though it was somewhat distant from the westward secret passage.

Did Ellen also take this path?

Hmm, she might have chosen the south staircase, which is relatively closer to the secret passage.

Was it due to our inability to find her traces?

Random thoughts cluttered my mind.

Lost in contemplation while walking, Luke, who was following behind, spoke up.

“Did you hear anything?”

“…No, not yet. I haven’t detected any signs.”

Luke let out a deep sigh after pausing to listen. The torchlight cast fleeting shadows across his face, giving it a somber appearance.

I spoke, perplexed, as I shifted my steps.

“Do you have a granddaughter?”

“Hmm? Are you asking about a granddaughter?”

“Well, if not a granddaughter, then perhaps a grandson…”

In response to my question, Luke wore a puzzled expression.

Oh, was that an inappropriate question?

Luke chuckled bitterly and shook his head.

“No, I don’t have a granddaughter or even a daughter. I’ve never been married.”

“Really?”

Luke appeared to be well into his fifties, and he wasn’t married? Well, it didn’t seem to be a particular concern.

“Is it because of the teachings of the ‘Spiritual Gate’?” I inquired.

Luke let out another bitter laugh. “Well, one could interpret it that way.”

“Ah…”

I contemplated pressing further but decided to drop the subject. It was challenging to gauge whether this was an impolite question or not.

“Why did you bring that up all of a sudden?”

“No specific reason… You’ve only known Ellen for a short time, yet you’re so concerned. I was curious if you had thoughts about granddaughters.”

“I see.”

As we traversed the strewn debris, Luke spoke up.

“Granddaughter, huh. I don’t know much about it, but even if I had a real granddaughter, I wouldn’t be this worried.”

“Oh?”

“Didn’t I mention? Ellen is a rare soul bearer. She’s not someone who should get lost in a place like this.”

“Ah.”

…It seemed that Luke wasn’t entirely ordinary either. Were all hero characters like this?

As I pondered this and fell silent,

Clang.

“…Hm?”

“What’s wrong?”

I halted, bringing the tip of my sword to my lips to signal Luke to be silent. Seeing my focused attention, Luke also held his breath.

…….Arrrgh,…………

Kerrrh.

What on Earth was that sound?

The faint noise emanating directly ahead resembled bubbling water—a peculiar sound.

Could it be akin to the sound of people conversing while feeling like they’re submerged?

In addition to that, there was an intermittent noise reminiscent of someone slapping a wet towel on the floor.

“Prepare for battle. There’s something ahead.”

I whispered this and handed the torch to Luke.

With his pole and torch gripped firmly in both hands, Luke prepared himself, while I unsheathed my sword.

The blade of my sword, meticulously sharpened and wiped with an oiled rag, emitted a brilliant light that pierced the darkness.

I signaled Luke to maintain a reasonable distance and coated my blade with blood.

The light reflected off my armor scattered in various directions, but due to the numerous dents and scratches, it wasn’t too conspicuous.

-Agrrhg, Grhoog, Gerererek.

Carefully listening to the increasingly pronounced sounds, I moved with stealth, akin to a cat burglar for a brief moment.

-Ghrrrug!

The voice was unintelligible, but its alertness was evident.

The bubbling sound gradually subsided, replaced by a pungent, fishy odor that stung my nostrils.

Eerie voices, wet footsteps, and an overpowering fishy stench.

It wasn’t difficult to deduce their identities.

But why were these individuals appearing here? Weren’t they the minions of the ‘Priest’?

I set aside my bewildering thoughts and concealed myself in a passage that made a 90-degree turn, awaiting their emergence.

I signaled Luke to stay about 20 meters behind me with the torch. As the darkness enveloped us, visibility dwindled…

For a moment, I pressed against the wall, holding my breath as footsteps drew nearer.

As something finally turned the corner, I swung my sword vigorously.

“Karrrgh!”

The blade lodged in its throat drew blood, and the monster emitted a scream before stumbling backward.

The ensuing creatures leaped and unleashed terrifying shrieks as they quickly readied themselves for battle.

They were repulsive beings.

Despite walking on two legs and wielding weapons, their grotesque appearance made it abundantly clear they were anything but human.

Covered in grimy brown scales, they stood at roughly my height.

Their bulging lifeless eyes and fluttering gills at their jaws were unsettling.

Fins ran down their arms and spine, and their large mouths brimmed with sharp teeth.

In their hands – some clutching rusty swords while others wielded bone harpoons – were webbed fingers.

They were identified as ‘Walking Groupers,’ a faction of ‘Merfolk.’

Within the Darkworld community, they were commonly referred to as ‘Groupers.’ Observing them rolling their eyes and emitting shrieks—

“Ugh, so repulsive.” It seemed that my past experiences had taught me to transform my disgust into anger.

I swung my weapon, the falchion, deflecting the closest foe’s attack with my shield even before he could swing his skeletal arm.

Snap!

“Gregh.”

Before he could let out a proper scream, his head split in two, and he collapsed to the ground.

His eyeless countenance appeared to glare at me.

Ugh, I felt like I was on the verge of vomiting.

“Come at me, you fish-like bastards!”

My shout reverberated through the narrow passage, and the groupers seemed to widen their mouths defiantly.

-Gurrrgh!

What kind of sound was that…

When they all emitted a guttural groan simultaneously, it felt as though my head was ringing.

I clenched my teeth and charged at them.

“Keregh!”

“Uhgrrr!”

They, too, advanced toward me, each wielding their respective weapons. Despite their intimidating appearance, their combat skills were abysmal.

Clang!

I deflected their strikes with my shield, absorbed them with my armor, and continued to swing my falchion.

One of the groupers held a sword in a clumsy defensive stance, but my falchion shattered its corroded blade and sliced through its gills.

I kicked aside the falling creature and swiftly leaped to the other side, cutting through the necks and chests of two more groupers.

That’s when it happened.

“Arghun, Rahuk, Terrgh!”

As I turned my head in response to the strange chant, I spotted a naked woman holding a staff and glaring at me.

No, not a naked woman – a peculiar aquatic being.

At first glance, she resembled a beautiful woman, but her hands and feet were equipped with fins, and golden scales adorned her pelvis, shoulders, and groin.

Thanks to her complete lack of clothing, the stunning contours of her body were fully exposed.

Her slender, long hair moved chaotically, as if it were submerged in water, and where one would expect ears, rounded gills protruded.

She possessed the eyes, nose, lips, and snow-white skin of a beautiful woman, but the absence of any flush in her complexion exuded an eerie vibe.

“…Golden Molly?”

Among the randomly appearing named entities, this was an exceptionally rare monster.

Its ability was…

“Shurhaan!”

With a sharp shout, a jet of water gushed forth from a staff crafted from coral, bone, and seashell.

“Cough, gurgle!”

The high-pressure stream of water, precisely aimed at my head, exhibited tremendous force.

Losing my balance as though struck by a sledgehammer, the forcefully ejected water began to accumulate on the ground rather than flowing away.

As if blocked by an invisible barrier, the water level quickly rose within the narrow corridor.

“Puhak.”

I swiftly turned my head and raised my shield to intercept the stream.

Seizing the moment, one of the groupers aimed its barbed tail at my back.

With a quick movement of my left foot, I thrust downward with my falchion.

Thud!

There was no time to finish off the disarmed creature.

Golden Molly continued to unleash streams of water, and another grouper charged toward me.

In a hurry, I swung my falchion to deflect its blade, but clang!

It seemed as though the creature never intended to use a weapon in the first place, lunging at me with its mouth agape!

Crunch!

The grouper’s mouth crushed my head in an instant.