The plan had been to get out of floor 15 as soon as possible but that had to be delayed all because of Quince.
As soon as the discussion had ended, Quince had fallen unconscious and only woke up after two days’ rest. His wounds had not funny healed when the group decided to start moving about.
Aurora had wanted to wait a bit more for Quince to recover fully but he seemed to not be in a mood to rest.
“Next few floors *had* a ruler until recently. I heard someone offed him and now we are here.”
Aurora looked away as soon as Ava said that. Even if no one pointed it out, she knew that Ava had been talking about her.
But even if things were like this, Aurora could say with confidence that it was not her fault. She could still not remember what had happened at that temple.
“Anyway, watch your steps when you walk. The water might be contaminated so cover your steps in magic.”
That was the only warning Ava gave before something wet and slimy covered Aurora’s feet. The feeling was rather distinctive but it was water that was beneath Aurora’s feet.
Rita certainly jumped at the feeling and even Quince had an annoyed look on his face. That all combined with the bad smell in the air made Aurora’s head hurt.
“Ava, where in the world are we?”
Rita questioned as she felt around for any solid surface. The lack of natural light in their location made it impossible to see what was in front of them.
But despite that, the basics of survival said to get out of the water and gain height. One needed to go as high as one could in such a situation.
“Where else can we be but in a marsh? These used to be a common sight before the abyss but now they are really rare. Watch your steps or your foot might end up in a predator’s jaw.”
Ava warned as she lit up the surroundings. There were a lot of dense trees around the group with low-hanging veins which they used immediately. The height was much needed since there were a lot of eyes on them once they gained the high ground.
“Ugh. It could have been so dangerous down there. I can still see the hunger in that beast’s eyes.”
Rita was not looking scared of the situation. But she did look disgusted with the slimy water that was clinging to her legs as well as the various beasts that were lingering down in the water.
The trees also had moss covering various parts of their surface which made establishing a grip on their surface impossible. Aurora felt like she would slip a few times already.
Thankfully, magic was an omnipotent tool that allowed Aurora to maintain her holding.
“So, what should we do with these monsters now? There must be a reason they are present at this low a level in the abyss but I cannot feel anything different about them….No, wait. Something is weird here. I cannot feel anything from these beasts.”
“Empty beasts.”
Mei sounded surprised about what she was feeling but it was Quince that hissed out the word. Frankly, Aurora was surprised to know the depth of Quince’s knowledge when it came to these things.
He knew a lot more than a person his age and abilities should know. Maybe his unconscious mind was pulling this information out of the dreams of the past he saw.
“Empty beasts? What does that even mean.”
Rita was the only one who was confused. Well, she and Ur but the dragon seemed to not have a care in the world. It was not like any of those beasts would be approaching him anytime soon.
“These creatures are kind of like Ur in the sense that they have magic resistance. But there is much lower than a dragon. Still, don’t fight them if you have another choice.”
Aurora warned as she carefully navigated toward the outside of the forest. There were only a few options to choose from since the forest was too dark.
“There! I can see the light from the open space. Look out for the right side. Beasts are coming from that way.”
Ava warned as Aurora killed the beast trying to aim for her party. With a clean sweep of her spear, the beast’s head was separated from its body and landed down the water.
The darkness surrounding them made it impossible to see the situation downwards but the snipping sound made it evident what was happening.
“Ugh, so gross. Are these beasts eating the dead body of their brethren?”
Rita questioned as his face turned a little green. The situation was not as repulsive as some of the others could become in the abyss.
Aurora had seen so much cannibalism in the abyss that it had ceased to mean anything to her. Beasts without rationality like these Empty Beasts did not care for anyone else but themselves.
“You should be thankful that it is not your head that is being eaten right now. It is not dangerous as long as you keep away from their saliva but if you get caught by them then.”
Ava warned as she tore apart a beast. The happy smile on her face did not match their grim situation.
Had they now known Ava for this long, Aurora would have been sure that something was wrong with her mind.
“Ava, look out to your right. I think that snake is about to spit on you.”
Ava turned in time to block her face from being sprayed by the toxic saliva that the snake beast spat out.
“Ava, are you alright? Y-You said that this thing was toxic. Do you need to rest? Are you going to die?”
“You idiot. The overlooker isn’t going to die from something this small. Most of the abyss effects do not affect them or the gods.”
Rita’s panic was cut through by Quince’s words. Aurora had to admit that Quince was good for his age.
Aurora had not said anything to him regarding Ava but he had ended up guessing the correct thing about her anyway.
‘Then again, Ava is not trying to hide her identity anymore. Her carefree nature is a result of her decision so I can guess how Quince reached this outcome.’
Aurora was busy dealing with her brand of beasts but Ur’s presence nearby made those beasts hesitant to approach.
They were fast traveling across the forest and toward outside. The only thing slowing them down was Ur’s inability to fly faster. The canopy of the trees was hindering his wings from moving.
“Ur, just fly away if you need to. There is no need to wait for us like this and restrict yourself. And by the way, take this burden with you as well.”
“Hey, I am not a…woooh, be careful.”
Aurora threw Quince toward the dragon to get him out of the way. Quince was not a burden to her but his inability to use magic due to his injury would put him in danger.
There was a huge mass of beasts following Aurora and her party which needed to be dealt with.
Once Ur was out of her sight and safe, Aurora turned back toward the approaching beasts. Her dangerous aura along with her shining eyes made her appear extremely dangerous and even the beasts hesitated to take a single step forward.
And when Rita and Ava joined her side, it was even more pressure being exerted. The beasts looked toward Aurora with hesitation in their eyes before they turned tail and ran away.
But not everyone left. Those who were brave enough to face them were sacrificed to Rita and became her contracts.
It was a one-sided massacre. For the first time, Aurora let her tightly held restrain go and killed off without hesitation. It felt liberating to her in many ways and ended so fast that it was not even worth mentioning.
“Ugh, so much blood. Do you think we should get ourselves cleaned up before heading back?”
Rita asked as she held her shirt away from her chest. It gave a rather revealing view of her breasts but the blood took away any enjoyment such a view could have given Aurora.
“Well, we can look for a source of fresh water, or I could just do this and we are ready to head back.”
Ava waved her hand and the party was clean in seconds. It startled even Aurora to see but Ava seemed to find it quite normal.
When faced with twin looks of awe, she only grinned back innocently.
“What? I am the overlooker. This much is easy to do even if this is not my floor. The abyss is my home as well.”
Ava reminded and Aurora calmed down. On the other hand, Rita was too surprised.
“You are a what? Why did you never tell us? And how did that kid know before me?”
Aurora wanted to say that it was because Rita was not observant enough to come to this conclusion but she kept quiet.
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