Chapter 133: Ren Got Captured
Deep red tendrils spread out, sticking to the walls and the ground, reaching from the shadows. A smell that was kind of familiar but also strange hit Ren’s nose.
Ren paused, taking slow steps backwards. He was standing where it was bright, in the chilly and wet underground. Behind him, warm orange flames danced, every now and then there was a loud boom.
That fire? Ren made that. He went down deeper, grabbing every bit of fuel, bombs, and strong weapons he could find. He used them without holding back, causing chaos. There were blasts and fires everywhere he went.
When he got really deep underground, he looked up. The sky was super far away, hidden by tall levels on both sides. A huge and scary underground city went up and up, with pipes and platforms hanging everywhere. In some spots, burning fires shone like little stars. They didn’t light up everything, but you could see the path Ren made, stained with blood.
Half of Ren’s body glowed in the orange-red light from the flames. He held a big knife in one hand, dripping with blood. In his other hand, he carried a gravity weapon on his back.
He was so covered in blood that he couldn’t even remember how many days he’d been fighting without a break. It was amazing he got this far without collapsing.
Finally, he smelled the familiar scent he’d been looking for. But before he could even enjoy that, a huge and spooky creature came out of the dark. It kind of looked like a Kestrel, but he wasn’t sure.
"She" didn’t know who Ren was.
Ren carefully looked at the tendrils, trying to find the face he remembered so well among them.
Suddenly, the tendrils charged at him, looking really mad, coming from every side.
He lifted the gravity gun. This was something he picked up in the underground city, a super cool weapon made by really smart humans from ancient days. It was super strong; one shot could blow up everything close by.
Ren aimed at a big column and fired. Even this strong pillar couldn’t stand against such a violent powerhouse.
The gravity around got super heavy, squishing the pillar right away. The ceiling broke apart, and stuff fell down, blocking the tendrils for a bit.
Ren moved back, but the tendrils were quick, following him. The big, deep-red arms smacked into the walls, making a huge sound.
"These tendrils are so strong and fast. They don’t look like Kestrel’s at all," Ren kept telling himself. "This must be a creature that’s like her in some ways but not her. If it was her, she’d know me."
Suddenly, a tendril shot up from the ground, wrapping around Ren’s leg quickly. As he was yanked forward, Ren tried to use his red knife to cut the tendril off.
Ren had really good eyesight. Even in that quick moment, under the light of his blade, he saw something different about the tendril’s skin. There was a clear line where one part of the tendril looked different from the other.
The skin above that line looked fresher, and lighter, as if it had recently grown back after being cut.
It reminded him of a time just a few months ago, in the Polluted Zone of the Erdtree. There, one of Kestrel’s tendrils had been chopped off by the pighead man’s sharp weapon.
Ren stopped his knife mid-swing. The super-sharp red blade he held just hovered there in the air.
"Cut it now! If you wait, you’re in trouble!" the unique voice from his knife’s handle warned.
Ren remembered this tendril. It used to playfully touch him, pulling at his clothes and socks, and sometimes even sneakily touched his skin when he wasn’t looking. Of all Kestrel’s tendrils, this one teased him the most.
But this was also the tendril that would gently touch Ren’s head to make him feel better and lead him to a safe and warm place.
Ren remembered when it was last hurt, and how it showed him its injury, telling him how much it hurt.
Now, with his knife so close to the tendril, he just couldn’t cut it.
But while Ren recognized the tendril, the tendril didn’t seem to remember him. It squeezed his leg and pulled him down hard. Many more tendrils came up, grabbing Ren from everywhere.
Ren let go of his blade and tried to push away the slimy tendrils using his hands. He fought hard, almost getting free, but another tendril grabbed his foot and yanked him back.
Soon, more tendrils surrounded him, holding him tightly. They wrapped around his waist, legs, held his hands up, and even squeezed his neck, making it hard for him to breathe.
Ren tried to move, but couldn’t.
"I wonder what I caught," a voice said from somewhere. It sounded playful and familiar. "He feels warm, sweet, and juicy. Such an interesting catch."
That voice was light and playful, clearly Kestrel’s. But she was saying things in a weird way. It was like she was far away, but also whispering right next to Ren.
"Kestrel, that’s a human. A real, living person. He’s important," another voice, Taja’s, piped up. She stood a bit away, in her white dress, with a mischievous smile on her face.
The tendrils wrapped tightly around Ren, making him fight against their hold.
"Easy there, don’t move too much. Good boy, I don’t want to harm you," Kestrel whispered, her voice calm and comforting, as if she was trying to calm a restless pet or a treasured toy.
She gently touched Ren’s neck, tracing a path along his Adam’s apple. It felt cold and wet. With a soft warning, she hinted that if he didn’t stop struggling, she might just tighten her grip and choke him.
Surrounding them, there were sounds of something big and wet moving closer in the shadows.
The dim light from the flames revealed a pale creature with no eyes and a long tail. It moved forward, its skin brushing against the rough wall. It stretched its neck, showing its sharp teeth and growling at Ren, who lay trapped on the ground. One of its arms was missing, probably blown off during a fight with Ren earlier.
Another weird creature swooped down from the ceiling, hanging upside down. It opened its mouth wide, making a strange laughing sound that sounded oddly like a person’s laugh. Ren recognized it, having chopped off one of its wings with his knife before.
Many more creatures, all different shapes and sizes, started to gather around him, showing their teeth and hissing. Ren had faced these monsters before and had hurt many of them. They clearly remembered, and they didn’t seem happy to see him again. Some even spoke in broken words, cursing at him, while others just growled their anger.
Taja watched from a distance, saying, "Kestrel, looks like you found yourself a new toy too. How fun! Maybe you should play with him a bit more, and use your psychic power to make his feelings sharper. But be careful. Humans can break easily. And when they break, they lose everything that made them interesting. They just become empty."
Next to Taja was her new alpha, staring blankly, as if lost. He looked like a doll that belonged to her, not really alive, just existing.
All around, creatures stared at Ren, their eyes locked onto him. Ren wanted nothing more than to get up and fight them off.
Suddenly, a pale, glowing arm reached out from the sea of tendrils. On its wrist was a bracelet that swirled in black and white.
Ren’s eyes widened. That was the bracelet he had given to Kestrel.
