243 Defense Mechanism
Fang and I were running along the top of the digestive fluid.
Honestly, looking at Fang running ahead of me, I was reminded of that one Ninja anime that I watched before. If not for all the fillers, it was a pretty good anime...
While I was reminiscing, we reached a bend. Fang, without much hesitation, jumped straight down, but I saw her face change into shock as soon as she did. I tried to stop at the edge, but with how I'm carrying someone on my back, the momentum alone was enough to send me beyond the edge. There, I saw the reason why Fang's face changed.
The intestine changed from a curved path into a deep and long track vertically downward. I almost felt my soul leave my body as I fell down, but I quickly steeled my resolve. I was falling already; after all, there was no other choice.
I saw Fang landing, spreading energy to cover her whole body and ignoring the splashing digestive fluid before proceeding ahead, clearing the way for our landing.
"Hup!"
With two people's weight, I expected to sink, but the energy I spread around was surprisingly enough to keep me afloat. Well, I caused a large splash upon landing, though, sending the digestive fluid all over the place. It splashed even on top of us, probably enough to make us melt if not for the energy barrier protecting us.
"Hnngh... What..."
At that moment, the figure on my back started to squirm, as if she were waking up.
"Eh... Kyaaah!"
And as soon as she opened her eyes, seeing the wall of digestive fluids splashing around, she raised her voice in shock, almost falling off my back.
"Q-Queen Thalia, please calm down!"
She still flailed around for a while before calming down and noticing that she was on my back.
"W-Will...? Why did you bring me here?! Do you want to go on suicide or something?!"
Without hesitation, she grabbed my hair and started pulling wildly.
"Ouch! Wai-! Stop! Wait!"
I tried to calm her down, but she didn't stop for a good few minutes. I could only stand there awkwardly, supporting her soft buttocks to not let her fall off and into the digestive fluids right below our feet.
"Finally calm?"
I finally asked after a long wait. Although I couldn't hear her answer, I could feel a slight nudge from behind, probably coming from her nodding her head.
Slowly, I explained the chain of events and why we were there. How we dropped down the broken floor and suddenly were in here, with Noir nowhere to be seen. After hearing that we don't have an idea where this is, she finally opened her mouth to speak.
"... This place is the stomach of the Dragon King, as we call it. It's a separate space where we send death row prisoners to their deaths."
However, it seems that the seal should only open up when there are more than ten people coming in. What's more, it has a limit of 100 before it closes automatically.
"That's why I find it weird. There are only three of us, so Noir shouldn't have been locked out..."
"Right..."
As I trailed off, trying to think of the reason, I remembered the ring that was connected to thousands of other tamers 24/7.
"I think it was my ring that caused the wrong count. This thing is connected to a lot of tamers, so their presence must've been detected by the barrier."
It's a pretty wild theory that we can't check for credibility, but that's the only plausible explanation we have right now. The reason we entered isn't important anyway, but the way to escape.
"So, you said that you just need to go to a place closer to the skin to get saved by your companions?"
Queen Thalia asked again to confirm. She placed one hand on her chin as she tried to think hard about something.
"I'm not entirely sure, but I can probably guide you to such a place."
"Really?"
I'm thankful if that's true, but since this place isn't something that she had entered before, she wasn't entirely sure about it either.
"Yes. First, let's look for a gap in the walls."
"Fang!"
"Yes, Leader!"
Without the need to relay my orders, Fang quickly rushed ahead, searching the walls for one with a gap. By the way, Queen Thalia told us that this place was really the small intestines of the Dragon King.
The digestive fluids covering it were potent enough to melt even iron in seconds. Queen Thalia was actually surprised that I and Fang could run around on top of it, completely unaffected.
"Leader, I found one!"
Fang, about a hundred or so meters ahead, shouted with a cheery voice. She was waving her hands wide, along with her tail, as she indicated the location where the "gap" on the walls was.
"Good job, Fang."
I praised her but couldn't pat her head as my hands were busy holding Queen Thalia in place.
"So we just enter here?"
"As far as my knowledge goes, this should lead us to a much easier path to the surface... I think."
Although she tried to sound confident, with our lives on the line, I could feel the nervousness in her voice. Her hands were even trembling a bit, completely different from how she was at first, not even afraid of death. This must be her true color—a woman who's not really ready to accept death in an unforgiving place such as this.
I stared at the hole in the wall as if it were a black ulcer on the intestines. I gulped and steeled my resolve before taking a step into it. The meaty flaps felt disgusting, but I pushed them away with my head. As soon as I exited, I felt blood run down my face.
"F*ck! I almost fell!"
The outside of the ulcer-like hole was an endless darkness leading up and down. I used one hand to stabilize myself, avoiding an accidental fall due to slipping on my foothold.
As if reading my mind, Queen Thalia slowly climbed up the wall of meat on the outside, reaching a part where it was wide and flat enough to stand up. I followed soon, climbing with great care to not fall. Fang was the same, scaling the intestine's outside with careful steps.
"Phew..."
After reaching the middle part, both Fang and I heaved sighs of relief. It was nerve-wracking, after all, as the fall route is just as dark as the middle of a cloudy night. Looking closer, we can even barely see where we are grabbing. The entire surrounding area was even darker than inside the intestines, for some reason.
"...!"
However, despite the darkness, Fang and I quickly stood up and rushed to Queen Thalia's side. I moved to her right side, while Fang was on the other side, standing as if to protect her.
"What? What's going on...?"
However, the person in question was completely unaware of the situation. It didn't last long, though, as soon enough, a weird sound started echoing around. It was the sound of something slithering and approaching.
"What the f... Parasites?!"
I can't help but raise my voice upon seeing the disgusting white figure that approached us from literally all directions. They were large, as big as a common house dog, and approached at the speed of a cockroach. Honestly, it was unsettling to look at.
Another problem, however, loomed its ugly head as soon as the parasite-looking things approached. We can't damage them!
Their bodies were like fluid that gets deformed from attacks but doesn't show signs of getting damaged at all. As a last-ditch effort, Fang and I just pushed them off the edge. However, even with that, we were slowly getting surrounded.
"... Prepare to run!"
Staying in place would only lead to a battle of attrition. For now, we could only try to escape!
An update after a long rest!
Sorry everyone, for my health, has failed you and me.
I hope I won't need to get another long rest in the near future...
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