Creatures Lurking in the Dark

Five months after the battle at Lamiryu castle

 

Due to the extensive damage caused by the corrupted monsters, many countries were still recovering. In addition, because of the conscription to fight the war, the population heavily leaned on females, with a ratio of about 5:1.

 

However, thanks to magic, women were as strong as men, so the labor forces were not lacking anyway. No matter what races or differences between them, all the races knew that their foolish war amongst themselves had caused the birth of the calamity known as crystallized miasma and the corrupted monsters born from it.

 

Thus they learned how to adapt, accept, help, and work together to heal the scars it left.

 

Lutenburg Republic, located north of the now destroyed Lamiryu, one of the three frontline countries fighting against corrupted monsters, suffered the most damage, not to mention Lutenburg was once used to be on par with Alte's might.

 

To help with the recovery, Eris, the Witch of Eternity, chose to stay there.

 

With just less than five years, Lutenburg, with Eris's help, could finally be called a country once again if one were to compare it to five years ago.

 

Many villages and towns were rebuilt, and the capital was mostly restored to its former glory. Despite the scars left in its people's hearts, they believed they could build a better future for their loved ones and later generations.

 

Within this country, the existence of the adventure guild contributed tremendously to its growth. The birth of the adventure guild was considered to be proof of coexistence between the races. Leaders of each race had decided that cooperation was needed to eradicate the threat of corrupted monsters.

 

Thus the solution was the creation of the adventure guild. Its members, known as adventurers, took requests from the country to either gather items, help people, build construction, or clear monster-infested areas. They have a ranking system starting from bronze, silver, gold, and above them all, platinum which so far only Eris, Marianne, Masahito, Stellar, and Serra had achieved.  

 

Within Lutenburg, a renowned party of four B-rank adventures made their base of operation here. This party's strength was known to many, and if not for the requirement of accomplishing a numerous amount of requests, they would have been A rank.

 

A strong-looking blonde-haired man in his 30 with a greatsword strapped on his back, the leader of this party, was talking to a cat girl receptionist.

 

The man was called Ardy. He had spiky red hair. He donned a brownish leather armor, iron knee pads and elbow pads on his body.

 

The receptionist's name was Aina. She had a orange cat tail, and on top of her head were two cat ears of the same color, a trait of a cat race person.

 

She looked to be in her 30s with a charming smile. Her long and beautiful legs hid behind the counter. Her height was around 170 centimeters.

 

She was a veteran adventurer who used to be a scout. She had retired and now worked as a receptionist for the guild after she got married, though she had yet to mother any child.

 

Her breasts were on the slender side, but the beautiful shape was emphasized perfectly with her guild uniforms.

 

"Hello, Aina-san. Do you have any requests with good rewards available?" (Ardy) 

 

"A good day to everyone. We have just received a request to investigate the forest around Kato village, which is about three days on foot from here. The village chief there commissioned a request to investigate the disappearance of their livestock. The chief suspects that it has something to do with the monsters living in the forest." (Aina) 

 

"What about the rewards?" (Ardy) 

 

"The chief requested an investigation, and if possible, deal with the problem. Here are the details and the rewards offered. And the chief said their village will take care of your lodging and meals." (Aina)

 

Next to Ardy stood a cheerful beauty.

 

Her name was Lainey. She was about 160 centimeters tall, and her wavy chestnut hair flowed down just past her shoulders.

 

She wore leather armor covering her supple breast, which was not so big but definitely not on the smaller side. Her bare stomach showed a thin waist and belly button that could charm any men who caught sight of her.

 

On her hips were two daggers in their sheath, a typical weapon of choice for scouter. Her healthy firm legs, which almost entirely laid bare if not for the short pants she was wearing, were alluring.

 

"Oh! Not a bad one, although a little far away." (Lainey) 

 

"Agree. It should be able to cover our drinking funds for a few days after we finish the request." (Ardy)

 

"Is drinking the only thing that ever runs through that brain of yours?" (Lainey)

 

"Heh, you talk like you ain't gonna drink at all!" (Ardy)

 

"Shush!" Lainey slightly jabbed at Ardy's shoulder with her elbow.

 

"Hahaha. Ok, Aina-san, we will take that request. Please sign us up for that." (Ardy)

 

"Got it. Please be careful, everyone." (Aina)

 

Ardy and Lainey then walked back and regrouped with the other two of their party, who were sitting at a table not far from there: a girl who looked young and a big man sitting next to her. 

 

"Welcome back. Have you got any good request from Aina san?" The blue hair girl sitting at the table waved at them. 

 

The girl's name was Lynn.

 

As a member of the demon race in her 20s, she looked just like a small girl in a bob-cut hairstyle, a head shorter than Lainey, about 150 centimeters.

 

No one could have believed that she was a B rank adventurer.

 

She wore a dark blue robe that almost reached her ankle and a black mantle half of the robe's length. Her legs peeked out from under the robe, covered in calf-length red socks. She had a staff about as tall as her leaning on the table.

 

"Heya Lynn! Yup, it looks like we got a good one this time. We were lucky to arrive right before it went public." Lainey waved back.

 

Ardy and Lainey explained the details of the request.

 

"Let's go then. Do we need to do any preparation? I'm itching to test out my new shield." A buff man with gray hair sat next to Lynn said.

 

His name is Lark, the tanker of this party. He was covered in full body armor made out of iron, leaving out only his face. A big shield was strapped on his back.

 

"Nope. We only need to pack up some preserved food for the trip. The best part about this request is that the village chief, who commissioned this quest, will take care of our lodging and meal while we stay there." (Ardy)

 

"Perfect! Let's finish this request as soon as possible and have a blast after that." (Lark)

 

"Give me a moment," Lynn said as she down the rest of her fruit juice.

 

The party of four, which consisted of a warrior, a tanker, a scout, and a mage, set out to Kato village.

 

None the wiser of the tragedy that was about to befall on them.

 

Would they be able to escape their fate? Would they succumb to the tragedy that was waiting for them? Only time could tell.

 

Two weeks ago, in the Southern forest of Lutenburg

 

It had been a while since the threat of corrupted monsters disappeared. Finally, the ecosystems around the area returned to how it supposed to be.

 

Birds were chirping on a tree branch, bathing in the sunlight.

 

A rabbit was munching on leaves on the ground.

 

A snake was chasing a mouse under the tree.

 

After hundreds of years of war came a peaceful era, and that was what everyone thought.

 

No one knew that this peaceful era was as fickle as an ill-fated destiny.

A rustling sound came from a bush below a tree.

 

Swoosh...

 

The birds scattered, and silence once again reigned in this forest like a reminder of the past.

 

In the bush, a worm-like creature was preying on the rabbit it caught. Two tentacles bound the rabbit, slowly draining it of its life force.

 

A minute passed, and now the rabbit looked like a mummified corpse.

 

It had arrived.

 

The herald of calamity had finally arrived at this land, where the remaining scars from the last war had yet to be healed.

 

No one would have thought the small size worm would pose a threat to the entire civilization.

 

It was just about 20 centimeters long.

 

It had been crawling slowly from the direction of Lamiryu wasteland. On its way, it consumed many more insects and animals alike.

 

With its intelligence, it gained knowledge about its prey's habits, habitats, and weaknesses: a creature born to be the apex predator, the bane of everything in existence.

 

It became the top of the food chain the moment it stepped into this forest.

 

The worm started to move again after its meal.

 

Its destination was a small cave.

 

In front of the cave, three green humanoid monsters stood guard. They were known as goblins, a type of monster, although weak and possessed low intelligent, could attack and destroy a whole village with their numbers—a perfect prey for the worm.

 

Unfortunately, due to the failure in transferring the power of its previous host, it had lost the ability to propagate directly using females from other species.

 

However, it had found another way to do that.

 

The answer it arrived at was the use of parasites. It could control the host and increase its "army."

 

The worm stood in the bush and observed those three goblins for about two hours.

 

It had spent months crawling to this place, just a few hours waiting in patience is nothing for it.

 

Rustle... rustle...

 

The worm deemed that it was time to act. Using the tentacles, it shaked the bush next to it, creating a rustling sound to attract the goblin guards' attention.

 

The three goblins all turned toward the source of the noise, and they said something to each other. Then two of them slowly walked toward the bush with their clubs in their hands. They walked into the bush, looked around, and decided to go a little bit further to investigate.

 

Ten minutes passed...

 

The remaining goblin looked restless. Finally, it decided to pick up the club by its feet and also approach the bush. When it was almost there, the first two goblins suddenly went out to meet it.

 

Goblins were weak because they were not smart. They were monsters that followed a primitive way of life.

 

Had it been smart, it would have realized something wrong with the first two goblins. Their face looked strained, drool and snot continuously flowing from their mouths and noses.

 

Suddenly, the two goblins grabbed the last goblin by its shoulders, covered its mouth, and pinned it on the ground.

 

There was a quiet mumble, and then it went silent.

 

Just like that, the worm took over a goblin nest with barely any amount of resistance.

 

The worm then controlled the goblin to gather food and store them deep inside the cave. Controlled as they were, they still needed food to sustain their life.

 

Maybe it was unfortunate for the worm, this was the first time it attempted to control a large number of hosts, so the goblins couldn't perfectly execute the order.

 

The controlled goblins unintentionally attacked a nearby village, stealing some of their livestock.

 

Five days later, the village called Kato realized that many of their livestock were missing, with many traces of goblins around the area, such as claw marks and footprints.

 

They tried to build a better fence or lay traps, but the situation did not improve.

 

They finally came to an agreement that this had gone out of their hand and commissioned a request to the adventure guild.

 

Back to the present.

 

Ardy, Lainey, Lark, and Lynn finally arrived at Kato village late afternoon.

 

"Phew~ We are finally here." (Lainey)

 

"Let's go meet the village chief to ask about the situation, and hopefully, he could arrange us somewhere to stay." (Ardy)

 

Everyone nodded, and after asking for directions to the village chief's house, they met and discussed the issue.

 

The adventurers and the chief agreed that they should rest now and started the investigation early in the morning the following day.

 

Due to the war, the population had dropped, and because of the plan to slowly expand Kato village into a big town with the purpose of recovering Lamiryu, many houses were left empty. So the group of four was fortunately assigned to a whole house for themselves. 

 

"Whoa~ We got a whole house for ourselves. Lucky!" (Lainey)

 

"Yeah, this house is also cleaned and tidied, unlike someone's room." (Lark)

 

"Ehem! Let's talk about our plan for tomorrow." Ardy cleared his throat, trying to change the subject.

 

Lainey and Lynn both looked at Ardy with a pitiful leer from their eyes.

 

"So Lainey, you went around the village to look for traces left behind, right? Have you found anything?" (Lynn)

 

"Yeah, I definitely saw traces of goblins raid. But something is weird." (Lainey)

 

"Weird? How come?" (Lark)

 

"Well, you see, goblins are stupid, right? They can't work up a plan for a sneak in and often go up front looking for a fight." (Lainey)

 

"True." (Ardy)

 

"But from what I saw, they definitely knew and flawlessly executed their raid. For example, the fence I saw is quite high. A normal goblin couldn't make it to the other side. But there they were, sneaking around the village under everyone's nose." (Lainey)

 

"Could there be a higher species of goblin that could lead them?" (Lark)

 

"I don't think so. If that were the case, then we would have a goblin stampede to deal with. A higher species of goblins only appear when their population surpasses the threshold, which would then require a large amount of food to feed them, thus causing the stampede." (Ardy)

 

"Hm, maybe it's not actually a goblin, but something disguised as a goblin?" (Lynn)

 

"Well, we don't have anything concrete right now. Let's find out tomorrow." Lainey shook her shoulders, and decided to leave it for tomorrow.

 

"Ok, let's hit the sack and start the investigation early tomorrow." (Ardy)

 

The following day, the adventure group entered the forest to look for clues.

 

The forest was quiet, unnaturally quiet. Maybe because of the heat brought by the forest's high humidity, so other animals went into a shelter.

 

The group didn't really give it much thought and focused solely on looking for the goblin's traces.

 

Finally, they found a cave at around noon time.

 

"Weird, that is definitely a goblin cave, but there's not a single guard at the entrance. I also don't see any traps or alarm." (Lainey)

 

"Could it be abandoned?" (Lark)

 

"Or maybe they have gone out to hunt?" (Lynn)

 

"I'm not sure. Well, we can only find out by checking the inside." (Lainey)

 

"Let's go. Everyone, stay alert. Lark, you take point." (Ardy)

 

"Roger that." Lark gripped his shield as he moved toward the cave.

 

"Lynn, give me some light." (Lark)

 

"Ok. Light up the darkness, Illumination." Lynn casted a light spell on Lark's shield to light up the dark cave.

 

They then entered the cave with Lark at the front, followed by Ardy, Lainey, and Lynn. The four advanced slowly deeper into the cave, thinking that they would only deal with the goblin.

 

They didn't know.

 

No one had ever thought that such an existence, far worse than the goblins, had been shadowing them the moment the four entered the cave.

 

It was hidden on a small concave part of the ceiling, following the four as they proceeded deeper inside. 

 

"Look to the left, Lark. You see that small tunnel hidden in the dark over there? It could be a trap." (Lainey) 

 

"Got it," Lark said as he slowly walked toward the tunnel, Shield on his left and hammer on his right hand readied. 

 

"There seems to be a drop at the end of the tunnel." (Lark) 

 

"We can't really check the bottom with this, and it seems to be quite a long fall to the bottom." (Lainey) 

 

"Let's go back to the main tunnel. Just in case, I'll set a trap magic circle to bind anything that steps on it." (Lynn) 

 

Lynn then casted a spell at the entrance. Then the group continued to proceed deeper inside the cave. 

 

The entire time, the worm monster was observing them. Then, as the group went deeper, the worm ordered the goblins that were hiding in the hole to make a move.

The first few goblins climbed up and stepped onto the magic circle to set off the trap, effectively covering the entire circle, which was about a meter in diameter. Then the remaining goblins followed, using the trapped goblins as stepping stones.

 

The scene looked so surreal that no one could have believed it had they not seen it. 

 

Goblins are dumb. That was common knowledge. 

 

Everyone knew it, and it was the basic of basics to know your enemies' traits to fight against them. Lynn was like that, and all her party members were no exception. 

 

That was why she was confident in the trap magic circle she just set. 

 

What could some dumb goblins possibly do anything about it? 

 

But what those goblins, under the worm creature's control, were doing right now made one question such common knowledge. 

 

 

Thus the gear of fate started to spin. 

 

"Wait, Lark! There’s something ahead!" Lainey warned everyone. 

 

She saw some silhouettes moving in the dark. 

 

"Everyone! Prepare for battle! It's the goblins!" Ardy said as he gripped the handle of his greatsword.

 

"ORA ORA ORA! Come at me, you piece of shit!" Lark, as the tanker of the party, rushed forward, followed by Ardy. 

 

Lainey stayed closer to Lynn at the back to cover for her at the back.

 

There were a little more than ten goblins shrieking at them. A number that could in no way pose a threat to this veteran party. 

 

Normally that is. Due to the insufficient lighting of the dark cave, no one realized how strange these goblins were. Their eyes looked dead, with their running noses and lines of drool running down at the corner of their mouth. 

 

"HAHA! Is that all you've got? Come here so I can put you out of your misery." Lark shouted. 

 

These goblins started throwing pieces of rock at them, which Lark handled with ease.

 

Normal goblins would rush at them with weapons. However, there was rarely a case where they would keep a distance and attack with projectiles. Even then, they would just throw a rock or two and rush in with their clubs.

 

Maybe because the party thought that their enemies were just some dumb goblins, they didn't find it strange as the adrenaline rushed to their heads in the heat of the battle. These goblins were clearly keeping a distance from them.

 

"I said! Come here! Stop running like a coward!" Lark rushed ahead of the party.

 

"Don't chase them too far, Lark!" (Ardy) "It's ok, cover him, Ardy. I will guard Lynn." (Lainey) 

 

Ardy nodded and ran up to Lark.

 

" *Chuckle* Boys will always be boys. It looks like my turn is not today." (Lynn) 

 

Ardy and Lark then started chasing after the fleeing goblins. 

 

No, it was not "chasing after." Instead, they were "lured in" by the goblins. 

 

The floor under them suddenly vanished, revealing sharp spikes pointing upward. 

 

"Wh...at" (Lark) 

 

"Huh..." (Ardy) 

 

Were the last words that Lark and Ardy could say as they fell down to their demise. 

 

"KYAAAAAAH!!!" Lainey screamed as she rushed toward where the two fell, witnessing the gruesome sights of their mangle bodies being impaled by countless sharp spikes 

 

"N... no way..." Lynn dropped down to the ground and froze in one place. Barely a word escaped her pale lips. 

 

Finally, the fleeing goblins turned back. They walked around the collapsed floor, approaching the weeping Lainey. 

 

Seeing the approaching goblins, Lainey wiped her tears and rushed back toward Lynn. 

 

"We have to escape. Stand up, Lynn!" (Lainey) 

 

"Y... yes" (Lynn) 

 

As the two were running back to the cave's entrance. Another group of five goblins blocked the way. 

 

"Impossible! How!? Did we miss any tunnel???" (Lynn) 

 

"Lynn, listen to me. I will hold them back. You have to escape from here and report this to the guild. These goblins' behaviors are too weird." 

 

Lainey said to Lynn, sweat profusely pouring out on her face and her sweaty hands gripped tightly onto her trusted daggers. 

 

"What are you saying!? We will make it out of here. I will not leave you behind!" (Lynn) 

 

Lainey knew that even if Lynn stayed to help her, they wouldn't be able to escape in one piece. She knew the fate of women who were captured by goblins. They would be subjected to cruelty far worse than death. Lynn staying here would just add another victim to the count.

 

So she had to let at least Lynn escape from here. Hopeful that the reinforcement would arrive in time to rescue her before her mind broke. 

 

Soon after, the goblins behind caught up to them. Now the two were caught up in a pincer attack. 

 

"Lynn, Listen!! You have to go. There are too many even for us. It's ok. I will catch up with you soon. I'm confident in my speed after all." Smiling, Lainey put her hand on Lynn's shoulders to reassure her. 

 

"Promise me! You have to escape as soon as you can, ok!?" Lynn looked at Lainey, tears threatening to flow out from her eyes. 

 

"Hahaha, I promise. Now go!" Lainey said as she readied her daggers and rushed toward the five goblins blocking the path. 

 

She made sure that Lynn got away before letting out a deep sigh, "I'm sorry, Lynn." before she was swarmed by more than ten goblins from the front and behind. 

 

"Hah... hah... hah... Please be safe, Lainey. I will definitely come back with help." Lynn was desperately running toward the exit. Her breathing was frantic. 

 

"What..... how can it be???" Lynn saw the side tunnel that she had casted her magic circle. 

 

Some goblins, bound and writhing, were lying on top of it, trying to break free. 

 

"It can't be! How can mere goblins coordinate with each other like this??? This is not normal. The guild needs to be informed about this!" The sight in front of Lynn was just too bizarre. Her mind was jumbled. 

 

They were goblins. Small fries monsters that even a farmer could kill with a hoe. And those small fries were currently performing perfect teamwork outside of the norm. 

 

After running for a bit longer, Lynn finally saw the exit.

 

"Hah... hah.. hah... Just a bit longer. Please stay safe, Lainey." (Lynn) 

 

Just a bit longer, and Lynn could get out of this godforsaken cave. Maybe that was why she let her guard down. Two small tentacles suddenly shot out like a whip. 

 

One hit the back of Lynn's head, and the other wrapped itself around her waist to stop her from falling face-first to the hard floor. 

 

"Urgh..." Lynn's vision was cut off there. 

 

Behind Lynn, the worm creature crawled out from behind a rock. It had been cleverly setting traps to catch its prey, waiting patiently, 

 

The worm carried Lynn's unconscious body with great care and slowly brought her back to its nest in the depth of the cave. 

 

On its way, the worm regrouped with its goblin underlings. Four of them were carrying the limbs of the unconscious Lainey. 

 

Opposite to Lynn's attire, Lainey's looks were miserable. 

 

Her daggers were broken on the ground, her body full of bruises and scratches, her armor broken, and her clothes tattered. 

 

The worm ordered all of the goblins to bring Lainey back to the nest.

 

Had it been normal goblins that captured them, then their fate would still be preferable, though it is questionable how one still preferred to be treated as breeding tools by goblins.

 

But the worm creature was controlling these goblins, and unlike the normal goblins, the two women's fate would be a rhapsody of despair waiting for them at its nest.

 

......

 

...

 

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