I think I'm about to throw up.
Or maybe it's just an illusion. Because right now, my stomach is doing a triple backflip, my legs are shaking, and my brain is desperately trying to reboot while the world turns into a fucking waking nightmare.
Right in front of me, Arla just got her head torn off without being able to do a damn thing.
Not by a spell or some fancy Final Fantasy-style magic trap.
No, she just got her head torn off. Like a toy that's been shaken too hard.
I didn't really know her, considering the short time we spent together, but she seemed like someone kind. The kind of person who would help others without expecting anything in return.
Meanwhile, Gried totally lost it and tried to rush in to help Arla even after her death, but he got a solid punch from Selina and ended up in a cosmic KO without being able to do anything.
And me, who didn't know anyone in the city and barely knew the group, I just stood there.
Was I sad for them? I don't know. I've seen a lot of horrible things here, and even though I felt like puking, it's like I was getting used to seeing death everywhere.
Is my human soul and thoughts starting to be replaced by monster instincts?
Because looking at Arla's blood soaking into the dust and staring at what was left of the dead girl in her arms didn't make me feel any sadness.
"We're leaving."
I turned to see Selina starting to carry Gried's body and passing him to Mike so he could carry him.
I pulled myself together and shook off those thoughts before they started to take hold.
"You're not going to help the city?"
Selina turned, looked me straight in the eye… and burst out laughing. A laugh mixed with her own sadness.
"Kid… you don't get it.
There's nothing we can do anymore. Gried's in no state to think straight, and there are too many powerful creatures."
I didn't understand. Sure, the creatures were strong, but they had managed to take down an Arch Taratect together, right?
So why—why couldn't they even save a city now?
And as if Selina had picked up on my thoughts, she continued:
"We clearly don't have the strength to beat them. Last time, we got lucky. It had just evolved, a newly formed Arch.
And with Gried's abilities, as a Hero, it wasn't as hard."
…Hero? Gried's some kind of hero? What the hell?
"System, explain."
[Title: Hero is a special designation granted by the System to one individual selected among human natives. This title greatly boosts all physical and magical abilities.
It is a Title given to a single human and is equivalent to the title of Demon Lord.]
Holy shit—a title equivalent to a Demon Lord? No wonder I thought he was ridiculously broken! I had a guy with a permanent System buff with me. That's not just OP, that's basically New Game Plus with legendary loot included.
But now that he's knocked out, staring into space with a drop of blood on his cheek and hands trembling like a glitched-out NPC… I have questions.
So I do what I do best: I run my mouth.
"By the way, who was the kid? The one Arla called 'my darling.'"
My question was met with an awkward silence. Maybe it wasn't the right time? Or maybe it was. Because in moments like this, if you don't ask now, you'll never get the answer.
"The girl…"
Mike turned to me with an uneasy look, like he didn't want to talk anymore, like I was some monster for not looking sad about the situation.
"She's Arla's daughter. Her name was Galina. She had her a few years before we left the city."
At that moment, my heart clenched. Her daughter? So Arla saw her own daughter dead, her head half-eaten, before dying herself...
"Now you get why Gried's like this? Arla and Gried are siblings, so seeing his niece and his sister die… it's breaking him."
…oh.
"She didn't really look like her."
I don't know why I said that. Maybe to break the tension. Maybe to avoid saying "I'm sorry." Because I'm not even capable of saying that.
Selina gave a faint smile at my comment.
I turned my eyes to the burning city one last time while screams echoed, and bodies could be seen through the disgusting stench. And I felt something rise in me.
Not sadness. Not rage. Something colder. Calmer. A brutal logic: if I stay with them, I'm going to die like Arla.
Or worse… the baby.
I grit my teeth. I look at Selina.
"What are you going to do?"
She didn't answer right away. Then she pointed to a side corridor, an old collapsed hatch.
"We're retreating. We know an escape route that goes through an old tunnel. We'll heal Gried, recover, and… figure it out."
I nodded slowly.
And I lied.
"I'm going with you, then."
Except I'm not going with them.
As we walk and I follow them without making too much noise while some of them try to contain their emotions to avoid dying too, as soon as they're far enough ahead, I take a different corridor.
I'm not a heroine. I'm not a soldier. I'm just a girl—sure, in a monster's body—but with a baby and a half-fried brain that refuses to give up.
Time moves fast. Way too fast.
I don't even know how long it's been since I left the group. Did they notice I was gone?
Maybe. Maybe not.
But in the end, does it matter?
I'm an Oni, and they hate Oni.
Suddenly, a noise snaps me out of my thoughts.
Hooves.
Fast. Heavy. Like a galloping horse.
A… horse? Seriously?
I frown. Well, we've already had giant snakes, corpse-eating spiders, and mutated babies—so a horse is almost cute.
But the sound is getting closer. Fast.
I get into position, knees bent, claws ready.
Pure instinct.
"System, the moment that thing shows up, hit me with the analysis. Fast."
[Yes.]
Ah. He's gotten more responsive.
Side effect of the [Co-Spirit] skill?
If so, I'll have to keep an eye on it. Don't want my digital roommate pulling a fast one someday.
At the corner of a hallway, the creature appears.
And it stares at me.
A gaze glowing with pure hatred.
Its horns are twisted. Its skin dark. Its hooves literally punch into the ground with every step.
It looks like… a deer. A mutant deer on steroids.
[ Elroe Mowajitz Lv 12. ]
I squint.
"Okay. I'm gonna stop commenting on monster names or this'll turn into a running gag."
I crack my fingers. The stress turns into a hint of excitement.
"Alright. You're gonna let me blow off some steam. My stomach's killing me from not eating."
The hallway shakes as the Mowajitz stares me down. Its eyes bloodshot, its breath misty.
This isn't an animal—it's clearly a four-legged tank with horns.
It scrapes the ground and charges at me.
I don't move. Not right away.
Then I pivot at the last second—just in time.
It grazes my hip, but the wind pressure slams me into the wall.
"Holy shit, it's fast."
No way I'm tanking that. Gotta play smart—and I've learned how to handle this.
I dash alongside the wall. It charges blindly, snarling, slamming into the wall as I leap over it, stones flying.
It turns, even angrier.
"That's right, Bambicorn. Play bulldozer."
I fake left, go right, and strike.
Claws outstretched, I slash the back of its leg.
It bellows and kicks.
I dodge just in time, but it doesn't slow down—it follows up.
Second hit. A heavy blow slams into my shoulder.
I roll back as the ground scrapes my skin and I spit some blood.
My left arm is numb.
Doesn't matter. I'm right-handed.
I leap to the side, then launch myself at its flank.
And then I get a stupid idea—I climb onto its back, thinking I'll be safe from its attacks.
It tries to shake me off.
But I cling on, like a leech, and start slashing with my claws over and over without stopping, until it stops moving.
At the neck. Behind the ear. Where its skin seems thinner.
It stumbles and finally loses balance.
I jump off before it collapses.
It crashes to the ground with a groan—but still twitches.
"Damn, you're tough."
I approach cautiously, then finally stab my claw into its eye.
It freezes—and finally stops moving.
I drop to my knees.
No System message congratulating me. No divine light.
Just silence.
And my ragged breath.
I look at my blood-covered hands, feeling my shoulder throb.
I laugh. A little. Nervously.
"No spells. No cheats.
Just some rage and fucking claws."
I had wanted to try a fight without using my skills, and it worked out pretty well. Of course, the difference between now and before is that I've got some combat strategy skills now, obviously.
I get up and decide to head to the corpse to eat it—better recover some skills before moving on.
"Bon appétit, me."