Rabbits… what's their secret? I NEED to know, I must. This world is a mystery but none more than those damn rabbits. Their behavior was strange so he had Ravenna replay that part of the video; she looked almost dead inside.
"Arata… It's been 20 minutes of you staring at nothing, trying to make sense of it. Why don't you just go back to the prison to find these invisible bunnies again? You're not gonna get anything more out of it." She appears exhausted from replaying the same thing over and over again. But Arata chooses to ignore her. She was right, though; there was nothing to make sense of. He decides to watch that creature again just to confirm his suspicion. Looking at the bug almost makes things worse; it's way too big, and none of his weapons would work. He could try fire magic, but Arata felt doubtful that the lock-and-key design would get him so far. However, he knew the solution: blow it up. However, he still decided to confirm.
Staring at her in thought, Arata asks, "Ravenna, if the boss dies, I get the save point right, if I die right after there's no problem?"
"Yes. I already know you plan on blowing it up; that seems to be your go-to against these bugs. Are you sure, though? What if they don't have the same anatomy? Wouldn't you just piss it off and die?" Ravenna asks, unimpressed with his plan.
"Well, that would be true… but are you some kind of mastermind genius with a surefire plan to beat it?" Arata asks dramatically.
Ravenna opens her mouth to speak, she then stops herself. She begins to think in silence as she doesn't want to be wrong. Finally, in defeat, she sighs, "No."
"Then stop talking~" Arata responds, clearly trying to piss her off back for how she's been to him in the past.
Ravenna coldly responds, "Get out now."
Back into the grimy dark stone cell. Still as stuffy and musky as the previous few deaths. The cell wasn't really missed. Arata went through the same process, grabbing weapons and the gasoline, but this time, he headed straight to the nest.
His feet waded through the bloodied water. There are only a few bugs near the area that Arata decided to kill using the javelin he found. Exploring the area, he notices a spiral staircase that was flooded with larvae. I need to chase them up the stairs and exterminate the nest. I dunno how flammable the mucus is though.
They all seemed to congregate in that area, which drew Arata's interest. He decided to pour out a bit of his gasoline onto the spearhead; the smell of it clears a path for him as he ascends upwards. Arata pokes and prods his spear around every corner as he moves; the bugs scurry. When he is met with shock, the creature is asleep, but out of its mouth come bugs crawling in and out of it. He scouts the room, which extends out into the hallway where the guard's rooms were.
The ground… it pulses, what is it made of? Looks pretty gross. A bug larva walks up to a pillar as the muscles interwoven with the nest contract in response, opening up a hole in the tissue to embrace the bug.
Nope… I am not going to try stepping on that! Arata pulls his foot back quickly before it touches the slimy, pulsating floor.
Arata covers one of his swords in gasoline and then pulls out a knife, also covering it. The plan was suicidal; he'd distract the bugs, then use the remaining gasoline on the main body of the giant bug. Foolproof, if this fails… what am I kidding? This plan sucks.
Luckily, the boss only needed to die and there would be a save according to Ravenna. Throwing the knife, he watches as it pierces a bit of exposed flesh. Firstly, distract the beast.
The boss wakes up, letting out a blood-curdling scream as it moves to inspect the knife. The nest slowly begins to move, reforming itself into the body of the creature; it was Arata's chance. The floor that was originally made out of flesh begins to pull apart, and the lower floors are visible where the holes were.
I'm on a timer now! The floor is giving out. Arata ran, dashing towards the boss as his sword lit up with a glowing flicker. Arata feels in the moment, his ears are screaming, heart pumping but the end of this nightmare is sight.
He barely manages not to fall as the bug rushes after the part that was stabbed. The thing was tunnel-visioned and didn't manage to see Arata. Arata closed in on its side, Arata braced himself to slice into the creature when suddenly his foot slipped. He barely caught himself as the floor had fallen out from beneath him, he stumbled, jumping towards the creature when he slashed them.
As flames dance across the creature's body, it began to scream, flailing everywhere, while Arata is really close to the creature. Arata was vulnerable, as the burning creature, in a fit of rage, slams its legs into Arata, which sends Arata rag-dolling across the room. Arata hears his ribs crunch as he is slammed into a stone wall. As he falls, he feels the damage. The remaining gasoline in the bottle spilled out, pouring down onto him from the wall when he hit it. He coughs up a little blood and can't move his legs; his lower spine was smashed too hard.
Shit- but I guess as long as the bug dies I'll be fine... Are you kidding me?! Arata's body barely has any time to recover; he's in far too much pain to think.
The bug flipped over onto its side, smothering the flames before charging at Arata. Its mouth engulfed Arata; he watched in horror as the sharp teeth ready to rip him to pieces closed in; however, in a flash of genius, he set himself on fire with his remaining magic. The creature can't halt its acceleration as Arata is inside the creature's mouth. The giant bug crashes into the wall, stuck in place with its mouth open.
Death… funny thing is… I don't think I have anything left to lose. I'll kill it if it's the last thing I do. Arata feels adrenaline coursing through his body, the air around him freezes as something within his very core ignites.
The flames begin to spread, Arata's eardrums ruptured as it lets out the worst scream it's made. Arata wouldn't die, not until the fire bolstering his strength died out. Yet the flame was also killing him; his body broke apart, but his soul refused to break as well.
AHHHH!! This pain, it's the worst thing I've ever felt. But it's almost euphoric. I'm taking this thing with me, no matter what! Arata's lower half was already turned to ash but he kept making more fire, stabbing and prodding at the creature.
His body had been pushed beyond what he should be able to do. However, he was shaking, unstable, as he only felt the mana pumping through his body. That mana was the only thing that kept him alive yet he quickly ran out. The last thing Arata sees in this life is the flames flickering outwards in an explosion before his vision fades, returning him to the theater.