Chapter 21: Diverging Paths

Right now, Rueben and Sara were looking at two pathways leading to the other.

What was special about these pathways is the obvious difference between the two.

Yet It seemed as if these two were similar, uncanny like. Each floor tiles, furniture, carpet….

The only difference between the two is that the left one was dark and gloomy while the right one was bloody and filled with countless corpses of beasts and monsters alike.

One example was a head of a beast that seemed to resemble that of a beaver clawing the skin of a fish like beast. The fish like beast had a fish for a body with human arms for legs that seemed to be used to walk or run in long distances on the land while its tail resembles that of rotting feet that were glued together to form fins.

A hand that stretches outwards, grabbing the intestine inside a body of a beast, one eating the brains of what seemed to resemble a bear like beast, a large monster that had its countless tree branch like arms stabbed through 30 different type of beast that had their organs out in the open for view.

Overall, it was quite a messy and bloody scene. The worst of it all, everything here was dead.

Rueben didn't sense any movement nor any slight breathing from them so he assumed that they were all dead from how their corpses that they left behind were rotting.

Their blood already forming puddles on the floor, the rotting stench of their corpses already suggests they had died far longer than Rueben had imagined. He could've gone and poured oil and burned these corpses but if it wasn't for him already ran out of it that he didn't burn them.

This was also the reason why he avoided fighting with monsters or beasts, because if he continues on, more corpses would pile, the disease will spread even more inside this labyrinth of a cellar.

His eyes narrowed to a slit.

He could take the path to the gloomy darkness but he could not gain the confidence of fighting anything in the darkness while protecting Sara.

If he goes to the bloody path, he would only let Sara see the carnage of the mess inside and this would affect her mind later on.

He was worried that such a sight would traumatize her further.

He could completely blind her using a blindfold but remember, the eyes are not the only sense.

Sara clung to him and softly whispered, "…Rueben, I think we should go to that side."

She pointed at the left, to the darkness that he knows hide enemies, giving them a large advantage over him. You would never know when an enemy that you cannot see would come out of the darkness.

Although Rueben could sense anything that moves within 5 meters of him, he knows that darkness would largely make his senses go numb. Darkness was an ally to Hunters because it would reduce their presence by a lot and would give them a large advantage to their prey.

That is if the Hunter was thoroughly prepared to ambush their prey.

Beasts and Monsters on the other hand, could naturally blend with the darkness and this gives them a large advantage against Hunters.

Darkness gave both sides advantages, the only way to win a fight on the dark is to either light the place up, or attack the opponent first. And Beasts mostly does this more than Hunters.

Hunters were curious about Beasts and Monster's ability to naturally blend with darkness.

Was it because of the beastly blood within them? Was it because of their animalistic instincts?

Or was it because they looked less like human that they were able to blend with darkness completely.

Rueben frowned as he thought of the pros and cons of the decision, he looked at Sara, who looked as if she was enchanted by something as she continued to look at the darkness.

His eyes narrowed into a slit and looked towards the blood path and considered.

The bloody traumatizing path?

Or.

The deep dark abyss?

Tough choice.

Rueben then noticed that the entire hallway became dark. The lights that were somehow making the entire area dimly lit up were already gone, as if something just had snapped the light out of those things.

He looked around as he held Sara in his arms deeply.

He then felt something weird, he knows for a damn fact that Sara was not this smooth.

Her hair was not this long nor was it this curly. Her arms were smooth like porcelain as if she was a mannequin, her cheeks were stone cold.

He looked at her and saw a different girl, making him go punch the doll in the face, breaking it into countless pieces like glass. He kicked the doll away and growled angrily.

He then started looking around, trying to find Sara as he mentally told himself to calm down and assess the situation first.

But he was worried about Sara. Such a young girl must be protected, most of all, she was his student, all the more reason for him to fear the worst and worry about her.

"Damn it… How did I make such a massive mistake just by thinking?" He clenched his fists, fully knowing the consequences of leaving Sara alone in the dark.

What if she would get eaten by beasts?

What if she was injured and had to hide?

What if she was bleeding?

What if she tripped and fell down?

All kinds of worrying thoughts flew on Rueben's mind, making him forget that Sara had a talent to erase her presence completely as long as she was out of sight.

Rueben gulped as he tried to calm himself down as his face started to go pale from the worry.

"Damn it… Damn it…"

He knows that it was stupid to yell something in the darkness as it would alert anything in here but he was desperate. So, he uttered and shouted, fully knowing the consequences he had to face if he does this.

But this was really the only way he could think of to try and find Sara in complete darkness.

Rueben shouted, "Sara!! Where are you!!?"

He was desperate at this point.