The Nature Of Things.

In the depths of the cave. Monsters, goblins, and Ogre's alike stumbled about confused. Something moved among them, reaping their lives as though it meant nothing.

The thing that haunted them couldn't be seen.

Heard.

Felt.

It was an unknown, a force they had never had the chance to reckon or understand. Although these monsters had a lick of intelligence, it was barely enough for them to comprehend what was happening about them.

And as such, they did what any feral beast would. They ran.

Shadow smiled as he slid out of a small crevice in the wall. He materialized himself and let out a puff of breath. He could see his perspiration.

It was damn cold in the cave. Or maybe it was just this section, but he couldn't be too sure.

He was running out of time.

Shadow spread his senses outward as he had done above the chasm. He needed to know the layout of the cave if he were to kill each and every one of them.

He couldn't risk getting Diarrhea. Somehow that scared him more than Mana reflux.

He caught his breath suddenly. Humans?

His head snapped up in the direction in which he had sensed them, immediately he dashed into a run. He had no idea that humans had come this far down.

Were they here to raid as well? Or perhaps scouts?

He couldn't know which it was until he saw them.

He bent through twists and turns, blindly running and unaware of his location. But he wasn't bothered in the slightest.

His shadow sense would lead the way. Shadow smiled at himself, the convenience of his attribute was nothing short of amazing.

After a few moments, Shadow came face to face with a wooden door. It was huge, made of thick oak wood and metal bars to keep the wood in place.

This was something that no normal human could budge, not even move. Maybe half a dozen could but that was it.

Shadow still hadn't gotten used to how everyone could choose to wield mana if they so decided to.

He placed his hand on the surface of the door. The wood was cracked and smelled of mold. It was an old door, something that had been used continuously over and over again.

He could feel shadows moving ahead in front of him. Just beyond the door. He could tell they were alive but the only reason why they were still there was for one singular reason.

They were hostages.

Shadow slid his way through the door. He didn't need to force or try to pry it open. None of that was necessary for him.

As soon as he stepped into the other side of the door and opened his eyes, Shadows mouth dropped.

No…

This was something he had hoped to never see again from his last life. But here it was.

When it happened in his past life, he was revolted and blamed the human nature. Blamed out desired and lack of self-control to keep ourselves in check.

But now…

While humans were still the victims, the perpetrators were not. He felt a bit conflicted but forced himself to look either way.

"Who's there…" A soft feminine voice called out. No doubt she had heard Shadow's steps.

"Have you brought my medicine. I need more" an ecstatic voice called out from further beyond.

"I can't take it anymore… Please… Help!" This was a man's voice. His voice bore the pain and addiction he currently suffered.

But Shadow wasn't bothered by these people, a bit further down. He could see some chained women.

Laid in shackles and beaten to a pulp. And yet, they lived, not because they wanted too.

But because these goblins needed them too.

These women were pregnant. Bellies swollen beyond compare. Laid out in discomfort as they turned and moved about in pain.

With every step shadow took, he could feel the hands of the prisoners reaching out to him. Trying to grab at his feet, clothes, hair, but they were bound by their chains.

"Uuuuurhhh" he heard the women in front of him grain in pain.

Her belly moved unnaturally, as though something was inside and moved about recklessly. Shadow did his best to hold his breath in.

It smelled of rotting bodies.

"Help me…" The pregnant woman reached out to him, wounded hands stretched forward, trying to feel Shadows touch.

But he simply stood there and watched in horror. And soon, the unspeakable happened.

Right before Shadow's very eyes, the woman began screaming in pain, the movements in her belly became more prominent, violent.

She spread her legs wide open as… Baby goblins crawled out from her.

Shadow took a step back, resisting the urge to throw up. He watched.

Little baby goblins, innocent of their nature came out of the pregnant woman. Her screams resounded through the hollow spaces surrounding them.

The other prisoners treated this as a normality.

They kept crawling out one after the other, scratching and ripping off her flesh in the process. Her screams turned to wails and despair.

Her eyes focused on Shadows. He watched her with the same intensity as she watched him. Her eyes, begging for one thing.

Death.

With a swift movement, Shadow drove his dagger into her chest, ripping a hole through her chest.

The woman smiled at Shadow and mouthed something. No sound was heard after that.

But Shadow didn't need to hear the words to know what she had said.

'Thank you!' 

The word resounded in the very center of his being, he looked around the prisoners and saw some of similar fates.

He wanted to blame the system for bringing him into this mess. He gritted his teeth and mouthed thanks instead.

Thank you, Syl. I haven't felt this angry in a long time.

HEHE!

Shadow's attention turned to the infant goblins that had just been born, that knew nothing of how they had been brought into this world. He watched them crawl up the body of the woman who had birthed them.

It was their nature he told himself as he gripped his dagger harder.

They began feeding on the flesh of their mother.

It's their nature!

The goblins clawed at the happy face of the woman before she died.

Their nature!

But his body moved against his will, in less than a heartbeat. The bodies of the infant goblins lay severed in a pool of blood.

Damn it.

But before Shadow had time to recollect himself, he heard screams further into the cave.

He ran towards it.

And came face to face with three naked women, abused and drugged. But, they weren't alone, there were also six goblins with the naked women.

Of course, they were mating with the human women. 

Shadow gripped his dagger tighter than ever. His lips curved into a very wicked smile.