Escape (2)

Slosh.

There was a puddle of water on the floor. Was it a trace of underground water?

We joined those who had come down earlier and raised our lanterns high. Though the light was faint and couldn't push back the darkness on the fourth underground level, it was enough to make out vague outlines.

Looking at the endless walls of the labyrinth, the leader of the tomb robbers asked with a faintly distrustful voice, "Do you think we can get out of here today?"

"Don't worry. Reaching the centre of the labyrinth isn't our goal, remember."

The elevator that connected the underground sanctuary to the labyrinth dropped us off at the midpoint of the maze and left. To go up to the third underground level, we had to reach the labyrinth's sole entrance and exit. The band of tomb robbers tightly gripped Leovald's coffin.

"Just a heads-up, we might run into some unpleasant company here. This is the church's underground sanctuary, after all! Let's wish each other luck."

I turned to my companions and smiled. If this was a horror movie, I would be the first to die. The frustrating part of this line is that even I don't know when something might jump out.

I warned them about the possibility of encountering monsters, but having had a taste of it on the third floor, there was no intense reaction now.

To stay alert, we assigned roles: Leonardo at the front, the group carrying Leovald's coffin in the middle, and the leader of the tomb raiders watching the rear. Naturally, as the guide, I was at the front.

Walking ahead, I couldn't afford to appear nervous, so I subtly glanced around the labyrinth.

The tall walls of the labyrinth were stained with water marks and partially discoloured, the damp surfaces reflecting the light from our lanterns. The passageways were narrow compared to the height of the walls.

'If we run into them, it'll be difficult to escape.'

In the labyrinth, there's only forward or backward. This means their approach is limited, but so is our escape route.

To survive an encounter, I might need to stick close to Leonardo. That's partly why he's at the front.

Despite his hasty reactions that almost turned our carefully planned entrance into a bloody mess, he was reliable when facing those things.

At that moment, Leonardo whispered quietly.

"Here it comes."

As soon as he spoke, a chilling atmosphere settled in. After a moment, we sensed something slowly approaching from the distance.

Swish.

Leonardo's sword slid out of its sheath, producing a faint, trembling sound. The grave robbers, including their leader, drew their weapons as well.

Soon, it emerged from the darkness ahead.

'It' was constantly shifting. It resembled a bubbling foam, writhing and pulsing, thin membranes forming and dissolving, captivating anyone who looked at it. It was hazy like a mirage, yet disturbingly out of place.

Leonardo didn't rush to attack.

I guess the reason for his hesitation was based on the information I had received from Orlie. It hadn't yet fully assumed a human form. Until then, it was an immortal monster that wouldn't die no matter how much it was stabbed, slashed, or burned.

Suddenly, it fixed its gaze on the grave robber leader.

Its body started to boil, and then—

Pop!

A bubble burst, spraying a yellowish-white liquid. Reflexively, I stepped back, not wanting to touch it. From the remnants of the bubble, something unpleasant began to sprout, like a flower bud blossoming or a fruit ripening for harvest.

What sprouted was a haggard human head.

The head, about the size of an apple, resembled the grave robber leader. The unnatural face attached to the body trembled, its eyes rolling wildly, unable to stay fixed. From beneath the face, human arms began to protrude, shaped like fish bones.

Another "pop" sounded in the darkness, followed by a scuttling noise. Emerging into the light was a grotesque mass of human limbs, excessively clustered together, resembling an arthropod.

Except it had five legs and three arms, unevenly distributed. It struggled clumsily, flipping over and trembling, but stubbornly crawled towards us.

'Ah.'

Then, I noticed a familiar scar on one of its three arms.

<Ò.L/F.O>

It was trying to mimic me. It was attempting to assume my form. In that moment, a lightning realization struck me.

There's a legend that one must die when encountering a doppelgänger. For the mimic to truly become the original, the original must perish. So, it was going to consume me.

That's why they devour humans. That must be what "assimilation" means—to consume prey and replace them as real humans. My heart pounded, and anxiety surged. I gripped my right forearm tightly, where I had just seen an identical scar.

Through my sleeve, the scab on the wound split open, beads of blood forming, accompanied by a sharp pain. The real pain dispelled my terrifying hallucinations, snapping me back to reality.

[Monsters are most frightening when they exist solely in one's imagination.]

I've fought so hard to survive until now, I can't lose my mind here.

"They're closing in, run!"

Suddenly, the creature, perfectly mimicking the grave robber leader, lunged at us.

As I recoiled in shock, Leonardo, seemingly waiting for this moment, gripped his longsword in a reverse grip, lowered his body, and swiftly slid behind it.

With a flick of his wrist, the sword traced a large arc. The blade left a long, silvery trail, severing the creature's ankles. As it staggered and fell, Leonardo grabbed its head and snapped its neck in one swift motion.

Crunch!

It crumbled into ashes in his grasp. There was no time to waste. We had to run.

Now, we were the arthropods. Using Leovald's coffin as our exoskeleton, the eighteen legs of our nine-member group moved rapidly. Those who foolishly jumped into the monster's throat were now climbing back up its esophagus.

I realized it then: this labyrinth is the monster's esophagus. We are prey trying to escape before being digested. Those creatures are the monster's flickering tongues and searing stomach acid.

In the end, we were merely fighting a survival battle over who would be eaten or not, no different from the mundane and trivial chain reactions that occur in nature.

Leonardo, without hesitation, severed the mismatched limb mass.

An arm with a familiar scar rolled across the floor. However, the creature, with two extra arms and five legs, scurried towards us.

Leonardo thrust his sword downward and slashed diagonally, sending the creature flying into the wall. Thud! The impact was significant; the creature, pushed against the wall, flipped over and trembled violently.

And then… something very strange happened.

Gurgle.

The mass with five legs and two arms suddenly swelled, then deflated like a punctured balloon. From within its soft, fleshy exterior, an unknown substance gushed out. A sticky, black tar-like puddle formed on the ground.

Its peach-coloured skin, now an empty shell like a bean pod devoid of its contents, floated on the puddle before disintegrating into ashes. Amidst the urgency, Leonardo's gaze lingered on the strange self-destruction for quite some time.

Something was off.

They had said it couldn't be killed until it fully transformed into a human form, until the mimicry was complete. Yet, this one self-destructed while still trying to mimic me.

'What's going on?'

I didn't understand how these creatures almost perfectly imitated humans, but I'd never seen one fail before. Whether they imitated the living or the dead, they did so almost flawlessly.

Why did this one fail? The only difference was, perhaps…

'Was it because the target it tried to mimic was not from this world?'

Thoughts overflowed without control. My legs were still running toward the labyrinth's exit, but I couldn't help turning my head.

For a brief moment, Leonardo's expression and gaze, as he looked at the self-destructed creature, stuck with me for some reason.

"..."

What is that guy thinking right now?