Escape (4)

"How did you know?"

"I can't tell you for free. It costs money to get me to open my mouth, and from what I can see, it doesn't look like you've got much in your pockets…"

Is it because its true nature has been exposed? The features of the thing wearing the skin of Grave Robber #6 melted like candle wax and slurred its speech. It wasn't a pleasant sight at all.

I clapped my hands and smiled widely at it.

"What a surprise! Now that I think about it, I don't even want to sell it to you for money!"

"Aha haha, hahaha!"

It laughed, shaking its shoulders as if mimicking me. The vibration caused the sword that Leonardo had driven halfway through its forearm to rattle unsteadily.

Has it become like minced meat, yet it doesn't feel any pain?

"What are you?"

It composed itself as if it had never frowned at the disgusting sight. I opened my arms wide and presented a welcoming posture.

I encouraged it to hurry and grab a bite.

"Well, how about finding out for yourself? If you have the ability to do so, that is. After all, you're good at what you do."

Grave Robber #6 had referred to me as 'My Lord', and this thing had mimicked his tone and address when it insisted that it was human. So, could it be that those who consume corpses can read the memories or habits of the bodies they devour? That's why it's called assimilation.

It was rolling around as if it were dying to know, so it could be said that it was desperate to consume me. I couldn't be sure, but there was a bit of danger involved. The creature that had tried to mimic me earlier had self-destructed after failing to transform into me, and my essence was fundamentally different from the characters on stage.

If I could just lead it into complacency…

"Ahhhh—"

As it flailed, it reached out its hand toward me.

'Got it!'

That was its mistake. In its excitement, it had forgotten who it was dealing with.

While its arm was flailing, the body of Grave Robber #6, which had been facing Leonardo, was momentarily pushed back. Leonardo did not miss the opportunity.

Thud!

His sword finally cut through its arm and pierced its neck. Excitedly, as the blood twisted, it began to revert to its original form and struggled violently.

When Leonardo kicked its chest, the blade slipped out easily. Without pausing, he stomped down on the chest of the prey that had fallen to the ground and raised his sword high in a vertical position.

Crack!

The sword came down once more. It was an injury that wouldn't have been surprising if it had already died. Nevertheless, it moved the arm, from which white bones were protruding, and tightly grasped the sword that had pierced its neck.

The grip was so strong that cracks began to form in the sword with a 'creak.' I silently cursed. That cheap iron sword; it never sat well with me from the moment I bought it!

It clashed its teeth together repeatedly. Thick blood stuck to its gums, creating a bizarre sound that mixed and formed an unfamiliar noise.

Leonardo frowned and warned.

"It's calling for its kind!"

The sound of teeth clashing echoed repeatedly....

The noise that escaped through its gaps filled the long, narrow passage of the labyrinth and spread far away. From the darkness, a similar clattering sound returned.

Was it just a sound bouncing back from the common wall? Or was it the kind hiding in the darkness?

Leonardo did not allow any further struggle. As he forced the hilt of the sword to twist with all his body weight, the blade acted like a lever, and its head was pulled off in one swift motion.

The severed head rolled away, disappearing into the area where the lantern's light did not reach. Nevertheless, the sound of 'clattering' teeth continued to echo in my ears. It was the sound of its kind responding to its call.

I heard the voice of the grave robber leader yelling at the dazed group of treasure hunters.

"What are you doing? Get the coffin ready at once!"

We began to run again.

Leonardo and I pushed ahead, returning to the front line. The puddles beneath our feet made squelching sounds, and the lantern hanging at my waist swayed, causing light and shadow to intersect chaotically.

Clatter. Clatter, clatter, clatter.

The sound of the monster imitating humans grew closer by the moment.

"Ahhh!"

At that moment, a scream came from behind. One of the treasure hunters was caught by a pale arm. The treasure hunter leader, who was guarding the rear, quickly swung his weapon to shake off the arm, but the treasure hunter was immediately grabbed by another hand that emerged and was dragged into the darkness, never to return.

Witnessing two of their companions meet such a horrific end in a short time, the other treasure hunters screamed in terror.

"I can't do it, I can't! What good is money if I lose my life? Do you think I can run away carrying this damn heavy coffin?!"

"L-Let's go together!"

"Wait a minute!"

Clatter!

The three who were lifting the left side of the coffin simultaneously abandoned their positions, causing the coffin to topple over. The lid that was facing up fell down, completely overturned. Before I could even stop them, they fled into the darkness. Soon after, screams echoed from that direction.

I instinctively knew. They had already been consumed by the madness of the underground and the monsters.

I couldn't blame them. Even I, knowing that Leonardo was the protagonist of this world, felt anxious about the possibility of all of us being wiped out here.

Monsters mimicking humans were slowly closing the distance in the darkness. Wasn't this the perfect environment to drive someone insane?

"Please save me, please! They're coming after us! There are people here!"

"Wait! Don't leave me behind!"

"Everyone, come over here! I found a place to hide!"

"Here, over here…"

The voices of the dead echoed through the maze. The remaining treasure hunter gasped for breath roughly.

The last remaining treasure hunter, terrified, shut his eyes tightly and stumbled backward, tripping over the coffin and falling with a crash. In an instant, a hand reached out from the darkness and dragged him away.

"No, no! Aaaah!"

Now it was just Leonardo, the treasure hunter leader, and me left. Was this really happening? Just like that, the entire group of treasure hunters had been wiped out.

I could see Leonardo frowning. He tightly grasped my shoulder and whispered, "I didn't want to confront them head-on. We need to reduce the angles to stay safe. Stay as close to the wall as possible."

Then, as if being chased by something, he moved away. It seemed like he was roughly grabbing the treasure hunter leader by the neck and giving some instructions, but I couldn't hear well from this distance.

The treasure hunter leader lingered near me, perhaps having been left in charge of watching over me.

Leonardo dragged his sword along the ground and took a few steps forward. Even with just that, his figure was nearly swallowed by the darkness, making it hard to see him.

Was he fighting alone?

I had no idea what was happening beyond the darkness. Everything felt distant, as if I were struggling in the depths of the sea.

I tightly clenched my right arm, to the point where the tendons on the back of my hand bulged. The wound that had been healing opened up again, and a sharp pain pierced through my forearm.

For a moment, the buzzing sound that had drifted away gradually returned. I could also hear Leonardo struggling in the darkness.

'Leonardo's sword won't last much longer.'

That cheap iron sword was already cracked.

"…Turn it over!" 

I shouted at the treasure hunter leader while gripping the coffin of Leovald. It was heavy enough that six men could barely lift it. With all my strength, I clung to the edge of the overturned coffin and managed to right it. The jolt caused the coffin's entrance to clatter open.

Inside, Leovald lay peacefully, his face calm as if he were sleeping through the chaos. Despite the shock of being overturned, he seemed unharmed, thanks to the thick padding inside the coffin.

And there was the long black blade he was gripping tightly. Given its size, which was about as tall as a person, it looked heavy enough to easily deflect any ordinary weapon. 

I pulled the sword from the cold corpse's hand and gripped its long hilt.

"You're guarding the body!" 

I shouted at the treasure hunter leader before dashing out. As I wandered through the darkness, I saw Leonardo surrounded by five monsters up ahead.

His sword was already broken and lying on the floor, and Leonardo was desperately jamming the remaining half of the broken blade into the eyes of the transformed creature. He looked feral, like a beast.

'Does fighting such monsters make one resemble them?'

"Leo!"

Our eyes met, and for a moment, he looked surprised to see me, but then his eyes lit up. I immediately grabbed the broad side of the sword and threw it, ensuring the hilt was facing Leonardo.

"...!"

The long greatsword fit snugly into its owner's grasp. It was a reunion that finally took place after crossing the line between life and death.

Leonardo grasped the greatsword and twisted the hilt with both hands. The centrifugal force transmitted from his wrist sent the blade soaring into the air. It drew a graceful arc horizontally, becoming a sort of guillotine and—

Crunch!

And then everything came to a conclusion.