'Why is that shape so familiar?' Zhen Liu asked himself as he ordered the zako he was currently piggybacking to get closer to the fire at the center of the room.
Enraptured by the strangely shaped bonfire, Zhen Liu willed the zako to get closer and closer to the point that he completely abandoned stealth.
Unfortunately, he had decided to do so without making sure the rest of the room was clear.
'That conical shape...those arms...it looks exactly like the—'
[Oi, what the fuck?]
'Shit.'
As such, the rock zako that Zhen Liu was piggybacking had ended up getting caught by one of the Kaijin assigned to slt the [Malevolent Gold] that day.
Through the zako's eyes, Zhen Liu found himself being stared at by a Kaijin that looked like a giraffe and a snail had combined into one unsettling combination.
It took Zhen Liu a bit of effort to not cringe at the sight of this odd Kaijin bending their long, boneless neck with unnatural ease.
[It looks like a Rock Spider,] the snail-giraffe comnted as he twisted his neck and stared directly into the eyes of the rock zako. [Doesn't sll or feel like one though.]
The strange kaijin then proceeded to stretch their neck forward in an attempt to press their face against the rock zako.
[Why don't you let Strangler have a nice long look at you?] The snail-giraffe kaijin asked in a positively nauseating voice that was as slick as he was slimy.
(Un)fortunately, the stone zako wasn't going to let so enemy Kaijin get inside their personal space so easily.
Before the giraffe Kaijin could start touching it, the stone zako lashed out with a [Chaos]-enhanced scratch to the bastard's face.
[Bah! What the nine hells?!]
The Kaijin of the [Mine of Malevolence] were used to in-fighting, as the main thod of getting stronger for them was to simply devour each other's [Cores]. As such, they were well aware that [Chaos] was one of the few things in this world that was able to hurt them.
However, these Kaijin were only aware of two possible sources of [Chaos]: other Kaijin and their creator.
Therefore, when the rock spider zako suddenly slashed at his face and actually managed to injure his face, Strangler was a little more than shocked, to say the least.
Surprised by the wound, Strangler retracted his long neck and head back into the snail shell that was his torso and attempted to retaliate.
[You little bastard! I'm going to lt ya into a puddle of slag!]
Several openings suddenly appeared across Strangler's shell, allowing several small fleshy tentacles to poke their heads out. Once they were out in the open, the tentacles began to unleash a volley of wretched sli.
This sli was so caustic that many of the surrounding stone and ores that the rock zako was actively using for cover had begun to lt into a disgusting sludge that reeked of sulfur. Unfortunately, this was only the start of Zhen Liu's troubles.
[Huh? What's going on over there?]
[Oi, Strangler! Why the hell are you firing off globs of acidic sli for? That stuff stinks!]
[There's so weird rock spider thing in here!]
[So?]
[It was able to injure !]
[Say what?!]
[Oh hells no! I already have you degenerates and the boss to worry about. I don't need another possible source of injury!]
'Oh, that's not good.'
Alard by Strangler's words and actions, two other kaijin that had been assigned to the slter room had sprung into action.
A kaijin vaguely resembling a tarsier and a kaijin covered in thorns attempted to attack the rock zako, only to fall short as the flighty little bugger managed to make use of its size to avoid the attacks.
Now, this would've been the part where Zhen Liu would've directed the zako to leave through the door it just ca through. However, monts before he crossed that threshold, Zhen Liu realized sothing important.
'Wait…shit! If I go that way, there's a very high chance that these bastards will go after the zako and cause a ruckus. I need to try and at least be a little subtle…wait, duh!'
Under Zhen Liu's command, the stone zako began to climb the walls of the slting room and towards a hole in the ceiling where all the smoke was flowing out of. While he had no idea where this exhaust hole was going to lead to exactly, it was better than sticking around here and attracting even more kaijin.
[What the-hey! Get back here!]
Under the assumption that the zako could handle things from this point onward, Zhen Liu disconnected from the fleeing zako with instructions to contact him once it had gotten to safety…or if sothing bad happened.
'I really hope its the forr more than the latter…'
...anwhile...
[...]
^...^
"Hey, can you pass the bandages?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks."
Shortly after Zhen Liu's Kaijin had torn the pursuing enemy Kaijin to shreds and smash their golden [Cores] into a million little pieces, they, the remaining mbers of Zhen Liu's party and the slave girl known as Maggie decided to make camp for the evening.
They all needed a mont to rest, tend to their wounds and exchange information.
Unfortunately, such actions were easier said than done in this particular instance.
Maggie was still mistrusting of the kaijin, the Kaijin weren't in the most talkative of moods due to Zhen Liu deciding to offer himself up as a Trojan Horse, while Antonio had no idea how to break the tension in such a weird situation.
As for the Zhen Clan scions, Zhen Xing and Zhen Tai, they were occupied with caring for the injured aether beasts that had manifested after the defeat of Stomper.
They had initially thought of putting the poor creatures out of their misery, but stopped themselves out of a mix of rcy and realizing that there was an opportunity to be had with these beasts.
Under these conditions, it would be considered a miracle for any conversations to take place.
That, or a pair of proto-kaijin that had little to no ntal filters in place.
[Hey...Miss Maggie, what's that bundle in your arms?] Corpse Doll asked as she and her sister, Porcelain Doll, stared at the bundle in the Bloodliner's arms out of boredom. [Is it a baby?]
[A doll?]
[A babydoll?]×2
^What the...no,^ Maggie answered while adjusting the bundle. ^Its...just sothing I need to bring back ho. As a favor to so...friends.^
^Friends?^
Antonio thought this mont could serve as a leaping point for conversation, but alas, his hopes were dashed.
^Before you ask, they died awhile back in a rather heroic manner,^ Maggie answered in an anticipatory manner. ^So my return ho with their stuff is a matter of morial rather than assurance. To be honest, I have no idea if they had any other family left outside of these mines.^
^Oh...^
And with that answer given, any chance of further conversation on the nature of that relationship had died.
Thankfully, there was still plenty to ask.
[The implication of those words and the scars on your arms imply that your friends died in those mines by unnatural ans. Were they recent deaths or older than that?] Nepeherage asked, now that her curiosity was piqued by the ntion of a heroic sacrifice.
^I...^
Maggie was just about to insult Nepeherage, point out the fact that she was one of the monsters that had tore them to shreds and had no right to ask such a question, but stopped once she rembered that this was untrue.
She knew the exact monsters that had killed them and knew that they were nearly invincible...wait a minute...
^Their deaths were...long enough to no longer be sad about them, but short enough that it still hurts to think about them,^ Maggie answered.
[Hmmm. Understandable.]
^Well, it's my turn to ask questions now,^ Maggie said in an attempt to take over the conversation in a natural manner. ^Who are you guys exactly and why did your leader give himself up like that? What's your goal?^
The mont this question was posed, Maggie could feel the killing intent of all the Kaijin sitting across from her start to skyrocket. Not only that, but she could feel a strange energy tickling at the back of her skull.
[Are you going to go back to the mines and try to use this information to get in the good graces of the mine owner?] Razorstella asked for the group.
^Why would I—wait, what the fuck? You guys saw escape from Constrictor, why the fuck would I want to go back there?^ Maggie asked, understandably confused.
[I've seen it before. The owner of an illegal mining operation sends out their girlfriend as bait. Attract a bunch of naieve fellows who think with their hearts more than their heads and end up as slaves for a girl that never existed in the first place,] Razorstella answered.
^What the...^
[Wait, wasn't that the plot of a movie?]
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