"It’s an Evil monster, there’s no need for all this tension." I spoke indifferently while staring at the tense Elliot before me.
He clenched his jaw in irritation. "Just an Evil monster?... That thing looked directly at us just now, and we don’t know whether it’s heading toward us at this very moment or not."
I shook my head. "Relax and raise us back up there again. Let’s see what it’s doing."
Elliot stared at me for a few moments before doing what I asked. Good thing he understood what we needed to do.
Soon enough, the ice beneath us rose once more, though we didn’t reach the same height as before, so the view wasn’t as clear.
Even so, I could still see the Evil monster raising one of its powerful limbs while holding its prey’s skull between its long fingers before crushing it into scattered fragments.
"See? It didn’t pay us any attention... it probably just sensed our gazes."
As I said that, the monster grabbed the rest of the corpse with its mouth, lifting it from the pool of blood beneath it. Then, without hesitation, it stepped across the ice with its long limbs while dragging its meal behind it, its lower body sliding across the smooth ground.
It moved in the opposite direction from us before descending somewhere and vanishing from sight.
I glanced toward Elliot beside me. "Why are you so tense anyway? Weren’t you bragging at some point about killing two Rank 5 monsters?"
His eyes remained fixed on the place where the monster disappeared. "This is different... and we can’t even leave this place behind."
I simply shrugged. "All we need to do is keep our distance from it and hide in certain situations, so stop being tense for no reason."
"At least we discovered the source of that sound... and probably what lives inside those tunnels below."
Elliot stared at me. "You know this isn’t something you should treat carelessly."
I shrugged again. "Let’s just continue searching."
...
Time passed while the sun descended toward the west until it nearly vanished, leaving only a small fragment painting the sky with the beautiful colors of sunset.
We had already searched a massive area while more than a day had passed since we separated from the others.
We sent a flare signal to let them know we were fine, and naturally, we received a response.
At this point, we had already moved too far away from their location, so returning there now would just waste time and effort.
We sat atop a raised chunk of ice while I chewed on some dried meat I had made from one of the edible monsters we found.
The salty taste spread through my mouth while I felt the toughness of the meat with every bite.
The prepared meals had run out a long time ago, and all that remained were things that couldn’t fill our stomachs, like salt.
"This is so tough... it’s like chewing on a salty piece of cloth." Elliot commented while biting into a piece and tearing it apart.
I ignored him while staring at the sunset... it looked delicious to me.
"We’ve already searched most of the area marked on the map, but we still haven’t found anything. So maybe the map is wrong." He spoke while chewing the tough meat.
I swallowed the food in my mouth before replying, "I don’t think so... but it’s still possible. Even that old man was somewhat doubtful of himself."
"So what do we do now?"
I shrugged. "What else? We just keep searching. There’s nothing else we can do anyway."
I focused on the sunset while narrowing my eyes toward that direction, the place where we saw the monster earlier.
"And there’s still one place we haven’t gone through yet."
Elliot stared at me, then in the direction I was looking. "You mean that place?"
"Yeah."
...
After the short rest, we resumed running across the ice, moving through areas we had already searched as we headed far west.
"Are you sure going there is a good idea?"
I almost mocked his words. "A good idea? Of course not... but sometimes stupid ideas are what achieve the desired results."
What a ridiculous phrase...
"Besides, I don’t think we’re lucky enough to find that place so easily... you know..."
Elliot sighed. "I just hope what you’re imagining doesn’t happen."
"Me too."
Unlike the first time, we crossed the area quickly now while the remains of the sun faced us on the horizon.
We had already moved far away from there, so reaching it took time, along with a few quick battles here and there.
Eventually, the area where the two monsters had fought earlier appeared in the distance.
There, across the ice, fragments of the monster’s skull still remained scattered around along with the bloodstains deeply imprinted into the frozen surface.
We moved forward while my senses covered the surrounding area until we got close enough to smell the lingering scent of blood in the air.
"Anything?" Elliot asked with some tension.
I shook my head in response.
Without stopping, we continued past the area and deeper toward the west, and the farther we went, the quieter and emptier this place became.
Normally, I could always sense many souls moving around within my perception, even if they were far away and unimportant.
But here, the place felt completely empty.
We moved in silence beneath the dim light of the sunset.
Then finally, I sensed something different at the edge of my perception, causing me to stop for a moment.
When Elliot noticed that, he stared at me. "What’s wrong? Did you find something?"
I nodded while turning my head toward our right before walking in that direction.
And with every step, I sensed more while Elliot’s tense voice echoed behind me. "Talk. What did you find?"
I didn’t answer immediately. Instead, I moved closer while my expression turned grim.
"Hey, talk and tell me instead of staying silent like that."
Elliot grabbed my shoulder, causing me to stop in place... though honestly, I was going to stop anyway.
I looked at him with a smile on my face. "There’s good news and bad news."
He opened his mouth, but I interrupted him. "The good news is that I found what appears to be an entrance leading underground... the bad news is that the path to that entrance isn’t empty."
Elliot frowned. "What do you mean?"
"That previous Rank 5 monster..." But before I could finish speaking, he raised his hand and interrupted me.
"Wait, let me guess. It’s using that place as its den or home, right?"
I nodded. "Correct, along with something else."
I didn’t know why, but I really wanted to laugh right now.
"I’m not completely sure, but it seems to be a female."
A confused expression appeared on his face. "And what difference does that make?"
"Oh, to be more specific, it’s a mother... and that place is its nest where its young are resting."
He stared at me speechlessly.
And that truly was what I sensed. Deep beneath the ice was a massive hollow area where many small souls moved around the soul of that Evil monster.
And beneath them was what appeared to be a smooth surface blocking a path leading even deeper underground.
I couldn’t sense it clearly because we were still far away and it had only entered the edge of my perception.
"Let’s get closer." I said that while turning around to continue onward, prompting Elliot to follow me.
"Everything... why does everything in this world curse us?"
I gave him a glance over my shoulder. "Please stop stealing my lines."
"I’m not joking... wait, maybe we can dig our way into the ruins from somewhere else or circle around the place."
I nodded. "That’s why I’m trying to understand more first."
In the next moment, I stopped once again, causing Elliot to stop as well.
"What now?"
I sensed the Evil monster moving rapidly through the tunnels.
And coincidentally, it was moving toward us just as we approached it.
Or maybe it wasn’t a coincidence.
I looked toward Elliot while feeling myself smile mockingly. "Let’s run."
"What?"
"Just start running, it’s coming toward us." I said that, and without waiting for him, essence surged through my body as I started sprinting at full speed.
It took Elliot a moment to understand.
"Fuck."
In the next moment, I felt essence moving rapidly through his body before he vanished from his place and appeared beside me, continuing to run.
We ran across the ice at full speed while the sound of the wind filled my ears, but the monster was still rapidly approaching that place.
After we got around a kilometer away from there, I turned my head for a moment to see the ice shatter where we had been standing while fragments scattered everywhere.
The long limbs emerged from below, dragging the rest of the massive body upward.
In the next moment, the thunderous roar filled the world behind us once again.