CHAPTER 49: RIVER OF BLOOD

"So, where are we going?" Kiki asked again, this time more demandingly.

"We were heading to the only clue we have in this place—the sound of running water coming from the cracks in the wall. The two of you are welcome to join us if you’d like," I responded.

The hollow walls of the cave must have amplified the sound; that must be how we were able to hear it from so far away. No matter how far you went in this cave, you could always hear it. It didn’t matter if you moved toward the sound or away from it; the sound of running water could always be heard.

"Thank you," Luna said, giving me a polite smile and a bow.

Just then, I heard the sound of footsteps and the voice of someone calling my name. I immediately recognized the voice and went toward them. It was Natasha.

A not-so-happy expression came over her face when she saw Luna and Kiki.

"Who are they?" she asked, her earlier shyness all but evaporated.

Luna’s identity was well known since it was the same as her hero name, but since Kiki was still wearing her mask, Natasha couldn’t recognize her.

"I just ran into them a while ago," I answered. "They’re coming with us."

She didn’t seem too thrilled by the idea, but she had no choice but to accept it.

With that, the four of us continued on through the cave. The closer we got to the sound, the narrower the cave became. So much so that we had to squeeze our way through while being careful not to cut ourselves on the jagged walls. I took the lead in case anything happened.

Soon, the cave got so narrow that we were forced to crawl our way through. When I finally came through, I found myself in a vast space.

WHOOSH!!

The space was roughly the size of a house, but what caught my attention was the river—a river made of blood that thrashed against the cave walls inside an open gap in the ground.

The liquid was thick and smelled of iron. My stomach churned just looking at it. The girls were still behind me, crawling through the narrow path I had used to get here. The first to arrive on the scene was Natasha.

When she realized what she was looking at, she visibly revulsed and took a step back, her hands hugging around her shoulder. She looked half ready to retreat back into the narrow path until Kiki emerged.

Kiki immediately covered her mouth as her cheeks puffed up. In the next second, she was vomiting uncontrollably. Luna wasn’t any better; she rushed over to comfort Kiki, her lips curling in disgust.

SKRITCH!!

A strange sound came from the ceiling, causing me to switch my attention while the others were preoccupied. What I saw was far worse than the blood river—Blood Moths.

A whole colony of them dangled from the ceiling, lined up in different directions. Looking at them, it felt like worms were crawling under my skin. In that instant, I made up my mind to retreat, but something else stopped me in my tracks.

At the far end of the river of blood was what looked like a spiraling staircase on the other side.

I couldn’t retreat—no. This was our chance to get out of this place and to the other floor. But how do we get to the other side? I wasn’t planning on swimming through that filth, so what other choice was there?

"We should get out of here," Natasha’s trembling voice spoke.

Looking at her, an idea began to form in my head.

"Natasha, is it possible for you to build a boat with your system?"

"W-what... A boat?!" She glanced at the river of blood, and her face paled. "Why would we need one?"

"It’s the only way Natasha, unless you plan to swim through the blood." I answered.

The look that came over her face as I said those words told me she still wasn’t going to budge.

"No!" She ran toward me and took hold of my hands. "Let’s just go. Crossing this place is a bad idea. What if we..."

I understood where she was coming from—this place was repulsive. Luckily, they hadn’t caught sight of the Blood Moths yet since they were so high up on the ceiling. The Blood Moths, on the other hand, seemed to be in a state of hibernation. These ones looked to be at least twice as large as the ones we fought before.

I clasped my hands around Natasha’s.

"I’ll protect you. If we are going to stand a chance of getting out of here, we need to cross the river."

She shook her head vigorously to deny it. I wasn’t getting through to her—her fear was too strong. I needed to try something else.

"Tell you what, I’ll cross the river with the others, and we’ll come back for you afterwards."

Her eyes widened as if she couldn’t believe what I was proposing. I rested my hand on her shoulder and stared into her eyes through my mask.

"I promise I’ll come back for you," I finished.

"No!!" She didn’t even waste a second. "I’ll... I’ll come with you then."

Of course she would agree to come if it meant she would be left behind if she didn’t. The only problem was me conveying that in a way that didn’t sound like a threat—that was a problem for me.

She then activated her system to build what I had asked. From what she told me, her craft system wasn’t much different from my Blacksmith system.

All she needed to do was store the materials she would need to craft a specific item and then use her skill—Builder’s Law—to craft whatever she needed with the use of points.

The boat she crafted was just big enough to fit the four of us. She even crafted a pair of oars—clearly meant for me. I got in the boat and held it steady for them to get in as the raging river of blood tried its best to wash us away.

As they all got in, I immediately began rowing to set the course for where we were going. The blood beat against the side of the boat, drenching us in the sticky substance. The moment the blood splashed unto Kiki’s skin, she doubled over the edge of the boat, gagging with a violent shudder.

Luna didn’t speak. She gagged and folded into a corner of the boat, as if trying to crawl into her own skin

The scent of the blood was even more horrendous than when we were on land. It smelled like rusted iron and clung to the back of my throat. I’d smelled blood before—many times, to be exact—but this was something else.

The thickness of it made it extremely hard to steer the boat, smashing us against the wall of the cave. This, coupled with the girls’ screams, caused exactly what I feared.

SKRITCH!!

The Blood Moths awoke with a hungry passion in their eyes.