CHAPTER 50: AN OMINOUS FEELING

The moths descended like a tsunami of death; the sound of their wings flapping was enough to make your skin crawl.

SWOOSH!

Just as they were about to capsize our boat, they were intercepted by a horde of curses. Their bodies resembled those of harpies, enabling them to fly. Their skin was slimy and black, exactly like the Thalassian Wraiths. They looked like a cross between the two.

The speed at which Luna acted told me that she already knew about the Blood Moths on the ceiling, but she had kept quiet.

She had really changed since the first time we met. I think part of that was because of Kiki. Having a real friend had made her open up more.

While the curses were keeping the Blood Moths busy, I seized the opportunity to maneuver the boat away from the wall. It took all the strength I had to paddle through the thickness of the blood.

To get to the other side meant I would have to fight against the rapids, which were propelling us in the opposite direction.

[ENHANCEMENT]

+-----+

Strength 10-35

+-----+

I started by enhancing my own strength then moved on to enhancing the stats of the boat.

[ENHANCEMENT]

+-----+

Weight 35-60

Buoyancy 20-50

+-----+

I used all the skill points I had to make the enhancements. This time, it worked in my favor to increase the weight rather than decrease it—though it would make it harder to row, which is why I also increased my strength. It would also make it harder to be swept away by the rapids.

The moment I tried to increase the weight, a system warning popped up.

[DING!]

[WARNING: Increasing the weight means the buoyancy will decrease. That means the boat will be less likely to float and may most likely sink as a result.]

[SUGGESTION: If you’re planning on increasing the weight, also increase the buoyancy to keep things balanced.]

That was why I decided to increase the buoyancy of the boat. Even with these enhancements, it was still a battle to get the boat to where it needed to go. For a while, Luna and Kiki were holding off the Blood Moths.

The two worked well together; Kiki was using her illusion system to create illusions of Luna’s curses, helping to disorient the creatures. It was nearly impossible for them to decipher what was real and what wasn’t.

With my new enhancement in strength, I rowed the boat, not giving any thought to the blood splashing on me as I did. Luna’s curses were at their wits’ end, and if the Blood Moths managed to capsize the boat, it would mean the end for us.

I used all the strength I had, the boat sailing across the surface of the river of blood as I propelled us toward the other side. As we reached it, I lifted myself out of the boat and steadied it so that the girls could disembark without it capsizing.

As the last person—Luna, was coming off the boat, the last of her curses died, and a Blood Moth descended through the air toward us. Just as it was about to knock her off, I pulled her out of the way.

The beast circled around to attack her again, and that’s when I slashed it in half.

"Thank yo—" Luna attempted to show her appreciation, but there was no time for that, so I cut her off.

"Get to the stairs!" I ordered them.

The stairs were right in front of us, leading to a darker section of the cave. They were made out of a red ore and glowed faintly.

We weren’t home free yet; there were more Blood Moths flying toward us. With the Middle Finger in my hand, I covered their backs as they ran toward the stairs. As I disposed of the Blood Moths, I slowly made my way toward the stairs.

They were like giants compared to me; the only way I managed to kill them was by slashing at their vitals—mainly their heads, since I didn’t know the biology of these creatures.

Their physical strength was overpowering; one wrong move, and I feared I might get ripped apart. Living this close to a river of blood had made them more beastly than the others I had encountered before.

Eeeeeek!

A blood-curdling scream arose from behind me, where the girls were. I shifted my attention to them for a fraction of a second, and that cost me everything.

My vision blacked as a swift, powerful force hit me. In the next instant, I was flying through the air like a rag doll. I crashed into the wall with a splat. Instead of falling to the ground, I was held up in the air against the cave walls like something was pinning me.

A sharp pain stung my side, and when I glanced down, I saw it. I had been impaled. A sharp, pointed rock was bursting out of my body as if it belonged there. My wound burned and tore as I dangled from the rock protruding through my body, more blood gushing out like a broken pipe.

I hung like meat from a hook; my flesh tore, and the voice in my head screamed louder than my thoughts. My vision blurred, so I couldn’t see anything. I ripped the mask off my face and let it fall to the ground.

That’s when I saw the two abominations—Blood Moths that had taken on a humanoid shape. Their faces were insect-like, their eyes glowing red orbs, and their bodies were covered in gray hairs. They were slender in build and had cloth-like wings on their backs.

The girls were lying in a bloody mess on the floor—I wasn’t even sure if they were alive. The pain was too overwhelming, and my vision was all over the place, but what I knew was that one of those things was lifting one of the girls up by her throat.

I couldn’t tell which one it was but the the scream—it twisted something inside me and I became overcome by rage. It felt like they were taking something that was rightfully mine.

I grasp the rock impaled in my body and tried to pull it out with my raw strength.

It could have been Luna, Kiki, or even Natasha. All I knew was that their scream was horrified, up until the monster plunged its hand into her chest, which resounded with a wet thud.

The monster grasped something—something red and dripping with blood. I faintly recognized it from a distance—it was a heart. The beast then proceeded to swallow it whole while the other one turned its attention to another of the girls lying helpless on the ground.

In that moment I couldn’t help but think:

Something wasn’t right—I felt it, yet still, I ignored it. Ever since I met that harpy with the child, I felt like I was walking on the edge of a steep cliff for some reason.

I ignored that feeling, and now one of the girls was dead, and soon would another.