Chapter 11

“So…” Taku’s voice echoed through the corridor. “I’ve been wondering. What do girls talk about when they hang out? Do you talk about boys?”

“What made you ask?” Yayoi replied.

“I don’t know. Something to fill in the silence, I guess. Creeps me out. And I want to make you feel welcome,” Taku continued, occasionally tapping one wall after another with his stick. “I’m starting to think about our previous topic… You wouldn’t appreciate it.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Hold on.” Teri held up his fist, stopping their party’s movement. “I think I’ve heard something.”

The search on their previous room didn’t turn out to be as fruitful as they thought. In the end, it was just a room filled with heavy metallic trophies and shards of glass. One thing to note was how it felt. Yayoi almost punched Teri again, thinking that he would call her dumb after saying that the room felt too familiar, like a bedroom from an old home of sorts. In terms of design, Taku cursed whoever made this dungeon for making a room that’s essentially filled but also empty. Though he hoped that those trophies would have a use later on.

But upon putting on his imaginary thinking cap, which he literally did, Taku spoke about the design of this dungeon in terms of storytelling. This encouraged them to check up on a few things. First, the trophies. They're heavy. Yayoi confirmed that there’s a sense that she should be proud of herself if she got something this heavy; the same case applies for all of the trophies she touched—which all are unique in their own way. All of them are different in terms of their weight, faded color, and overall design. And it got everything. Academic achievement. Sports. Pageants. The aspect that ties them all together was the way the name of the award and the person it was given to was rubbed out.

“No movements from the back,” Taku said, then waiting for a few more seconds to confirm before giving Teri a thumbs up.

“Ah…” Teri sighed. “I guess that’s just me then. My bad.”

“You okay?” Taku asked.

“Yeah.” Teri stretched to regain his posture. “I just thought I heard something. Chattering, sniffing, and squeaking, like rats do. It's pretty weird. Maybe it’s just me.”

“I mean the dungeon is weird, so maybe—”

“Shut up and give me a second…” Yayoi raised her right hand. She touched the wall with her pointing finger, and the golden ring it bore gave off a comforting, green glow. She closed her eyes and slowly took a deep breath. “Scan.”

A gentle wind blew through them. Taku covered his mouth, his best attempt not to show how amazed he was as he watched his cloak flap along. Teri found himself smiling. There was something there. Some kind of energy. Something that he felt like he could touch. A trail. It was as if the wind was alive and he could follow it as it crawled through the corridor.

Yayoi covered one of her ears, still keeping her eyes closed. “After making a turn right there… in front of us… the wind moved east and split into three directions.”

“That’s the intersection,” Taku said. “Anything else?”

“One…” Yayoi tilted her head, pushing her concentration further. “No… Three. There’s one right around the corner, and it’s slowly moving towards a group of three in the intersection. They’re not doing anything… They’re just waiting.”

“Wait, how can you tell?” Taku asked.

“Were they moaning?” Teri interjected, somewhat scared. Both at the thought of Taku moaning at Yayoi in response and the monster suddenly deciding to turn back and see them; at worse, it’s going to turn into another all-out brawl. He’s starting to hate tight corridors.

“No… What? No, they’re not. Their heartbeats. That’s how I can tell. It’s large… and slower, though as large or a bit larger than a human’s in terms of depth.”

“I see.” Teri kept his head still. He’s right. Whatever the monster had looted the bodies in the room where Taku had got his staff, it’s going to be at least a full-grown man. “Thanks, Yayoi.”

“And here I was, thinking I can make you look like a scaredy piece of shit,” Yayoi tapped Teri’s shoulder, chuckling. “But I guess your ears weren’t wrong. Good job, Teri.”

“So, we’re fighting rats now?” Taku tip-toed to Teri’s back to tap his shoulder too. “Should be tougher but tankier than the dolls. If they’re as fast, then that’s just bullshit. What do you think?”

Yayoi smiled. “Relax—”

“Oh, we kill them here,” Teri said. He turned to them, his face calm and with a tight, natural smile. For a moment, they seemed surprised, so he stepped back and cleared his throat. “I mean if it’s rats the same size as humans, I’d rather avoid fighting them in a wide area or a room. I’m open to fighting dolls in one since their attacks, although fast, are light… but it’s a different thing to get swarmed by these things.”

“Yay…” Taku slowly raised his fist in the air. He asked Yayoi for a high-five, Yayoi reluctantly gave Taku one. “Yay… Team Friendship?”

“Shit name,” Taku laughed as he marched forward.

“You’re doing good, Taku,” Yayoi chuckled as well, shadowing Teri’s footsteps. “Just don’t force it in.”

Teri switched his weapon to a wooden spike. “Lemme take a crack at it. I’ll try to kill the first one by the corner as fast as I can. If the rats in the intersection come in, Taku… please bind whoever is in the front.” He glanced at Yayoi. “And for you, feel free to step in once you feel comfortable. Do your thing however you want, just let me know when I gotta duck or get out of the way or something.”

“Servicable,” Yayoi replied. “Alright, I’ll let you know.”

Teri sighed. “Please, no friendly fire.”

“Friendly fire?”

“It means you don’t hit him in the back,” Taku added, readying his staff.

“Oh,” Yayoi cracked her knuckles. “Just the back?”

“No… Like, don’t hit him at all,” Taku said, keeping his head straight.

Teri raised his fist again just when they were about to approach the corner. It was nice that his party members treated this gesture seriously, though it did take a few more seconds for their voices and breathing to quiet down. When they were ready, Teri made the signal and turned at the corner first. Just as Taku suggested. If there were more monsters hiding there, they could jump Teri. And if they jumped Teri, Taku and Yayoi would counter jump them. Taku also reiterated that he didn’t suggest this to increase Teri’s chances of dying.

But Teri stopped. There it was. By instinct, he let out a chuckle in disbelief. He raised his shield, trying to keep it from shaking as much as he could. It was a hulking figure of a rat, its black and greasy fur bursting through and ripping apart a business suit tailor-made to clearly not fit it. What drowned him was not the overwhelming scent of blood and flesh. It was paper, candles, and ink. The smell was so sweet that it blurred his eyes, his knees begging him to fall to the ground and sleep. His head started to ring, leaving him wide-eyed and staring as the figure turned and leered at him. For some reason, he can tell that it was smiling.

“Like I said… relax.”

Yayoi walked in between them. She wore a confident smile. A second. Her gaze snapped into focus as she pinched the edge of her gloves and dragged it down her forearms. The rat moved forward as well, confused but delighted to see another meal willingly walking in front of it. Then, Yayoi stretched her right hand, opening her palm to the monster as two of her fingers pointed at its neck. A scissor.

“Hack.”

Her serene, commanding voice summoned a moment of silence. A gentle wind answered. And the rat’s head flew, blotting the walls with blood as it spun and dropped backwards.