Chapter: 161

Anya aimed her crossbow at the entrance to the circle as a girl with a hooded coat entered. She stayed just far enough away from the light so that all Jay and Anya could see was the faint white skin of her hands and face. The clothes she was wearing blended into the darkness and almost made her look like a floating head.

“I’m sorry…” she said “please just leave…” She hid her face under the hood.

“What do you mean you’re sorry? What did you do? Don’t you want our help?” Jay asked.

The girl looked down, hiding her face..

“Why aren’t the leeches eating her alive…” Jay wondered to himself as he began to get suspicious; he held a hand behind his back, holding something from the girl’s sight.

“We’re here to exterminate the leeches, we can’t just leave. Not after what happened to that hamlet.” Anya replied, “Blood requires blood, and this infestation has gotten out of hand. We can’t let this slide, and neither will the association. The leeches here must be culled.”

Jay squinted at the girl, nodding in agreement while raising his shield. He was still wondering how a young woman was standing there, asking them to leave while surrounded by monsters. It seemed like they even obeyed her.

After being annoyed by not knowing, he lowered his voice and asked directly.

“Why aren’t the leeches attacking you?”

The girl in the hood looked to the side, into the darkness.

“I was just… they’re harmless… and my family, since everyone else is dead… after what happened…” she began to cry, lowering her head. She wasn’t making any sense to Jay, it seemed like her mouth couldn’t keep up with her thoughts.

Jay didn’t hear the next part, but she whispered this to herself:

“The blood of my family runs through them, so they are my family… and no one will hurt them.”

Jay continued “We came here to save any survivors. What happened to your family? And the other families? And how come they aren’t attacking you? Don’t you want to come with us? We can leave right now.” Jay questioned the mysterious girl. He wanted to analyse her but she was too far away.

It almost seemed like she didn’t hear him, perhaps she didn’t care about what he had to say, as she started spiralling off into her own thoughts as she whispered things to herself.

“…They’re here to kill my family… I won’t let them die again… It was my fault, so I have to protect them this time…” she whispered to herself.

The circle of leeches closed again as the girl sunk back into the darkness.

She started crying, and Jay heard the crying sounds but he felt his hair start to stand on end as the crying sounds turned into a maniacal laughter.

The red leeches all started moving again as she laughed from behind them. The circle was closing, so Jay responded with his skeletons; they became life-like again as they began to hack and slash endlessly once more.

[Stress Response Activated]

[5% Melee Damage]

“Anya, I have a plan. Follow me closely.” Jay said. He was planning his escape while the girl was mentally spiralling, whispering to herself. The moment she appeared, he had started to charge some unstable teeth spells.

Since his experience with the silk woods dungeon, Jay knew how changing and volatile even the dungeons could be; this quest had already changed since the village was massacred, and he wasn’t taking any chances. The slightest suspicion meant danger in situations like this.

His five teeth had charged now. Running towards the skeletons, he flung the teeth at the leeches they were fighting.

Three of them died instantly, but two remained alive. The gap in the wall wasn’t big enough for him to pass through.