During combat, two monsters lurked from the shadows while Kael and Irene were busy defending themselves. These monsters were ordinary wolves, silently approaching the lying down Fugo and Renjiro.
The wolves showed no intent to kill, only to capture.
They bit the two bodies and proceeded to drag them away, all without the other humans realizing it.
It was as if these wolves were trained in stealth, for their movements were quieter than that of a spider.
After dragging both Fugo and Renjiro several floors upward, they both left the two bodies leaning against a cold wall.
What was the purpose of this?
Who ordered these monsters to perform such an act?
Nearly an hour passed before Fugo regained consciousness.
Renjiro also woke up around the same time.
"Hmm, where are we?" Renjiro asked Fugo, confused by their surroundings.
"I don't know. I'm just glad we woke up."
"You think this is the afterlife? For all we know, we could be dead."
Fugo dismisses the idea, "No way! Let's not go there, please....Lina would be devastated."
"Oh, fair point. A man like you can't die just yet...Although the way you fought that thing without care for your own life tells me Lina has a lot to worry about regularly." Renjiro said teasingly.
The two looked around, staying seated where they were. The surroundings looked similar to the cavernous floor, meaning they were not too far from their previous location.
"This is the Tower, but the layout feels different. Was it always this wide? And there's even a river here."
"This is a different floor, but how did we end up here?"
Both recalled their last memories before being knocked out. They were fighting a strong monster, with Renjiro getting choked out and Fugo receiving a heavy blow.
Their injuries were still lingering, hence why they did not bother to move right away.
"Let's face it, we'd have died ages ago if this place were not safe."
"Better to stay here a bit longer."
Fugo agreed, "But what about Kael and Irene?
"I guess that they are the ones who placed us here. We might have gotten away from that creature."
Fugo liked the sound of that scenario. "Hope you're right. My entire body is aching."
Fugo looked over at Renjiro again, "But where are they now?"
"Dude, you and I woke up at the same time. Why are you asking me questions like I'd know the answer!?"
"Sorry."
"That monster, now that I'm thinking about it. It was most definitely a Chimera." Renjiro surmised.
"Chimera? What's that?"
"They are mutated monsters who eat other creatures to attain new appearances and new powers too. I heard that Chimeras are one of the most dangerous species of monsters, if left alone for too long."
"I understand, then that monster was a Chimera after all. It had the head of a spider, a really long tail that seemed out of place. Not to mention its wings having absurdly long claws. Its entire design seemed way too irregular at a glance."
"Listen Fugo, in about ten minutes we're moving. So let's focus on resting for now." Renjiro told him.
Fugo nodded, their ideal scenario would be that Irene and Kael simply left them there to go get help but...That was only an assumption.
No evidence around them proved that the scenario was indeed the case, and thus they won't depend on it.
Ten minutes passed quickly, with Fugo barely managing to stitch his open wound together. The hole in his chest closed up, but anything drastic will easily reopen the wound.
"Let's go," Renjiro said, being the first to stand up.
Fugo and Renjiro moved silently as they could.
There was an incessant flutter of wings echoing above, yet the bats seemed to pay them no mind.
As they walked further into the unknown, unsure of where they were going. Fugo could not help but feel the sense of dread settling within.
It really dawned on him that this floor felt unnatural than what he got accustomed to.
The fact that his senses were on high alert, but the only monsters he saw were bats only caused his nerves to stress even more.
"This is creeping me out." Fugo sighed, looking over to gauge Renjiro's expression.
Renjiro replied, "I know what you mean. It feels like we're being watched, but...why? Don't monsters usually attack on sight?"
He was not referring to bats, but something far more sinister.
As they ventured deeper, a strange structure appeared before them. It loomed large, its walls imposing, as though carved from the very heart of the tower itself.
Fugo stopped, eyes wide. "What is this?" he murmured.
Renjiro stepped forward, "I don't know, but we need to check it out."
He did not wait for Fugo's approval before pushing forward.
"Renjiro, wait!" Fugo protested.
"We don't know what's inside. Going in sounds risky."
"For all we know Fugo...Kael and Irene could be in there. Just stay alert, we won't venture far in."
"Fine, this is the first time I've seen built infrastructure in the Tower. I bet something resides in there."
Renjiro nodded, "Probably."
The door creaked open with a dissonant sound, making them both flinch.
Once they stepped inside, the interior was eerily quiet, and the stone floors were cold beneath their feet.
"Irene! Kael!" Fugo shouted.
With that one shout, a low growl rumbled from the darkness ahead. Renjiro's eyes snapped to the source of the sound.
Three figures emerged from upstairs, walking down with glaring eyes. Two of them were normal grey wolves, while one of them seemed far too unique to be a common wolf. The beast stood on two muscular legs, its fur matted with blood.
A grotesque, werewolf-like creature with its jaw dripping with saliva, revealing razor-sharp teeth.
"A werewolf? I thought those were myths?" Fugo mentioned in disbelief.
"A chimera who probably devoured humans and wolves alike."
The monster's gaze locked onto them, and it bared its teeth, its growl morphing into a guttural snarl.
"Not good," Renjiro muttered.
"I don't want to hear that from you. I knew this would have happened." Fugo sighed, reaching for his knife.
"Wait a minute... Why do I have this?" Fugo wondered.
He knew the knife fell from his hand when he got knocked out. Did whoever dragged him here slide the knife back in his belt?
Now, how they arrived here became even more confusing.
The two smaller wolves stepped back, only observing while the wolf Chimera stepped forward.
The beast lunged first, with Fugo barely dodging the swipe of its claws.
Renjiro took the opportunity, throwing a punch, but the creature blocked it with its massive forearm, sending Renjiro stumbling back.
"Watch out!" Fugo shouted as he dashed to the side, attempting to get a clear shot with his knife. He lunged forward, but the creature twisted its body with unnatural agility, knocking him to the floor with a brutal swipe of its claw.
"Fugo!"
Renjiro rushed over there but the creature was faster.
It swung its tail, knocking Renjiro off balance.
"Do tails have something against me?" Renjiro could not help thinking this as he fell.
Fugo struggled to regain his footing, the pain from his previous injury taking its toll.
"One more like that, and I'm sure my chest wound will open up again." Fugo thought, slapping his legs.
While Fugo grabbed the wolf's attention, Renjiro struck from behind. He threw another punch aiming for the back of the neck.
The beast sidestepped and retaliated, grabbing Renjiro by the arm, and throwing him against the stone wall. The impact was enough to rattle him, and he fell to his knees, gasping for air.
The creature advanced, teeth bared, ready to finish Renjiro off. But Fugo wasn't done.
Fugo stabbed the monster at its side, causing it to scream loudly from the sudden pain.
Then Renjiro proceeded to sweep kick the monster off its feet.
Just as the monster was about to fall, Fugo launched another stab in its chest, followed up by Renjiro slam kicking it for its back to hit the ground quicker.
"Perfect!" Fugo cheered.
As Fugo raised his right arm, a burst of pain erupted followed by rapid bleeding.
"Huh?"
Fugo looked shocked to see one of the wolves biting his arm with maximum force.
At the rate it was going, the wolf planned on ripping Fugo's whole arm off.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
Renjiro tried kicking the wolf off Fugo, but its teeth sunk too deep in the flesh.
Renjiro's actions only hastened Fugo's arms getting ripped off.
"Damn it!"
This gave the Chimera enough to time get back up, his mouth drooling more than before upon seeing Fugo's blood dripping.
Fugo dropped his knife into his next hand and proceeded to stab the wolf in its head.
A gruesome sight, blood splattered on Fugo's face but he never flinched. He continued to stab the wolf repeatedly, until he felt the grip loosened bit by bit.
Renjiro stood in the way of the Chimera charging at Fugo, trying his best to push it back.
Sadly, the Chimera casually slapped Renjiro away like a mosquito and proceeded to charge at Fugo.
After the dead wolf finally let's go of his arm, Fugo immediately met with the Chimera face to face. Fugo dodged the wolf's fang, then ducked under its claw swing.
Renjiro grabbed onto the Chimera's right arm with all his might. "Kill it Fugo!"
Fugo lunged its knife into the werewolf's chest and twisted it in as deep as he could.
The Chimera fell face down and was unresponsive after that strike.
"Whew! Thanks for the save Renjiro" Fugo sighed in relief.
"Good think you had that knife with you."
"I wish I was of more use barehanded but...you Fugo. Have you ever fought with that knife before?"
"No, I've only ever used it as a good luck charm till now." Fugo admitted.
"First you grow fast with a sword, now with a knife. I am truly curious how many monsters your family members have, because to brand you as a failure seems harsh."
"You are crazy strong Fugo, don't let anyone take that away from you."
Just when the two thought the fight was over, they both looked at the last remaining wolf growling at them.
"Hmm, this one didn't attack us yet."