-Nick Cave

━━━━━━━━┓ ✠ ┏━━━━━━━━

As we got a depiction of what the next steps would be, and the stratagem to obtain real-time combat, I and Shiro, with her newly obtained weapon "Grendel" of high rarity began to opt-out of the warp gate, leaving the garrulous G.o.ddess Lacrimosa in her leisure.

Hence we were sent back to the same place from whence we entered.

The not-so-far view of the sea with the ephemeral sealed earthly city became vividly clear on our site as our feet slowly began to trend the verdant ground once again. I was sure that some humans could have still been around the place but to my surprise, none remained. It might be wishful thinking, but they probably have mustered some courage and are on their way to the city that Amadea advised us to go, which Lacrimosa said is a place not suitable for an individual without proper equipment. I don"t know why, but her words made it seem that the denizens in that particular city are somewhat hostile and I"m getting these unorthodox images of demi-humans with sabertooth fangs and ugly facades. Well, it better not to be that way.

The time is around noon with the sun shining in its might, but with not much heat. It would be best to start the two-day journey now, to not spell any further delays. A delay would only mean the drawing closer of this Hades who likely overseers the deceased as described by the previous deities. But then, Shiro who is with me poked my shirt as a means of saying something...

"What is it?"

"I"m hungry Oni-chama." Into the bowl of appetency, the girl found herself while tapping on her abdomen.

Well, I might as well kiss Hades at his b.u.t.t-cheeks!

Good thing I bought some canned goods though. We still don"t know how food works around these parts, so it"s best to have some imported ones from the start, it"s not just from any local country... it"s from another world.

And then, as though conforming with the little girl"s, my mid-gut began to brazenly growl.

Hmm. Weird, I never have had this blatant craving to eat such a ready-to-serve buffet. Maybe it"s the "Scarcity Error" at work, the fiasco in which the last cookie in the jar makes our mouth water to an unimaginable extent. I now applaud myself for reading Rolf Dobelli"s "Art of Thinking Clearly". It"s at times like this that I am able to unveil my inevitable and clandestine part as a thought-capable individual.

"Shall we eat then?"

"Wi!" (English: Yay!)

"Oni-chama let"s eat under the tree over there!" She pointed her finger at a close-by tree situated in a little mound and in it, were peach-colored leaves. It"s almost identical to cherry blossoms, but having more dense numbers of leaves and extending branches that can accommodate up to approximately 20 people under extreme heat and probably, rain. Why is this tree not on earth though? should have spelled more convenience...

"Ok sure," I replied to the overly excited Shiro... Too bad, fried chickens are still in a long way from her. If chickens do exist, that is...

The little girl then ran taking shelter on the shade with a myriad of giggles escaping from her lips.

"Be careful now, you have a sharp weapon with you!" I said, as I fetched our things and patched the portable tent which was left on the field eventually. Good thing no one stole it. So they did keep a little of morality I guess. Well, wherever they should be now, I somehow hope that they"d be safe and that they should minimize the hypocrisy, not that I"m different.

" Oni-chama Hayaku!" (English: Oni-chama hurry up!) the girl ecstatically replied.

I then sat down with her and opened two canned spaghetti and two bottles of water.

"Itadakimasu."

"Itadakimashu!!"

We then dug right in. I was quite surprised though... It"s delicious and Shiro"s face spelled the same expression. It was my first time eating canned food, given that my grandma has her weird preference of always a green diet. At least, now I know, how it tastes like... I wished I could have brought a little more with me after all that old man was very generous to give everything I needed for a hundred percent off.

(...)

After a few gulps of water, and some junky dessert of cheesy crackers from Shiro"s picks, I am then becoming ready to begin the journey, but I think a little rest is a must. I, nor Shiro can"t afford to have such stomach aches along the road, not to mention how unhealthy this is, but the taste is worth it.

From the comfy shades that the tree gave us, fresh "globalization-unpolluted" winds came pa.s.sing by, rejuvenating us to the core, while Shiro is also making herself fond of her weapon and while blue shiny slimes were basically bouncing and jiggling everywhere, and I found myself ullaged into a deep thought of what the basic structure of this surreal world could possibly be.

For us, it showcased a very nice first impression, but not with the other group who got to experience h.e.l.l the moment the northern gates closed. They were attacked at a brutal state and from 300 thousand, we"re now down to approximately 11k... I then checked my PI to have some update on the General Information Data...

✞———————❖———————✞

General Information

SCC: 9,999

Herrscher Count: 333/333

✞———————❖———————✞

Unlike before in which the numbers just kept decreasing, it reached a point of consistency. 9,999 to be exact, with the Herrscher count still unaltered.

"Oni-chama..."

As my attention is taken captive by the statistics, Shiro suddenly called out to me, with somewhat a scared tone, and from afar stood a mythical creature, with a very irritated face whose attendance alone, destroyed the heavenly view of the surrounding"s ambiance.

This is bad, still as a skepticist, I never could have imagined that danger would strike on the light of day. Well, it is an unknown world so, antic.i.p.ating it should have been normal.

The creature is also somewhat familiar, but it"s also rather different. It"s like the "Manticore" of Persia, but this time, it"s solely one large dark-skinned lion with wings of a bat, tail of a venomous scorpion, eyes of neon green, fangs of Siberian tigers and elongated horns of a Barbary sheep. It stands approximately 5 meters high and I can quite sense, that it"s coming to eat us both, with dark intent written all over his monstrous presence that made the puny and fragile-looking slimes flee the scene.

And then as the manticore-looking carbuncle slowly walked towards us, confident of our vulnerability, it"s stats then came to display, in a platform like in the weapon"s description earlier...and if I remembered correctly, the moment we engage, the stats would then be hidden as per said by Hermes.

╭╼══════════╾╮

Name: Excrescent Chimera

LVL: 20

HP: 10000

MP: 0

Type: Dakini

╰╼══════════╾╯

A Lvl 20 Chimera eh? From the last time I read how it was described, it looked way weaker...but this, I think would be not of the same case.

Moreover, it"s hardly worth my time. I did not even sense it coming, that would only mean that it would not put up a great sparring partner. If I were to fight it, it would be without a doubt, dull. I can just painstakingly control it and let it eat itself to make it look like a detective file of nothing more but a case of cannibalism... but I think, we should make this experience, to be of good use.

"Shiro, want to try your weapon out?" I asked the trembling girl, which somehow os a little savage act in her perspective and is somewhat against the Philippine Republic Act number 7610 for Child Endangerment Protection.

"Ehhh?? That would be killing oni-chama!", she answered.

Kill? How is she sure that she can kill it though?...

"Listen, Shiro, the monsters out here are not like Pegasus-san. They are evil and will eat us both..."

"Will it cook us first?"

Wait, that"s what she"s concerned about?

"Ehehe, No... It will eat us raw"

"Ehhhh????? Son"na ko to s.h.i.takunai!!!" (English: I don"t want that!)

With teary eyes, afraid of being eaten "uncooked", she then took hold of Grendel and threw it towards the approaching monster without hesitation, still in its dagger form. And then...

"Le Chanto de Roma" the girl chanted, and the dagger suddenly became the same chakram but had more momentum grazing the ground as it speedily targeted the monstrosity, not giving any room for even a quirky evasion.

It came across the monster in mach speed, cutting both of its horns like they"re cotton candy, and advanced at a very far angle.

The stats then became hidden as Shiro inflicted the very first damage. As expected.

The, even more, irritated Chimera came charging at us at a very hasty speed... While Shiro confidently waited for the backlash that the Chakram has to offer...

"I don"t want to be eaten raw!!!" The girl shouted as she raised her hand on the air, ready to grab hold of something...

And then as the Chimera continuously charged at our direction, then came back the chakram that sliced of the monster"s head and had gone back to Shiro"s hand with blood all over its crimson blades, even cutting the glorious tree at our back, from the rotation"s momentum it had gained alone. If I positioned myself somewhere closer there, I think I am no different from that Chimera.

The monster stood headless and neon blood came oozing out from it"s amputated neck and then it fell with a large *thud* sound signifying the gargantuan size of this monster.

Wow. Shiro, are your deceased parents perhaps weaponry connoisseurs? Just who did I pick up? If she can yield a weapon like this, deeming a monster of this size lifeless in a dual hit, then, is there a need for her to use her paradigm? Thoughts like that came flying into my head, as I beheld of Shiro"s mysterious mastery.

"Teheeee!" the girl, having the blood-stained weapon in hand smiled in the most innocent of ways, happy that she is partly saved of being eaten raw, by our first Excrescent Chimeraic encounter. Palpably, her first-slain.