Mushoku Tensei: Reincarnated as a Beast Race-Chapter 346 - Into the Abyss

As they plunged into the infinite black void, Eris and Rygar felt a terrible sense of foreboding.

Suddenly, Dragon God Orsted appeared above them, and with a single strike, he shattered the sky.

Kamusari!

Eris had no time to react. Even though she could see several seconds into the future, she was cut in half and killed instantly.

A blind, merciless fury surged within Rygar, but before he could do anything, the world around him changed, and he found himself back on Earth!

And there was a clown dancing the Lambada on a unicycle!

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April Fools' Day!!!!! Just kidding, guys. Don't get too scared.

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Falling through the black vastness that stretched before them, a slight nervousness began to arise in Eris.

After all, this was something not even the most absurd stories and tales described, she was leaping toward the unknown. There was no ground, there was no sky and there was no direction.

She felt minuscule before the enormous entity that seemed to be watching them.

Eris squeezed Rygar's hand and looked at him.

Her body immediately relaxed upon noticing that, on his face, there was no tension.

Only curiosity.

As they fell, Rygar observed the dark and apparently infinite expanse with interest, not fear. His golden eyes swept across the void as if studying a rare phenomenon, not diving toward a frightening unknown.

It reminded Eris, once again, that even if they were heading toward one of the most dangerous places in the world… she was also beside one of the most dangerous beings in the world.

Even still nervous, her heart slowed.

Then, above them, the sky began to close.

Not in a natural way, it was more like a painting fading.

The enormous crater slowly contracted, the darkness rising like ink spreading in water. The firmament twisted, lost color, lost shape — until it simply ceased to exist.

Neither Eris nor Rygar were very surprised by this, for they already knew of this phenomenon.

Once inside the Dragon God's Hole, there were only two ways to leave:

Conquer it.

Or die in it.

Neither teleportation, nor spatial displacement, nor dimensional shortcuts worked there. This had been one of the main reasons that led Rygar to hesitate before deciding to explore that place.

It was all or nothing.

The smell around them began to become pungent.

A thick, humid and organic odor.

And then came the voices.

How long are we going to fall?~

Ah… is that a tongue?~

Look! There is a lake down there!~

The voices sounded distinct. Some younger. Others hoarse. Some seemed far too close, and others came from far away.

But there was no one there besides them.

The speed of the fall kept increasing, without any sign of air resistance. As if no atmosphere existed inside there.

Only gravity.

Then something appeared in the darkness.

A black lake.

Suspended in the void.

It was only visible thanks to the small blue fireflies that floated across its entire extent. There were thousands, perhaps millions of them. Small points of light that outlined the viscous surface of that dark sea.

The lake seemed far too thick.

More viscous than water should be.

It moved in small irregular waves, as if it were convulsing.

Eris felt immediate relief upon finally seeing something beyond the darkness.

She prepared her body to land.

But, at the same instant, Rygar firmly held her by the waist and stopped the fall.

They halted in the air and remained there, levitating.

Eris blinked, confused, but said nothing, meanwhile Rygar was observing the lake and analyzing it.

His Demon Eyes could see mana.

At first, it could be a magical lake.

But it was not, in fact, that was not even a lake.

It was a sea, formed by billions of tiny creatures.

Too small to be perceived without an extremely attentive gaze.

They looked like black planktons.

Long bodies.

Multiple tiny legs thrashing.

Moving together.

The "lake" undulated because it was alive.

Eris was still held by the waist, suspended beside him. She noticed the concentration on Rygar's face and remained silent.

When he understood what he was seeing, several details fell into place.

The constant and irritating noise that until then seemed distant.

The stench of rot that permeated the environment.

They came from those creatures.

He extended his senses.

A few meters below the black mass, he felt bones.

Probably the remains of someone who, at some point in history, had bones too resistant to be completely dissolved.

But the traces and carcasses of Red Dragons were everywhere.

They did not have the same luck, and were slowly devoured.

Rygar expanded his perception even further, he could not feel visible edges.

The lake seemed to extend for kilometers and more kilometers, endlessly.

He looked up again.

Nothing, only darkness.

A restlessness began to grow within them.

The sound, which before resembled the distant chirping of a cicada, began to increase.

Rygar frowned.

He was under the effect of a mental attack.

One that strengthened the more he became aware of the environment.

It was a very insidious and cunning spell.

Whoever had tried to explore that Labyrinth in the past, if they did not possess senses as specific as his, would probably have wandered there for days… perhaps weeks.

Without realizing that there was no exit.

He looked around again. Nothing to the sides and nothing above.

The only answer was downward.

He returned his gaze to the "lake".

With his free hand, he pointed to the mass of black insects.

One of the runes on his gauntlet began to glow purple.

A slight spatial ripple formed.

This was one of the main purposes of the Sköllvindr Armor — Transcendent Version.

To increase his versatility and power when dealing with magics that altered reality.

And one ability in particular was extremely useful there.

An electromagnetic pulse exploded from his hand.

At the same time, the lake opened.

It was as if it were being pushed.

As if an invisible barrier had formed at the center and begun to expand without stopping.

The creatures were forced away under this irresistible force and the gap gradually widened, more and more.

Sharp and terrified screeches echoed through the void.

The living black mass was reacting and tried to resist.

But it was useless.

This is Telekinetic Magic.

By completely breaking the blockade of the billions of tiny creatures, Rygar finally felt something promising.

Beneath the surface below that sea of creatures, there was an enormous white marble staircase.

Regardless of the amount of black planktons, none dared approach the staircase too closely.

An untouchable dome formed around it.

No longer sensing immediate danger, Rygar advanced without releasing Eris.

He descended directly through the tunnel created by the magic, crossing the sea of creatures under their countless gazes.

He flew toward the staircase.

He descended the marble steps.

Until, suddenly, the environment changed abruptly.

Both found themselves inside a dense jungle.

Colossal trees rose in every direction, so large that even the Great Forest seemed small in comparison.

Their trunks were as thick as towers, their canopies were lost in the darkness above, blocking any notion of sky.

Eris finally broke the silence while drawing her blade.

"What was that sea after all? Was it toxic?"

Rygar smiled, laughing lightly.

"Haha! I think it's better not to know…"

He then walked toward one of the gigantic trees.

Size was not the only extraordinary thing in that forest.

Carved into the trunks were engravings.

As if someone had tried to record a history or a tale.

At first, Rygar observed them without much attention.

Groups of warriors hunting some kind of mutant tiger.

A great civilization established around a colossal waterfall — as tall as a mountain.

But there was a specific engraving that captured his attention.

In it there was only one man.

Or perhaps two.

The art was rudimentary, cave-like, with a specific style.

A man riding a huge White Wolf, which acted as his mount and constantly bared its claws to any enemy.

The man had prominent fangs and seemed to be releasing a war cry.

His hair was long and silver.

His skin was dark, the muscles prominent.

But his most distinct characteristic was unmistakable, he had two heads.

One resembled a Lupine Beastman.

The other, a Feline Beastman.

This immediately made Rygar remember an ancient legend about the First Beast God.

In Labyrinths, strength did not always solve the problem ahead. Many times, it was necessary to observe and perceive clues.

He began to examine the engravings more carefully.

It was when he felt a rapid approach. He briefly looked in the direction of the movement and saw that Eris was in that place.

As he did not feel anything else accompanying the intruder, he returned to the engravings.

Eris walked through the jungle, observing the terrain, analyzing the space, familiarizing herself with the natural topography.

And like Rygar, she also felt the approach of an enemy, although later than him.

Moving faster than any creature of that size should, a huge four-meter Werewolf advanced toward her with a growl.

It moved through the trees as if it were on the ground.

Eris saw its movements perfectly thanks to the Eye of Foresight. Judging broadly, in terms of pure speed, that monster was at the same level as Clint.

Which seemed a bit exaggerated, considering Clint was a Sword Emperor.

Not sensing anything else abnormal, Eris simply moved.

A single step to the side, and a slight leap forward.

Her blade traced a clean arc through the air.

Time seemed to slow.

The Werewolf passed by her with the same speed with which it had advanced.

But it did not take more than five steps before falling.

Its neck was almost completely cut, and the crimson-red blood gushed like a fountain.

Eris cleaned the blade with a sharp motion and approached the fallen creature.

Outside that Labyrinth, that thing would have been a walking disaster.

But inside there? It was only the first monster to appear.

She drew her second blade and began to examine the creature's weak points. This was basic for an adventurer.

Did the monster die with the heart destroyed?

Could it move with the brain crushed?

Did it possess some kind of poison?

Any special ability?

Rygar did not need to do that, since he could sense that information just by looking at an opponent.

Eris was a Beast Saint, so she was not completely in the dark either.

But she still needed to test and learn.

After some time observing the engravings, Rygar approached the creature.

He observed with his brow slightly furrowed.

"Was this the first one?"

Eris, who had just confirmed that the tendons could be cut with relative ease, replied:

"Yes. Well… it wasn't that troublesome. But if there are several of these at the same time it will get complicated…"

She stood and turned her gaze toward the interior of the forest.

"Did you find any clue in those engravings?"

"Nothing special," Rygar replied. "But it seems we are inside some kind of ancient bestial civilization. I cannot say exactly how ancient… but perhaps it is one of the first that existed."

Labyrinths were formed when a great amount of mana concentrated in a single place.

The reason for that concentration often revealed what would be found inside.

Unfortunately, no one knew how the Dragon God's Hole emerged, so they were groping in the dark.

Eris slightly widened her eyes.

"Like those civilizations with real gods?"

Rygar nodded.

"That's right. But we still have to confirm."

He turned upon sensing new presences in the distance.

"Let's speed this up. We have thousands of floors ahead."

Eris nodded, serious.

The next instant, both disappeared from where they were.

If they wanted to conquer that Labyrinth in a matter of months, they would need to clear multiple floors in a single day.

According to the records of the Future Guide, that was a massive Labyrinth, with around three thousand floors.

They had barely advanced a few hundred meters when they encountered more than ten lycanthropes.

They were similar to the previous one, but with variations among the races.

One resembled a humanoid rabbit.

It moved like a blur, leaping through the trees with absurd speed.

Another was like a living tank.

A bipedal elephant with rigid black scales covering its body.

There were also tigers, bears, antelopes.

Each with exaggerated bestial traits.

Fortunately, not all were as powerful as the first Werewolf.

But each of them was, at minimum, equivalent to a beast at the level of a common dragon.

As they advanced and faced the creatures, Eris realized something: her strength was not the type of power that would advance easily in that Labyrinth.

She was simply the minimum necessary to leave alive while exploring that place.

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