Chapter 170: Aria’s Dire Situation.

Meanwhile, deeper inside the cave...

Aria pressed herself against the cold stone wall, both hands covering her mouth.

Her whole body was shaking faintly as her blue eyes trembled.

The maid uniform she wore was torn at the sleeve and stained with dirt.

Her breathing was so tight it hurt, but she still didn’t dare make a sound.

Because she could hear it.

Schlck...

Schlck...

Something wet was moving on the other side of the rocks.

Aria squeezed her eyes shut at that sound.

She had actually just been in the underground training ground and was called by the other maids to check out a strange sword.

She remembered picking up the strange sword because it had been left on the floor, thinking someone had forgotten their equipment.

And she even managed to notice that it wasn’t a simple sword, but an enchanted artifact from her experience.

But since she didn’t know its abilities, she wasn’t prepared or on guard against it.

Then just like that, there was light blinding the entire area and the group of maids including her.

And the next moment... she found herself in this place alone.

At first she thought she had only gotten lost, as she called out to the other maids.

Then she heard the first scream.

And.. then the wet tearing sounds.

Aria’s eyes opened again.

She slowly peeked through a gap in the stone.

Down below, in a wider cavern half-filled with shallow water, two humanoid fish-like figures were hunched over something.

Aria’s stomach lurched at the sight.

She looked away immediately, as she knew what those monsters were busy doing.

That had been one of the other maids.

The way the uniform cloth had been floating in the water left no doubt.

Aria bit down on her lip until she tasted blood.

’I have to hide... I have to hide...’

She crawled farther into the narrow crevice she had found, curling her body as small as she could.

Her fingers were ice-cold and her legs had gone numb.

But she didn’t move out.

Because if those things heard her... even once, she knew exactly what would happen.

Aria stared into the dark.

But strangely right now, if one were to look from the outside, her face barely changed.

Her blue eyes were wet, but they stayed still.

Her mouth was closed.

Her breathing, though tight, was forced into something almost even.

Even in this dire situation, she still looked calm... almost empty.

And she hated that.

Even now, hiding in a crack in the rock, listening to monsters eat someone she had worked with, her face refused to break the way it should.

Aria’s fingers dug into her own arm.

’Why am I like this...’

She could feel the fear.

It was there.

It was crushing her chest, making her legs numb, making her want to scream.

But her expression stayed the same.

The same quiet look she used when her parents snapped at her...

The same quiet look she used when other kids blamed her for things she didn’t do when she was young.

And the same quiet look she used when... her sister died.

Aria pressed her forehead against the stone at all of this memory that suddenly appeared.

But then another wet sound rose from the cavern below.

Schlck.

Crunch.

Her shoulders trembled once... then they stopped too.

She hated that part too.

It was almost as if her body and mind were forced to stay calm in all situations.

Because of it, it made her feel like she wasn’t even allowed to look human while people died in front of her.

Aria swallowed the bitterness before it could leave her throat.

’Don’t move...’

She stayed curled in the crevice, face still too composed for the terror inside her, listening as the monsters finished below.

Then her foot slipped.

...It was only a little.

Just enough for her heel to press against a loose stone.

Tik.

Aria froze.

The sound was small.. almost nothing.

...But in a cave this quiet, it was enough.

The stone under her shoe shifted as she saw a thin crack running through the ledge.

Crack—

A pebble broke free and dropped.

Aria’s eyes widened a fraction.

The pebble fell through the gap, bounced once against the rock wall, and hit the water below.

Plop.

The cavern went still.

Aria didn’t breathe.

Below her, one of the fish-like monsters stopped moving.

Slowly... its head turned first.

The pale crystal light slid over its slick scalp and lidless black eyes as it stared toward the rocks.

A strand of bloody water dripped from its jaw and stretched, then snapped.

The second monster also halted as a wet click came from its throat.

Then the first one began to walk.

Schlck...

Schlck...

Now, each step was cautious, a stark contrast to the heavy, feeding gait from earlier.

It was as if this creature, this monster, was actively searching for something.

It waded out of the shallow water and climbed onto the stone near the wall, webbed hands pressing against the rock as it lifted its body higher.

Its gills flared and its head tilted, listening seriously.

Aria pressed herself farther into the crevice.

Her face stayed almost blank; only her fingers were shaking.

The monster sniffed the air.

Then it dragged its claws across the stone.

Skrk...

Some loose stone rained down past Aria’s hiding place.

And at that moment, the creature’s black eyes rose toward the crack.

It couldn’t see her yet.

...But it knew something was there.

Another bubbling growl leaked from its throat as it began climbing higher, testing each hold, drawing closer to the narrow gap Aria was hiding in.

Aria’s breathing became ragged upon hearing the movement.

She struggled to control it, she truly did, but as the monster ascended, it grew increasingly difficult.

Each breath she took felt like it was tearing through her chest, and each exhale felt on the verge of becoming audible.

The composure she had maintained finally began to falter.

Not into a scream, but her lips parted, and her blue eyes trembled as she stared at the dark stone in front of her.

But at that moment—

Schlck.

The creature’s webbed hand slapped against the rock just below the crevice.

"...!!!"

Aria flinched, a tiny, ragged breath escaping her lips.

The monster, sensing this slight movement, paused.

Its head pivoted towards the opening.

Aria could now hear it clearly... the moist air being drawn through its gills and the sound of cave water dripping from its body.

The low, bubbling growl building in its throat as it leaned closer.

And to her horror, a long, slick finger slid into the crack.

It scraped along the stone, feeling it and searching.

Aria pressed herself so hard against the back of the crevice that the rock cut into her shoulder.

Her breathing turned shallow and uneven, almost gasping, but she still forced her mouth shut.

The finger moved again... closer.

Then it stopped.

Aria’s eyes widened as the slick, webbed hand slowly pulled back from the crack.

The scraping noise then diminished as the presence beneath them appeared to subside.

Aria felt the tightness in her chest slightly ease.

"It left?" she whispered, a faint breath escaping her lips.

Relief briefly crossed her face before she could suppress it.

However, this feeling was only fleeting.

In the very next moment, something wet and heavy smacked against the rock directly in front of the opening.

Then, the monster’s black, lidless eye emerged at the edge and peered inside.

The crystal light caught the slick curve of its empty, gleaming eye.

It was so close that Aria could see the pale film covering it.

"...!"

Aria, frozen, stared back.

Her lips parted, but she couldn’t make a sound.

As the monster’s black gaze fixated on her in her hiding spot, a gurgling growl rose from its throat, signaling its awareness of prey within the crevice.

A heavy sound followed.

Gulp.

The creature swallowed, as though its throat had already deemed her food.