Chapter 172: Aria’s Dire Situation (3)

Aria found herself cornered, her back pressed against the cave wall, as there was no other exit from the chamber.

The monster lowered itself, its tongue slowly and eagerly sliding across its teeth with a "slrrp" sound, and started to advance towards her.

Before she even realized she was doing it, Aria’s hand snatched a loose stone.

"Get back...!" she yelled, and then she threw it.

The rock struck the creature directly in the face with a loud "Pak!", causing the monster’s head to snap to the side.

A narrow stream of dark liquid trickled from the brow above its eye.

However, it neither fell nor significantly paused, as it licked the dark fluid and appeared to... grin ferociously.

Aria threw another stone.

She then threw a third.

The second stone hit the monster’s shoulder, and the third one struck its teeth.

The monster hissed, a wet, bubbling sound, and then it lunged.

WHOOSH!

Seeing this, Aria’s body moved again as she stepped in and smashed the last rock in her hand against the side of its jaw.

BAM!

Pain shot up her wrist as the creature’s head jerked.

For one heartbeat, she thought she had created space.

Then its webbed hand caught her forearm.

"...!!"

Aria punched it in the face with her free hand.

Once.

Twice.

Her knuckles split against its scales but the monster barely felt it.

It slammed her back into the cave wall.

BANG!

"Gahh!"

The air left her lungs.

Aria kicked, kneeing its midsection, clawing at its slick wrist, twisting like a person who refused to die quietly.

But the monster simply forced her down.

First to her knees.

Then onto her back.

Cold water splashed around her shoulders as it pinned her with its weight.

One webbed hand locked around both her wrists and crushed them against the stone above her head.

The other pressed down on her stomach, heavy enough to steal her breath.

Yet Aria kept thrashing.

Her legs kicked against its hips and her body bucked, but it wasn’t enough.

The creature leaned in, lidless black eyes staring down at her, jaws opening wide enough for her to see the rows of needle teeth and the pale tongue sliding forward.

Slrrrp.

Gulp.

Aria’s blue eyes burned.

"Let... go!!"

She just kept struggling under it, teeth clenched, even as the monster slowly finished pinning her in place.

For some reason, the monster didn’t bite yet.

It simply stayed on top of her, weight crushing her into the wet stone, and watched Aria twist and struggle under it.

Her maid uniform clung to her from the water until a generous curve of her large breasts was seen.

The creature tilted its head at the sight, its lidless black eyes tracking her every movement, strained breath, and futile jerk of her body.

It was studying her, clearly toying with its food.

A low bubbling sound rolled out of its throat, almost like satisfaction.

It then started to gradually descend.

The scent of fish wafted into Aria’s face.

Its jaws hung above her throat, so near that she could feel the moist warmth of its breath.

Its needle-like teeth brushed the air just above her skin without piercing it.

Aria’s blue eyes trembled.

But she still didn’t scream.

She only struggled harder, twisting her shoulders, trying to get even one hand free.

Then the monster’s free hand moved down... toward its favorite part... the most tender part of this food.

Webbed claws caught the front of her torn uniform, then it pulled.

Riiip—

The cloth gave way in one rough motion.

The upper part of her maid dress split open, wet fabric tearing down the middle.

"Y-You...!"

Cool cave air hit her skin at once as Aria’s alluring chest was exposed.

Her large breasts spilled free of the ruined cloth, rising and falling hard with each trapped breath.

It was pale and smooth, with healthy pink buds on its peaks.

Water ran down the curve of them and gathered in the hollow of her throat.

The monster went still.

Its black eyes dropped to the newly bared skin.

Then its tongue slid out again, dragging slowly across its teeth.

Slrrp.

Seeing this, Aria’s heart was filled with humiliation and fear at the same time.

She twisted her shoulders, trying to cover herself even with her wrists pinned above her head.

But it was useless.

The monster’s black eyes stayed on her chest.

Then, it slowly lowered its head, much like a beast that already knows its prey has no chance of escaping.

Aria’s breath hitched.

"S-Stop...!"

The word came out sharp, then broke.

The creature didn’t stop.

Its long tongue slid farther out and dragged across its teeth again, leaving a wet sheen behind.

A drop of that slick saliva filled with hunger fell onto the upper curve of her breast and ran down.

Aria flinched hard, realizing that this thing was treating her body as food.

The composure she hated finally began to collapsed into something small and broken... and weak.

"...Somebody..."

"...Please..."

The words softly left her.

But then—

"...!"

Aria turned her face toward the entrance from which she had come because she heard footsteps... a multitude of footsteps!

They echoed down the passage in a jumbled, overlapping rhythm.

Aria’s blue eyes widened.

Hope hit her so hard it almost hurt.

’Someone came...! A rescue is here...!’

Turning her head towards the entrance, her chest remained exposed, her body still pinned, and her face held a hopeful and desperate belief.

However, when the first shape appeared, it was not... a person.

A slick, hunched figure crawled out of the tunnel, lidless black eyes gleaming in the crystal light.

Then another.

Then three more behind that.

A whole group of the fish-like monsters spilled into the dead chamber, water dripping from their scales, jaws working as they scented blood and fear.

Aria’s hope died on the spot at the sight.

The light in her eyes went out.

"...No."

The word left her like a breath that had nowhere to go.

The monster on top of her let out a bubbling growl, as if pleased by the audience.

The new ones spread along the walls and water’s edge, circling, staring at the pinned maid with the same hungry stillness.

Aria’s face went pale.

The despair that followed was more intense than during the initial pursuit because this time, there were no remaining escape routes, and their numbers had grown too large.

Complete despair consumed her.

It wasn’t expressed as a scream, but rather as a profound, overwhelming stillness that settled in her chest.

Aria was pinned down on the damp stone, her torn uniform hanging open, completely surrounded.

The monster above her held her wrists firmly, and soon, the others moved in, leaving no space to see anything but scales, claws, and black, lidless eyes.

One of them crouched near her legs, while another waded through the shallow water and stopped by her head.

Two more clung to the walls with their heads tilted, watching her.

The remaining ones blocked the only tunnel leading out.

Aria’s blue eyes scanned each face before an overwhelming sense of despair finally took hold.

Then, with a quiet whisper, she said,

"Sister... I am sorry... for not being able to fulfill our... dream."

A single tear then traced a path down her cheek.