Fangs. Countless razor-sharp fangs.

I ducked as soon as the anomaly extended its claws forward. The weight of its touch shivered down my spine, but the pain I expected to feel after the impact never registered. It missed my flesh, albeit narrowly. I looked behind as the contents of my backpack scattered across the lobby floor. Despite its failure, the creature twisted on its long limbs, leaving deep imprints over the carpet as it used its claws to stop its momentum before demolishing the wardrobe at the front entrance with its bulk. Locking its vivid eyes on me, its grin twisted into something resembling frustration.

"Fuck," I whispered, my legs already racing.

I moved up the staircase, almost tumbling as I heard the thuds closing in. I caught myself and kept fleeing, battling no differently than a larva on the side of the road, conscious of the fact that if I were to commit a mistake again, I'd be caught and killed. Or worse, eaten alive.

A trembling growl echoed as the anomaly chased after me. It leaped over numerous stairs with each stride. Shit! Just imagining being touched by that thing was shuddering. In fear, I whirled around and swung my blade, severing a portion of its hand. Unfamiliar with agony, a scream ripped through the monster's hoarse throat, its expression distorting into one of blind wrath.

That was my intention all along.

Doors flashed by as I passed through a long corridor. Each of the anomaly steps' caused the emergency sign to waver, but that wasn't enough to shake my resolve. Before I knew it, I reached the end. Its hideous mouth curved into a toothy grin, convinced I had nowhere to escape. One tread, two, and then it leaped with an ecstatic howl that reverberated through the whole structure. It was set to rip its prey, me, to tiny bits.

Or something along those lines should that monster think.

I threw myself into Mara's flat at the last possible moment. The monster tried to hook me away, but failed to do so as its claws only tore through the air between us. Glass shattered, immediately followed by a frantic wail. It worked, I yelled in my head as I got out to check the result of my work.

A blast of wind brushed against my face as my line of sight slid down. It stood there, holding my gaze, completely fine other than a few drops of greenish blood spilling on the asphalt from its injured hand—as if the height that would've killed a regular person was nothing.

I swallowed and took a slight step back. An incredulous smile emerged across my face, one that couldn't reach the eye.

"I can't believe it..." slipped out.

The anomaly vanished into the shadows of a building, seemingly uninterested in me anymore. Perhaps I wasn't worth the trouble. With one deep breath, my knees buckled. The information I ignored kept flooding in. My eyes grew heavy, bleary even, as one voice clearly rang out:

'So that's your porter, huh...' said that hunter, Ryan.

He knew how things would turn out, and he just let it happen. Of that, I was convinced with every fiber of my being.

I squeezed the artifact so hard my knuckles whitened. It was obvious. All I had to do was ask a simple question. Why are there so many goblins to begin with? I faced serval kinds of monsters when first entered the 4th District, so why is the situation different now?

Hunters dealt with the most dangerous monsters, leaving the small fries behind for us to worry about.

They were monsters, but it wasn't as if they acted without reason. They formed an ecosystem all on their own, with the anomaly at the peak of the apex. It either evolved by devouring other species of weaker monsters roaming around, or a mutation occurred as it got its claws on mercenaries and scavengers alike. Something that could be accomplished only by a high-ranking monster.

"...I'm an idiot..."

Because only an idiot would bring a woman to a place where goblins reigned, a species well-known for what they did to their captives and how quickly they reproduced. I couldn't even fathom from what distance they caught Mara's scent.

None of this would have happened if I had kept my mouth shut and not pressed the others into delving further into this shithole. As a result, the only person who could be blamed was me.

I slammed my fist against the wall, but that wasn't enough to vent away any of my guilt. I wanted to scream, to spit out each curse my stupid brain could muster, but bit my lower lip before I could. As if I'd allow myself the chance to slip away so easily, a part of me seemed to say.

It overwhelmed everything that happened within the Underworld. Mara's different compared to the rest. She's more than an acquaintance. She's a friend. Someone I've risked my life for, and who has, in turn, perished for mine.

Yes, she's someone I've considered parting ways with, but discarding her has never been an option I thought of even in my wildest dreams. Especially given everything she has done for me.

I barely noticed the taps behind me. When I strained my neck toward the source, I realized I was completely surrounded. I didn't even flinch as the monsters swarmed closer to me like a pack of hyenas around a bleeding prey. I purposefully leaned forward, knowing the impact of colliding head-first into the cement would be enough to do the job—to put me to rest. That sounded less painful than being ripped apart.

But doing so would be a betrayal of Mara's efforts to keep me alive.

I forced myself up, taking my usual stance as I held the luminescent artifact toward them. Its edge easily pierced the anomaly's skin, so how about a few gleeful goblins? Something overwrote Mara's absence. My stomach was churning with unbearable wrath. In that second, I wanted nothing more than to remove their smirks.

A sneer came from the one that leaped toward me. I leaned down—much lower than the monster anticipated—and used my shoulder and elbow to help him fly a little further, just outside the shattered window. A fantastic screech was followed by a dull splash. It tried to grab onto my clothes, but due to my unexpected attack, it barely managed to scrape them, leaving no apparent injuries.

I resumed my stance as I controlled my breathing. It wasn't over yet.

Another followed, not having the guts to hop as its companion did. Like Mara, I smacked its jaw with the tip of my shoe before dropping my knee onto its chest and thrusting the mana-filled blade into its temple. Its short hands, which were on their way to me, brushed against the floor. The lights in its eyes faded out instantly.

I rose up, kicking its small carcass out of the way as I approached the remainder of the goblins—some of which continued climbing the steps, having yet to join us at the end of the corridor.

The ones at the front, however, were astonished. None were laughing anymore. A good thing, but I wasn't entirely satisfied. Monsters shouldn't mimic a human's expressions to such a degree. It would be preferable if they couldn't impersonate anything at all. I'll see to it.

The next glacial threat, which they couldn't grasp, rattled them further:

"Don't even think about staying alive."