— Apartment Complex 637B —
It was a scene of carnage. Rat carcasses lay all over, some so messed up that they were impossible to recognize. Meanwhile, a certain cat was going absolutely bonkers in his mad rampage. Usual quiet building? There were only squeaks of terror!
— Squeak! Squeak! —
“MIAOW!” (Perish, weakling!)
"Tch, don't get too cocky. Use your full power!"
Damon admonished his pet as soon as he realized it was playing with its prey. So what if it was already a rat-murdering machine? Its movements were still way too sloppy!
“Focus. You just let a rat pass by your leg; are you blind?! Be faster, sharper, and more decisive. Stop playing! Go for the kill; aim for the vitals! Otherwise, they'll turn the tables on you.”
Damon kept shouting directives from the back while his fake magical beast went on a rampage. By the side, a certain middle-aged tenant had his eyes as wide as saucers as he watched the scene. Wasn't this overkill?! He couldn't have hoped for better exterminators.
"A-Amazing! So that's the power of a true Magical Beast!"
Hearing this, a certain cat's ears perked up with delight. Of course, it was amazing! Not to brag, but regular cats would never be as powerful and magnificent as it— SMACK! Just when it was glowing with Pride, Damon smacked it.
“What did I say about letting your guard down?!”
“Miaow!” (Yes, Boss!)
Thus, the slaughter resumed, diligently this time. The rats were now losing their lives so fast that the middle-aged man couldn't follow the action with his eyes. As for Damon, he nodded approvingly at his pet's improvement:
"Take this training seriously, and you'll become stronger than most Magical Beasts. That, I promise." He had barely finished when he sensed the cat's attitude change, its eyes flashing with ruthlessness.
It would do it! It would freaking do it! Whatever it took! It would FIGHT! Emboldened, it suddenly made a sweeping motion, a bloody trail appearing...
[Ding! Three Rats, 1 Claw! Killed three rats at once!]
T-That… a new message?! The cat’s breathing got quicker as it felt weak at the knees.
“See what you can do when you apply yourself?” Damon laughed, running his hand atop his pet's head, the latter still glowing proudly.
“Anyway, ready for the next apartment?”
“Miaow!” (I was born ready! Those rats will regret the day they were born!)
As if a tornado, a certain cat rushed out so fast that it almost blew the paint off the walls! Thus started what one could only call a divine crusade…
Cat VS Rats
Slaughterer VS Massacree
Grim Reaper VS Helpless Prey
— And the more it went, the weaker the rats became. At first, they had been rushing everywhere, but they progressively became more and more sluggish, as if they had given up all hope... and seemingly awaited death?!
Seeing this….
“MIAOW!” (This is so easy!)
“Wait! Something's wrong! DODGE!”
The cat had no clue what was happening, but it still dashed backward.
That’s when it happened. Out of nowhere, the floor exploded, sending wooden shards all over. — CRACK! SHATTER! — Then, a gray mass flew upward.
— SHRIEK! SHRIEK! SHRIEK! —
The puny squeaks had turned to nightmarish shrieks.
It was a swarm of rats, so many fucking rats, a goddamn sea of rats! Teeth as sharp as daggers, red bloodthirsty eyes… and all pouncing in unison, the poor cat barely avoiding! Had it been a second later, it would have been reduced to shreds!
"Miaow?!" (H-How are there so many?! This has to be cheating!)
[Rat Swarm Detected! Converts Humans to Poop!]
[Congratulations! You're Outnumbered!]
[Fight? Escape? NVM: It's too late!]
Just as the System chimed in, something changed...
The hole from which the rat swarm had come? It suddenly started glowing Purple, a hue that Damon knew very well. As soon as he saw it, his face distorted... Demonic Energy, here?! HOW?! His mind raced faster than a horse on drugs...
Had a Demon appeared? Here, of all places? Unlikely.
Was it a Dungeon instead? Could that be it? No, it was way too fast!
Wait, no, that had to be it! Damon cursed as he realized it was fucking both!
That's when the purple energy exploded outward! It expended, akin to a Domain, englobing the entire area. Except, it seemed only to affect them and the building, the original tenant disappearing as if he had never been there.
As soon as the corruption touched the walls, they began morphing, turning into a nightmarish version of themselves.
Concrete Walls → Walls of disgusting flesh.
Even the very air became rotten and oppressive, trying to corrupt them.
But what was truly terrifying were the windows. They revealed a dark world full of red stars. Eyes, bloodthirsty rat eyes, so many of them that they looked like deadly constellations. It was a world of ravenous rats!
"Miaow?!" (Damn Rats, stay away, or I'll eat you all! Master, what IS this place?!)
Damon didn't even need to answer, the System did in his place.
[Congratulations! Entered an Instant Dungeon!]
[You're Doomed! Say Your Prayers?]
As if on cue, the walls started creaking, and trembling. Then, a second later.... — Shriek! Shriek! Shriek! The shrieks resounded once more, this time with a clear rhythm. Now that the sneak attack had failed, it would be an all-out assault!
The walls started bleeding rats, and so did the windows!
Rats, rats everywhere, a sea of goddamn rats!
"RUUNNNN!" Damon dashed out.
"Miaow!" (Following!)
They barely escaped the room when it exploded with rats. The creatures instantly turned their bloodthirsty gazes at them as they relentlessly chased. They were coming for them, and ONLY them!
Damon couldn't help but curse...
"A fucking Rat King, and a Demonic Mutated one to boot!"
Dungeons in the Blue Zone were always related to demons. In this case, instead of becoming a Magical Beast, the Rat King had evolved into a Demonic Beast. This had granted it the power to open an Instant Dungeon... thus the deadly rat world!
[Ding! Successfully Guessed Your Enemy's Identity!]
[Rat King: Multiplies its brethrens' power by a thousandfold!]
[The Swarm Wants You Dead! New Quest: Escape the Dungeon!]
As if to prove its danger...
— BANG! A flying rat erupted out of a wall, barely missing their heads. Its sharp teeth kept clacking as it relentlessly bit, so fast and powerfully that its own jaw was about to collapse. Then, it dived back into a wall, definitely about to try again.
Then came more and more rats, until there was a volley of them. Heck, if those fuckers kept digging, the whole building would come crashing down, dungeon or no dungeon! They needed to act fast before the damage became irreversible.
"Gotta find that damn Rat King, or we're screwed. You take the left wing, I take the right. Understood? Good!"
As soon as his pet nodded, Damon actually jumped off the building!! For an instant, he seemed to be flying, about to land into the "red stars", but at the last second, he did a pirouette, landing on a balcony below! Then, he quickly resumed running.
47… Clear!
46… CLEAR!
.
.
17… CLE— WAIT!
Floor 17 was different. If before the rats had been crazy, their craziness suddenly turned volatile. This was the source of the Nightmare that had created this Dungeon! — SHHHHHRRRRRRIIIIIIEKKKKKK! —
"Our target's here. Quick, smell it out!"
Smell? Sure! The cat took a big whiff of the air and— retched! It vomited all the rats it had eaten so far. Foul, so foul! Yet, it forced itself to follow the stench, the trail quickly leading them to a door buried in journals, probably a mirror of how it was in the real world.
Damon slammed his entire body into the door, cracking it open and revealing its inside. It was bad, so bad that it made their once unclean room look like Paradise instead!
Shit everywhere.
Rotten flesh.
Bones.
This wasn’t a room; it was a feeding ground. The missing persons from the posters at the entrance? They were all here, or the little that remained of them anyway. As for the rats? There were none visible! Where the hell was the Rat King hiding?!
"M-Miaow!" (Master, we have a problem! The trail stops here!)
The room was so encumbered, so filthy, and so fucking smelly, that it was impossible to tell the odors apart. As for hunting for the creature by rifling through the trash...
— SHHRRRRIIIEEEKKK! SHRIIIEEEEKKKK!—
…They didn’t have all day! Any second, the Rat Army would be upon them!
Panicking, the cat jumped from one trash pile to another, searching for their target in vain. At this moment, it was seriously considering trying to escape they Dungeon some other way. Their enemy was way too good at hiding!
Damon didn't say anything; he simply observed his surroundings:
On a desk, a rat cage, incredibly lavish for no reason.
On the wall, a portrait of an old lady, with her plump rat.
In the corner, said old lady's skeleton sitting on a rocking chair.
This was it! This place had to reflect its owner.
"There, inside the skeleton! Hurry, I'll hold them back!"
Damon screamed, then turned back to the shattered door.
— SHRIEEEKK! SHRIEKKK! SHRIEKKK!! SHRIEKKK! SHRIEKKK! —
The rats quickly filled the once-empty doorframe. There were so many of them that they formed a wall, the lot of them crashing into the room as if a tidal wave. Damon braced himself. He had to RESIST! He needed to buy time for his new partner...
Amidst the cacophony of shrieks, an outraged one resounded in the background. The cat had finally found its opponent!
Damon grinned, not even bothering to watch the fight. He didn't have time. No, he focused all his movements on thwarting the incoming legion. The nearby desk? He grabbed it whole!
"Here, express delivery!"
As he slammed the entire thing against the rats, his arms almost broke from impact. He moved a bit to absorb the shock, cursing those damn vermins. Had it been a bigger, singular enemy, he could have blasted it to oblivion with his Demonic Touch ability!
But as he moved a bit, it created a gap...
Rats came flooding in, crawling atop his arms, eager to help their King! Some mercilessly bit into his flesh, others aimed for his eyes, resolved to blind him. Damon had no choice but to close his eyelids, ignoring the blood abundantly flowing from all his superficial wounds.
But he wouldn't take the bullying lying down. As many rats reached his face....
"So what if you guys can bite? So can I!" They bit him, so Damon bit them back!
— CRUNCH! — As he felt the satisfying sound of bones shattering in his mouth, he couldn’t help but erupt laughing.
"You want to devour me? Come, you fuckers! Devour me fast, or I'll devour all of you first!" At this moment, even the mindless beasts stilled. W-What the heck was up with this human?! It seemed he was only getting started...
“CRUNCH! Hehehehe— PUH- Another one!” Damon was being so loud and showy, even chipping a few of his teeth in the process, but it wasn’t like he had suddenly turned insane.
After all, in the back, a duel was ongoing…
[Rat King Encountered! Unranked Demonic Beast!]
[You're No Match For This Foe. Escape!]
It looked like a rat... with purple glowing eyes and a freaking crown made of human teeth!
While it was the same size and had a similar body to a regular rat, its capabilities were leagues apart.
Not only was this beast incredibly quick and strong, but it actually knew how to bait and dodge! A malicious, sly light inhabited its gaze as it couldn't wait to devour the cat that had actually challenged it.
As for the poor cat, it was already getting destroyed. Had it not been for Damon's spartan training, it would have long died. no matter what it tried, it seemed utterly pointless...
Cat Claw Slash? → Dodged, and easily!
Paw High-Kick? → The damn rat rolled over, recovering!
Well-Timed Bite? → The bastard escaped the attack by sacrificing its tail... and it actually grew back?!
The creature's regenerative capabilities alone would have given it an insurmountable edge, but it was also getting stronger by the second: it was learning! Seeing this, a distraught cat slowly but surely came to the realization that it was doomed.
Then as the fight kept going, the Rat King kept scoring hits. By now, Damon's companion wasn't black, but red. Its entire body was filled with scars, the little vitality it still had left dwindling by the second.
— SHRIEK! —
The rat bastard taunted it.
Yet the cat didn’t even have the energy to reply.
Its body was growing cold, yet it couldn’t bear to give up.
Stronger than a magical beast. Stronger than a magical beast. Stronger than a magical beast...
Its master had promised. It couldn’t let him down! It couldn’t — Yet, death stared it in the face. The King’s Claw extended before its eyes and—
— and?! Just as the King was about to deliver the final blow, a booming voice resounded. It was so powerful that it felt like it could cleave the rats alone… almost!
“Go on! Devour me, you fuckers! Devour me, or I’ll devour all of you!
“CRUNCH! Hehehehe— PUH- Another one!” Mad laughter came like lightning.
The rats stilled. Even the King stilled. The cat didn’t. It wouldn’t let its guard down, not again! It pounced, its claw penetrating its opponent’s belly.
Not yet! Not yet! Then it bit it, the stench filling its entire being. This rat was so fucking disgusting— and yet it kept biting, just like its master! Both bit with all their soul, in utter sync! CRUNCH!
The rats stopped, entirely. Their king dead, they reverted to regular rats, fearful rats.
All it took was a single glare from the human and cat duo….
— Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! Squeak! —
They ran so fast that they seemed to evaporate. As for the victors, they were almost blinded by their own blood, yet they couldn’t help but cackle in sync. “Hehehee!” “Kekekeke!” “Hehehee!” “Kekekeke!” but they truly had a reason to rejoice...
[Successfully Completed a Dungeon!]
[Don't Forget to Absorb the Soul Power!]
Just as the notifications came, the remnants of the Dungeon went. They suddenly found themselves in a sea of dead rats, blood overflowing all over the fucking place. With the Rat King dead, the contents of the Instant Dungeon had spilled onto the real world.
But just as they were about to inspect their loot and celebrate...
“FREEZE! YOU’RE SURROUNDED!”
