A fast knife slashed through the air. With little resistance a fly’s head separated from its body. Tepo stood in the middle of blood and severed limbs.

He had just killed the last enemy around him. The others were gradually overcome by their instincts and escaped. Blood was delicious but only if they were alive could they enjoy it.

Tepo breathed heavily. His eyes roamed the once picturesque façade of the manor. Now it was covered in disgusting liquids after witnessing this battle.

Not a single intact corpse remained. They were all taken away by the vines, delivering an unprecedented meal to the plant.

Not trusting the silence, Tepo didn’t relax yet. Close to exhaustion he quickly searched for the bathroom window again. Fortunately, he had always stayed close to it.

At a place with especially many traces of battle, Tepo found the window just in time. Right as he jumped into safety multiple vines shot out of the jungle again.

Fortunately, they retracted as soon as Tepo entered the building. He didn’t question this occurrence as he once again rested I his trusted bathtub.

Tepo breathed shallowly as he studied his body. Blood ran from many light and deep wounds. He had been stabbed, scratched, and hit multiple times. Almost no part of his body had been spared. The young man felt week and exhausted, but also somewhat confident.

It was a great boost to his ego that not everything in this world filled with overpowered warriors could kill him instantly. The young adult’s blood boiled as he remembered the feeling of control over the battlefield. Like a wolf among a flock of sheep he harvested the insects’ lives.

But his rage was fueled as he recalled the reason for many of his wounds. It wasn’t because the flies were too strong or fast. No! It was because those treacherous vines attacked him more and more often.

Already having one continuously spreading spot of poison on his body, Tepo was extremely careful not to be hit by the vines again. Multiple times he would rather dodge into a fly’s attack than touch one of the vines. Thus, his wounds increased unnecessarily.

And the only target to vent his anger were the flies. More than once he had punched out with his fists although he could have used his knife. In retrospect this was incredibly stupid, even though it felt great in the moment.

Tepo realized that some systematic training would be important. But first he had to get out of the dungeon alive.

Since the las time he was in the bathtub the young adult had barely made any progress, but he accumulated a lot of injuries. He felt exhausted and tired from the blood loss. But he gritted his teeth. He couldn’t stay here. If he fell asleep his situation would be incredibly dangerous.

Treating his wounds as good as possible in this situation, Tepo continued on. But as soon as he stepped into the staircase, he frowned slightly.

The fly’s corpse had vanished.

Was it eaten by its brethren? Are they cannibals?

Not in the mood to question his thoughts any further, Tepo walked down the stairs. In his state it was hard to pay attention to every detail. But luckily something still fell into his eyes. Not far from him, directly under a torch, something shimmered strangely.

Tepo furrowed his brows. Why was there fly blood in this spot? He hadn’t killed any insects close to here, right?

Focusing on the drop of blood, he quickly noticed that it was more than a single drop. A whole trail led down the stairs.

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This… it this why the corpse vanished? Has something dragged it away?

Tepo’s chest tightened from this realization. It seemed another beast lurked in these corridors. But the young man remembered the quest he had. He still had to find evidence. And he most likely couldn’t do so in empty caves.

Therefore, Tepo decided to follow the blood trails. His eyes filled with determination as he carefully moved his sore body down the stairs.

A few moments later his guess solidified. The flies he had shot down had disappeared as well. But even more drops of blood decorated the floor.

Soon Tepo arrived at the staircase’s bottom. He wasn’t surprised to see that the trail led to his right. The flies wouldn’t have dared to occupy the left corridors if a predator was roaming around.

Since he had already decided to follow the trail, Tepo certainly wouldn’t stop now. He advanced carefully, sneaking, not daring to make too much noise.

A few minutes later Tepo arrived at another crossing. A corridor led to the right. At this point the trail of blood had almost run dry, but a few drops still shimmer under the torches towards his front.

Thus, Tepo ignored the left and stayed on his path.

Heart beating heavily in his chest, the young man advanced through the dim, frightening stone corridor. The smallest noise made his body tense, but he kept on going.

Finally, as he peeked around another corner something new entered Tepo’s eyes. He had found the end of the corridor. But when he saw the scene there, his body trembled.

Before a massive steel door stood a humanoid monster. Most of its body was similar to a human’s. Its back was a bit too broad, its legs too long, and its neck too thick, but they could only be considered slightly ugly. Unfortunately, this image was ruined by its massive hands.

Tepo stared at them in shock. Right now, a single one of the monster’s hands carried the corpses of three flies but it still wasn’t filled. The other hand was slowly lifted by its muscular arms.

The monster pressed against the heavy steel door. With loud scratching noises the massive door opened slowly. Proving its incredible strength the monster made it look effortless.

But suddenly it stopped. It sniffed the air audibly. Tepo’s eyes grew wide as the monster slowly turned around. Only one word left Tepo’s mouth as their eyes met:

“F*ck!”

The monster, though, countered in a raspy, deep voice:

“Blood!”

Tepo was ready to escape as soon as he saw the monster move. But when it did the young man furrowed his brows.

This slow?

The monster apparently had difficulties walking. With much effort it set one foot before the other, dragging its body along.

Tepo sighed in relief. With this speed the monster couldn’t pose any danger.

Suddenly the monster swung its arm at an incredible speed. A black dot shot towards Tepo. Instinctively he drew back his head.

With a disgusting splash the corpse of a fly exploded on the wall behind Tepo. Luckily, he had been careful, always peeking around corners first. Maybe this had just saved his life.

F*ck! Me and my big mouth! Is this ‘not posing any danger’?!

Admonishing himself, Tepo hurriedly began to jog back the corridor. As long as he kept a certain distance the monster indeed wouldn’t pose too big a threat. He only had to find a way to get rid of it.

Suddenly an idea came to his mind. Tepo began to sprint. Soon, he reached the second crossing again. After a few more corners he stopped.

This should be enough.

Suddenly the young man took off his tattered coat. Next, he got rid of his shirt, trousers, and even his scarf. His injured body was only left in boots and underwear. He stuck the diary he still held into his boots and held his weapons in both hands.

Luckily none of my friends are here right now. They would’ve joked about this for weeks.

Done with his preparations Tepo hastily turned around again. His plan would only work if he was fast enough.

Luckily the monster was indeed lame. When Tepo turned right at the crossing the monster was still nowhere in sight.

The young man passed some more distance before hiding behind a corner. He was gambling right now. Since everything in this manor seems to be out for blood, Tepo hoped that the monster was no different. From its earlier behavior it certainly looked like it.

Calming down, Tepo did his best to reduce his presence as he waited for the monster.

A few seconds later slurping footsteps echoed in the corridor. It sounded is if a heavy weight was dragged over the stone floor.

Tepo quickly hid completely. He closed his eyes, playing a good old game of ‘if I don’t see you, you can’t see me either’. His ears twitched as the monster came closer.

Suddenly it stopped. Sniffing noises sounded out. Tepo’s heart beat wildly. A moment later the steps sounded again… they grew quieter!

Tepo felt elated. His plan seemed to have worked. He counted down from 10 before darting out of his corner.

With the monster out of the way the young man quickly arrived at the steel door. He was certain that something important had to hide behind such strict security. With a strange mix of exhaustion and excitement Tepo pressed his body through the gap opened by the monster earlier.