-Siiiiip-
I took a large sip of the cup of coffee in my hand.
Ah~
Always trust a cup of coffee to take away all your problems. What was I even worried about, anyway?
"Woof!"
Ah, right.
It was a bit confusing at first, but apparently, Eve can just simply kiss me, and regain a bit of her energy back instead of sucking me off and my soul. The only side effect I get, at least for now, is that a bit of my energy also gets drained, resulting in me becoming a bit fatigued.
This isn't an issue, but my main problem is why the hell aren't other people like that? From what she said (?) is that no other human can get their energy sapped like this and stay awake. Hell, a normal kiss from these monsters will sap away a massive portion of your energy, let alone that whole French kissing Eve gave me.
Luckily, nothing happened to me. I'm not exactly sure about her behavior, but I'd like to assume she gave me a quick kiss first to see if I was like other people, but once noticing that wasn't the case, she went wild.
Honestly, I'd much rather my energy get sapped rather than my literal soul, so I'm fine with this. Besides, I feel like my energy is already refilled, so it isn't a detriment.
Let's stop thinking about it, for now. All I know is that Eve won't necessarily violate me in order to survive, and that's a plus. All's well that ends well, ey?
As for now, I still need to find a way to the elevator. My main strategy, for now, is to find a way to distract them. I thought of perhaps throwing an object to avert their attention, but the hallway is long, and there was no way I can throw something that far. And even if I did, they'll hear me the moment I move closer to the elevator. I'm not a biology expert, much less a monster one, but I don't think it's rocket science to assume that monsters with dog features have a sense of hearing similar to real dogs. I thought of perhaps just waiting out for a few hours till they leave, and so I did. When we went back, they were still there.
So, my only other option is Eve. I'm clinging to the hope that perhaps she can distract them and move far away for me to make a run for it. The problem is whether she will do that to me and if she did, can she even follow me?
"Hey," I called out to her, "Can you do something for me?"
"Awoo?"
"Is there any chance you can distract them for me, so I can make a run for it?"
"*Whine*..." She looks at the ground for a moment, thinking. I'm getting used to her gestures by now.
"But, there's another problem," I said, "Can you even follow me if it even works?"
"WOOF!"
For some reason, she was extremely delighted. She put her paw out and just stopped. I waited for a few moments, but nothing happened.
"Woof!"
She called out to me as if I was supposed to do something here. I put my hand out as well. Perhaps she wanted to shake hands? But before I could shake her paw, she flipped her paw, revealing her pads. Confused, I did the same thing.
Then, she put her paw in mine, and...
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"Ow!" I felt a sharp sting in my palm and quickly brought my hand back. I can see a bit of blood coming out of the center of the palm, slowly dripping.
"Oi! What the hell was that for?!"
She didn't answer. Instead, she just stuck her tongue out, and licked my palm. Suddenly, the wound began to glow, with the blood turning into particles.
"Uh-"
It didn't hurt, not at all. After a few moments of it glowing, the wound disappeared, and in its place was a pentagram of sort, a seal. It had Eve's face on it with her tongue out.
"...?" I was confused, to say the least. What will this do? Will it help her locate where I am?
"Hey, what's this suppos-"
"Woof!" She didn't even let me finish my sentence, as she already somehow unlocked the door, and waited for me near the door.
Whatever it is, Eve looks confident in this seal. I grabbed my stuff and left the room. I don't really know what it does, but as long as it isn't harmful, it's fine. Furthermore, I roughly guessed that with it, she'll be able to tell where I was.
---
Eventually, we caught sight of the pack of monster girls. I looked at Eve with worry and sighed. She just stuck her tongue out, licked my hand, and started running toward the pack. One might consider this idea as foolish since she's a demon. For all I know, she might just sell me off, and make me a toy for the pack, and for herself as well. It was dangerous, and my trust in her wasn't 100%, but I have an inkling feeling that she won't sell me off. That, and I don't think I have any other option. I didn't find any vents for me to crawl through, so this is my only option.
If the worst happens, I can try to shoot one of them, make a run for the previous room and lock myself. I don't have much faith in my marksman skills, but god-damn it, I'll have to try my best.
"Woof!" Eve called out to the pack, and they barked in response, all of them sharing the same dumb smile. They conversed with each other by barking, and sure enough, she led the pack somewhere else, into one of the hallways. Letting out a sigh of relief, I held my breath.
Once the sounds of footsteps became faint that I could barely hear them, I made a run for it.
30 meters.
25 meters.
20 meters.
10 meters.
5 meters.
And finally, I reached the elevator and entered it. The hounds were nowhere in sight, which made my stress go away a bit.
She didn't sell me out. Shit, I'm feeling weird because of it.
I looked at the buttons to go to ground level. I have to go there, hopefully finding some bullets there, and getting the fuck out of here.
But what is this?
"Current floor: B15"
B15? What? I could've sworn we were in the upper levels, as I could easily see the buildings from there, as well as the street.
Whatever, probably some sci-fi shenanigans.
I pressed the G symbol, and the door to the elevator closed, the hounds still nowhere near.
ZZZZGHH!
Sure enough, the elevator started going up. It really was below ground.
---
After a minute or so, I finally arrived at the ground floor.
My god, this is way, way worse than the previous floor. I guess that's to be expected, but still, what the hell?
Everything was in shambles. Cracks snaked across the walls, crushed seats, and barely any doors were intact. Most windows were broken, with the ones that remained intact had their glass rattled loosely in their frame as the wind goosed them. And of course, bloodstains everywhere.
I can feel all the hair on my body standing, this place is dangerous, way more than the previous floor. There's no doubt there are monsters other than ones like Eve.
Anxiously, I stepped out of the elevator, my foot almost touching a bloodstain on the ground.
Where the hell is the exit? I cautiously moved and checked my surroundings. There were no monsters in sight, but the problem was, there was no exit as well.
My game knowledge won't help me, as not only are my surroundings damaged to the point I can't even tell where am I, but the structure itself is a bit different.
Still, there are supposed to be bullets here. So that's a plus. I tried my best to remain calm, checking every corner for danger. Where the hell are these monsters? This place looked like it had a massive war in it.
As I was walking, I noticed the seal in my palm shining, which took me off guard. And before I knew it, a light appeared in front of me. It was so dazzling that I could barely keep my eyes open. After a few moments, particles started forming out of it, mixing with each other till it started to form a shape. This shape, it was similar to... Eve!
Sure enough, after the light disappeared, taking the glow of the particles with it, Eve appeared in front of me, her tongue still out.
"Woof!"
I have never felt so relieved to see her again. I guess it was apparent on my face, as Eve let out, for the first time, a giggle of sort, like a child.
"Holy shit, you're amazing!"
"Woof!"
Perhaps I shouldn't have said that, as it seems she took the compliment differently and tried to reach for my pants.
Oi oi, now isn't the time for that, and why the hell do you want to do that anyways?! You can just use my tongue to survive!