“What the hell is going on here?”

After a long series of tunnels, I made it into a large cave following the trace of mana that leaked out. It was so strong that it felt as though I were being guided by a streak of aura through the labyrinth of tunnels.

The massive cave before me wasn’t empty. Adventurers were scattered across the floor, some still on their feet but most of them not. The ones on their feet seemed to be in rough shape, covered in blood and tears.

The ones on the floor…had no life to them. Mangled remains lay across the stone floor, with proof of their fight spread across the room. It was a mess, as though they had been torn apart by a wild animal.

“Hmmm? Another one has come to be beaten, it’s like an endless buffet!”

I turned to the excited tone at the other end of the room. It was a woman, she looked almost human but it was clear that she wasn’t.

Silky white skin and long flowing hair that hung wildly across her back and shoulders, she had the natural womanly features of a real heartbreaker. Although…

Her mouth curled into a deep smile and revealed the set of sharp fangs behind her lips. Glowing red eyes pierced the air and reached mine with a bloodthirsty stare.

Her body was covered in strange tattoos that ran across her arms and legs with dark stripes. Not to mention the patches of white fur, the same empty white colour as her hair. Parts of her arms and legs were covered in it, with massive paws at the ends.

She isn’t a human…she kind of looks like a tiger. There’s no doubt about it though, she definitely spoke just now too.

Her nose twitched and guided her head up as she tilted back to get a stronger whiff of something. After a few powerful sniffs, her eyes jolted open and her expression of excitement deepened.

“That smell–It’s the same as his! You’re a human, aren’t you? You are right?!” She continued.

Both her tail and animal ears perked up and began to move uncontrollably. Her devilish grin nearly touched the corners of her face. She took a step closer but that joyful expression quickly vanished and something moved beside her foot.

“P-please…” A voice called out.

There was a human at her feet. A fallen adventurer.

He was dressed in heavy armour but from the state he was in, it’d be clearer to call it scrap metal. Every piece of armour on his body was torn to shreds and left around him with a pool of blood.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

The bloodied hand of the adventure reached out at the woman's feet and before he could touch her, she raised her foot and brought it down with a sudden crash.

My eyes widened as blood filled my vision and an eruption of screams followed the other adventurers still standing.

“These weaklings…they’re not even worth eating.”

I heard her correctly…she said she’d eat them? That’s no human then, she’s a monster–without a doubt!

Looking around the room, things became clearer to me. The events that created those screams were a lot worse than I had originally imagined.

The claw marks across their bodies and ripped-out pieces of flesh scattered around the room…my stomach began to churn just thinking of how it all went down.

My teeth clenched together as the rage raced across my body and formed two tight fists in both hands. I wanted to attack, without thinking I just wanted to go in and attack her. I stopped myself.

My fists loosened and the raging scowl on my face softened into a bland expression. I felt terrible but…my mind was clear.

I can’t let the anger get the best of me, not now. Not against her. If she’s able to speak then that means she’s an advanced species of monsters. She isn’t a dragon though, although it seems similar to that.

“Who are you?” I asked.

Her smirk returned.

“Nuh-uh!” She waved her finger back and forth with a cocky expression. “I want to know first! Why do I smell him on you?”

“Smell who?” I asked.

At that moment her face gave off a malevolent glare unlike any other I had come across.

“My nose is pretty intense, so I can smell all kinds of things and remember them forever. I could never forget that smell though, even without my nose. It’s faint but there. You smell just like that old fool, Ellios!”

My hands began to move.

“Ellios…you knew Ellios? So then you’re one of them, aren’t you?”

I gripped my chakrams from their straps and pulled them out to the sides. My stance spread out and my legs bent slightly.

Her smile grew twice in size as she lowered her body closer to the floor. “I like that expression of yours. You better not disappoint me!” She replied.

In the blink of an eye, she appeared in front of me. The only thing in my vision was the massive claws from both sides of her body that flew directly at me.

Without thought, my body pulled back and I tucked myself under the strike of her claws. I managed to avoid that crazy fast attack but it wasn’t long before the next set of claws from her other paw flew at me.

The distance between us was next to nothing and she was moving much faster than me. I was about to be stabbed by those razor claws of hers and yet not one nerve of mine had any traces of fear.

“Strike Kick.”

I dropped to the floor and as my backside touched the solid embrace of stone, my feet flew into the air joined by the ankle. The concentrated white glow of mana surrounded my feet and blew directly into the animal-woman's stomach.

Her face contorted in pain as if all the air in her system had suddenly been pulled out. A burst of wind followed behind her as she collided with the ceiling of the cave.

I rolled back and landed on my feet without a scratch.

“I guess all that training did pay off.”