That same night, I ventured through the middle of the forest where we had previously encountered humans. Adventurers... a job that is very familiar to me, and seeing one filled me with shock and awe. At first, I thought this was an unexplored dungeon; however, it turned out to be more well-known than I had anticipated. What's the main mission of an adventurer? To loot lost relics or artifacts that could change history, ancient weapons that could alter the power of a country, and knowledge that could shape the future of humanity and their position in a world full of hostiles.

As night fell, the floor became too chilly, and even my breath created fog. I had to rub my arms to stay warm. But I thought that if I wanted to defeat the manticore, I had a weapon in mind. I didn't believe that she had turned, and I still found it impossible to defeat her.

As I approached the giant skull of something, somebody attacked me out of nowhere.

"YOU BASTARD!"

Suddenly, a tanned man tackled me. He caught me off guard. Despite having some sort of night vision, it wasn't as sharp as when I was human. No, it was different. My instincts and motion detection were somehow naturally better, but this person was exceptionally stealthy. He pressed his arm against my neck, and it felt as though my spine might snap until a woman's voice spoke coldly.

"Sit."

The man complied, and I coughed, my throat feeling itchy and strained, with drool flowing from my mouth. I glanced in the direction of the voice and saw a woman sitting near a white cannon-like weapon. As I rubbed my throat, the woman asked, "Who gave you permission to attack our guest?"

"I apologize, my queen," the man said, bowing to express his loyalty to the girl. Their faces were familiar to me. There weren't many other humans on this floor besides them. They were the people we had attacked, and it seemed that not all of them had turned into rotten, but rather into infected-normals. The girl's manner of speaking and smugness were also familiar to me, indicating she was possessed by the mother of the infected.

"Do you want your friends to never return?" the girl asked, her rotting body notwithstanding, as she maintained a smirk and a giggle. The bald man lowered his head until his forehead touched the ground. "I apologize... it won't happen again," he said. His first bow conveyed loyalty, while his second was a plea for mercy.

'What do you mean by 'never return?' I wanted to ask, but at that moment, I lacked the motivation to speak, especially to the person responsible for everything happening. The girl looked at me, her loose clothes billowing in a strong wind.

"Welcome, Theo. I knew you would come," she said.

I didn't come here to play with them. I knew what I needed to do as soon as I saw these fiends. I tried to close the distance between us, but as soon as I drew my sword from its sheath, my hand was struck by a javelin.

I knew it. What is a queen without someone to protect her? Several cloaked figures on higher ground were guarding her from a distance. If I made a sudden move, they would eliminate me in the blink of an eye, and it wasn't even worth it because beheading her wouldn't kill her, only her temporary host.

"Ooh... You're quite serious. Let's get to the point, then. You want to kill her, so you want to borrow this alien tech from us, am I right?" she said, tapping the walls of the weapon and then smiling at me. "Let me share a secret with you: the infected are weaker during daylight. I'm sure you've noticed that even when she turned into a zombie without a sense of self, she remains dangerous. You should attempt to kill her during the day."

Why did she told me about the infected's weaknesses?

"Heavens above, bring me your light, vanquish the pain, and heal the wounds of this pitiful soul. [Heal]," the girl cast a healing spell, and slowly, the flesh on my hands began to mend. Then she patted the weapon once more before saying, "Take it."

"Why are you telling me all this?" I asked.

"You could be a threat or an ally to us, but it doesn't really matter. Having our necks on the line is a good thing, and from the beginning, evolution thrives because of environmental pressure or threats. We'll grow stronger, mutate better when our lives are on the edge," she said, leaning her staff on her shoulder and looking away. "Bald head, let's go."

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"Yes, your majesty," the bald man rushed towards her.

"Oh, one more thing," she turned her head to me. "If you live and eventually decide to find me, be cautious of the group calling themselves the Visage of the Frost. They are my strongest soldiers, and they might do something reckless in my name."

She chuckled. "But I don't need to worry, do I?"

It was difficult to read her mind, but if she meant I was strong enough to handle myself because I had been part of the hero's party, she was terribly wrong. Hideously wrong.

The night was just beginning. I grabbed the rope attached to the weapon and began to drag it. Every time I did so, it felt like my arms were about to snap, but my determination fueled my spirit, and I continued. Sometimes, the machine got stuck between trees, and I had to retrace my steps to find another way. On a slanted slope, I nearly got flattened when the machine started rolling on its own. However, the most significant problem was when the tree-rotten creatures chased me. There were moments when I panicked and found myself trapped and surrounded, but somehow, I survived. When the sun arose, the trees fled and hid in the shadows. Those that remained were easy enough to defeat, as they were nearly incapacitated.

So, this is the sun on this floor, huh? Even though I was getting burned by its heat, I couldn't afford to waste any time even if I die on dehydration.

...

I didn't think I could beat her with raw power alone. I placed several traps here and there, and a big one at the entrance of the cave. I realized it was already afternoon, and the sun was about to set. I needed to wrap this up before night fell.

As soon as I entered the cave, I spotted the manticore. I prepared myself and steeled my emotions. I took a deep breath and reminded myself that what I was about to do had to be done, for her sake and mine.

"Hey, you!" I shouted, and the manticore turned her head to see me. Her eyes were already filled with worms, and her once-blue gem-like eyes had turned into white cataracts. Her lips were rotting, and I could clearly see the shape of her skull. Her once-shiny silver hair was losing its charm.

I suddenly had the urge to bite my own lips as she chased me with a wild groan. I began running out of the cave.

"Why did you run away from me?" I asked, but she offered no response.

"GROAAGHHH!" she shrieked, and my heart raced.

"AGH!"

She spun around, and her tail acted like a whip, hitting me and hurling me toward the mouth of the cave. My hips felt like they were crushed, and I struggled to stand up. I started coughing up blood, which was teeming with maggots. It was a humiliating moment, reminding me of the times when I had always run from her. No matter what I did, she always managed to catch me and force me into a bath.

She was approaching, and I had no time to lie there. Just in the nick of time, I jumped as she attacked, evading her claws that attempted to crush me. Instead, she fell into the trap I had set earlier. I grabbed the edge of the ground before I fell like her. The ground collapsed, and she fell onto the stone spikes I had planted below. Her weight forced her into the rocks, and her green, slimy blood oozed from her wounds. Even a stone pierced her head, but she didn't die, just as I had expected.

I drew my sword and jumped toward her head, stabbing her skull, but she still wouldn't die. She shook her head from side to side, screaming intensely. I was losing my grip on my sword, and the blade got unstuck, causing me to fall to the ground. That's when my stomach was pierced by the sharp stone I had planted myself.

"FUCK!!"

Intense pain overwhelmed me as she lashed out with her tail, sending me flying. I landed outside the trap, though she managed to free herself by flapping her wings and taking flight.

"Lord of fire, mysterious flame that scorches the world to oblivion, light my path to extremities and burn the souls with your never-ending hunger," I began chanting, drawing upon the mana I had absorbed from her to conjure a spell—enough, perhaps, to power the cannon machine. "[Fireball]!" I launched a fiery projectile at her head, but it proved ineffective, leaving nothing more than a scorch mark. Realizing this, I made a dash for the cannon weapon.

"I thought we were family!" I yelled, even though it was unlikely she could hear me. The word "family" slipped from my lips unexpectedly, but after all the time we had spent together, a sense of care and affection had developed for her, and I didn't want to lose her.

"GROOAGHGHH!"

A sharp pain was what I felt after. I opened my eyes and crawled. I could feel my blood spilling from my lower half. My body was split in two, making it hard for me to move, and my breathing became labored. My vision became blurry as the colors grew sharper. I tried to move while the manticore was distracted, feeding on my legs.

"Why... did you... leave me... alone?" I asked as I managed to reach the weapon. We could have talked about it instead of running away. She could have been honest and told me what was going on, and together, we might have found a way to solve it. We were in this together, her problems were my problems. That's what family is for. Don't run away. Please, be honest.

Instinctively, I knew where to channel my mana. I transferred the mana from my sword to the cannon. The cannon emitted a strange light, capturing the manticore's attention. It produced a sharp sound, a strange requiem. No matter how everything turned out, it seemed that my affection for her didn't waver, even as the beam of light disintegrated her body into dust.

If she hadn't become a rotten, fighting her would have been impossible. I had won, but I couldn't savor the taste of victory. Before I passed out, I wanted to say, "T... Thank you..." for everything, Irisia. For being my guardian, and for everything else.