Misbegotten

The clack and tap of our weary footsteps echoed through the desolate street, the eerie moments of silence made my breath hitch. I expected for us to be attacked the moment we went outside that church, but it seems I had set my expectations too high, or too low, I guess. No menacing creatures had leaped out to devour us, nor had we been pursued by grotesque monsters.

It was as if the city itself held its breath, biding its time.

Fiorella and I walked forward, our steps synchronized, but there was an unspoken distance lingering between us. Though I would usually not care about it, it seems this silence had been born out of Fiorella's own mental health deteriorating. I looked back at her, who seemed to be paranoid of even the slightest noise, her anxiety manifesting in every twitch and grimace.

Well, I guess she is from a sheltered noble background, shielded from the harsh realities I had long since grown accustomed to. And plus, she's also pretty much a kid, I guess I underestimated the toll this place would take on her.

I suck at comforting people, so instead, I just made a subtle adjustment to our proximity, closing the gap between us. If her paranoia led her to instinctively retreat or drop her weapon, I wanted to be there to fend off the attack. Of course, since her clothes pretty much scream, 'I'm a healer! Attack me first!'. I didn't know how smart these creatures were, but it's better to assume they're highly intelligent rather than extremely dumb.

''I-Isaac,''

Fiorella's voice broke the stifling silence, and I answered without turning my head back.

''Yeah?''

''A-Are we g-going somewhere in particular...?''

''...I don't know. For now, we should just focus on trying to find a way out of this place.''

Though I said that, my goal was reaching the tall building I had seen back when we arrived at this place. It was pretty obviously set up as the 'main objective' of this place, at least for as long as we are still inside the city.

Fiorella didn't say anything else.

We kept walking, the city's sharp turns making me a bit dizzy, and the unfamiliar architecture also made me sort of nauseous. Slowly, the sense of claustrophobia grew deeper. When I looked up, it felt like the buildings were closing in on us, trapping us inside them.

I thought it was a hallucination, but when looking at it closely, it really did seem like the streets had become narrower and narrower.

Something was wrong.

''Wait.''

I put my hand up and stopped Fiorella, who seemed confused at what I was doing. I stood in silence, looking at the opposite end of the street. It reached my nose-- The disgusting ooze of something rotten.

''W-What is it?''

I didn't say anything, I just backed up slowly and prompted Fiorella to do the same.

''---!''

A sudden giant footstep made Fiorella jump and stop walking, and she gripped her staff strongly. I didn't freeze, but it doesn't seem like we had much of a chance at running away, so I tried to look for anything that could replace a weapon, but nothing came to my view. Shit, I should've tried to rob that guy's shotgun. No point in thinking about that now.

It seems the disgusting smell had reached Fiorella, as her face twisted and her eyes widened in surprise.

''---Gh!''

---Time seemed to stand still. Revealing itself from the end of the street was a hulking figure. Its face looked almost sunken in, some type of fungus eating at his skin, revealing the pulsating remains of brain and flesh below. Pale skin accentuated its swollen blue veins, highlighting the abomination's sickly appearance. Its hands gripped a massive axe, the blade stained with dried blood.

It turned towards us but didn't seem to notice us for some reason. It just walked ever so slowly in our direction.

''W-Wha...''

''Fiorella, let's back up and try to find an escape route. Keep your eyes on him,''

Since the monster hadn't rushed us, I frantically scanned our surroundings, desperately seeking a hiding spot or a place to avoid the hulking monster. I wasn't going to rush and try to run risking this fucker noticing us.

The concrete walls offered no refuge or comfort.

Taking a deep breath, I suppressed the racing of my heart, attempting to regulate my breathing. The monster's surprising speed startled me, even in its seemingly aimless walking It had drawn uncomfortably close. I quickened my pace and Fiorella matched my urgency, her steps growing more hurried.

And then--

''---khAAAAA,''

A gut-wrenching scream erupted from the monster's mouth, shattering the air and making the ground under our feet shake. It lunged forward as if controlled by some kind of external force. Its massive frame moved erratically, closing the distance between us in a terrifyingly short span of time.

Too short.

''---Shit, run!''

I screamed, my instincts taking over.

The earth seemed to crack under our feet as we ran, fear driving us forward. I glanced over my shoulder, witnessing the monster's pursuit, its thunderous and gigantic frame growing alarmingly closer.

I realized quickly that Fiorella wouldn't make it out in time. She was too slow. I possessed the advantage of the speed-boosting boots, so technically I could escape in time, but I wasn't going to just abandon her. I may be selfish and flawed, but I refused to let a kid die just to save my own ass.

Without hesitation, I surged forward and grabbed Fiorella with my right arm, gripping her robes tightly so she wouldn't just slip off. Her startled protests went unheard as I propelled ahead, disregarding her questioning. My muscles strained, pushing with every ounce of strength I had. We burst onto a wider street, leaving the pursuing monster momentarily behind.

With my momentum, there was no chance I could make a sharp turn. I made a split-second decision, launching Fiorella to the left while propelling myself to the right. The shift in direction was abrupt, and my movements lacked grace as I stumbled and fell.

As I hit the ground, my body jolted with pain, but my focus remained on the monster.

The monster paid us no mind, its attention fixated on the building in front. With a deafening crash, it crashed onto the structure, sending debris hurtling through the air. The impact made the ground shake.

Fiorella lay sprawled on the ground, momentarily dazed by the sudden turn of events and by the pain.

''Fiorella, get your ass up and come here!''

I called out to her, urgency lacing my words. Shaking off her momentary disorientation, Fiorella scrambled to her feet, her eyes still fixed on the monster's trapped body. I got up and tried to shake off the stinging pain.

The beast thrashed, its monstrous form trapped within the crumbling remnants of the building. Its futile struggles to free itself sent tremors through the ground.

''Doesn't seem like it's gonna free itself any time soon... we should go,''

Fiorella nodded and we turned away. There weren't many paths to choose from, so we decided to just avoid the alley we were in before and move forward through this street.

''...?''

As we walked a few meters ahead, an unsettling feeling took over me. A sense of foreboding crept up my spine, and my muscles tensed involuntarily. Something was amiss, but the source remained elusive. I cast a glance back at the struggling monster, a sinking feeling churning within me. Something was happening.

The monster writhed and struggled to free itself, moving erratically, but suddenly, the monster ceased its frenzied struggle.

''---khghaAAAAAA,''

A bone-chilling cry of agony tore through the air, its deafening resonance reverberating through every fiber of our beings. The sound alone sent shivers down my spine, and my body reacted instinctively, freezing in place.

''Shit, what the fuck?!''

The reverberation of the scream had frozen us both in place. It just didn't stop, even as the sound of its own throat ripping apart could be heard in its desperate cry. It only ceased after what felt like an eternity, the monster frozen in place.

''What was that...''

I grimaced and noticed that my body was still trembling for some reason.

''---Huh?''

Amidst the lingering echoes of the monstrous scream, another sound caught my attention —a faint fluttering, like the wings of a fly rapidly hitting the air. My senses sharpened as I strained to identify the noise, only to be met with an unfamiliar noise, the unsettling clacking of thin legs against the cold concrete floor. Unfamiliar growls filled the air.

''I-Isaac,''

''I know. What the hell is that sound.''

With a swift realization, I looked upward, my eyes widening in horror. Shadows darted from one rooftop to another, a macabre dance of unknown dark figures.

''For fuck's sake...''

I muttered with exasperation and dread.

''I-Isaac, it's...''

''Yeah, I can see them.''

Perched on top of the buildings were the familiar and grotesque Gargoyle's, smiling with their sharp and disfigured teeth.

I looked down and found that surrounding us, were equally disgusting monsters. Hulking figures covered in a mattered and bloodied fur, long claws and sharp teeth, spider-like figures with a seemingly human torso and body crawled on the walls, mucus falling from its spider parts. And of course, the Gargoyles.

Looks like that scream had attracted them here. Shit, this world is enough of a rogue-like as it is, no need to add this much difficulty.

I glanced over at Fiorella, her trembling figure making for an extremely pitiful sight.

''Fiorella, tell me; do you feel like you can fight?''

She looked over at me and then glanced at her surroundings. Maybe she sensed that there was no way out of this, or maybe she found some sort of weird determination, but she gripped her staff tightly and nodded.

''I'll fight.''

''...Alright then,''

We don't have much of an option anyways.