Next Stop, Le'garde! Unfortunately...

There's nothing so bad that it can't get worse. Initially I thought that whoever invented this saying was extremely pessimistic, until I felt how true this was.

"Will you take too long? We need to reach Le'garde!" D'arce exclaimed, at the entrance of the room.

"I know! What I'm looking for will help us take a shortcut to him!" I replied as I stopped rummaging through the bookshelf for a moment.

But upon seeing D'arce smiling disturbingly at me as she patted the pommel of her sheathed sword, I returned to my work at once.

Taking a quick look to the side, I saw the girl leaning against the wall next to me; looking at me worriedly. I tried to give her a reassuring smile, but I don't think it helped much as I'm nervous too.

After some time pondering my situation, I determined that the best route to Le'garde would be using the secret passageway behind the bookcase, but for that I would need the mockup book that triggers the bookcase's mechanism.

Now I was scouring the library shelves for this book, but despite being unsteady, D'arce wasn't stupid, the room only had one way in and out, and D'arce stood guard in the way, to stop us from running away and also to deal with monsters.

Fortunately, the girl and I were out of sight, at the back of the room and completely covered by a large old wooden bookcase containing dozens of old, worn and dusty books.

Time to test my new spell, with one hand, I pretended to look for the fake book, meanwhile, I lowered the hand that was holding Kitab, but kept it open next to the floor.

Then whispering my spell, I used The Rats in the Walls.

I felt the pressure in my head again, my mind being used to cast the spell. Glancing at Kitab, I saw a faint green glow emanating from its pages as they moved.

Then small green creatures burst out of the book's pages as they let out a series of high-pitched squeaks. There were six ghostly rats, they were a green hue but transparent, I could see the ground through them, the rats had completely white and glowing eyes, and big teeth that looked like they could gnaw anything.

The girl looked at the rats and me in a mixture of fear and surprise, I smiled at her while putting a finger to her lips, the girl nodded as she repeated the gesture, but without the smile.

Now how do I get these rats to take the vial to Cahara? As if it had read my thoughts, one of the rats advanced towards me and entered my pants, climbing up my leg.

I shivered at the icy feel of the rat against my skin and had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing at the tickling of its paws on my body.

Eventually the rat climbed under my shirt until it came out through the collar and jumped on my shoulder, from my shoulder it crawled into my backpack, I felt the addition of weight on my back accompanied by the noise of the rat going through my things.

Soon after, the rat jumped out of my backpack towards the floor next to me. For a moment the rat stopped and turned towards me and I saw it holding the red vial in its mouth by means of a small rope tied around the neck of the vial.

With a final screech, the rat ran towards the wall beside me, for a moment I thought it was going to head-butt the wall, but as soon as its body touched down, the stonewall rippled like the surface of a lake after being hit by a stone and the rat disappeared.

The girl and I looked in surprise at the spot where the rat disappeared, but our surprise was broken by D'arce's scream.

"Did you find the book yet?!?"

Jumping in fright, I poked my head out of the bookcase and saw D'arce waiting for us with her arms crossed and stomping on the floor.

"Not yet, but I'm sure the book is around here!" I replied with a nervous smile.

"Oh! I hope you're telling the truth and not up to no good. I would hate for our friendship to end so soon. It would really be a shame..." D'arce said, clasping her hands behind her back and smiling at me through narrowed eyes.

I quickly waved at the knight, hiding all my nervousness, then returned behind the bookcase. The rats and the girl were watching me, probably waiting for me to say something.

As I understand it, rats react to my thoughts, so let me try something different.

Explore the dungeon and bring me anything useful.

With a series of squeaks, the remaining rats ran towards the wall and disappeared in a similar fashion to the previous rat. I suddenly grabbed my head in pain, I didn't know what was going on but it was like someone was hammering my brain, but as fast as it came, the pain disappeared.

And what was left in its place left me confused and impressed, I could see in my mind the point of view of each of the rats as they scurried through the dungeon. I saw them running through walls and doors, running through hallways and hiding from monsters, but mostly, collecting whatever items they could carry.

Suddenly I felt a tug on my shirt, looking down, I saw the girl with wide eyes and repeatedly pointing at something behind me, turning around, I swallowed a scream as I took a step back to see a sword pointed at my face.

"I'm starting to think you're trying to trick me." D'arce said in a serious and menacing tone.

"No! Why would I trick on my friend D'arce? Why would I do that?" I replied in a friendly tone, but slowly pushing the girl behind me with one hand.

"Is that so? So prove it! Show me the book you came for!" D'arce demanded, taking a step forward and making me flinch again as the sword approached.

"D-don't worry, the book is right..." Out of the corner of my eye, I scanned the bookshelf beside me, looking for the damn book. Reading the titles of the books, most were logbooks or history books, but there was one that didn't quite match the rest, a cookbook.

Please let this be the right book!

"...HERE!" I yelled as I quickly reached out my arm and grabbed the book in question, flipping through it, I saw that all the pages were blank, I hope I picked the right one.

Then all was silent, me with the book in front of my face and extending it towards D'arce and D'arce with her sword pointed at me. Slowly, a big smile appeared on the knight's face accompanied by a twitch in her right eye, simultaneously I gave her a nervous smile.

Slowly D'arce lowered her sword as she laughed.

"Hahaha! To think that I thought you were trying to trick me! Hahaha! I thought my friend was planning to betray me!" D'arce said, slapping her forehead and looking down at the floor.

"Hahaha! Don't worry, it was just a misunderstanding!" I responded with my own laugh, pretending nothing was wrong, but really, I was shitting myself inside.

I was prepared for a variety of reactions, I expected D'arce to take the book and walk away, for her to try to kill me, for her to insist even more on whether this was the right book or not.

What I didn't expect was for D'arce to sheath her sword and leap towards me, wrapping her arms around my neck, hugging me. I was paralyzed, not knowing how to react, processing what was happening.

As if that wasn't bad enough, I heard a noise followed by something wet running down my shoulder. D'arce was...

"*SNIF*, *SNIF*."

Yes, she was "D'arce, is everything okay?"

Quickly, the knight took her face off my shoulder and stared at me with red, puffy eyes and snot running down her nose.

"WWHHAA! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry for doubting you, my friend! I almost hurt you over a stupid book!" D'arce exclaimed through her tears as she hugged me again.

What the fuck was going on here?!? I felt a tug and my shirt, looking down, I saw the girl staring at me, with one hand, she held my shirt and with the other, she pointed at D'arce and then rotated her index finger in a circular motion beside her own head.

"I know girl, I know." I replied with a tired sigh.

With great effort, I broke out of D'arce's bear hug and grabbed her by the shoulders, keeping her some distance from me.

"Don't worry, D'arce, I'm not mad at you, it was just a misunderstanding, those kinds of things happen." I replied trying to give my best reassuring smile to the maniac in front of me.

"So does that mean you forgive me?" D'arce asked in a hopeful tone.

"Yes."

Quickly, D'arce grabbed the collar of my shirt with both hands and pulled me close, I felt my face heat up with embarrassment at the proximity, but whatever fantasy I had in my mind disappeared as soon as D'arce tucked her face in my shirt and blew her nose.

I winced in disgust when I heard the loud noise of D'arce blowing her nose, and I cringed even more when I felt the snot on my skin through the fabric, but with a quick mood change, D'arce snapped out of her melancholy mood and returned to her former disturbing joy.

"Well, let's move on! Le'garde will not wait for us forever!" D'arce said with a big smile as she wrapped her arms around my arm and pulled me away.

Seeing this, the girl quickly ran towards me and grabbed my shirt, following us at a hurried pace. As soon as we left the room, I mentally saw one of the rats returning to me and this one was somehow carrying a bottle of liquor by itself, it was as if the bottle was horizontally stuck inside its body.

I saw my back from the rat's point of view; looking back, I saw the rat running towards me. I ordered it to come closer and leave the bottle next to us, so the rat sank to the ground, leaving the bottle where it disappeared.

"Hey, D'arce!" I exclaimed, catching the knight's attention.

"Yes my friend!" D'arce spoke, looking at me with a big smile.

"Would you like a drink?" I pointed to the bottle right behind me.

D'arce's eyes widened before she released me and ran desperately towards the bottle, with a tug, D'arce removed the cork and drank the entire contents in one go, her gulps being audible to all of us.

"Well, you got yourself a girlfriend who's strong, crazy and drinks like an Irishman. You made the right choice, boy! I'm so proud of you!" Kitab wrote in its pages.

"Shut up, Kitab! She's not my girlfriend! And I doubt she will; considering how obsessed she is with Le'garde! But changing the subject, I'm a little disappointed with my new spell, the way you said it, it looked like I could summon an army of rats!"

"And you can, you can summon enough rats to fill every corner of this damned dungeon, but the point is. Will you have enough mind for that?" Kitab replied.

"Hm… I think you're right."

"I'm glad you know. Don't abuse your power kid, or abuse it! I admit I'm curious to know what will happen to you if your fortified mind goes haywire! Will you choose the dastardly ending the others choose, or will you become something more?"

I closed Kitab after reading that last sentence. This is not the best situation to deal with the book's morbid curiosity.

Shifting my attention to D'arce, I caught sight of the knight finishing her drink and letting out a loud sigh of relief shortly thereafter. As soon as she was finished, D'arce threw the bottle away, where it shattered against the wall with a loud crack.

Right after that, the knight came towards us, looking much more composed than before.

"Let's go!" D'arce said with a small smile, this time taking my wrist instead of hugging my arm, and pulling me with less strength, with the girl at my side, we went on our way.

Moreover, in my mind, I saw more rats bringing bottles of liquor, well, I think I'm about to lose a mad knight and gain an alcoholic.

-Prison-

"Well, I think that's! The boy abandoned me here, or died! That's what I get for trusting others! However, ask myself on why he wanted the doll. On second thought, I'd rather not. Who knows what's going through that madman's head?" Cahara complained incessantly as he sat in the corner of his cell.

Knees close to his chest, arms crossed over his knees and head resting on his arms, Cahara let out a series of insults and curses about his current situation.

"I knew I shouldn't have taken this job! It was too good to be true! There must be another way! Another way for Celeste and I..."

*SQUEAK!*

But Cahara's complaints were interrupted by a screech close by. Looking towards the source of the noise, Cahara cocked his head in confusion as he saw a ghostly rat leaving a red vial in his cell before running towards the wall and disappearing.

Cahara's eyes widened in surprise, but that surprise was replaced by a smile after seeing the red vial next to his feet. Wasting no time, Cahara poured the vial's contents into the lock of his cell, the metal hissing and steaming as the acid melted it.

Pushing the cell door aside, Cahara was free.

"RROOAARRHH!"

But his satisfaction of freedom was short-lived, as Cahara had to throw himself to the ground to dodge the guard's ballista shot. Wasting no time, Cahara ran towards the stairs that led to the basement.

"Until next time, asshole!"

But not before insulting the guard trying to kill him.

"RROOAARRHH!"

With another scream of rage, the guard fired again, but thanks to his speed, Cahara managed to make it to the stairs before the giant arrow hit him, going up the stairs, the only sound heard was the guard's screams of frustration and Cahara laughter.

"Now to get the hell out of here! Wait for me Celeste, I will find a better way to save you!"

Unfortunately, Cahara's ramblings were interrupted as soon as he finished climbing the stairs and turning the corner, as he had hit something as hard as a wall.

"WOW! What the hell!"

But before he could process what happened, Cahara drew his scimitar, deflecting the ax blow that came towards his head, right after that, Cahara jumped back and stopped in a crouching position, but tilted his head in confusion upon seeing who was in front of him.

A tall, muscular man with red hair, a body covered in scars, and wearing animal skins held together by leather belts. The man raised an eyebrow in confusion upon seeing Cahara, but immediately shifted his attention after hearing the sound of heavy footsteps approaching.

Turning quickly, the man faced his original enemy, the Iron Shakespeare.

"Hey man, how about we save the introductions for later? From what I can see, you're human and you need a little help. How about we finish off the bucket head over there and then get to know each other better?" Cahara said with a smile and what appeared to be flirtation in his voice.

The man just stared at Cahara for a few seconds before nodding slowly, whether he understood Cahara's ulterior motives was anyone's guess.

"Focus your attacks on the torso; it's the least resistant part of his armor." The man spoke to Cahara.

"And how do you know that?" Kahara asked.

The man showed Cahara a sheet of paper with a drawing of Iron Shakespeare with a series of instructions written at the bottom, but the part that stood out the most was the series of arrows pointing specifically to Iron Shakespeare's torso.

"Hey! Looks like we both had a mysterious benefactor today!" Cahara said with a small laugh and readying his Scimitar.

Then with a nod of confirmation, both men hurried towards the Iron Shakespeare.

-Inner hall-

Our walk to the Inner Hall went without a hitch, that is, if it weren't for the guard barring our way near Alll-mer's altar.

Fortunately the guard didn't saw us; which gave us time to hide in a nearby room. Unfortunately D'arce didn't shared my cautious approach.

In other words, I had my back to the wall, holding D'arce around the waist with one hand and covering her mouth with the other, while D'arce swung her sword in the air, trying to escape my grip and go face the guard.

And she was almost doing it.

The girl stayed close to me, covering her mouth with both hands and hiding in the shadows.

Know what?!? I better act before D'arce kills us all! I quickly sent an order to a nearby rat, obeying the order; the rat ran towards the guard and bit his heel.

The guard let out an angrily mutter before swinging his leg, throwing the rat away, but the rat got up and let out an angry hiss at the guard causing the guard to swing his large cleaver in its direction.

The rat darted out of the way, dodging the blow that cracked the stone floor, and the guard gave chase. I ordered the rat to run to the blood pits, meanwhile, we all ran towards the small library.

Wasting no time, I placed the book on the shelf and with the click of a mechanism, the shelf slid to the side. D'arce and the girl gave admiring glances, while I just grabbed the girl's arm and got out of there as quickly as possible before the guard returned.

I felt the girl squirming in my grip as she grumbled, and that's when I remembered that she didn't like to be touched unnecessarily. I released her immediately and the girl took a few steps away from me.

The girl glared at me irritably as she grabbed her arm. Did I hold her too tight?

"Listen... I... I didn't mean to... I was just nervous to get out of there because of the guard and..." I stammered an apology as I crouched down to the girl's level.

Slowly the girl approached me.

"I'd like to apologize if I hurt you and..." I said as I scratched the back of my head and looked away, but I was interrupted as soon as the girl walked over to me and grabbed my arm while looking me in the eye.

"You forgive me?"

The girl nodded.

"Thanks!" I smiled in relief as I reached my hand towards the girl's head, but as soon as my hand approached, she closed her eyes and took a step back.

"Pardon me!" I said as I got up quickly, but this time the girl seemed to understand better and just waved as she returned to my side and grabbed my shirt.

"Oh! You and your daughter are adorable!" D'arce said with a smile and clasping her hands on the side of her face.

"She's not… Never mind! Let's focus on what's important right now!"

We are in the backyard of this place, which means that Butterfly, the girl's dagger and the passage to the tree are nearby. Looking around, I spotted something glistening in the grass near the trees.

"Girl come with me. I have something to give you."

With a wave, the two of us, accompanied by D'arce, walked through the dungeon's backyard. Halfway there, I bent down to pick up the dagger and showed it to the girl.

The girl cocked her head in confusion as she stared at the dagger in front of her.

"Take it, this dagger is for you. For you to fight in case I can't help."

The girl widened her eyes in surprise, then she shifted her focus to me, staring at me with her deep yellow eyes, I admit it was scary; it was like she was staring into my soul. Maybe she is; considering what the girl really is.

Still staring at me, the girl slowly raised a finger and pointed at herself, as if wondering if the dagger was meant for her.

"Yes, I am giving this dagger to you. I don't expect you to run up to the monsters and face them, leave the fighting to me and D'arce. But should the worst happen, I don't want you to be helpless."

Slowly the girl extended her hand and accepted the dagger; she held the blade in front of her eyes, and then brought her other hand holding the doll towards her face.

"Have you ever seen your reflection before?" I asked.

The girl cocked her head in confusion.

"Do you know what a reflection is?"

The girl shook her head.

"Did you ever saw what you look like?"

The girl shook her head again.

"One minute."

I grabbed my phone and opened the camera app and with a quick click, I snapped a picture of the girl. She stared at me, not understanding what I was doing, but she was taken aback when I showed her the picture.

The girl alternated her gaze between me and the photo of the person on my phone.

"This magical artifact has the ability to record certain moments permanently; the person you are seeing is you. That's what you look like, girl."

The girl pointed to the photo on my cell phone and then to herself.

"Yes, this is you."

The girl approached my cell phone and stared at the photo, slowly she ran her hands through her hair, through her cheeks, through her lips, in a moment she opened her mouth and ran her tongue over her teeth.

"So what do you think of your appearance? Did you like what you saw?" I asked as I put my cell phone away.

The girl looked at the floor, making a thoughtful face, and then she looked at me and shrugged.

"You do not know?"

The girl shook her head.

"Well, I can't judge, after all I'm not confident in my beauty either. But changing the subject, are you ready to go?"

With a wave, the girl pulled the collar of the rags she wore as a dress and placed the doll there, leaving only her head outside, with her right hand, she held the dagger and with her left hand, the girl held my free hand. I felt her shudder for a minute.

"Are you sure you want to hold my hand? You don't have to; I know you're not comfortable with that."

Despite my questions, the girl nodded.

"Then don't let go of my hand, okay?" I asked with a small smile.

And to my surprise, the girl smiled back, she gave me a small smile, but it seemed to shine in this place, it might not seem like much, but I was sure it was something significant for the girl.

"Right! So without further ado, let's continue! Wait a minute? Where is D'arce?"

"Please stop!" A high-pitched voice called out.

Looking at the source of the voice, I spotted D'arce hitting Butterfly with the flat of her sword.

The lean, gray-skinned monster was lying on the ground as it covered its head with both hands, trying to shield itself from D'arce's blows.

"Face me coward!" D'arce demanded, still hitting Butterfly.

"Leave me alone, I don't wish for trouble!" Butterfly screamed.

"D'ARCE! STOP!" I screamed as I ran towards the knight, with the girl following me.

"Oh! My friend! Glad you're here! I didn't want to interrupt the conversation with your daughter, so I decided to explore a bit, and I ended up finding this vile creature! Come, fight by my side and together we will bring down this monstrosity!" D'arce said to me with a relieved smile.

I quickly grabbed D'arce's arm and pulled her away as I apologized to Butterfly.

"I'm very sorry! Please excuse my friend! She is a little crazy!"

"Hey, where are you taking me?" D'arce exclaimed, swinging her sword in the air.

"Please get her out of here!" Butterfly begged.

With Butterfly left behind, the three of us approached the passage blocked by rubble.

"Well, where is the way to Le'garde?" D'arce asked with her hands on her hips.

"Right in front of us. But we need to get this debris out of the way, an explosive vial should do." Hm… Maybe I should send one of the rats to find an explosive vial and bring it to me.

"Oh! You mean one of those?" D'arce said as she removed a vial of black liquid from the pouch at her waist and held it in front of my face.

"Yes, exactly!" I responded with a smile, but that smile turned into a face of desperation as soon as I saw D'arce pulling her arm back, preparing to throw the vial.

"D'arce, no!"

But the knight ignored my words, with a childlike smile on her face, D'arce hurled the vial. It was as if the world had gone into slow motion, I quickly turned around and picked the girl up off the ground, holding her in my arms.

I quickly ran away from the narrow passage where the rubble was and turned the corner, stopping next to the statue of Alll-mer.

Then…

BOOM!

A deafening blast accompanied by a shock wave and a cloud of smoke erupted from the passageway. When everything went silent, the girl and I stared at each other with open mouths and wide eyes.

"Did she die?" I asked the girl.

The girl just shrugged, she didn't seem to care much for D'arce.

"I don't know. I'm a little worried about your friend, but I admit I won't mind if she's been torn to pieces." Butterfly said beside me.

"Don't say that. She's not that bad, this dungeon is messing with her head." I said to Butterfly as I held the girl sitting in my arms.

"I hope you're right, our first meeting wasn't exactly amicable." Butterfly said as it ran its hand over the top of its head, which was now red from D'arce's blows.

"If it's any use, I'd like to apologize on her behalf." I said as I bowed slightly.

"No no! I don't hold a grudge, but I think you better check out your friend." Butterfly spoke, waving its hands, trying to defuse the situation.

"Oh! You are right! Sorry for bothering you!" I replied, walking towards the passage as the girl, I waved goodbye to Butterfly, and the monster waved back.

What a nice guy!

To our surprise, we found D'arce in one piece, but her armor and face covered in dust and dirt while her hair was messed up from the explosion.

"Where did you two go?" D'arce asked, waving at us with a smile.

"Nowhere. Let's keep going, I'm tired of setbacks." I said with a sigh as I walked past D'arce. So without wasting time, we entered the big old tree covered with corpses and whose top was shaped like a woman with long hair.

We walked down a ramp made of roots, each step making the wood creak, D'arce leading the way, meanwhile I set the girl down and shone the flashlight on my cell phone down the path.

Glancing to the side, I saw the girl looking away as she crossed her arms and stomped to the ground.

"Do you want me to carry you?"

The girl shook her head, but I saw a tinge of red in her face.

"We'll have to face some monsters up ahead, and I need both hands for that. When we return to safety, I promise I will carry you. Is that ok?"

The girl nodded. With that taken care of, we continued following D'arce, but midway through, I told the knight to stop.

"Yes, is there a problem?" D'arce asked.

"I just wanted to say that this tree is full of secret passages." I said as I tapped on a wall next to me and the wall opened revealing a room with a chest inside.

"Oh! You seem to know a lot about this dungeon."

"What can I say? I like to know more about the places I'm going, especially when those places are dungeons full of monsters." I replied as I walked towards the chest with the girl at my side.

"Hey Kitab? Do you think I can get a new weapon?"

"The possibility exists, but you can flip a coin to get something better."

"Well, without holding back this time."

I took out a twenty-five cent coin.

"Tails!"

So I flipped the coin up, when the coin came down, I was disappointed with the result, heads. Then the coin crumbled to dust.

"A pity, fortunately the consequence here is not getting better equipment. You can try again, or open the chest and be content with what's inside."

"Not this time. I want to be prepared."

I picked up another twenty-five cent coin and tossed it in the air.

"Tails!"

When the coin fell, the result was heads again.

"Bad luck, bad luck! Apparently, the gods are against you today!"

Grumbling at Kitab's comments, I picked up another coin of equal value, chose tails, and tossed it up. A smile formed on my face as the coin landed with the desired result.

Once the coin was gone, I opened the chest and grabbed my new weapon, but I frowned as soon as I saw what it was.

"A rapier?!? What is that? Dark souls? I doubt I have the dexterity to use that thing!" I screamed my frustrations as I held the sword in front of my face.

It was a rapier with the handle in the shape of a cup, serving as a hand protector, but the cup part was covered in silver adornments in the shape of eyes with emeralds in the center of the eyes.

The hilt of the rapier was made in the shape of several golden tentacles coming together in a spiral, ending in a pommel in the shape of a screaming face.

The rapier's blade was long, thin, and pointed, a meter and a half long, and having an edge on both sides, capable of piercing and cutting.

"Well, you can't complain! You said you wanted a better weapon, not a weapon you know how to use! Moreover, treat the weapon with the respect it deserves! This is the most recognizable rapier design, with a cup handle. This sword was popular in the 1600's in Spain and other countries. Unlike the ornate sword hilts of Germany and other northern countries, Spanish rapiers were created for practical use above all else. As rapiers continued to become longer and thinner, thrusting techniques dominated sword fighting. The frontal protection offered by a cup hilt made this style of sword extremely popular with civilians and common soldiers alike. This sword has also been used in a variety of settings, from fencing to New World expeditions." Kitab replied.

I opened and closed my mouth, but no words came out. What the hell was that? Kitab just gave me a history lesson.

"How do you know about this kind of thing?"

"I am a book. Saving knowledge is my purpose. And I don't have the legs to walk around, so I need to keep myself entertained somehow."

"Leaving that aside. Is this the kind of thing where I have to be extremely specific to get what I want?"

"Yes."

"Why doesn't that surprise me? I'm going to end up using this thing as a barbecue skewer." I sighed.

I turned to the girl and D'arce, showing off my new weapon. The girl just looked on curiously, as D'arce gave an approving nod.

"This is the type of weapon a noble would use, although I don't know the design. Would it be from the Eastern Shrines, perhaps?" D'arce asked.

"According to my magic book, this thing came from Spain."

"Spain? What kingdom is that?" D'arce asked.

Oh! I forgot! Spain does not exist in this world.

"Leaving that aside. Hope you don't mind me carrying a weapon with me."

"No my friend. As long as you don't try anything funny." D'arce said in a menacing tone disguised as glee as she tapped her sword.

"Before we continue. How do you feel?"

D'arce was silent for a few minutes, her eyes focusing on everything but me, then with a big sigh, D'arce spoke.

"I'm not sure. It's as if the walls are moving, I hear disembodied voices and see shadows in the shape of people who disappear shortly afterwards. Sometimes I wonder if you and the girl are real, I wonder if I'm actually bleeding to death on the dungeon floor and this is just a hallucination, my mind trying to block out the cruel reality. But..."

"But?"

"But I feel like I'm getting better, after having a little drink and spending time with you two, I feel my sanity returning. Maybe I just needed to find someone normal around here."

Yes... Normal... A future goddess and a sorcerer chosen by Lovecraftian gods.

"Well, since you're calmer. Would you like something to eat?"

"Yes please. What little food I had ran out some time ago." D'arce said sheepishly.

I took out some pieces of dried meat from my backpack; meanwhile I told the rats to focus on finding food. Right after that, I handed D'arce some of it

Now all that was left was to choose where to leave it. Should the rats bring everything they find to me, or should they put everything in one place and create a safe room?

"Thanks!" D'arce said with a relieved smile as she accepted the food.

Giving a nod to D'arce, we all exited the secret room and continued down the tree, I had to improvise since I had both hands full, so I put the cell phone in my pocket, but with the flashlight outside, lighting the way.

The girl, however, stayed close to me, gripping my arm with her free hand as she looked around with her dagger ready, but I wondered if she could fight back.

I know that in the game, even armed, the girl didn't do much damage, but she could fight for gameplay reasons, but here, in this reality. Would she have the stomach to stab things that will stand in our way?

Well, only time will tell. So we just continued on our way, into the darkness.

END OF CHAPTER