Chapter 44: Carcass Beetle "Shit!"
Nightingale had already spotted the dark silhouette emerging from the shadows, which gave him just enough time to react. Instinctively, he sprinted toward Rose.
Without a second thought, he tackled her to the ground, making her cry out in surprise. At the same moment, the black silhouette hurtled through the air where her head was supposed to be with a loud crack and continued to travel until it landed somewhere else.
Staying low on the ground and fearing the possibility of losing his head, Nightingale swung his gaze toward the spot where the attack had landed but the space was empty. Whatever it was had likely retreated back into the darkness.
He then looked down at the woman beneath him. There was no way to accurately tell what the masked woman was thinking, but judging by her stiffness, she was probably dumbfounded.
It was an awkward position, no doubt, but there was no time to dwell on such trivialities.
He asked, keeping his voice low but urgent:
"Are you alright?"
Flaming Rose nodded reluctantly.
"Y-Yeah... I was a bit startled when you suddenly tackled me out of nowhere, but... thank you."
Nightingale quickly pushed himself up and helped Rose to her feet. The two Espers immediately assumed a defensive stance, their backs pressed against each other as they crossed their blink spots and scanned the surrounding darkness.
There was no doubt that whatever had attacked was a Chaos Creature, but they didn’t have much to fear. Being on one of the beginning floors, the creatures permitted here were limited to Fiends.
If that was the case, they would have no trouble eliminating it.
However, this particular creature could strike and retreat using the shadows, and with the labyrinth’s darkness surrounding them, Nightingale and Rose found themselves at a significant disadvantage.
’Where are you?’
Lu Song narrowed his eyes, straining to make out a shape in the darkness.
He couldn’t help but wonder why the creature had targeted Rose instead of him. Did it see her as weaker, or was it merely a coincidence? He knew it was neither. Most likely, it was one of those intelligent creatures capable of gauging a target’s strength at a glance.
This was typical behavior for both animals and monsters alike: they killed whatever they perceived as the greatest threat within a group of enemies.
But when they couldn’t attack directly, they resorted to indirect tactics instead.
As this realization descended upon his mind, Nightingale quickly drew the pistol from its holster and snapped a silencer onto the barrel.
It took no more than two seconds.
Just as he expected, a dark object hurtled through the air toward his face. With lightning-fast reflexes, Nightingale raised the Glock 19, found his sight, and squeezed the trigger.
Phump! A muffled pop answered the shot as the round slammed into the target, drawing a strained cry. Thrown off its trajectory, the unknown creature spun wildly in midair before it struck the corridor wall and tumbled to the floor.
Startled, Flaming Rose glanced around.
"What was that? Did you just shoot something?"
"Yeah," Nightingale replied, narrowing his eyes. "And I think I hit it too."
Since the voice of the Mire hadn’t announced a kill, whatever he’d struck was clearly still alive.
With that thought, he peered forward, trying to ascertain the situation.
In front of him, their mysterious assailant finally revealed itself. A wounded silhouette slowly crawled out from the shadows.
The creature was small, no larger than a human forearm, but its presence was far more intimidating than its size suggested. Its exoskeleton was jet-black and glistened like polished obsidian, segmented in jagged plates that seemed almost too rigid for movement. Jagged spines jutted from its back and shoulders, twitching as if sensing the air around it.
Its six legs ended in razor-sharp claws that seemed capable of ripping through fresh and a pair of antennae quivered atop its head, twitching independently, eeriely so. Its mandibles were disproportionally large, hooked, and jagged, dripping with a dark, viscous fluid that sizzled slightly when it touched the floor.
Despite its small size, its eyes were disproportionately large resembling tiny orbs that gleamed with an unnatural, almost sentient intelligence. They burned with rage, hunger, and malice.
Honestly speaking, the creature looked like a lowly beetle but much more overgrown and ugly.
’How the hell have you been eating to grow this fat, you damn bastard!?’
Of course, the answer to Nightingale’s question was rather obvious. Considering the number of corpses he had passed along the way, it wasn’t difficult to paint a vivid picture.
Their assailant was nothing more than a lowly Fiend.
Otherwise, why would it rely on ambush tactics? A true predator wouldn’t need to hide in the shadows like a coward. Everything about its behavior screamed weakness and cunning. It had probably killed dozens, both human and monster, the same way too.
Truly, if not for his quick reflexes, Flaming Rose’s head would’ve joined that grisly collection.
’What to do? My bullet didn’t seem to have dented its armor. Is it more durable than the Stone Terrors and Kobolds?’
Nightingale pondered inside his mind as he studied the strange beetle. Then his deep, bottomless eyes glinted with murderous intent.
’Still, if we drag this out, we’ll attract others. Let’s end this quickly.’
He mentally activated his Mythic Ability, Flatten.
Since the creature was already within the effective range of his ability — namely, his line of sight — the effect manifested instantaneously.
Before the Lesser Fiend could even sense something was wrong, its body suddenly convulsed.
A incomprehensible force reminiscent of the invisible hand of a giant descended upon its body. Its limbs spasmed violently as the air around its head warped and folded inward with a faint distortion.
Crk! Crack! Crkk! The grotesque beetle thrashed and shrieked. Its claws dug furrows into the floor, but no matter how much it struggled, it couldn’t move an inch. Its small head began to be crushed and flattened unnaturally, as though it were being pressed by an invisible vice.
Within seconds, the creature’s screams were reduced to muffled gurgles. A final "pop" reverberated through the air before it crumbled to the cold floor, completely still and lifeless.
The labyrinth grew eerily quiet again.
[You have slain a Lesser Fiend: Carcass Beetle.]
Nightingale released a slow breath and holstered his pistol.
’As expected, Flatten works perfectly on small targets... though I’d rather not see that up close again.’
He wore a satisfied smile, quietly proud of his handiwork.
Just then, a panicked voice reached his ears.
"W-What... w-what was that...?"
Looking back, Nightingale noticed Rose trembling all over, as if she had truly witnessed something alien, vast, and otherworldly.
’Ah... she saw that too.’
Thinking about it, the Caster hadn’t witnessed him activating his ability before. And since the effects of Flatten were invisible, she had likely seen only the creature’s head crushed by an unseen power.
Anyone in her position would be terrified and completely shaken to their core.
He scratched his head as she continued to tremble like a scared puppy. Her breath was shallow and rapid.
With a sigh, Nightingale decided to clear up the misunderstanding.
"Hey, there’s no need to be scared. I’m the one who killed it."
Flaming Rose turned toward him, her voice trembling slightly.
"You... killed it?"
He scratched the back of his head, trying to sound casual.
"Didn’t I mention it on InterCom before? My Mythic Ability. Basically, I can crush and flatten anything within my line of sight. With a bit of focus, I can even target a monster’s Spirit Core. Aside from that, it’s honestly not that impressive."
Compared to her Azure Fire, which could heal injuries, his «Flatten» felt rather lacking in versatility. It wasn’t particularly suited for defense or sustained offense either — more of a brutal, precise execution tool than a balanced ability.
Even so, Flaming Rose didn’t seem to share his self-deprecating viewpoint. In fact, her posture subtly shifted as her attention intensified.
More precisely...
"Did you just say you could attack a monster’s Spirit Core?"
"Huh?" Nightingale gave her a puzzled look.
"Yeah. I once killed a Great Fiend that dwelled on the First Floor by crushing its Spirit Core. When I checked afterward, there were no Shards left, so I figured that was the reason. But... what’s that got to do with anything?"
Flaming Rose didn’t answer immediately. Silence stretched between them, long enough that Nightingale began to wonder if she’d lost her voice.
𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦 Finally, she opened her mouth again and asked cautiously:
"Mr. Devil... doesn’t that also mean you could target a human’s Soul Slate as well?"