TALES OF A WITCHER - Season 9 Episode 10

“Uh… I feel so… disgusting.”

Agatha covered her mouth and retched as she crept along the worm carrier’s narrow esophagus to get out. “I feel like I was in some kind of mucus-filled bag that was flung onto the wall dozens of times.”

“You couldn’t find any words better than that?” Nightingale asked as she walked out of her Mist leisurely.She stared at the others who were bathed in mucus. “If Fran hadn’t collapsed the cave’s mouth, we’d be in great danger.” The advantage of walking in the Mist, that enabled her to travel seamlessly between spaces, had saved her from needing to hide in the carrier’s stomach. Ultimately saving her from being bathed in the foul and corrupted mucus.

“Sorry… did I act impulsively?” Fran asked warily, however, Agatha was too busy retching from the stench to reply.

“For me, it was okay.” Lightning said as she wiped mucus from her hair before smelling it. “Being swallowed by a giant worm and then crawling out safely is an unparalleled experience, an adventure that no other explorers have gotten to taste.”

“Don’t be too greedy.” Elena rolled her eyes and said to Agatha, “For us, who have no senses, even smelling the reek and feeling the clammy touch is enviable.”

Other God’s Punishment Witches echoed her sentiment.

“Fine… let us say no more.” Agatha coughed and interrupted in a hoarse voice, “On to the next problem, what should we do?”

There was fear lingering in every witch’s heart as they recalled the accident from minutes ago. Despite Fran’s quick warning, in that moment, the instinct to turn their eyes towards the source of the weird buzzing was faster than their minds could process the warning. As a result, more than one of them failed to keep their head down as the sound rang out.

No one had been able to see the actual visage of the monster, all they could see was it’s ten thousand scarlet eyes.

They believed that the cluster of eyes belonged to the watchful Multi-eyed Demon that had coiled on the top of the tower. The only image they could associate it with was the black stone tower that had been swallowed by the worm. However, unlike the ordinary Multi-eyed Demon, the scope of this one’s eyes had been much wider, as if the demon’s body had been flattened and considerably stretched.

After the buzzing had subsided a large number of hybrid demonic beasts emerged from the deep ruins and charged towards them. All Nightingale had been able to see while she was in the Mist was the sudden appearance of numerous magic power light spots. They had abruptly appeared out of the void and from every corner of the cave. They had come from the stone walls, the streaming water, and the dark dome. The monsters had gathered together, creating bright streams, and their noisy, raspy roars drowned out the tinkling of the running water. It had been as if the entire mountain had come alive to chase off the intruders.

In that moment of peril, it had been Fran who made the executive decision.

She swallowed everyone, except for Nightingale, and turned so she could bore into the cave wall. Once her whole body had been submerged in the stone wall, the demonic beasts approached and started to snap at her tail fiercely. Even with Nightingale proving cover, she had been able to drive away so many enemies.

Although she had been in pain, Fran persisted and tunneling about 30 feet into the rock formation before she rolled back onto her rear and smashed the demonic beasts with her giant body. Subsequently, she gathered all of her strength into her tail and whipped it hard against the ceiling of the tunnel, knocking down the stones. By blocking the mouth of the tunnel, she finally eliminated some enemies.

During the struggle, the witches hiding in Fran’s stomach had had an unforgettable experience. They tumbled and rocked inside the worm while she was fighting and they nearly threw up. As if the rolling and whipping wasn’t enough, they had also been confined next to the rotting meat that was in the digestive cavity and it had reeked.

Ultimately, at least, all of them were safe.

“First we have to figure out what’s going on.” Elena looked at Fran, “How did you get stuck down here?”

“I think the rock formation must have been eroded by years of water washing so it collapsed abruptly as I twirled in the passage. It all happened so fast that I was already fallin by the time I realized what had happened. Then I knocked into something and blacked out,” Fran said limply. “When I woke up, I found myself being transporting by dozens of invisible worms and then they left me in this place.”

“I see… They’ve taken you as a vacant carrier.” Elena raised her eyebrows, “At least, we’re lucky.”

“We’re indeed, very lucky, especially since we were not eaten on the spot,” Fran muttered. “It’s a pity that I accidentally glanced up at the ceiling of the cave when I was about to escape.

“Is it really a watchful Magic Eye?” Agatha asked in a deep voice.

“I don’t know. The moment I saw it, it spotted me as well, but I’m not sure what it really was. This monster was much bigger than the Multi-eyed Demon.” Fran sighed, exhaling a nasty wind that assaulted the people around her. “Ah, sorry… since Elena and the other God’s Punishment witches lost their smell a long time ago, I stopped paying it any attention…”

“Ahem, it’s fine.” Ice Witch Agatha held her breath for a long time before saying, “Did you happen to get an overall view of the monster?”

“After I had been bound, it landed and took its time as it bathed in the lake…” Fran paused for a moment as she looked for the words. “I don’t know how to describe it. The monster looked like a failed experiment, it’s like a lump of flattened guts that has been laid over the body of the Multi-eyed Demon. The two parts don’t mesh naturally and they look more like a forceful patchwork. I also noticed that it had tentacles writhing in the gaps between the parts. I am not sure if they were living worms or a physical part of the monster. Regardless, that lump of the guts was much larger than the Multi-eyed Demon, even bigger than the Fearful Beast of Hell.”

“Is it possible that the monster is consuming demons?” Nightingale frowned, “I believe it can’t be considered a simple hybrid demonic beast.”

“I think we should figure out how to get out of here before we try to figure out what it is.” Elena patted Fran’s huge mouth. “Next time, remember to alert us before telling us the details. Do you understand?”

“Um…” Fran answered gloomily.

“Can you move now?”

“I can’t. I’ve run myself out…” Fran shook her head. “I consumed all the food in my stomach during the time we have been trapped here, so I need food for fuel.”

“What if we give you the last of our food?” Lightning suggested.

“That’s barely enough for her to tunnel 100 steps.” Elena took a deep breath, “All we can do is wait or risk it and break out.”

“Waiting isn’t safe either,” Agatha said calmly. “The space in here is too small and we’ll all suffocate in less than a day if we don’t find a way out.” “Even if Sylvie manages to locate us, they will have to destroy the beasts before they can try to save us.” She paused, “Don’t forget the enemy also possesses devouring worm carriers.”

“Unfortunately, if we charge out now, it’s unlikely we won’t be devoured by the numerous beasts.” The God’s Punishment Witches hesitated. “Besides… what do we do about Fran? She can’t escape and there’s no way for her to defend herself from so many enemies.”

“Anyway… let me check the situation outside first.” Nightingale turned, unwilling to be involved in this dilemma.

“If you guys figure out a way to escape, don’t worry about me,” Fran said suddenly. “Taquila witches don’t fear death. I’ll always belong to them no matter what I’ve become. By the way, I’ve got something else in my stomach that may be of some help.” She wriggled her body, slowly spitting out several sticky iron boxes.

“What’s…”

“The garrison supplies that the First Army asked me to carry,” Fran said, coughing. “They said these things were too heavy to carry and asked me for help, so I swallowed all of them.”

Agatha opened the boxes one by one—there were building tools and materials in them, such as shovels, spades, wire nettings, etc. As the things in the last box were revealed, Agatha froze for a moment.

The iron box was not very large but it was especially heavy. Apart from the shockproof wheat-straw stuffing, there were a dozen wooden boxes labeled “the second chemistry plant, sample 64, qualified”.

If she remembered correctly, most of the nitrogen generated during decomposition had been sent to this factory.

This box actually held explosives.