Chapter 73: Practical Dungeon Exam (VI)
Ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiipppppp!
From his fingertips spilled dozens of threads, thin as hair, gleaming faintly in the dim light of the rune.
Then, as the first darkspawn lunged, Gray flicked his wrist.
Schlk!
A thread tightened around its neck, slicing clean through. The body staggered three steps before collapsing, head rolling across the stone.
Another came from behind.
Without turning, Gray snapped his fingers, and a thread snapped taut like a garrote.
Thwip—crack!
Its torso split in half, guts spilling as the halves slid apart.
Selina’s breath hitched at the scene while Mira covered her mouth. Even Claire stepped back, her eyes wide with horror.
Gray threw them a sidelong glance, smirking.
"You girls be quiet and let the man work here~."
"You—! Do you think this is funny?! We’re in the middle of a nightmare!" Mira’s face flushed red.
"H-how can you joke right now? There are guts everywhere!" Claire peeked out from behind her hands.
"Honestly... arrogant men like you die first in stories. Just saying." Selina crossed her arms, scowling.
Gray chuckled, threads humming as they whipped through the air.
"Relax. If I die first, who’s going to save your pretty faces?"
"Tch!"
Their simultaneous scoffs echoed almost louder than the darkspawn shrieks rushing toward him.
"Keine stress~"
[...What does ’keine’ mean...?]
"...Keine...? Did I say that?" Gray’s eyebrows furrowed slighly.
[...Nevermind.]
"...Alright, weirdo."
Gray grabbed one of his strings and propelled his body up, flying slighly onto the air.
Taking the opportunity, he stretched his gloves to the beasts.
FWIPP!
Splat!
Strings shot out of his fingertips, piercing the darkspawn’s chest directly, before they rolled to the ground.
"Alright... eight done... eleven more to go," Gray muttered slighly.
He landed on the ground and subtly placed three strings in an ’X’ manner, before taking a few steps back.
"Come on, little cuties~"
He waved his hand cheerfully... which seemed to have angered them.
"KRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!"
They barreled forward.
SPLURT!
The first six sliced through the crossing threads, torsos splitting apart mid-charge, legs skidding forward while their upper halves flopped limply to the ground.
The air stank of copper and rot.
"Ugh..." Mira gagged at the sight.
Selina quickly reached out and patted her back.
"And that’s fourteen, " Gray chuckled.
The rest didn’t falter; they bounded over their fallen kin. Gray’s eyes narrowed faintly.
He flicked his hands, threads shooting upward into the ceiling.
The beasts leapt, and the ceiling answered.
Chunks of rock loosened where Gray’s threads cut through the stone. The darkspawn were slammed mid-air, bones crunching under the weight.
Two twitched weakly, so Gray yanked his strings again.
SHPPLRT!
Threads pierced their eyes, pinning them to the ground like insects on a collector’s board.
"Sixteen."
The survivors hissed, fanning out, circling him.
They had learned.
No longer rushing blindly, they prowled in a jagged ring, claws scraping the cavern floor.
"Oh? You’re thinking now? How adorable." Gray smirked, rolling his neck.
He extended both arms.
Threads spiraled outward, weaving into a dome around him. The creatures screeched, darting in from all sides.
One dashed left, another came low from the right, and the third vaulted high.
Gray’s threads snapped tight.
Shhk-shhk-shhk!
Three bodies collapsed at once, their limbs dropping separately from their torsos, the cuts so clean they didn’t bleed until after they hit the ground.
The last two charged in desperation, shrieking as they closed the gap.
Gray didn’t move his feet; instead, his lips curved faintly.
"...Nineteen."
FWIP!
A single thread shot forward, splitting into two mid-flight.
Both pierced skulls cleanly, sliding out the back of their heads. The creatures staggered two steps, then collapsed at his boots.
Silence fell.
Only the faint hum of vibrating strings remained.
Gray flicked his wrist, and the threads dissolved into nothing, the battlefield littered with twitching corpses and black blood soaking the stone.
He turned back to the girls, brushing his hands as though dusting flour.
"See? Easy. Now, what were you saying about me dying first?"
"Don’t twist your tongue. You’re still an arrogant bastard, monster or not, I don’t care how many you kill." Selina’s eyes narrowed into daggers.
"I’d almost rather they’d eaten us than... that." Maria’s eyes darted across the battlefield, the severed limbs, the piles of black ichor still steaming on the floor.
"Do you even feel anything when you do this?"
Gray... avoided her question, looking at Claire for a moment. She stood silent, her eyes frozen in the mountain of corpses.
And seeing that she didn’t talk, Girl turned to the other two.
"You girls sure talk a lot for people who’d be shredded right now if I hadn’t been here."
"Don’t you dare make yourself a hero! You don’t save people, you just butcher everything in front of you and grin like a lunatic!" Selina spat, stepping forward, fury burning in her eyes.
Gray tilted his head lazily, replying mockingly.
"Sure, sure... just remember, your ’crazy grinning butcher’ is also the one keeping you alive, bitch."
Her anger spiked at his words as she surged toward him, Mira scrambling to hold her back.
"Selina, wait—!"
But Mira’s hands slipped uselessly off her arm. Claire stayed rooted in place, stiff, as if watching a fire about to swallow them all.
Selina grabbed Gray by the front of his shirt, yanking him down to her level.
Her knuckles whitened around the fabric, trembling with rage as she glared up into his eyes.
"You’re not a savior, you’re a fucking villain!" she hissed.
"A monster in human skin! Filthy, arrogant, blood-soaked trash!" Her voice cracked with fury as the insults poured out, her breath hot against his face.
Gray’s smirk only deepened.
He didn’t resist... if anything, he leaned into her grip.
[The authority 『Beauty』 is currently in effect...]
Then, without warning, his arms slid around her waist.
"Wh—what the hell—?!" Selina froze, eyes widening in shock.
Before she could shove him away, his lips crushed against hers.
"MHMM!!!"
Selina froze the instant his lips crashed into hers.
Thump!
Her fists slammed into his chest, but his body didn’t budge.
His arms locked tight around her waist, pulling her in so close she could feel his heartbeat hammering against her ribs.
"Mm—! Mmf—!" Her muffled protests broke against his mouth.
She twisted her head, trying to turn away, but his hand pressed firmly at her back, holding her in place.
Rrrip, scratch!
Her nails scraped down his shirt, the fabric whining under her grip.
Tlick!
She bit his lip, teeth snapping down, the sharp taste of iron flooding between them.
"Shh..."
Gray hissed through his teeth, but instead of letting go, his tongue pressed forward, forcing the kiss deeper.
Her head jerked to the side, her shoulders straining as she tried to push free. His chest barely shifted. His arms only tightened.
"Ahh—!" Her breath hitched when his lips dragged harder across hers.
Thud, thud!
Her hands beat against him, growing weaker with each strike. Her fists softened, sliding from blows into shaky grips on his shirt.
Her lips, trembling at first, began to move against his.
Slow... uneven, and then longer, deeper.
Her head tilted, matching his. Her fingers curled at his shoulders now, pulling instead of pushing.
"Hnhn..."
"Smck... churup... mmhh..."
The sharp breaths from her nose, mixed with the wet sounds of the kiss, as the fight drained out of her.
Her body leaned in, and her lips opened to him.
And before she even realized it, Selina was no longer fighting.
She was kissing him back.
At this moment, Gray opened his black, bottomless eyes and stared at the two other girls behind Selina.
Mira and Claire froze.
Their spines stiffened, a shiver running through them at his stare. Heat rushed to their cheeks, turning them red.
Selina barely noticed.
Gray’s hand slid lower, gripping her round ass firmly.
Squeeze~
"Mhm!~" Selina jolted, a muffled sound escaping from her mouth.
The other two girls flinched at the sight, their bodies twitching as if the touch had landed on them instead.
Gray didn’t blink.
His eyes stayed locked on Mira and Claire, as his fingers pressed deeper into Selina’s curves.
Then his mouth moved harder against hers.
His lips parted as his tongue slid inside Selina’s mouth.
Slrp...
The wet sound filled the air as Selina gasped through her nose, her knees trembling while his grip held her steady.
Still, Gray never broke eye contact with the other two, making them watch the public show contentedly.
"Phwa..."
After a while, the two finally parted, as Gray’s gaze finally went back to Selina’s flushed face.
Her eyes were completely red and teary, her lips slighly stuck out, tears almost welling up in her eyes, as her breath came ragged and uneven.
"See...?"
Gray said lightly.
"It wasn’t so bad, was it?"
Selina instinctively nodded at his words.
Her eyes were completely... cloudy.
"Selina...?"
Mira spoke hesitantly, but that was enough for Selina to regain her composure.
Push!
She thumped her fists against Gray, pushing away, before pointing her finger at him with anger.
"Y-you... y-y-you! W-what did you do to me?!"
At her words, Gray tilted his head lazily, his lips curling up slighly.
"Didn’t I tell you? My speciality is..." He passed his thumb on his lips, before licking it slighly.
Selina’s face turned even redder than before.
"...conquering girls~."