Chapter 41 Tentacles and the Scout
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
At first, she counted them. From the moment she became aware of herself until the day she parted from her friends. She tried to keep her sense of self by repeating those scenes over and over in her mind.
—The unexplored parts of the meikyū (labyrinth) always walked hand in hand with death. Everyone in the group knew that. That was why no one hesitated to put themselves in danger for the sake of their friends. Because she believed that, she did not pause for a second when she drew the petrifying monster toward herself. She even felt relief when the creature bit and chased after her.
(I hope Paradis-sama is safe.)
She learned that the monster’s petrifying attack was far stronger than those in the upper layers only after the leader, who had charged ahead as the party’s shield, fell to it without a chance to fight back.
She did not worry. The others were skilled too. They must have pulled back to the nearby safety area right away and removed the stone effect without taking extra risks. Sadly, they had no way to fully block petrification. But if they carefully returned the way they came, gathered magic stones (majikku ishi) that stopped the effect, and came back to the fifty-eighth layer…
A few months from now, she would likely be free from this darkness. She could laugh with her friends about the failure while trading light jokes.
She kept count of those hopeful memories until they passed a hundred times. But then doubt crept in. Would her friends really come to help? No, she should not doubt them. Maybe they were having trouble finding the rare and costly magic stones.
The faces of her friends, once full of hope, slowly changed in her mind to weak expressions of relief at leaving someone behind to save themselves. She knew these were false images born from her own fear.
Her friends would come. She believed only that. But she could no longer rely on memories.
(Keep the magic flowing inside. That way I can hold onto myself even without thoughts.)
Her body could not move because of the stone. Yet she could still think. This was a use of a method she had practiced long ago to bear loneliness—focusing her mind on the magic inside her body.
She let the magic tied to her awareness circle through her, reminding her that she still existed. She did this for a very long time.
In that empty state, she lost all sense of time. Naturally, she pushed the fear of the darkness outside her mind.
* * *
How much time had passed since then? She did not know. Suddenly, she felt magic that was not her own. It filled the empty darkness like air. The background magic made her own presence stand out clearly. Her body, which she had only sensed through magic before, now felt sharp and real.
First came the touch of the flat ground under her. Then the sound of her breath, the tilt of her head, the low groan in her throat. All of it was the familiar feel of her own body.
If the ground and air were made by magic, what kind of powerful being had created this? It felt as if someone had placed her like a figure in a small garden built from magic.
(This is…? My body should still be turned to stone…)
She opened her eyes to check her surroundings with her now clear senses. Darkness filled the space. But through some magic sight different from normal, she could see her body clearly even without light.
She lay naked, without a stitch of clothing. That was the result of relying on her skills to create clothing, so it could not be helped. Still, she wanted to know why this had happened. Her eyes caught something strange at the edge of her vision, and she turned to look. Her heart nearly stopped.
A lump of flesh. It looked like a jellyfish said to live far out at sea. Inside its see-through dome, unclear organs wriggled in a way that made her stomach turn. Countless see-through tentacles held the thing upright. Just seeing it made fear rise in her chest.
Slurp. The meat jelly (niku kurage) took a step forward.
She jumped to her feet on reflex. She bent her muscles like springs and put distance between them.
”D-don’t come near, you monster…!” she shouted without thinking.
But such words would mean nothing to a creature without a trace of reason. The meat jelly took her loud voice as a threat. It threw itself to the ground and thrashed its tentacles wildly.
I have to kill it…!
She had no beloved sword in her hand right now. But when she focused her will in her chest, a small heat lit in her palm. Even in this strange darkness, her skills still worked.
The head was the clear target. One strike to the organs inside the see-through body, which she assumed to be its weak point, should bring down even this strange monster.
She prepared to leap. The meat jelly raised one tentacle and waved it like a beckoning hand. The motion almost distracted her, as if it were taunting her. But she did not care about the creature’s tricks.
When she had jumped back earlier, the meat jelly had clearly lost sight of her until she landed. She did not know how a monster without eyes sensed the world, but if she confused it with speed, she had a good chance to win.
A throb came from her lower belly. The only thing to watch for was this forced wave of strange excitement. She was not sure if it was magic projection or scentless poison, but the monster in front of her was clearly the source.
Her cheeks grew hot. Her breathing turned quick and shallow. The pink tips of her chest stood sharp, more sensitive than ever. And the meat jelly was without doubt watching it all.
It had no eyes, yet a burning warmth moved over her reddened skin like a gaze. It focused mainly on the curves of her chest, which had always drawn unwanted looks from men, and on the part between her legs that was starting to feel open against her will.
”Kuuh, huu…♡ You shameless beast…!” she gasped.
She felt a slick fluid drip from her and shame burned her face like fire. The meat jelly swung one tentacle back and forth, no doubt pleased that its prey was in this state.
In fights like this, a surprise attack worked best. She did not mind if the creature guessed she could turn skills into attacks.
She could not stand showing her skin to this monster any longer.
”—Darkness wrap (yami matoi)!”
This rare skill had even earned her a place in the party. It created black mist that she could shape into solid objects as she wished. The shapes faded after leaving her body for a while, but in the labyrinth where supplies were limited, it was very useful for throwing weapons or clothing.
No one else entered the labyrinth practically naked, but being able to make needed gear on the spot was a big strength.
She called the skill’s name, and the effect came at once. Scout clothes that fit her skin perfectly wrapped her body without slowing her movements. They were the form of the shinobi (stealth warrior) passed down by the ancestor who had come from a far land long ago.
”H-how’s that…! Now you can’t look at me with dirty eyes—fugoo!? ♡♡”
She now wore battle clothes and should no longer look improper, yet the throb in her lower belly grew to its limit. Strong warmth gripped her center like hands holding it tight.
As if to prove this forced state came from the meat jelly, the burning gaze of warmth ignored the skill’s protection and grew stronger. The meat jelly raised its tentacles and shook them like clenched fists in excitement, as if thrilled by her writhing.
”I-I’ll kill you♡ A shameless monster like you can’t be left alive♡♡” she cried.
She scolded her weakening legs. At this rate, the rising warmth across her whole body would make it impossible to stand. She had to cut down the meat jelly and end this before that happened.
After all, she had suffered cut-off senses for so long that she was already starting to feel this sensation as pleasant. She could not let herself give in.
With a use of darkness wrap, she formed a black short blade (kunai). The meat jelly seemed startled by the drawn blade and shrank back. It raised about half its many support tentacles to guard its head.
So that was the weak point after all. Guarding meant it did not want to be hit. That also meant a hit there could kill it.
Even without eyes, it watched her through small gaps in the tentacles, as if waiting to see what she would do. The guarding tentacles swayed gently. Their tips twitched now and then, likely trying to keep track of her.
She shifted her eyes here and there, as if looking for an opening. Each time, the tentacles moved just a little. The creature knew how to play this game of breaking a guard, yet it could not hide the fact.
An amateur.
She sensed a human-like will in the monster, but she had no plan to think deeply about it. It was better not to grow attached to something she would kill.
She held up the kunai and pretended to think about how to break the guard. She wanted it to believe she was focusing on the front, while her real goal was to strike from behind.
The meat jelly could not keep up with her speed. There was no need to face the thick guard in front.
They watched each other, waiting for the moment to strike. No signal was needed.
She raised the kunai toward the most guarded spot, forcing it to focus on defense. Then, with speed it could not follow, she closed the distance and slipped behind the creature.
Something felt wrong. Even if it could not see her attack, she expected it to at least move tentacles into a defense pose. But there was no sign of that.
(I see. Clever…!)
Just as she swung the kunai down without pause from behind, a tentacle shot up from the ground. Even if it looked like a monster, it had real intelligence. It must have understood that if she could attack from anywhere, she would choose the back.
But it was too slow. By the time the tentacle reached to wrap her, she would have already torn through the see-through head.
In her sped-up sight, the tentacle rose slowly toward her. With quickness its heavy movement could not match, she swung the black kunai and—
The blade formed by her skill sank into the soft-looking head of the meat jelly but turned to mist before causing any damage.
(…Huh?)
The surprise stopped her for a moment. She could not jump away at once—maybe the long petrification had dulled her instincts. Either way, she had kept thinking the coming tentacle would be easy to break once the kunai failed. That was a careless mistake.
”Kyaaaaaaa!?” she screamed.
Tentacles wrapped both her legs. She tried to cut them with darkness wrap turned into a blade, but they all turned to mist. Worse, even the shinobi clothes covering her body melted away where the tentacles touched.
Splat. The sticky fluid from the tentacles wet her skin.
”Hiiiiiii!?” she cried.
The unknown liquid from the ugly tentacles made her skin crawl with disgust. But the bigger problem was that she could not pull the wrapped tentacles off at all. They did not squeeze hard, yet her legs would not move no matter how she tried.
The meat jelly had likely known from the start this would happen. Once caught, some strange power made sure the prey could not escape. It only needed to pretend to be weak and easy to kill, then create one small opening to wrap her with a tentacle.
To prove it, more tentacles swarmed in. They took her arms, waist, neck. She could not run. Little by little, her body was fixed in place until she hung in the air, unable to move at all.
This was a deeply humiliating loss in their game of wits. She had hidden her cards and tried a surprise attack—a common trick—only to have it used against her. The mistake born from pride hurt her scout’s self-respect more than enough.
”Damn it, let go!” she shouted.
Now all she could do was yell and struggle. She knew the tentacles would not loosen even if she did. But fear filled her—if she stayed still and did nothing, something she could never fix might happen too soon.
Yet no matter how long she waited, the worst did not come—no strangling to death. Instead, she was gently lowered to the dark ground. The tentacles wrapped around her whole body began to rub her carefully.
”Hii♡ Hyaa♡ What are you doing, nnaaaa♡♡” she gasped.
At the same time, the throb in her lower belly that had faded came back strong. The sticky fluid rubbed on her slowly melted the darkness wrap clothes. At first, disgust filled her. But she felt relief that it did not seem to plan to kill her. Added to the forced warmth rising again and her hunger for touch after long petrification, the bad feelings quickly grew weak.
”Haaaa♡ Why, why♡ Just from being wrapped like this, it feels good…♡ I’ve never heard of a monster made only to trouble women…! Damn, rubbing so rudely, you lewd jelly♡” she cursed.
Even as she swore, she let her body relax into it. She knew this was clearly wrong, but she could not fight the sweet feelings coming from inside and out at the same time.
For some reason, the tentacles rubbing her arms and legs made those parts more sensitive whether she wanted it or not.
”Kufuu♡ I-I won’t be fooled♡ You make my belly throb so much, but you won’t stop with just arms and legs♡” she said.
The creature focused only on her limbs for now. But since it used a way to excite the center of a woman, it was clear it would touch there soon. Still, it acted innocent or maybe wanted to show there was an order to things. The melting of the darkness wrap by the meat jelly stayed mostly on her arms and legs.
”Ku, just finish it fast instead of playing like this…♡ Hiu, —w-what is that?” she asked.
The monster did not rise to her taunt. She gave in for a moment and let it stroke her limbs. Then the tentacles rubbing her fingertips started to shake. She thought it was part of the touching and ignored it. Suddenly, the tips split open lengthwise. Rows of teeth on both sides showed.
She could not react to the sudden change. The tentacles used their new mouths and gently bit down on the fingers of her arms and legs.
”Hi, s-stop, ah…♡ Y-you don’t plan to bite them off…? You scared me…♡ Ku, this is…♡” she said.
At first, she panicked, thinking it started to eat her. But when she realized it was a gentle bite, she quickly felt the strange warmth. A cozy tingle came from her fingertips, just before real pain.
She had never known that having fingertips gently bitten could wake a hidden excitement. And it happened to all fingers on her arms and legs at once.
The touching from tentacles was the same, but this creature that could do it all with one body might give a woman more comfort than a human man.
”N-no good… At this rate, I won’t be able to go back…♡” she thought.
It felt as if her earlier thought that it was gross had been a lie. She let her arms and legs go limp and gave herself to the tentacle touches. Compared to the time in stone when all feelings were cut off, a little bad look did not matter at all. She learned that now.
Because of that, when the jelly’s dome stretched up and fell over her from the side, she did not even try to dodge.
Splat!!
The lump of flesh dripping lots of fluid landed on her stomach. The body part of the darkness wrap clothes turned to mist in a second. Warm fluid wet her belly.
She had known it, but she could not push the meat jelly’s main body up either. Like when the tentacles caught her, some forcing power worked to stop her movements.
This made escape even harder, but struggling now would not free her anyway. On the other hand, being left alone in this darkness scared her more now that she remembered the feel of touch on her skin.
The many thin tentacles growing from the bottom of the not-so-heavy body stroked her belly, causing a tickling sensation.
”Kuhi, h-hey, that tickles. Stop, that’s my belly button…♡ Damn, the way you rub…, you know women well♡ For a long time, the feeling I get from you watches only my chest♡… Do you know other women? Will you take me to where other women are…?” she asked.
Being alone was sad. And she could not bear a state where even the feel of her own body was cut off any more. Even if the one who appeared was a strange monster, if it meant no harm, she felt she could follow it.
The monster said nothing. At least, it could not speak. But as if answering her question, it raised two tentacles. It pressed their tips against the tops of her chest. Sizzle. The darkness wrap there turned to steam with a sound. When the tentacles pulled away, her fully sensitive tips showed under where the clothes had been.
”Ku, I knew it, you know women well…♡ Hi, t-there too…? ♡” she said.
Why had it bared her tips? As if to answer her silent blame, the tentacles attacking her chest split open. Strange mouths appeared and slowly sucked onto the tips she could neither hide nor run from.
”Nnaa♡ Hii♡ Biting tips, that’s good♡ Hyaa, a tongue!? You even have a tongue♡” she cried.
The tips caught so easily in the tentacle’s fangs were stroked more gently than her fingertips had been. The gentle bites alone made her sight blur with warmth. But now the ends of her tips, held between teeth rows inside the tentacle’s mouth, were carefully licked and rolled by something like a tongue stretching from deep inside.
”Noo♡ Oo♡ This is enough♡ Hey, Kurage-dono, won’t you stay by my side♡ No, please keep me by your side♡” she begged.
It sounded like a marriage proposal. And she knew she was not wrong to think so. In the darkness where she had almost given up, this woman-skilled monster was the first to come for her.
As if waiting for those words, a tentacle licked between her legs. The darkness wrap covering her private parts turned to mist. Her soaked center touched the open air.
Squelch. A tentacle clearly meant for a different purpose pressed against her. She thought it would connect with her right then, but the tentacle did not push further in. All the stroking across her body stopped, as if waiting for her consent.
She hesitated for a moment. She had already guessed what it wanted. She would rather stay with this monster than return to that darkness. Yet even now, her useless pride kept asking if that was truly all right.
No answer came. She wished everything would be forced so it would be easy. But the strange monster demanded she cross the final line herself.
”Hin, hya…♡ Kurage-dono…?” she whispered.
The meat jelly pulled back all its tentacles. Even the ones holding her arms and legs slid inside the see-through dome. The thing on her belly turned into a slightly creepy water dumpling.
Then it rolled off her stomach with a plop.
She was completely free. She knew with certainty that even if she turned and ran, this strange being would not chase her. It likely held a human will, or something close to it. And because of that, the human in her wanted to cling to its kindness.
”Kurage-dono, please teach this greedy me. If I stay by your side, can I escape this darkness? If that is yes, I will not hold back from giving myself to you,” she said.
She lay face down on the ground and bowed her head to the rolled dumpling. A single tentacle slid out with a soft sound. The same one that had pressed against her center passed under her lowered face and went between her legs. She feared it would take her then and there, but the tip only poked her lower belly.
”Hao♡ Fu, guu…♡ T-this…♡ A skill? Not just magic…♡” she gasped.
The throb in her lower belly she had felt since facing the meat jelly. She had thought it was only forced heat. But now she sensed some kind of spell being built. If connection was needed to complete it, the creature could force it. It did not because it likely wanted the power boost from agreed contract.
She faced a choice she could not take back. Some skills grew stronger with both sides’ agreement. But they could come with forcing power or complex steps to undo.
No, she already felt forcing power. The tentacles that would not let her fight back. The endless heat…!
If it could affect her like this before any contract, once made, the power balance would lock forever and could never change.
Her body shook.
This was scary. Taking the tentacle meant throwing away her old self. But still.
With such strong force, maybe she could escape this stone prison. Perhaps the monster had entered the prison because it was sure of that.
”—I believe you, Kurage-dono…!” she said.
She swallowed hard. There was fear of no longer being herself. She felt a pull from the spirit she had kept while waiting for her friends. But they were not here. The one who came to this endless hell without fail was this strange monster.
(Paradis-sama…!)
One last time, she pictured her friends she had believed would come. Their images faded into the prison darkness. She turned her eyes to the water dumpling in front of her.
She scooped the outstretched tentacle with both hands and kissed its tip.
”Kurage-dono— I, Suzuri, will marry you…! Please keep me by your side forever!” she declared.
Whoosh. Countless tentacles spread out. She could not believe so much mass fit in the cute dumpling. Every tentacle from the jelly’s dome rushed toward her.
But she was no longer afraid. They would surely stroke every part of her body and make her forget the terror of darkness.
Feeling her own lips lift in a smile, Suzuri let the wave of tentacles swallow her.
Notes:
• Paradis – Mentioned as Suzuri’s companion, he was part of the group that explored the labyrinth and was someone she hoped remained safe after she drew the monster away.
• Kurage – A jelly-like monster that produced magic and restrained Suzuri in the darkness, it showed intelligence in battle and used tentacles to outwit and capture its target.
• Suzuri – A scout who braved the labyrinth and lured a petrifying monster to protect her friends, she endured long isolation while frozen in stone and relied on inner magic to preserve her sense of self.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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