I run towards the town hall’s entrance and shoved my head inside.
The ceiling collapses and a heap ton of rubble relentlessly falls on my head.

Inside, there were over a dozen Abyss grouped together.
They’re trying to break through an iron door.

That’s probably the entrance to the underground basement.
If the Abyss are trying to break past it, that means they saw someone enter there.
Simply speaking, the other side is panicking like crazy right now.

While a group of Abyss try to slam open the door, another group digs underground.
The floor crumbles and a hole is made.

I suddenly remembered the Abyss that sprouted out of the ground from before.
That means, these guys are capable of digging holes.
If this keeps up, won’t this whole underground collapse from all the digging?

I shouldn’t waste anymore time.
I squeeze myself in and let my claw enter first.
Partner also squeezed herself in, and she was surprisingly not squirming for once.
The entire underground shook.

“Gra~a~a~a~a~a~a~aa!”

Partner, after seeing the hordes of Abyss down below, screamed in terror.
I want to join in the scream team too but now is not the time for that.
Three Abyss spotted us and are rushing towards our inserted faces.

“Vu~e~ee~ee~e~ee~e~e!”

The Abyss opens their big mouth.
Foul mucky liquid drips out of it, giving off a nasty odor.

“Gru~u~oooooooo!”

Oh no!
Oh no no no! No way in hell am I letting them bite me!

Following the three Abyss, more others crawl towards our stuck heads.
They each open their disgusting mouths and rush at us.
There were five, six, no seven…… aargh, I shouldn’t be counting them.

“Gru~u~o!”

I raise my claw overhead and squeeze more of my upper body inside.
Then, I crushed the Abyss with my left and right claws.
I should prioritize more in immobilizing them than killing them.

The Abyss in the frontlines split into three rows and they each jumped on my face.
My heart skipped a beat and I crushed an Abyss with my fangs out of panic.

A warm liquid envelops my whole mouth.
Its legs are still moving.
The sickening feeling only gets worse in my throat.

“Vu~e, vu~ehe! Vu~e~vu~e!”

I vomit in disgust and bits of the Abyss leave my mouth.
Ignore it, don’t mind it, clear your mind, damn it. Don’t let it bother you!
Nothing good ever comes when the Abyss is involved……

“Gru~uo…… oo……”

Oh *urgp* man…… I don’t feel so good.

Beside me, Partner is just crushing Abyss left and right with a headbutt.
…… Should I follow her example and fight like that too?
Wait, weren’t there three rows of Abyss before? Did one of them disappear?

“Gra~a~a~a!”

Partner then hit me hard with her headbutt.
It was so sudden and powerful too.
My vision is slowly fading.

“Gru~o~o!”

Uwah, I thought my jaw nearly broke there!
I lean backwards and my head hits the ceiling.
A mushing sound is heard above me.

And then, an Abyss that was on top of my head fell over me.
I-It’s one of those Abyss that jumped on my face.
Did Partner headbutt me to save me?
Thanks, I haven’t received heavy damage like that in a while, not since my fight with the Hero.
I know you were only trying to save me, but that still made me nervous.

As for the other Abyss right under me, I crush them with my body weight.
Of course, I'm doing this with extreme disgust, but I can't afford to be nit-picky right now.
Death to these vile cretins!

“Vu~ea!”

The ground collapses and the Abyss falls over.
The Abyss makes a short scream.

【Obtained 144 Experience Points.】
【〖The Walking Egg〗skill gives you additional 144 Experience Points.】

Uck, my claws are all slimy with Abyss goo.
If I remember right, this liquid contains a numbing poison, doesn’t it?
…… No, I don’t even want to think about.
I want to take a bath soon.

“Vu~e~e~e!”
“Vu~e~e~e~e!”
“Vu~e~aa~aa~ae~ee!”

More Abyss assault me.
No more, no more please!
As I pull myself back, the underground begins to shake tremendously.
Walls and pillars were falling apart and dust covers the area.

“Vu~e~e~e~e!”

The Abyss tries to escape from the hole I made.
But then, a large piece of rubble falls onto one of them and catches them off-guard.
They were quickly crushed by the pile of rubble until I couldn’t see them anymore under all that rock.

【Obtained 684 Experience Points.】
【〖The Walking Egg〗skill gives you additional 684 Experience Points.】
【The Lv of〖Ouroboros〗went up from Lv 68→69.】

…… The underground evacuation site is still intact, right? Good.
I guess I should’ve done the whole cave-in sooner.
If I did, I wouldn’t have had to go through that traumatizing experience.

However, with only this much exp points gained, I doubt that killed them all……
There’s bound to be more.

As soon as I stood up, the surviving Abyss came crawling out of the stack of rubble.
Since they’re partially injured because of the rubble that fell on them, this will make hunting them a lot more easier.

Yikes,

“Vu~e~e~e!”

Yikes,

“Vu~e~e~ee~e!”

More yikes,

“Vu~e~e~ee~e~!”

I made sure to kill them swiftly with〖Wind Slash〗.
Immediately afterwards, seven more Abyss showed up.
When I defeated the first three of them, my level went up to Lv 70.

I finished off the last one with another〖Wind Slash〗.

【Obtained 186 Experience Points.】
【〖The Walking Egg〗skill gives you additional 186 Experience Points.】
【The Lv of〖Ouroboros〗went up from Lv 70→71.】

The leveling rate is going nicely, this was worth it.
I don’t want to do it again though.
I feel like I killed a lifetime worth of Abyss.
My torso is drenched with Abyss fluids, I’ve had enough already.

【Title Skill〖Vermin Slayer〗has risen from Lv 5→6.】
【Title Skill〖Hero〗has risen from Lv 4→5.】

…… If my Hero skill went up, that means I’ve eliminated enough for it to increase.
I still shouldn’t let my guard down yet…… for now, maybe I should clear all that rubble away.

I use my claws to make a path that opens up the entrance to the underground basement.
…… With this, I’ve confirmed that the basement is still all right.
That’s good, very good. Really, I’m so relieved.
It would be nice if that was the end of this whole Abyss ordeal.

The door opened slightly and Hibi takes a peek.
Seems like past the door is a set of stairs.

When Hibi saw me, she quickly put on her mask.
You don’t really need to wear that, you know…… but, I guess formalities are important, it seems.

Hibi does the same routine of chanting a spell before speaking to me.

【“Ryujin-sama, what happened to the Abyss……”】

I took down almost twenty of them.
They’re gone now, but…… I can’t be certain yet.
They’re good at hiding themselves after all.

Following Hibi, the man in military uniform, who is an outsider and stumbled upon this village at the worst possible time, walks up the stairs while being supported by a Lithuvar man.
Looks like his bandage was replaced by a thin cloth now wrapped around his arms and legs.

“Derek-san, all the Abyss in the vicinity have apparently left.”

“…………”

Hearing her words, the military man breathes an extended sigh of relief and sits flat on the stairs.
He was in an extreme state of confusion when he was brought in, but now he’s completely calmed down.

So, his name is Derek, huh.
Since he kept on fussing that the Lithuvar Tribe were barbarians, I thought it would be difficult to talk to him, but they managed to ask him his name.

Derek looked at me as if he was trying to judge my character before standing up.
He then brushed off the Lithuvar man who was giving him support and he walked towards the forest.

“You’re leaving already? With those injuries, the Abyss will attack you again”

Derek ignored the warning and kept walking.
But, it didn’t take long for him to trip and fall down.
Hibi removes her mask, revealing her face, and runs to Derek with haste.

“Why not rest for a few more hours? You lost your weapon,didn’t you? That will only make it harder for you to leave the forest.”

“…………”

“If you are looking for your friends, then we can help you in your search. But with the Abyss breeding season approaching, I’m afraid it will be difficult to cover a wide area……”

“…… Don’t bother, they’re fine.”

Derek drooped, as if recalling a memory.
So he’s finally willing to talk.

“I see. Well, at least they’re……”

“They left me behind and ran without looking back. They couldn’t even put up a decent fight and yet…… since I was a newcomer, they said it wouldn’t matter if I went missing……”

With his voice quivering, he hunched over and turned his face away.
O-Okay, that was heavier than I thought……
His shoulder is shaking.
Wait, he’s not crying, is he?

Hibi attempts to comfort Derek by gently rubbing his back.

W-Weeell, I guess I’ll just leave that guy to the Lithuvar Tribe then.
I’ll go patrolling instead.