Surging, like a black tide, dog-sized rats continuously attacked the area where Keli and the others were.
But even a surging tide has its ebb.
Like two door gods, although the rats were not large or weak against the door, the raised steps became a fatal obstacle.
After dozens were killed, they still couldn't enter the can containing food, and instead were chopped down by the food within the can, leaving them flailing.
However, these creatures displayed a bizarre frenzy; when the bodies of the rats were chopped down and discarded, their first reaction was to gnaw and tear at the corpses of their comrades. Some rats, only wounded and not yet dead, would be swarmed by their kind and have their bellies bitten open to eat their internal organs while convulsing on the ground.
The sound of tiny rodents chewing bones and the screams from the rats echoed in the sewer.
My rats, they are truly going to die.
Several attacks forced these ugly creatures to retreat.
But it was not a rout; rather, it was an action as if they possessed intelligence.
They dragged their companions' corpses, gnawing at them, while retreating into the water or other places, but they never dispersed.
Eyes, only white with bloodshot streaks, met the dim light from the three's headlamps.
It was as if they knew the three wouldn't stay, or as if they were waiting for the three to show signs of fatigue.
Yes, as long as they lost that terrain advantage, they were just three prey whose size was less than five times their own; a simple swarm would surely turn them into delicious meals.
However, they might have misunderstood; for these creatures that could emit white light, Keli and the others would pursue them even if they ran, let alone if they actively sought them out.
"Let's go."
Keli looked back at the two inside, rolled up his sleeve, and made a slight cut on it with the meat cleaver, drops of blood moistening the blade of the cleaver.
The two sighed somewhat helplessly.
They weren't as fortunate as Keli; if they sustained even a minor injury, they would have to die once more to fully recover.
The thought of either enduring pain or restarting if injured still sent shivers down their spines, but seeing Keli already leaping down, they weren't about to chicken out. Kirito sheathed his katana, took out his twin swords from his waist, and Kazuma took out his small scythe, jumping down with him.
As expected, once the three lost their advantageous position, they could no longer calmly fight these monsters as they had indoors.
Their feet were instantly swarmed by these creatures; if this were some trash game where a single rat bite caused paralysis, they would probably have died with regret on the spot.
But fortunately, this was reality.
In the sewer, as the headlamps constantly swayed, the killing came extremely fast.
These creatures, without any defensive means, could be killed with a single strike even by Kirito, who had the weakest physique.
And if anyone was surrounded by giant rats and tried to be knocked down, the other two would quickly provide support.
Keli stepped on a rat's tail and brought his blade down, feeling a bite on his foot. With immense force, he slammed the rat against the front wall, splattering blood.
Kirito, meanwhile, moved quickly through the rat swarm, occasionally jumping to dodge and slash, cutting the creatures into bloody messes.
Kazuma, coordinating with quick footwork, repeatedly thrust and hooked with his small scythe, constantly moving back and forth in front of the doorway.
As white light continuously entered their bodies, all three showed joyful expressions.
So satisfying! Although the quantity was small, it was much more satisfying than fighting merfolk!
This was actually a misconception of the three; ordinary people would not be so relaxed facing these rats. Three or four would be enough to kill an adult, let alone this endless stream.
Even if the Martial God Orochi Doppo or the Martial Saint Shibukawa Goki came, they would inevitably have some flesh torn off.
It could be said that all the food they had eaten before was not for nothing.
Kirito even felt like he was grinding in a game from before; his body was increasingly able to keep up with the fast thinking he had developed in games.
Just as the three were in the throes of battle, immersed in this joy, the rats retreated.
As one left, gradually more and more rats, which had been surging out, began to retreat.
The three initially wanted to pursue, but the rats had too many escape routes.
Some squeezed into tiny waterways that humans clearly couldn't fit through, while others simply jumped into the warm sewer water pools and then disappeared.
They chased a few running on the ground, killing them along the way, until those rats had completely disappeared.
Only when the last unfortunate little one, who couldn't escape, was cut open from behind by Keli's blade, did the three stop.
Keli looked back; the recently cleaned passage was now covered in blood, with rat corpses and broken internal organs scattered everywhere, a veritable human purgatory.
"Huff, huff!"
Kazuma and Kirito were breathing heavily under their masks.
Kirito's injuries were minor, while Kazuma had many bites on his body because his weapon was too short.
"We... we should go back and rest first. This place will probably be searched in a few days, and disposing of bodies here will easily arouse suspicion. We'll go further away, and then I'll commit suicide; it's really too painful to bear."
Actually, Keli wanted to say it didn't matter if it caused suspicion, given the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's level of corruption where a single word from that Kappa could clear their wanted status, and Yujiro's standard of investigation as a murderer freely roaming the streets, and the security quality in Ikebukuro where Celty could always deliver illicit goods, it simply didn't matter.
"Anyway, we also know roughly why those homeless people died. Tomorrow, when you meet that homeless man, tell him not to come to this place for no reason.
I... I'll also post something online, advising netizens to tell their families not to go into the sewers. Let me think, if I say there are monsters, those delinquent teenagers might even insist on seeing them."
Kazuma seemed to be in too much pain; his words were a bit slurred.
He was breathing heavily, suppressing the pain in his body, and speaking his thoughts.
Seeing him like this, and then Kirito, whose eyes were glazed over and couldn't distinguish between game and reality due to long hours without sleep, Keli considered that it would indeed be difficult to completely eradicate those rats, so he agreed to Kazuma's suggestion to temporarily retreat, and the measure to prevent new victims was also necessary.
However, Keli still decided that they would rest until the next day and then continue down to see if they could find the reason why these rats had become like this.
However, Keli thought he could tell that Kappa about this matter and let the municipal people handle it themselves.
This didn't seem to be a very big hazard; compared to the few of them missing two meals of grilled bamboo rat, it was better to eliminate these things as soon as possible, and these rats were not yet at a level that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department couldn't handle.
So the three decided to go back and figure something out first.
However, on the way back, Kazuma endured the pain and glanced at the supply storage point, but suddenly felt something strange.
"Wait, don't you think it's strange? Why are those monsters so desperate for food, but there are so many canned meats in there, and they didn't eat them."
"Maybe it's their eyesight. I saw their eyes were unusable; maybe they rely on echolocation."
Keli spoke with some uncertainty.
"When we shone lights on them before, they showed fear, but it's also possible their eyes can only distinguish between light and dark now."
Kirito also spoke.
"Then is it also possible that those things were released by someone?"
Keli realized what Kazuma initially wanted to convey.
"Hard to say."
Kazuma, however, felt it was unlikely again, shaking his head.
After a moment of silence, Keli suddenly raised a finger again.
"Hey! I have a brilliant idea. Do you think we could catch a male and female rat to breed, and then let them produce a whole litter? Wouldn't we have an endless supply to kill!"
...
An hour later, Fengchuan Xiangzi, who had decided to temporarily cater to her somewhat disheartened father's mood and had not yet become completely twisted due to long-term suppression, finished her new home's chores and walked to her doorstep with a bag of beer.
She was surprised to find several young men standing in front of the neighboring house, looking unfriendly, somewhat like delinquents or yakuza subordinates, and on the ground was a rather miserable-looking cat corpse.
"Hey! What are you looking at! Don't you dare spread rumors about us! You'd better be careful too! Don't be like this family, who likes to wander around at night and cause trouble for no reason!"
The young man speaking at this moment hadn't yet noticed that at the end of the street corner, three people who had just been in a frenzy of killing downstairs, their bloodstains still not fully cleaned, were staring at them.
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