Then I began to expand slowly at first, growing larger and larger across the cave floor, and expand some more until my form stretched wider and taller, filling more and more of the space in front of the sealed chamber.
My body had formed a singular massive mouth right out of its own shifting grey flesh.
The opening was wide and gaping, with infinite nail-like fangs that were razor sharp and stretched as long as a full-grown person is tall.
Each one was glinting coldly in the dim light filtering from the cave mouth as my form pulsed and adjusted to the new shape.
Then with a sudden forward surging motion, I shrank the rest of my body back rapidly while pulling inward with tremendous force.
This took the entire sixty meters or so of the immediate area inside my body at once in one powerful, swallowing gulp that made the air ripple around me.
I ate everything, together with the siblings who had also been trapped there in the same sealed section.
Their forms vanished smoothly into the storage space without any resistance.
Don't worry, they won't be digested or harmed in any way during the process.
They only existed now in a separate plane far removed from normal reality, safely tucked away where nothing could reach or affect them while I carried them along.
{Analysis complete: 69% of Gluttony's Stomach has been filled. Gleipnir particles have been detected within the enchantments.
{The rest, exactly as Shion stated earlier, consists of a shrunken version of the champion burning their own force continuously to keep her locked in position.}
Hm.
Burning those life forces for so long? This guy really is trouble.
Anyway, I assume that means we are eating those small clones of Beowulf then.
We will go at it one tiny piece at a time until the whole lock finally breaks apart.
[Begin the process right away, Gabriel.]
{Understood.}
Hmmmmm.
You know, I think I will feel even better and more in control if you called me "master" from now on, whenever you address me directly.
{...Understood, Master.}
That's more like it!
I then began to look around the wider area slowly.
My head was turning from side to side with deliberate movements, as my body fully reverted back to the familiar small child form I had grown used to.
Then the mass of tentacles that served as my hair returned, but began shifting color and form gradually...
Until they turned into a short, pure white hair that stood out sharply against the surrounding shadows, the strands swaying lightly with each small motion of my head.
{Currently located at last level of the Labyrinth of Pride, Level 1666.}
Thanks for the encouraging words there, Gabriel. It's really lifting my spirit.
{It is my pleasure, Master.}
That was pure sarcasm, understand it!
Anyway, I guess the surrounding cave looked no different from any other ordinary cave one might expect to find deep underground...
Except this particular one felt quite large and unusually tall;
The rough stone walls were stretched high above me into vast empty space where the ceiling disappeared into complete darkness.
The air was heavy and still with the weight of countless layers of earth pressing down from above, creating an atmosphere that felt both ancient and isolating at the same time.
Unlike the sealed chambers belonging to Shion that I had just swallowed whole moments ago in one swift motion, the rest of this vast cave system was pitch black all around.
A kind of absolute, suffocating darkness that would have left me quite blind and terrified in my previous human life.
Because the blackness was so thick it seemed to swallow even the faintest sounds of dripping water or shifting pebbles underfoot.
I could tell it was pitch black without any doubt in my mind, because I could now see clearly through the darkness as easily as if bright daylight were shining directly down on everything.
The contrast was making the endless emptiness feel even more oppressive and endless.
Every jagged rock and distant tunnel entrance was standing out in sharp, unnatural detail while the heavy silence pressed in from all sides.
1665 levels still remained before I could finally leave this labyrinth behind for good...
And step out into the wider world again...
I hope that I wouldn't run into any ridiculously overpowered monsters blocking my path upward through the floors.
Though the possibility lingered in the back of my mind like a persistent shadow that refused to fade completely.
I... didn't think any of those potential creatures would bother listening to me if I tried starting a casual conversation about how great the weather was outside, or something equally pointless just to buy time or avoid a direct fight.
Their instincts would probably drive them to attack anything that moved without wasting time on words.
Meh... I don't feel like I'll lose to any monster right now...
No seriously, after reflecting on that thoughts, and the way I had been carrying myself for a while standing there in the dark, I felt like I had grown noticeably more arrogant.
Especially in these past few days since arriving in this new world.
The confidence was bubbling up inside me in ways that felt both exciting and slightly unsettling at the same time.
...Alright... Let's go.