"Clear! Nothing suspicious,"
The girl stood in the room after crawling through the previous hole.
The room was about five by six meters. Along the upper part of the walls were small stone holes, about the size of a glass, scattered unevenly. A faint breeze could be felt flowing from them.
At the far end of the room lay a figure reduced to bare bones.
Slowly, she walked toward it.
"Hmm, definitely a human body. Just a skeleton now."
"It looks like it's been dead for a long time. This person is wearing clothing from an ancient era… like a Japanese shinobi outfit."
"Tears in the fabric… could it be from a battle?"
"But fighting what?"
"Maybe the tools he carried can help me. Forgive me, fallen warrior."
"May you find the best place in the afterlife."
The girl examined the pile of bones.
She found two half-meter-long weapons with sickle-shaped blades at the ends.
The handles had rings connected by a chain about two meters long.
"Kusarigama… a ninja weapon.
There's also a bow and arrows, complete with a quiver."
"This small bag… what's inside? I should be careful.
What if it contains poisoned weapons?"
She checked the thick cloth bag. Inside were several throwing knives and shuriken.
"Hmm… looks like I'm becoming a ninja!" she said with a smile.
The girl took the equipment, fastening it to a leather belt from the shinobi to carry everything. Meanwhile, she slung the bow and quiver across her back.
And—
"Hey! There's an Oni mask too! I'll take it, along with these protective gloves."
She then arranged the skeleton, wrapping it in its clothing and placing it in the corner of the room.
Kneeling down, she raised both hands in prayer.
"O Allah, my Lord… forgive the sins of this soul and grant them the best place by Your side."
"Sir or madam, whoever owned these tools… I ask permission to carry your equipment and continue your struggle. I hope I can carry on your spirit and will."
After finishing her prayer, she stood up and walked toward the entrance hole.
She left the room and continued along the cave tunnel.
And—
The tunnel ended at a portal door.
"This might be like the first room that belonged to Hanako."
"I'll check inside."
Fatheema said as she moved forward slowly, spinning her batons sticks at her sides.
Beside the portal, she entered a vast chamber shaped like the inside of a dome. The walls were made of stone. In the center stood an altar, on top of which floated a glowing purple sphere.
On the left and right sides were portals about the size of doors.
The girl walked slowly toward the altar.
But—
Both portals suddenly flickered!
From them emerged creatures resembling giant centipedes, each as large as a big dog and about two meters long. Their bodies glowed red.
Two… four… six…
And the number kept increasing!
"This is bad! They keep coming! If the portals aren't closed, they'll keep spawning!"
"I think I need to destroy that purple sphere, just like before."
"Maybe it's the source of the power!"
As soon as they noticed Fatheema, the centipedes rushed toward her, their many legs scuttling rapidly.
One lunged at her. She jumped aside and struck it with her batons stick.
CLANG! CLANG!
The creature turned and chased her again.
Fatheema kept striking while jumping and running.
Eventually—
Realizing her attacks had little effect, she leaped back to create distance.
"These centipedes have strong exoskeletons."
"It feels like hitting a tough shell!"
"Hmm… I'll use a sharp weapon."
"Kusarigama! Time to try it."
She tucked her batons into her backpack and drew the kusarigama from her belt, slipping the sheaths onto her waist hooks.
The weapon was unusual. Its handle was made of black steel, wrapped in a scale-like material resembling fish skin. The blade was dark iron with a flowing hamon pattern like a dragon.
Strangely, each blade emitted a dark red and deep black aura.
"A fine weapon… I hope it works."
She dashed toward one of the centipedes.
And—
SLASH! SLASH!
The blade struck the creature's body, piercing its tough shell. Red gas hissed out and dissipated into the air.
She continued attacking, injuring several of them—but more kept pouring out of the portals.
Some of the centipedes were larger and purple. After several strikes, she realized they were even tougher.
The red ones needed four punctures to stop them, while the purple ones needed eight.
"This is bad! More are coming, and stronger ones too! I have to stop the portals quickly!"
Before she could act—
The portals flickered again and expanded to four times their size!
Then—
A different kind of creature emerged.
Gorillas!
As tall as adult humans, and not just one—many of them kept pouring out.
They roared, pounding their chests. Their eyes glowed red.
These were no ordinary gorillas—something monstrous.
They charged toward her.
Fatheema quickly grabbed her bow and fired arrows at the advancing gorillas.
Before she could finish—
A massive gorilla twice the height of a man emerged.
"Oh my God! King Kong!"
"I need to get out of here!"
Without hesitation, she ran in search of an exit portal. But the one she entered from was blocked by the creatures.
She spotted another portal on the opposite side, unguarded.
She sprinted toward it and leaped through.
The creatures continued chasing her through the portal.
On the other side, the cave tunnel continued. She ran as fast as she could, with the beasts still in pursuit.
At the end of the tunnel was a circular stone chamber, with pillar-like formations from stalactites and stalagmites along the edges.
Some gorillas and centipedes had already reached it.
Fatheema ducked behind a stone pillar and fired arrows at the gorillas.
One roared in pain, pulling an arrow from its chest as blood poured out. The others screamed and scattered, searching for her.
"These gorillas can be injured—but they get even more aggressive."
"They're enraged from the arrows."
"If I fight them, my chances are low. Their strength surpasses humans—and there are too many."
"I need to retreat and find another way."
"There's another tunnel over there. I'll escape through it."
She moved cautiously, keeping low as she made her way toward another tunnel.
The gorillas sniffed the air.
And—
Suddenly they roared and charged straight at her!
"Damn! They found me!"
She sprinted into the tunnel, adrenaline surging.
The passage was wide enough for her to run freely.
At the end, it opened into a steep ravine. A wooden bridge connected it to another tunnel on the opposite side. The bridge looked old and fragile.
Carefully, she stepped onto it.
Soon, giant centipedes emerged from the tunnel, followed by the gorillas.
Without hesitation, they charged onto the bridge.
A fierce, uneven battle erupted. Fatheema attacked, dodged, and moved forward across the unstable bridge.
Eventually, she was forced to run at full speed toward the other side, no longer caring about the bridge's condition.
Moments later, the massive gorilla arrived and charged onto the bridge.
And—
The bridge could no longer bear the weight.
The ropes snapped.
Everyone on it plunged into the dark abyss below.
***