Fatheema screamed in terror as she fell from the wooden bridge. It feels like her stomach lurched up into her chest, made worse by the pitch-black darkness of the space.
Her body struck vines and roots that stretched and dangled beneath the bridge several times.
She tried to grab onto the vines she passed, attempting to slow her descent. She caught one vine and swung to another below it.
Hop! Hop! Hop!
Her body was about to crash into the cliff wall! "Hiyyah!" she shouted as she hurled her kusarigama toward the rock face!
And—impact. Even with both kusarigama helping to slow her fall, she continued sliding down the cliff.
And— Another impact. Her body slammed into the bottom and rolled several feet. Her head spun, her vision blurred and flickered. And—she lost consciousness.
***
Some time later.
"What happened?" "I… I fell… And, hey, this ground is wet. Did I fall into the water?"
Her eyelids opened, and her vision slowly returned. The girl lay on a floor covered with water up to her ankles.
Slowly, she got up and looked around.
A vast chamber with stone walls. Some elevated areas weren't submerged. The water flowed gently like a small stream.
She looked up toward where she had fallen from. All she saw was a towering rock wall—no sign of the wooden bridge, only darkness above.
She began walking toward a higher, drier area. Embedded in the stone walls were faintly glowing red crystals, arranged in neat patterns.
"I'll follow this stream downstream. I'm sure it leads to an outlet—probably the way out of here." "If I go upstream, I might end up deeper inside this dark cave. The source of the water could be a spring from underground."
"This place seems inhabited. These glowing crystals look arranged like symbols." "And hey… what's that? Some statues?"
Along the chamber stood rows of stone statues of various forms—animals, humanoid figures, even monsters.
"These statues look incredibly realistic. Whoever made them must be highly skilled."
From downstream came a commotion—roars like gorillas, the sound of objects crashing against stone.
And—a woman's eerie laughter! It echoed through the cavern, chilling and unsettling.
"Gorillas! That's right, they fell with me from the bridge."
"But that woman's voice… could it be Hanako?"
"I should scout first."
She moved carefully, crouching and sneaking between the statues and cave walls.
In the distance, several gorillas roared wildly, lifting rocks and throwing them in all directions.
"Snake woman, come out! I'll kill you!" shouted the largest gorilla, towering over two grown men.
"Snake woman? What kind of creature is that?" "Wait… that king kong can talk?!" the girl wondered in shock.
"This is madness!"
Then—
A female figure suddenly appeared before them.
She had the face of a beautiful Caucasian woman—pale skin, sharp nose, arched brows, sapphire-blue eyes, and soft pink lips with a defined cupid's bow.
Although she was beautiful, but she was also terrifying.
Her hair consisted of dozens of small black snakes, each about the length of a man's forearm, their eyes glowing red.
Even worse, from the waist down, her body was that of a massive serpent, about fifteen feet long.
She appeared instantly, as if teleporting, right before the giant gorilla.
"Great ape, you should be happy. You're about to become one of my collections."
"Hi hi hi hi!"
Without further words, she let out a shrill laugh.
Her eyes blazed like two blue suns.
A shockwave of light burst from them.
Splash! Splash!
The giant gorilla was startled!
And slowly hardened—turning into stone.
Seeing this, the other gorillas panicked.
They leapt and tried climbing the walls, attempting to reach the bridge above.
But it was useless.
The snake woman chased after them.
One by one, they turned into stone. The snake woman laughed maniacally.
"Oh my God… that creature turned them into stone!"
"What a dangerous snake lady"
I don't want to get into trouble with her"
"I need to get out of here."
The girl lowered herself and hid among the rocks and statues.
The chaos gradually faded. Silence returned.
She peeked out.
All the creatures were now statues—gorillas, centipedes, even the giant king kong.
"It's over… that snake woman is gone… she must've left," she thought, preparing to slip away quietly.
She crawled backward, turned, and began walking away.
But—
About fifty feet ahead—
The snake woman stood there. Grinning.
Fatheema froze in shock, her heart pounding as if it would leap out of her chest.
"Ma'am… Miss… Auntie… umm… excuse me, I'll just… be on my way, okay…?" She bowed politely.
"Hi hi hi hi! No one who comes here gets to leave. You must stay."
The snake woman laughed, her voice filling the cavern.
Fatheema tried to step back—but time itself seemed to freeze. The space locked.
In an instant, the snake woman was right in front of her.
A four-meter-tall creature, with dozens of black snake-hair strands writhing, their eyes glowing.
Then—her eyes blazed like twin blue suns.
Splash! Splash!
A shockwave of light erupted.
The girl was stunned. She couldn't react. Her body froze. The space itself seemed sealed.
***
In another stone chamber, a dark figure stood.
A muscular man with jet-black skin and fine body hair stood upright. His yellow eyes gleamed sharply.
He wore ankle-length pants, a large silver belt, and a black armored top with sleeves. His reddish hair flowed down his back.
"Why hasn't King Kong Bulldog returned yet? Go find him! Taking this long to catch a little girl—does he want me to beat him again?" the man barked at the gorillas in the room.
Without another word, the gorillas rushed into a dark tunnel, followed by dozens of giant centipedes.
Soon, the room was empty except for him.
The air beside him distorted, forming a black portal the size of a door.
From it stepped a girl with shoulder-length wavy hair—Hanako.
"Brugman, capture that girl alive for me." "I need her for something."
She spoke flatly.
"Yes, my lady. I will capture her as ordered," the black man said, bowing.
Hanako grinned, sharp fangs peeking from the corner of her lips.
Her body dissolved into black smoke—and vanished.
Brugman stood still.
"Why does my lady want the girl alive? Wouldn't killing her be easier?"
"Why hasn't she done it herself?"
"What's the problem?"
"Has she failed to do it herself?" "How strange… now I'm the one stuck doing the work."
"That girl looks weak. I don't believe she can survive my centipedes and gorillas."
"But since it's already my task, I'll check it myself."
The man turned and walked toward one of the tunnels.
***