The thing sitting on the rock.
Eight crimson eyes stared down at me, utterly devoid of emotion.
It wasn't particularly large.
But its presence was greater than that of any Monster I'd encountered so far.
I couldn't move.
The others were the same.
Not one of us could so much as twitch—like we'd been frozen solid.
It felt as though that white, spider-shaped Monster had seized our hearts in its grip.
[Hero?]
Suddenly, I heard a voice.
It wasn't sound.
It was telepathy.
It wasn't directed at me.
I had merely intercepted a telepathic message meant for someone else.
[Hero] And that someone else was already there before I knew it.
They were everywhere.
[Ruler?]
[Ruler] [Ruler] [Cannot Appraise?]
[Cannot Appraise] [Cannot Appraise] [Ruler?]
[Ruler] [Ruler] [Reincarnator?]
[Reincarnator] [Reincarnator] [But weak?]
[Weak] [Weak, weak] Telepathic voices echoed from every direction.
Before we knew it, they were on the floor, the walls, the ceiling—everywhere.
Countless red eyes.
White stretching as far as the eye could see.
The sight was so overwhelming my mind ground to a halt.
No—think. Think!
These things were using language with clear intent.
Among the messages were words I couldn't afford to ignore.
"You know about Reincarnators!?"
I steeled myself and spoke aloud.
I noticed Basgas's eyes go wide, but there were things I simply had to ask.
[We know] [We know] [How could we not know] Answers came back.
Communication was established.
These weren't mindless Monsters.
"Why do you know about that?"
[Master] [Master] [Mother] [Mother] "Is your master a Reincarnator?"
[You'll find out soon enough] [You'll know shortly] [You'll know immediately] [You'll figure it out before long] "What do you mean by that?"
[Declaration] [Proclamation] [The beginning of the end] [The world begins] [The world ends] The white shadows were gradually fading away.
"Wait! What does that mean!?"
[There's no meaning in knowing] [You'll die anyway] [Everyone dies] [Just struggle to survive] Between the lines, it felt like they were telling us they'd let us off the hook—for now.
And the remnants of the nightmare vanished from before our eyes.
"You idiot!"
Basgas's fist found my face.
I didn't resist. I accepted the blow willingly.
Even as he tried to come at me again, Hairins caught him in a headlock and held him back.
"I told you! Your reckless little stunts could get people killed!"
Even with Hairins's arm locked around his neck, Basgas's face twisted with fury as he roared.
He looked ready to throw Hairins off at any second.
"There, there. It all worked out fine in the end, didn't it? No harm done."
Sensei stepped in to mediate, and Basgas finally stopped struggling.
His anger didn't look like it had cooled much, but at least he didn't seem about to start swinging again.
"I'm sorry. I just... I had to ask. No matter what."
"And if the answer was 'we'll kill you'?"
He glared at me with murderous intent.
Hearing that, I had nothing to say.
"If you want to go and get yourself killed, be my guest. But don't drag other people down with you. If you want to commit suicide, do it alone."
"Basgas, that's going too far," Sensei chided him, but honestly, Basgas was in the right.
I had acted on my own in front of dangerous remnants of the nightmare for nothing more than my own selfish need to know.
Basgas shoved Hairins away.
Deciding he wasn't going to start anything, Hairins released him without resistance.
Basgas walked over to a nearby rock, leaned his back against it, and slid down to the ground.
Looking more closely, his complexion was terrible.
Basgas had mentioned before that he'd encountered the nightmare years ago.
Maybe it had been triggering his trauma.
Looking at the others, Kathia and Ana had sat down too, and Hairins's face was faintly green.
The only one still looking composed was Sensei.
"You all right?" I asked Kathia and Ana, who were sitting on the ground.
"My legs gave out. I can't stand."
"I'm so ashamed..."
Both looked up at me with faces on the verge of tears.
A few goosebumps dotted their arms—they must have been not only terrified but deeply nauseated.
Even if the Monsters were relatively small by their standards, being surrounded by a horde of giant spiders was enough to turn anyone's stomach.
If even I was feeling queasy, the women must have had it ten times worse.
"Sensei, how are you so calm about all this?"
"I'm not, actually? The outer shell was cute enough, I suppose, but what was inside was a bit too creepy for my taste."
"Cute...?"
Oh—so it wasn't just an act. She genuinely liked them.
Sensei had always been into weird stuff since her previous life.
I thought it was just part of her persona, but it turns out she really was into spiders and whatnot.
Unexpected.
"So, what do you all make of what those things were saying?"
Those cryptic messages from the remnants of the nightmare.
"Hard to say. There's too little information."
For starters, what exactly were these creatures known as "remnants of the nightmare"?
From the way they saw through our information, they definitely had a high-level Appraisal Skill.
On top of that, intelligence sufficient to understand human speech.
The Stealth to approach in those numbers without being detected.
Telepathic coordination among their group.
Even just these fragments pointed to terrifying abilities.
If it ever came to a fight...
I didn't think we could win.
"The beginning of the end. Everyone dies, huh."
Nightmare-inducing words, dripping with foreboding.
Those alone refused to leave my mind, clinging there like something rotten that wouldn't wash off.