558 They Like To Sneak Up From Behind

The Shadow Devourer that just decapitated the Rejmar stood up to its full height just as the corpse fell over to the ground.

It was in the midst of turning to face me when I Slashed my Light Sword down on its head, slicing the monster into two halves.

The monster stayed still for a moment before it dissolved to leave behind a Mana Crystal that fell on the ground.

That fucking bastard… Couldn't it have waited just a few more seconds before it attacked? I was going to find out why meeting Shadow Devourers was a bad thing before he got his head chopped off.

Oh well… Maybe I can find someone else that I can ask about it if I explore a little bit further.

But before that…

I went to the corpse of the Rejmar and started looting that body.

Free stuff, come on. I ain't going to say no to that.

Well, the guy didn't have much on him aside from a pouch of Creas so I took that. Now I was five Creas richer, yay~

One thing I realised though… I didn't even notice that the monster was up on the ceiling before it attacked that Rejmar. If it had been me under it, I might have been caught in that surprise attack.

I believe I should at least be able to react or defend against it even if it managed to sneak up on me like that, but the knowledge that it managed to hide itself from me even at that distance was a little concerning.

Should I just have Zwei and Drei out in case anything happens?

Hmm… Let me try something…

"Zwei?"

"Yes Master?" The Shadow Guard asked, appearing before me immediately.

"If I were to give you permission to leave my shadow without my prompting in order to protect me, would you be able to do that?"

"Of course, Master."

"So if I were being attacked from the back and I do not realise that, you could jump out and protect me without my command?"

"Yes, Master."

"Perfect. In that case, could you do that, please?"

"As you wish, Master."

Well, that works.

I would still like to keep their existence as hidden as possible since they could be my trump cards when dealing with unknown situations.

After pocketing my loot, I looked around and wondered where I should go from here. I could return back to the altar room and maybe take another path or something…

Or actually… Where did these three dead Rejmars come from? Were they teleported directly here or were they also stuck in a prison cell like mine and they managed to break out of them too?

I decided to just head down the path that the most recent Rejmar had come from to see if I could find his jail cell or something.

Going down that path, I also kept glancing up at the ceiling from time to time in case there were any Shadow Devourers hiding there. But if there were any, I did not manage to see any signs of one.

About a few minutes of walking later, I came across an open door and I peeked inside to see that it was indeed a jail cell that looked like the one I had woken up in.

Looking further down, I realised there were two more open doors which I assume must have been the holding cells for the other two dead Rejmars I found.

Then, even as I watched, another door opened and a Rejmar tumbled out of it, falling flat on his face.

He let out a groan and pushed himself up before looking around, his head stopping when he looked in my direction.

"Who's there?! Show yourself!"

Ah right… The whole place had no light so to him he was pretty much looking into darkness and I could only see him because of my Umbramancy. I'm guessing the other Rejmar I met must also have proficiency in Umbramancy magic since he did not need a source of light either.

I went ahead to cast [Spotlight] to reveal myself and he seemed to relax a little.

"Ugh… You another Dungeoneer?" He asked, patting the dust off his body as he stood back up.

I nodded, "Got sent to a cell which I assume you just escaped from?"

"Been trying to open that stupid door for the past hour or so already. Damned thing finally opened."

Huh… So his cell was locked?

Looking along the wall, I also noticed that there were no more doors along this path and this was the last one along this row of doors.

He must have also noticed the open doors around and pointed at them, "So those must be the cells for others right? You've seen them?"

I made a face, "Unfortunately yes… But all of them got killed by Shadow Devourers. Know what they are?"

His eyes widened, "Wait… Shit… Shadow Devourers?! Really? Fuck, that's bad!"

"Could you explain why?"

He grimaced at me, "New around here I take it? We have a tale about those monsters but I don't really think now is the time for me to tell you about that. Do you know a way out?"

I shook my head, "I was just looking for others that may have been affected by the teleportation too. I would still like to know about these Shadow Devourers though, seeing that I literally watched another Dungeoneer get decapitated right in front of me before he could even explain it."

"Ugh… Just know that they're bad news. Alright, quick version… Some selfish bastard in the past tried to gain power and somehow managed to create these monsters. Disaster happened, a whole entire city of people died and the guy ran away. If these monsters are here, that means that guy is probably around or doing something bad again and we're involved in it this time. Good enough for you?"

Well, enough for me to piece some things together myself at least I suppose.

If he is to be believed, our current predicament might be related to that particular guy and he might even be planning something related to whatever happened in the past with them.

Maybe something related to the altar, the sacrifice and that crystal or whatever.

"In that case, I suppose we should team up?" I suggested.

He nodded, "I am of the same mind. My name's Olgar, primary role in the party is a vanguard and I use double maces."

"Umm… You can call me Aster. I'm an all rounder but for the moment I primarily occupy the position of a support and mage."

"I see, I shall leave my back to you then."

He stuck out his hand to me and I shook it, which was a little awkward since I had to bend my knees a little to reach him.

He then looked around again, "So where to first? Or are you just as lost as I am?"

I briefly told him what I have encountered so far including the three Shadow Devourers I've met and he was quite surprised to learn that I killed them so easily.

"You managed to defeat those Shadow Devourers on your own that easily?" He asked.

"I had surprise on my side and pretty much all of them were occupied with something else when I attacked. Although they don't seem that strong anyway, though?"

"No, they aren't, but they're slippery little bastards. They'd kill someone and then slip back into the shadows before you can even get a good look at them. And they almost never fight you directly, always attacking from behind or when your attention is directed somewhere else. Bunch of bastards."

Hmm… That checks out at least. Aside from the one that I jumped from the corner, the others seemed to primarily rely on the element of surprise to attack.

And as though somehow sensing my thoughts, I felt another shift in the air like something was moving nearby.

On instinct, I grabbed Olgar and pulled him away from where he was standing, right in time to avoid a Shadow Devourer that had appeared to attack him with its claws.

I ignored the shout of surprise coming from the Rejmar in my hand as I punched at the Shadow Devourer with my other fist while buffed with [Body Current].

The monster flew back with its chest caved in before smashing against the wall with a loud bang and sliding down into a heap on the floor.

A few seconds passed before it disappeared like the others I had defeated, leaving behind a Mana Crystal in its wake.

I released my grip on Olgar and he patted himself before looking up at me with awe, "Damn… You saved my life."

"You did ask me to watch your back after all," I joked.

"Hahaha! Yes I did! By my father's beard, you're damn strong too!"

"Thanks. So where to?"

"Well, let's just stick close together now. I'd say we look down this corridor since this might be the area where the others are kept locked in, what do you say?"

"I'm fine with that. Hope you don't mind that rough handling from earlier."

"Ahahaha! Fuck that! I'd prefer to be tossed around a little than to have my head chopped off! At least I can still be around to complain about it rather than being dead!"

Well, good. I wasn't sure if he would take offence to being treated like that but I'm glad that wasn't a problem.

Now let's go see if there's anyone else around here.