Chapter 179: 182 Against The Vermin

[Enemy Identified: "The Unending Plague" | Level 40]

It confused him for a moment, but he realized what it was that the System was showing him.

…It's not just the singular rates–the whole group is one enemy? He realized.

He began swiping at the rodents that closed in on him, cutting them away as they only continued to pour in.

"Ma-Ri! Be careful!--These aren't normal rats!" He called out.

"I know! Come here!" Ma-Ri ordered.

Standing side-to-side, they began to fend off the swarm of black-furred, grotesque rats that scurried across the water unnaturally towards them as if ignoring the very nature of water itself.

The black-furred rats were clearly deformed; some having tumorous growths, twisted claws, and constantly chattering, large teeth.

"--They just keep coming!" He yelled out.

"We need to get out of this basement! This terrain is bad for us!" Ma-Ri said.

It was easier said than done, though, as the swarm of hellish rodents poured out so quickly, flooding with a seemingly endless rush while squeaking and clamping their teeth towards the two humans.

"Dark Edge!"

Engulfing his daggers in the brand of darkness, he swiped them swiftly, cutting through dozens of the endless rats while beginning to make some progress towards the stairs, with Ma-Ri following beside him.

Of course, singularly the rats weren't much at all–just a single swipe of his daggers, or a thrust of her rapier, was enough to eviscerate one of the rodents, but that wasn't enough.

More, and more, and more, and more flooded in through the constantly rattling pipe, filling their ears with constant squeaks and the rippling of water as the "Unending Plague" rushed towards them in the form of the malformed rodents.

"I don't think I have to tell you this, but don't let any of these creatures touch you!" Ma-Ri warned, thrusting her shining rapier through a dozen of the swarming rodents.

He cut through the black-furred rats that foamed at the mouth, clearing his path for the next few, slow steps through the flooded basement, "Yeah, I got that! "Plague" is in their name so–it'll probably be bad news for us if they get a bite in!"

While the endless number posed a problem, he looked back towards the pipe that allowed the rodents to invade in the first place.

"...Do you think we should try blocking that pipe?" He asked, glancing back at Ma-Ri.

Ma-Ri was still busy piercing rodents while following behind him, "--No. It'll be a waste."

"How do you figure?!" He asked in a shout while having to swipe his daggers against the aggressive horde of rodents.

"...That pipe isn't their only entry point," Ma-Ri told him.

It was then that he saw that reinforced, boarded windows were pressed with a sheet of black; scratching across the glass were endless claws of endless rats.

Just then, he started to realize just what the true horror of "The Unending Plague" was–it was truly seeming to be something infinite in terror and abhorrence.

"...How the hell do we stop this then?!" He questioned out loud.

"We'll have to figure that out as we go!" Ma-Ri replied.

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It was an arduous battle in itself to traverse the flooded basement floor as the horde of rats moved unnaturally, swarming around them and constantly obstructing their path.

While most simply scurried across the shallow waters directly towards the two, others scaled the walls and wrapped around to come at them from the front.

Even worse, some of the grotesque, hellborne rats leapt off the walls and shelves.

"Ghh!"

He cut through one of the tumor-holding rodents, bisecting it as its innards dunked into the grimy waters. By this point, through slaying hundreds of the rodents, the waters had become infested with the corrupted flesh of the rats.

Finally, he reached the first step of the stairs, leaving the bounds of the plague-filled waters and looking back, extending his hand to the young woman.

"Come on!" He yelled out.

Ma-Ri silently reached out, accepting his hand as she joined him on the steps while they both repelled the incoming rats that pursued them.

By the time they had reached the reprieve of the gunky, but solid steps, the shallow waters that filled the dank basement had shifted into a black swamp, filled with the corpses of the rodents.

…This is disgusting! He thought.

The thought of having been in those waters made his skin crawl as he stomped his boots down against the incoming rats while backing up the steps beside the rapier-wielding woman.

While stamping out the ones that scurried forward, he cut away at the hordes of vermin that crawled across the walls, only managing to keep them at bay while slowly moving back thanks to Ma-Ri's swift rapier aiding him in this endeavor.

"How's your spirit?!" Ma-Ri asked while fending off the Unending Plague.

Unfortunately, due to how vast the building was, it was unlikely that their companions would hear their struggles that occurred on the very first floor, while the others were amidst the highest floors of the skyscraper.

He stabbed his black steel through one of the leaping, hellish rodents, "--I've got enough, but I don't know if using spirit on these things is a good idea!"

"...I see what you mean," Ma-Ri responded, thrusting her rapier against the horde, "...It won't accomplish much if they keep coming back in even larger numbers."

As they just about reached the top, the two of them leapt past the door of the basement stairwell, slamming it shut behind them as they both held it firmly.

THUD.

It felt as if a colossus was pressing against the door, but it was the coordinated, yet feral might of the countless rodents slamming and crawling against the silver door.

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

Like nails to chalkboard, the sound of many claws dragging desperately across the other side of the door grated his ears.

"Ngh…! Why're they so damn strong?!" He questioned.

"--These definitely aren't normal vermin…" Ma-Ri said.

Ma-Ri had kept her back pressed up against the door while he was facing it, keeping his palms pressed flat against it as he did his best with the woman to keep it shut.

"You can…say that again…" He clenched his teeth.

Continuously, the door was slammed against as it seemed more and more vermin were flooding in behind the door with its bulging forward past its hinges.

"Crap…!" He called out.

"Hold it!" Ma-Ri told him.

"I'm trying–!!!"

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