Chapter 2: Chapter 2: First Blood

The next morning, Adam woke up with an aching body.

He didn't manage to sleep well last night. He was unused to sleeping on hard surfaces and his empty stomach kept him awake.

When he finished clearing the barricaded entrance, the sun had only just risen. It was time for him to pay the outlaws another visit.

Adam navigated his way back to their house. Unlike his previous visit, the place was now deathly quiet. He took great care not to make any noise when approaching, in case the woman was wandering around in the area.

He circled around to the spot where the hole was. When he tried to look through the hole, the strong smell of blood immediately overwhelmed him, causing him to gag and back away. He held his breath and peeked in the hole again. The inside of the house was in disarray. The mutilated corpses of the outlaws were strewn across the room.

He had already expected a massacre but the sheer brutality of the scene still unnerved him. He could almost feel her malice emanating from their remains. The macabre scene made him want to escape from this place but his urgent need for supplies helped him overcome his fear.

When he made his way to the entrance, he was greeted by another gruesome sight. The decapitated heads of the outlaws were piled into a pyramid at the entrance. Their faces were filled with horror. Their eyes had been gouged out and their jaws ripped off.

As he stepped into the house, he heard an almost inaudible sound of chewing.

He froze in place. Was she still around?

Adam quickly scanned the room for any sign of the woman and noticed something moving in the dim room. A small figure was hunched over one of the beheaded corpses.

Out of curiosity, he quietly advanced toward the creature to get a better look.

It was a grotesque creature—no more than a metre tall—with a large, bulbous head and twig-like limbs. It was holding onto a human arm and ravenously gnawing on it despite having a bloated belly. It looked malnourished as if the poor thing had been starving for years.

Adam locked eyes with the creature. Startled, he drew his katana and readied himself.

The creature snarled and charged toward him, swinging its unfinished meal like a club. Adam tried to deflect the severed arm with his katana. It worked. The severed arm narrowly missed his head but the impact almost made him drop his weapon.

The attack left an opening. Adam used the opportunity to stab at the creature but it easily avoided the attack. It was nimble despite its clumsy appearance.

The bout continued and neither of them could hit each other. The severed arm was too unwieldy for the short creature to use as a weapon. Adam had better control over the katana but the creature was agile. The situation reached a stalemate.

During the scuffle, Adam tripped over a corpse. He realized it was a mistake to fight the creature indoors and tried to retreat outside. However, the creature's relentless attacks made his attempts futile.

In desperation, Adam lunged forward at the creature. He managed to stab its shoulder but it held onto the blade and managed to wrest the katana from his hands.

He scrambled for the severed arm that it dropped. Its information appeared in his mind.

***

Name: Half-eaten Severed Arm (Common)

Type: Equipment/Weapon

The severed arm of a human. Chunks of flesh have been bitten off by an unknown creature. Can be used as an improvised weapon. Useful when someone needs a lending hand.

***

However, Adam had no time to process any of the words. The creature was already rushing forward with the katana.

Without any hesitation, he swung the severed arm in an arc in front of him. The blow connected with the creature's head and launched it across the room. The creature smashed into the wall and dropped to the ground.

He rushed forward to finish off the job, only to realize the creature was already dead. Its skull had caved in from the blow.

The severed arm was a surprisingly effective weapon.

He promptly checked his status screen and discovered that the objective had been updated. Furthermore, the second side objective had also progressed.

***

You are reading story Twilight City at novel35.com

Side Objective 1: Kill 10 yōkai (1/10)

Side Objective 2: Explore the island (21%)

***

Although the fight didn't last long, he was physically and mentally exhausted. However, it wasn't time for him to rest yet, he still had work to do.

After a thorough search, he found the outlaws' supply cache hidden in a cellar under a trapdoor. There was enough food and water to last him for months. He also found weapons and armour. Unfortunately, he didn't find any items that he could store in his inventory.

He strapped on a set of armour and also picked out a spear. As handy as the severed arm was, he found it too gruesome to continue to use as a weapon.

Once Adam was done, he could finally rest and recover his strength. He had a simple meal with salted fish and pickled plums. Despite the saltiness, he still devoured the food with great relish.

***

After the meal, Adam left the cellar armed with the spear. He hadn't forgotten he needed to kill nine more yōkai and he suspected the smell of blood was attracting them to this location.

He was right. He immediately found another one of the creatures gorging itself on one of the outlaws' corpses when he left the cellar. This time, however, he effortlessly dispatched it. The long reach of the spear made dealing with them easy.

Over the next few hours, he lay in wait and managed to kill another four more of them. After killing the sixth one, the creatures stopped coming completely. He waited another hour and surmised that he had probably killed all of them near the village.

It was time for him to leave.

Adam started getting ready enough supplies to last for the next three days. He didn't want to come back and risk running into the woman. There was also the possibility that the bloodshed here will attract other far more dangerous yōkai. He performed one last sweep, inspecting every object, to ensure he didn't miss any items.

While he didn't manage to find any items, he found a large backpack made from wood. He packed the supplies into the backpack and headed back to the house he stayed in last night.

***

Back at the house, Adam contemplated his next step while chewing on pickled plums.

He still needed to kill four more yōkai. Moreover, there was the second side objective as well, which meant he needed to venture outside the village. His only option was the path leading into the forest and up the hill. He was certain exploring the fortress atop the hill would greatly advance the second side objective.

However, there was one problem. He had every reason to believe that was where the Oni in the tale resided.

While he was able to easily dispatch the creatures earlier on, he did not believe for a moment he could take on an Oni. The creatures he fought today were mere scavengers while the Oni were apex predators. The Oni were famous for their fighting ability and superhuman strength. Even a great warrior like Minamoto no Yorimitsu slew Shuten-dōji using deception and poison. What chance did he have?

Regardless, he still had to get through the forest first to reach the fortress. He started preparing for the exploration up ahead.

***

Adam entered the forest. The trees blocked out much of the sunlight, giving the place a gloomy atmosphere. It was unnervingly quiet.

He kept his eyes peeled as he followed the path.

As he progressed further, he noticed an unusual amount of spiders dangling from the trees. They were the first living things he had seen after entering the place. Some of the spiders were huge, almost reaching the size of his head. They were black and yellow in colour, with patches of whiteness on their abdomen.

He had a bad feeling. It felt like the spiders were watching him.

Without any hesitation, he turned around and tried to run for it. However, he was too late.

A massive creature blocked his path.

"Oh my, leaving so soon? I was hoping you would stay for a meal."

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