After dropping Log off to the goblin's lair, Soap and I arrived at the abandoned mine.
"You know, you could've just cast the Nightvision spell, right?" Soap asked.
"Umu, but I prefer it this way," I replied, glancing at the ball of light floating just above us.
The maze-like corridors we have to navigate were unreasonably dark, so it's been truly helpful.
"Hmph... You're not making any sense. Now those monsters would see us."
"Cave spiders can see in the dark too, so it doesn't matter."
I want to recreate the feeling of a genuine expedition, so I'm opting to cast a ball of light, rather than use a night vision spell. The yellow light hitting the stone walls and wood pillars create the kind of atmosphere I like. Using Nightvision would simply not do it, not to mention, how it feels unnatural.
"I learned to not question your antics a long time ago..." Soap tiredly said.
"So, do you mind?"
"I know. I'll deal with it."
In an instant, the cave spiders going after us fell from invisible winds.
"Hm. Too easy. I was looking forward to what kind of monsters we'll encounter, but I suppose there's only that."
"The Chimera, huh? We've never really encountered one as a party before."
"Now that you mention it..."
Although it's only recently that they began to appear more often, Chimeras have always existed since the dawn of time of this world. Many say that they're must the creation of a rogue god or the result of a failed experiment. But the current popular belief is that they're simply the result of cross-breeding among different monster species.
In this world, Chimeras would always varie in strength and appearance. The baseline of their monster rank is always A, but they can easily go pass that if their form provided them with even more lethality. In fact, a record of a dragon-hybrid chimera that killed a demon Lord has been recorded in the past. They're the wild card of the monster world.
"I heard there are some Chimera variants who kidnap women to make them their playthings. Even the heroine Lilith was said to have conceived for them. If those stories are true, then maybe my charm would work on them?"
"What are you talking about?"
She's spouting nonsense again.
Soap wanted to show off, so she took care of any monsters we encounter as we went on further in the mine. So far, all our encounters were insect-type monsters. They certainly do not lack in number, but with her wide range of spells, Soap was able to easily deal with them.
And then we finally arrived at the Chimera's lair.
At the very end of the mine is a large cave opening, and in its center is a sleeping giant beast. From left to right, it has the heads of an orc, a lion, and a goat. Its body is entirely like that of a griffon, but instead of a normal feathered tail, the half of a giant snake was sticking on its backside.
Noticing our presence, it immediately stood up and let out the sickening sound of its three heads screaming.
"Urk..." Soap ubruptly took a step back, disgusted by the monster's revolting appearance.
"Do you want me to do deal with it?"
"I-I'll do it."
Clearing her throat, Soap prepares herself to cast a spell.
Sensing a powerful attack coming its way, the Chimera hurriedly put up its guard. The terror on its faces was evident. It knows it would be defeated.
Like all the monsters we've encountered so far, it would probably fall from a single attack.
In its desperation, it let out a bellowing scream once again. And then it did something unexpected...
"Hey, hey, hey! What kind of...!"
"I-I've never seen them do that before!"
Soap and I panicked as we watch the Chimera's stomach transform. It bursted open with a loud sound, spilling out what seems to be its guts. The long and pink appendages that spilled out from its stomach and onto the floor could only be its fleshy intestines.
We were confused, but soon, we became horrified.
The appendages suddenly moved on their own. They lifted themselves up from the wet floor, and their bulbous tips pointed directly at us. Now, we can tell, those are certainly not its entestines...
"So it doesn't have the head of an orc for no reason?" Soap awkwardly humored. "Amazing... They're even throbbing like the real thing..."
"T-That's scary!"
"Eria-nee, do you think maybe we can..."
"Why are you blushing!?"
For some reason, Soap was red to her ears, and fidgeting as her eyes focused on the Chimera's tentacle dicks.