Shoyo: ‘I feel a little bad for Naga-kun. Never thought he was this much scared of bugs….’

Nagare’s expression was as still as a corpse, his face completely pale.

You really couldn’t blame him either.

What they were up against was an entire swarm of giant roaches and centipedes.

By now, Nagare’s voice ended up cracking from all the screaming.

Shoyo: ‘I never thought someone as serious as him would scream this much. It is hilarious’

Worst of all, the shells of these bugs were as hard as steel.

No matter how many times Nagare slashed them, they were unharmed.

Granted, Nagare’s mastery over chi was fairly basic. An advanced chi user could have easily cut those bugs down.

So, the two of them had no choice but to run as far as their feet could carry them.

Shoyo: “I think we lost them”

Sitting down, Nagare sighed in relief.

Nagare: “Yeah”

Then, Nagare noticed that Shoyo was doing something rather peculiar.

Holding a piece of small bamboo in one hand and a small knife in the other, he was busy carving something out of it.

Nagare: “Is that…Is that my knife?”

Shoyo: “Yup, hope you don’t mind me borrowing it”

Nagare: “Goodness, Shoyo! You couldn’t have just asked for it?!”

Shoyo: “It seemed quicker this way”

Nagare: “Never mind. What are you making anyways?”

Shoyo: “Something to get us out of this predicament”

Nagare: “Like a weapon against them? But what good will a sharpened piece of bamboo wood do against those bugs? Their shells are not exactly easy to crack, even with a real sword. A wooden spear wouldn’t be of much use; furthermore the one you have in your hand is too small to be of use as a spear”

Shoyo: “A spear? What are you talking about? I am making a flute”

Nagare: “WHAT?”

At that moment, they heard the loud sound of chirping from the spiked legs of bugs as they found the spot Nagare and Shoyo were hiding in.

Nagare: “Oh c’mon!”

After running for another half an hour, Nagare found himself at the top of a very tall tree. Luckily the bugs did not have wings, but they could still climb up. It was now just a matter of time before they reached him.

Nagare: “I hate this! I really, really do!”

As for Shoyo, he did not make it.

He ended up swallowed by a swarm of bugs.

Nagare: ‘Is this how I am gonna die? Eaten by insects? I didn’t even have the chance to join the Golden Dragon Branch….I never reached the level of a Guardian….Then what the hell was the point of my entire life?’

Right before Nagare prepared to face his impending doom, he heard a distinct sound of a flute being played.

Nagare: “What the…?”

As if in response, a loud roar resounded.

What Nagare saw next was a little unbelievable.

A rat that was easily the size of a small elephant emerged out of the ground, tearing through the insects with its razor sharp teeth and claws.

Within the swarm, a man’s hand grabbed hold of the rat and he proceeded to climb on its back.

His clothing was torn to pieces and he was a bloody mess, but Shoyo was still alive.

The rat was seemingly under a trance, responding to the sound of Shoyo’s flute.

Now, holding on to the giant rat, he had it move towards Nagare’s location. The rat easily scaled up the tree.

Shoyo: “Naga-kun, you might want to hurry up and get on *Keeps playing flute*”

Nagare: “Shoyo! This is insane!”

Shoyo: “Would you prefer being eaten by roaches? *Keeps playing flute*”

Nagare: “No! But riding on the back of a giant rat? Really?!”

Shoyo: “The choice is yours, roaches or a rat? One will eat you and the other might save you. So what is it gonna be? *Keeps playing flute*”

Nagare cringed. Even if it was not an insect, Shoyo was asking him to get on the back of a giant vermin. It was a disgusting choice, but Nagare was not about to pass up on a chance to survive.

Reluctantly, Nagare jumped on the rat’s back.

Shoyo: “Off we go! *Playing flute*”

Nagare: ‘I don’t understand what is going on…but I really hate this!’

With the aid of the giant rat, they managed to cover quite a distance, much faster than if they had been just walking.

They managed to get out of the giant insect monster territory.

As they dismounted the rat, Shoyo patted its head.

Shoyo: “Good girl. I will even give you a reward”

Using Nagare’s knife, he cut off his left arm and gave it to the rat, which proceeded to eat it on the spot.

Shoyo: “Enjoy”

Nagare’s expression was a mix of horror and disbelief.

On one hand, he knew that Shoyo would just grow the missing limb back, but seeing him feed it to a rat was not exactly a sight for sane eyes.

Shoyo: “Phew that was easier than expected”

Nagare: “Easier than expected? You just fed it your own arm!”

Shoyo: “It carried us all this way, so naturally I had to pay it back somehow. I would have given it a leg as well, but I still need it to walk”

Nagare: “This is insane….*sighs* Fine. How did you know that the rat could be controlled by a flute? Have you been in this forest before?”

Shoyo: “I have”

Nagare: “Before you met me, what exactly have you been up to?”

Shoyo: “Wondering the world, I suppose? *Shrugs shoulders*”

As Shoyo kept walking forward, Nagare could only wonder about his companion.

Nagare: “Unbelievable…”