I'm the Only Totem in Another World - Chapter 73

Chapter 73: Tunnel Demon （4）

“Ah, Malak-nim. You’ve come.”

Rake was wiping out the Worm-humans alongside Captain Zombie.

As always, she exhibited overwhelming combat power, but the Captain was no slouch either.

Thud! Thud!

Every time he swung his shield, two or three Worm-humans were sent flying.

Several Worm-humans approached and attacked the Captain’s body with their mantis-like forelegs, but they couldn’t leave a single scratch, probably due to his thick armor.

Captain Gladiator. Wasn’t he the champion of this arena?

If these guys had gone outside the arena and rampaged, the Tribal Federation would have suffered heavy casualties.

It’s a relief that Rake took care of them.

“How’s the situation?”

━ Not good. There are too many enemies.

“…Should we join the main force?”

━ No. The war will only be prolonged. We’ll take care of the Tunnel Demon.

He’s currently managing both group buffs and commanding his army.

He’s not directly participating in the fight, just peeking his head out from inside the arena and observing, but who knows how long that will last.

If that massive body of his moves and makes a round of the battlefield, the Tribal Federation would be wiped out.

Eliminating him will reduce the difficulty by several times.

“We can’t waste time then.”

Rake, who was cutting down Worm-humans with the Meteor Sword, checked the passage.

The Imperial Arena is as large as the Colosseum on Earth.

It wasn’t designed for war, （and since it hasn’t been maintained for a long time,） its durability is lower than a typical castle, but its scale is comparable to one.

This is where the problem arises. The problem is that it’s hard to find an entrance to get inside the arena.

Even if it’s not an entrance, we need to find a way out of this building.

“Where should we go?”

Although the outer walls have collapsed, the inner walls are still holding up.

It’s not a good idea to break through them to get inside.

If we do that, the whole arena will collapse.

Rake might survive, but our warriors fighting nearby would definitely die.

━ Let’s go to the roof.

So, it’s inevitable to do the ‘reckless Rake drop’… no, bungee jump, huh?

Let’s trust the sturdy body of the half-god.

“Understood.”

Rake pushed forward, easily knocking away the approaching Worm-humans.

Captain Zombie, moving a step slower, guarded her back.

“Oh.”

Rake, who was running diligently, discovered an elevator.

It wasn’t a modern elevator but a manual lift using the principle of pulleys.

It looked like an iron cage prison, and it was horrifying to see the dried blood stains everywhere.

Was it built to transport prisoners for gladiatorial combat or man-eating beasts?

“Shall we ride it?”

━ Let’s do that.

It was open on all sides, making it vulnerable to attacks, but there was no other choice.

We boarded after leaving the Captain Zombie to operate the elevator.

With a rattling sound, the elevator ascended.

Oh dear, the noise is quite loud.

It’s like shouting, ‘We’re on our way to kill your boss in this elevator~’.

I didn’t anticipate this.

Screech!

Monsters with gleaming green eyes swarmed in.

They were closer to Infected than humans, whatever modifications they underwent.

Is this also an effect of the buff the Tunnel Demon used?

Those resembling beetles flew in, and those resembling grasshoppers or mantises climbed the walls or jumped onto the elevator.

A chance to observe giant insects up close.

Professor Fabre would be delighted.

━ Be careful.

“Don’t worry. They’re just bugs after all.”

Rake defended the elevator, slashing down all the monsters.

Her appearance, swinging the black curved sword with an icy expression without a hint of faltering, was worthy of being called a goddess of war.

This is not the time for admiration.

I used my control over the zombie to stop the monsters trying to cut the rope operating the elevator.

As if they were under the Tunnel Demon’s orders, they were fixated on stopping the elevator.

I wonder if that demon, like me, has a ‘Divine Possession’ type skill that allows for shared vision.

I also checked on Captain Zombie, who was diligently turning the pulley.

He was turning the pulley without any issues, probably because the monsters were only focused on the elevator.

If we eliminate the Captain, the elevator would automatically stop. Do they lack that level of intelligence?

We managed to clear out a good number of monsters with our combined attack.

“There are disgustingly many.”

Rake, taking a breather, brushed back her hair.

Her long, shiny black hair was drenched in green blood.

The strange thing is that Totem No. 3, which she had securely tied to her waist, didn’t have a single speck of foreign matter on it. She protected it as if it were more precious than her own body.

Rake’s love for the totem, at this point, should be considered an obsession.

Thud!

Finally, the elevator reached the roof.

Thinking that the end of this battle was near, I looked down at the elevator floor riddled with holes…

━ …!

A giant tentacle was approaching the elevator at an incredible speed.

“Oh my!”

Rake, who sensed the approaching tentacle with her superhuman senses, quickly jumped out of the elevator.

The white tentacle wrapped around the elevator and dragged it down.

Crack!

Listen to that sound.

If I had been 0.1 seconds late, I would have been crushed along with the elevator.

Is that a tentacle attached to the Tunnel Demon’s body? Incredible speed and power.

“…I see him.”

I followed Rake’s gaze as she scanned the rooftop.

In the center of the circular arena, a giant monster caterpillar was turning its head towards us.

The long tentacles sprouting from its tail constantly moved, playing tricks on my vision.

Nothing special, just incredibly horrifying to look at.

━ Disgusting.

“I agree.”

Grooooar━!

The monster, noticing us, opened its hideous mouth and spewed yellow liquid.

Vomit breath? Anyway, it looks like something you wouldn’t want to get hit by.

━ Watch out!

Rake moved diligently, but the breath’s range was too wide to avoid completely.

Sizzle…!

The parts of her armor touched by the monster’s vomit corroded. So it’s acidic breath.

This won’t be easy.

“Ugh!”

Rake took off her outer garment along with her armor. She must have judged that her skin would get burned at this rate.

Her well-toned upper body and sexy abs were fully exposed.

It wasn’t a complete topless situation; the important parts were properly covered with cloth.

━ Hmm.

This is… I can’t avert my gaze in this critical situation.

Why am I thinking about things like ‘slime that only melts armor’ at a time like this?

Rake took cover using the rooftop’s terrain.

“…What should we do?”

Her face slightly flushed, she glanced at Totem No. 3.

So you feel embarrassed too.

━ How about climbing onto its body using the tentacles?

I didn’t have any brilliant ideas, so I just blurted out scenes I’d seen in games or movies.

Climbing onto the monster’s body, then sliding down while slashing its neck or belly with a sword… something like that.

Rake could make it a reality.

“I’ll try.”

Nodding, she dashed out.

She’s faster than usual, probably because she took off her heavy armor top.

The Tunnel Demon opened its mouth, as if it was about to launch another acidic breath.

Not happening twice.

━ Paya!

“Yes!”

I issued an order to Paya through Divine Possession.

The small fireball launched by Tteunteuni flew straight into the Tunnel Demon’s open mouth.

Boom!

A small explosion occurred inside the monster’s mouth.

You bastard, feel the burn?

The Tunnel Demon is just a mid-ranking demon with a large body, not a high-ranking one.

We can definitely win this.

“Ha!”

Rake, jumping off the rooftop, grabbed one of the monster’s tentacles.

She moved upwards, navigating between the tentacles like she was rock climbing.

The Tunnel Demon, its attention drawn to Tteunteuni, launched its acidic breath.

Screech!

Our monster pigeon safely evaded with a high-altitude flight.

Fortunately, the breath couldn’t reach that high.

Thanks to Tteunteuni buying time while sweating profusely, Rake was able to reach the monster’s neck.

By the time the monster noticed and tried to counter, it was too late. I quickly used ‘Totem of Chaos’.

Groooan━!

The Tunnel Demon spewed green blood from its burned mouth.

It works even on a monster this strong? It looked like it was level 7 or 8.

“Ha!”

Rake plunged the Meteor Sword deep into the monster’s neck and made a full circle.

Blood gushed out from its neck, following its mouth.

It wasn’t over yet. Rake slid down, slashing the monster’s belly downwards.

She might not be able to cut open its belly, but she could make it bleed to death.

Groooan…

The Tunnel Demon, making a weakened sound, slowly collapsed.

Thud━!

We won.

It wasn’t a particularly suspenseful or dramatic victory, but we won after a lot of effort.

It was a troublesome monster, from its main body to its underlings.

Resisting the urge to cheer, I checked my status window.

[There is a blessing available to learn!]

Right. After defeating a monster like this, a new blessing should appear.

I checked the details.

[Strengthening Tattoo （Lower）: Grants followers a tattoo that enhances their physical abilities. The follower gains the strength of a bear, the agility of a deer, and the tough hide of a hippopotamus. The tattoo lasts for 24 hours.]

Wow…

This is a group buff skill!