Massive bats hung upside down, their black wings wrapped tightly around their bodies, eyes closed in eerie stillness.
Meanwhile, numerous Pap, the human-rearing beasts, crawled over them like ants, using both hands and feet to cling onto the bats' fur.
The Pap extended their long tongues into the small openings on the bats' heads, greedily drinking. Occasionally, faint arcs of electricity flickered in the darkness.
The giant bats, lost in the pleasure brought by the Pap, remained completely unresponsive.
Even as Germain and his group approached, the bats showed no reaction.
However, just because the bats didn't react didn't mean the Pap were unaware.
They were creatures that thrived on instinct, always seeking benefits while avoiding danger. Having lived in pitch-black caves for years, their senses had sharpened to near-perfection in darkness.
Noticing the presence of Germain's group, the Pap instinctively sensed danger. One by one, they withdrew their tongues from the bats' head openings.
A series of wet, squelching sounds echoed through the cave.
The holes on the bats' heads closed up visibly, the flesh writhing as it sealed itself, leaving behind swollen lumps of blood.
Freed from the intoxicating pleasure, the giant bats began to wake, one after another.
Guided by the signals of the Pap's tongues, they quickly understood the situation.
Intruders had entered the cave. And it was their job to capture them, to drag them down into the same abyss of indulgence.
Their reward? More of the Pap's "deadly pleasure."
One by one, the bats spread their vast wings, still hanging upside down. Then, they let out piercing screeches.
The sound was so sharp that everyone instinctively covered their ears. Even so, their eardrums throbbed in pain.
Germain was certain that everyone's stress levels had risen again.
These giant bats had to be dealt with quickly to avoid repeating the disaster of the dark space.
Without hesitation, he immediately activated "Resentful Memory of the Gray Dragon King."
"Roar—!"
A massive dragon with dark gray scales and outstretched wings materialized in front of them, taking the form of a nen beast. It let out a deafening roar at the enormous bats hanging upside down.
Even Morel was surprised—he hadn't expected Germain to summon a nen beast as large as the bats themselves. The amount of Nen required must have been immense.
Yet, Germain looked completely unfazed, as if the cost didn't matter to him.
Ging, Bisky, and Shizuku had already witnessed "Chaos Roar" before, so they weren't too shocked. However, they were still surprised that Germain could conjure a second type of nen beast.
Regardless, the dark-scaled dragon took flight and engaged the giant bats that had swooped down from the stone walls.
This was good. With such a massive nen beast drawing enemy fire, the group could fight more efficiently while conserving their energy.
Among the giant bats, only two were at "Master Level" combat strength, while the rest were "Elite Level." On top of that, they had been weakened after being drained by the Human-Keeping Beast, Pap, leaving them in poor condition.
Under the relentless assault of the dark-scaled dragon, Germain and the others quickly secured victory at the cave entrance.
However, the Human-Keeping Beasts, Pap, had already fled.
The dragon, now covered in wounds, finally collapsed and dispersed into pure aura.
The others couldn't help but feel a sense of regret. Having such a powerful nen beast leading the charge would have made their journey much easier.
Just as Ging, Bisky, Morel, and Shizuku were thinking this, they saw Germain suddenly place his hand on his Hunter's Badge, preparing to conjure something once more.
In the next moment, a massive stag beetle materialized in the form of a Nen beast, its thick, siege-ram-like antlers raised high.
After conjuring the "Resentful Memory of the Stag Beetle," Germain finally noticed the strange expressions on everyone's faces.
"What's wrong? These Nen beasts are all disposable. The 'Gray Dragon King' died, so I summoned the 'Stag Beetle' instead."
Bisky was the first to react.
"So that means... you have many different types of Nen beasts you can conjure?"
Germain nodded.
"Yeah. The 'Gray Dragon King' is used up, and the 'Stag Beetle' is right in front of you. The others I have left are the 'Bloodthirsty Claw Beast,' the 'Dark Nautilus,' and the one I just obtained—the 'Screeching Giant Bat.'"
Morel shifted the large smoking pipe to his other shoulder.
"But the Nen consumption must be enormous, right?"
Germain shook his head.
"It is, but I only conjure one Nen beast at a time, so it doesn't affect my combat ability. Besides, I have the 'Rune' to restore my Nen."
Shizuku raised her hand like a student finally knowing the answer to a question in class.
"Oh, I know this! The 'Rune Veins' on your chest, right? I touched them before... Um, the one that restores stamina and Nen is called... what was it again?"
Germain coughed twice.
"It's 'Rune: Hunter.'"
"'Hunter'?" Ging gazed at Germain's chest, nodding thoughtfully. "That name suits you..."
"This is only the beginning." Germain gripped his Sacred Moonlight Sword and looked into the deep, dark cave ahead. "Let's move forward."
With the 'Stag Beetle' leading the way, it took the brunt of the first wave of attacks from the creatures that had been forced awake in the darkness.
As the "Stag Beetle" took on the most damage, Germain and the others were able to unleash more powerful, penetrating attacks.
The frenzied monsters, high on adrenaline, erupted with bursts of energy, but most of them showed signs of dried-out limbs or torsos.
These weak spots became their most obvious vulnerabilities.
Germain and his team, of course, didn't miss the chance to exploit them.
They struck the monsters down, taking advantage of their lack of coordination, then finished them off with heavy blows.
One by one, the creatures fell, clearing the path deeper into the cave.
After exhausting itself to fulfill its mission, the "Stag Beetle" finally collapsed.
Unfortunately, despite all the battles, Germain had yet to obtain any new "Resentful Memories."
As they ventured deeper into the cave, the light gradually dimmed until only the glow of Germain's greatsword and the team's torches remained.
The monsters lurking in the shadows became even more frenzied.
Even Pap, the Human-Keeping Beast who wasn't adept at direct combat, would suddenly lunge from the darkness, trying to ambush one or two members of the team.
But such desperate, suicidal attacks stood no chance against a "Champion-level" and four "Master-level" Nen users.
Still, a clear realization was beginning to take shape.
These creatures were no longer trying to capture them as prey to turn them into new "power cells."
They were trying to stop them—keeping the five of them from reaching the depths of the cave.
By now, the team was certain they had traveled deep enough to reach about the middle of the mountain.
Upon arriving at the underground depths, everything in the cave changed once again.
********
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