Birthing Legends: My Womb Creates SSS Monsters-Chapter 95: S Rank Adventurers Party Infiltrate the Shellgrave Cave — Part 2.
As the party walked along the path leading to the lower area of the Mineral Hole, Lita was growing increasingly unimpressed with the quest. She had expected something that would truly test her expertise.
"Ughhhh, this is the stupidest, most boring, most pointless quest ever! Why are we even going through a spawning ground of worms? Did the Guildmaster lose her mind or something? Does she seriously think some cross-eyed tunnel worm is a Demon Lord?!"
The moment the words left her mouth, she froze.
Lita suddenly clamped both hands over her mouth, the words Demon Lord hanging in the air like a curse. Slowly, she turned toward Erwin, who was walking at the front.
"Oops... I mean... whatever thing is down there."
Suddenly, Erwin stopped.
A wave of regret washed over Lita. She knew she shouldn’t have said that word—Demon Lord.
Gela shot her a sharp glare and leaned closer, whispering angrily,
"Damn it, girl. You know how much Erwin despises that Demon Lord. Do you even realize how heavy that past still weighs on him? What do you think you’re doing?"
She shook her head in frustration.
"Seriously... that mouth of yours is the one that needs investigating."
Lita flushed, realizing her careless words had dug a deep wound. She had forgotten—Erwin’s past with the Demon Lord, the things that had left their mark on him. The weight of that history was something they all knew, but sometimes it was easy to forget just how deeply it affected him.
Only now did Lita realize she had been acting annoying.
"I–I’m sorry... I mean it, Captain! Please don’t be angry at me or start your... never-ending sermon."
Erwin didn’t move a muscle.
Instead, he slowly tilted his head upward, scanning the ceiling, then the surrounding walls. They hadn’t even reached the middle of the path yet, but the party had come to a complete stop.
Erwin raised a hand. The entire party froze instantly.
"Captain... I swear I won’t say that word so casually—"
"Lita... quiet."
She stopped immediately, confused. Erwin’s voice was deadly serious—different from before. Then he turned his head toward Zaun, the party’s tracker, who had been uncharacteristically silent.
"Zaun... do you feel that?"
Zaun nodded. Erwin shot him a sharp look.
"Zaun. Left wall. Now."
They moved instantly.
Zaun dashed toward the left wall, his scarred hand pressing against the cold, brown stone. Across from him, Erwin placed his palm against the opposite wall. Both men closed their eyes, tilting their heads slightly, as if listening to whispers carried through the earth itself.
Gela tightened her grip on her staff.
"Captain... Zaun... what is it?"
Zaun’s eyes snapped open, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints of pure adrenaline. His hand remained firmly pressed against the stone. For the first time since they entered the tunnel, he spoke.
"Everyone... get down. Touch the stone. Now."
The party quickly obeyed, pressing their palms or ears against the calcified rock. At first, there was nothing but the sound of their own breathing.
Then they felt it.
Thump... Thump...
It was faint, but unmistakable, a heavy vibration coming from deep within the wall itself.
Gela gasped.
"It’s... a heartbeat."
Lita frowned, pressing her ear harder against the stone.
"A heartbeat? What do you mean a heartbeat? You’re telling me there’s a monster with a giant heart on the other side of this wall???"
Zaun didn’t move his hand from the stone. His jaw tightened as the vibration pulsed again through the wall.
Thump... Thump...
Erwin slowly opened his eyes, his expression grim.
"Not a monster..."
Lita lifted her head slightly, confused.
"Then what the hell is making a heartbeat that big?" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Erwin swallowed, still feeling the tremor through his palm. Then he stepped back from the wall.
"We won’t know what’s beyond this wall if we just keep listening to it..."
Ed turned toward his captain, noticing the uneasy look on his face.
"What do you mean... C-Captain?"
Erwin’s expression hardened with resolve.
"We blast the wall and see what’s on the other side."
Ed’s face instantly turned pale.
"B-blast it!? What if the whole cave collapses? Then those insects or whatever is making those writhing movements—will come out!"
But Lita’s eyes lit up with excitement.
"YES! THIS IS WHAT I CAME FOR! Come on, let’s blast this wall!"
Erwin’s pointed toward the section of the wall.
"Lita. You’re up. But listen to me carefully—this isn’t a battlefield. If you destabilize the ceiling, we’re all buried in the gut of this cave. Give me a focused puncture. One point, high intensity."
Lita’s grin was predatory. She cracked her knuckles, her staff humming with a violent, crimson mana that began to swirl like a miniature hurricane.
"Focus? Captain, you’re talking to a genius! I’ll give you a hole so clean you could use it anytime you want!"
She stepped forward, her eyes glowing with arcane fervor.
"ADVANCE LIGHTNING ELEMENT: THUNDERBOLT!"
BOOM!
A spear of violent crimson lightning exploded from Lita’s staff and slammed into the marked point on the wall. For a moment, the entire tunnel roared with falling debris.
Ed shrieked, diving behind Erwin’s claymore with his eyes squeezed shut, while Gela raised a shimmering barrier of light, her lips moving in a silent prayer of protection. The roar of the explosion was deafening in the cramped tunnel.
When the smoke cleared, Ed peeked over Erwin’s claymore, trembling.
"Did we... did we die?"
Gela gasped.
"Look at the wall!"
The dust settled, revealing... practically nothing. Lita’s "Thunderbolt," which could usually vaporize a Hobgoblin’s entire torso, had only managed to gouge a small pit no larger than an eye. It wasn’t even deep enough to see through.
"Wh-What?!"
Lita’s jaw dropped. She stomped her foot, her face turning a bright, humiliated red.
"That’s impossible! My Thunder Element is Advanced! That wall should’ve been blasted apart!"
Erwin whispered, his voice trembling.
"Lita, look closer..."
As they watched, the edges of the hole began to quiver. Thick, translucent fluid seeped from the "rocks," and with a wet squelch, the fibers of the wall began to knit back together. The hole was closing. In mere seconds, the surface smoothed over completely, leaving no trace of the explosion.
Ed pointed at it, his voice dropping into a whisper.
"It healed...The wall is healing itself!"
