They Called Me Trash? Now I'll Hack Their World-Chapter 193: You...

"Haa... geez, there’s no end to these damn things."

Garf’s voice echoed through the dimly lit cavern as his war axe cleaved through another of the black creatures, the jagged things with six segmented legs that moved like spiders, four glowing red eyes, and mouths full of needle-sharp teeth that clicked together with horrible wet sounds. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Just as the creature shrieked and dissolved into black ichor that sizzled against the stone floor.

Three more immediately took its place, skittering over the walls and ceiling with unnatural speed.

A fire orb hovering fifteen feet above provided the only light, casting everything in flickering orange that made the shadows dance and writhe like living things.

Garf swung his shield in a wide arc, catching two creatures mid-leap and sending them crashing into the cavern wall hard enough to crack chitin. His axe followed through, splitting one down the middle before it could recover.

Blood and ichor sprayed across his armor.

He didn’t slow down, just kept moving, shield raised, axe swinging in efficient brutal arcs that spoke of decades of combat experience.

More creatures poured from the darkness ahead, their legs clattering against stone like percussion from hell.

"Now!"

Mira’s shout cut through the chaos.

Garf dropped into a crouch, shield over his head.

WHIIIS! WHIIIS!

Arrows whistled through the air above him, not just one or two, but a barrage, each one trailing faint light as Mira poured mana into rapid-fire shots that turned her bow into something approaching an automatic weapon.

The arrows punched through chitin with wet thunk sounds, pinning creatures to walls, piercing multiple bodies with single shots.

Garf rolled to the side as soon as the volley ended, creating space.

"Yenna!"

Another shout from Mira, coordinating without needing to explain.

A massive wave of fire erupted from behind their formation, roaring forward with heat that made the air shimmer and distort.

The creatures caught in it shrieked and burned, their black bodies crackling and popping as they were consumed.

The few that made it through the flames, their bodies smoking and damaged, ran straight into Rolf’s daggers.

The young rogue moved faster than his nervous personality suggested was possible, both blades flashing in precise strikes to joints and eyes.

The creatures fell.

Silence descended, broken only by dripping ichor and the crackling of dying flames.

Rolf dropped onto his butt immediately, panting hard, his hands shaking slightly as the adrenaline started to fade.

"Too many," he gasped between breaths. "There are too many."

Garf lowered his shield with a grunt, rolling his shoulder where something had clipped him earlier.

"It’s been two days since we hit this floor," he said, voice rough. "Those damn things just keep spawning. Doesn’t matter how many we kill... more come."

Yenna pulled a canteen from her storage ring and drank deeply, water running down her chin, not caring about dignity when exhaustion was setting in.

Mira stood apart from them, her bow still in hand but lowered, staring back toward the passage they’d descended from the third floor.

In her other hand, she clutched a crystalline artifact, a communication device, supposed to work even through dungeon interference.

It sat dark and silent.

"Still no response, huh?"

Garf asked.

Mira’s grip tightened on the crystal until her knuckles went white.

"No." Her voice was flat. "Nothing."

"Just where the hell is that bastard?" Yenna hissed, tossing her empty canteen back into storage with more force than necessary.

"We’ve been fighting for our lives and he just disappears?"

She kicked at a piece of dissolved creature, sending ichor splashing.

"I always knew that son of a bitch wasn’t up to any good. Skulking around, never talking, always with his mysterious bullshit!"

Her voice was rising, anger bleeding through exhaustion.

"Fucking typical! Trust a dark and brooding asshole and this is what you get—"

"Yenna." Mira’s voice came sharp. "Stop."

"Why should I? You know I’m right!" Yenna turned on her, eyes blazing. "He left us! Just like everyone always does when things get hard!"

"That’s not fair—"

"Fair?! FAIR?!" Yenna laughed, but there was no humor in it.

"You know what’s funny about parties, Mira? The closest ones are always the ones who stab you in the back. Trust me. I’ve got the scars to prove it."

Mira’s eyes widened.

Her hand dropped from the communication crystal.

"Are you..." Her voice shook slightly. "Are you saying that when things get bad, you’ll just stab me in the back too? That all of this... means nothing?"

"What? No! That’s not what—"

"Because you just said closest friends stab you in the back!" Mira’s voice rose to match Yenna’s now.

"And last I checked, we’re pretty damn close, so what the hell else am I supposed to think?!"

"I was talking about HIM! About people like HIM who pretend to be part of the team and then—"

"But you didn’t SAY that! You made it sound like—"

"I didn’t make it sound like anything, you just heard what you wanted to—"

"Oh, so now I’m putting words in your mouth?!"

"You’re putting meaning where there wasn’t any!"

"Maybe if you weren’t so busy being bitter about the past, you could communicate like a normal person!"

"MAYBE IF YOU WEREN’T SO BUSY DEFENDING SOMEONE WHO ABANDONED US—"

CLANG!

The sound of Garf’s war axe slamming against his shield echoed through the cavern like a thunderclap.

Both women stopped mid-sentence, turning to look at him.

He stood there, axe raised, shield braced, face set in the kind of expression that said he was done with this nonsense.

"Both of you. Quiet."

Yenna’s mouth opened.

Garf’s eyes narrowed.

She closed it.

Mira looked like she wanted to say something else but visibly swallowed it.

Rolf was trying to make himself as small as possible, eyes darting between all of them like he was watching a sword fight and wasn’t sure who’d win.

"L-look," he stammered, voice shaking, "maybe we should all just calm down and... and think about this rationally? We’re tired, and stressed, people say things they don’t mean when—"

"Rolf," Yenna said without looking at him, "shut up."

He did.

Garf lowered his axe slowly, deliberately.

"Whatever Edric is doing—wherever he is—he’s not here." His voice was steady, grounded.

"We can be angry about it later.But right now, we have a mission. We need to—"

Shlrck!

Garf’s words cut off.

His eyes went wide.

Cough!

Blood erupted from his mouth, bright red against his face.

"GARF!"

Three voices screamed it simultaneously.

Garf looked down slowly, as if not quite believing what he was seeing.

A blade protruded from his chest. Dripping with his blood. Emerging from between two plates of his armor.

He turned his head, movements sluggish, shock setting in.

Behind him stood a figure in a dark cloak, hood pulled low, face hidden in shadow.

"You..." Garf’s voice bubbled with blood.