Chapter 33 - 32: The Artificer
Kael and Seris arrived at the Guild.
Kael pushed open the door and stepped inside.
Behind the counter, the receptionist looked up—then froze. Her mouth fell open.
"By the gods—what happened to you?!"
Kael dropped a cloth bundle onto the counter. It landed with a dull clunk. Chitinous mandibles unrolled out of the fabric like meat hooks, still slick with gore.
"D-rank infestation, huh?" Kael said.
Seris said nothing. She stood behind him, presence looming like a weapon unsheathed.
"T-that’s... that’s from the field job?"
"Yup. Nest the size of a small village. Hundreds of spawn. One queen. Deep burrows. You want to go check it out yourself?"
"That’s impossible," the girl stammered. "That shouldn’t—those reports said it was—"
"Bullshit. Someone filed a fake report or a cover-up. Whatever’s down there isn’t new. It’s old. You people sent adventurers to die."