Chapter 157: Absorption (5)
Bini’s enraged cries filled the air as the bedbugs were crushed beneath its strikes.
The once faint scent of coriander that had permeated the room was instantly replaced by the stench of rusted metal.
The reason these bedbugs emitted a coriander-like smell was due to their natural composition—after all, the scientific name for coriander, Coriandrum sativum, comes from the Greek word koriós, which means bedbug.
Both in the East and the West, coriander was often called “bedbug herb” because of its resemblance to the insect’s natural odor.
As for the overwhelming stench of oxidized iron, that was a result of two things: their excrement, and the partially digested blood in their bodies.
The dark stains running down the walls earlier had been bedbug feces—essentially oxidized blood, rich in iron, which had decomposed and released a foul, metallic smell.
And now, as Bini crushed them, the half-digested blood inside their swollen bodies was splattering everywhere, spreading the stench of rot.
‘Bini! Knock over the lantern onto the bed and get out of there!’
— Tsrrt!
Bini, who had instinctively coiled around me to protect me, responded immediately.
It was sturdy enough to take on these creatures in a direct fight, but there was no telling how many more of these things were hidden throughout the village. We needed to warn the others before it was too late.
— Thump.