Chapter 126: Swallowing fear
"Tch. Her?" Princess Felicia scoffs. "Too bad. I don't trust her."
"W-What???" I nearly shout. "What do you mean you don't trust Eris?! She literally saved me—saved us!"
"And yet, she's never revealed her secret to you, has she?" Felicia huffs, voice sharp.
The words hit harder than they should.
"Eh? That doesn't matter!" I snap, defensively. "Everyone has their own secrets—even you! We have to respect that. When she's ready, when she feels safe, she'll tell me."
"Ha. How foolish…"
"W-What??" I bristle.
Gods, this princess… she's so impossibly stubborn!
And now? I'm fuming.
First off—why the hell does she insist on diving into this cursed dungeon alone, knowing full well that danger lurks around every corner?
And second—why does she distrust Eris so much?
"It takes more than good food and sex to earn my trust, you know."
"W-WHAT?!" I choke, practically stumbling over the words.
Arrrgghh!
I hate this!
I hate that I can't even argue with this!
But wait…
Sex?
"Oi! SEX?! What do you mean 'sex'?!" I panic.
"Haha," Felicia laughs. Felicia chuckles darkly in my mind. "Little one, you think I didn't feel it? When you were basking in all those… lustful moments?"
ACCCK!!
What the hell?
So she knew!
She felt everything.
She's been watching the entire time?!
A massive wave of guilt crashes over me. After all… this is her body. Not mine.
"I… I'm sorry," I mumble inside our shared mind, curling inward like I could somehow hide.
Felicia chuckles. "Relax. Honestly? She's not bad. Even I would've fallen for her."
"Oooooh! So you do approve!"
"Yeah."
"But you just said—"
"Trust," she cuts in. "Yeah, I don't trust her. Not fully. And neither should you. She might be good now, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't stay alert."
I sigh. "Haah… You're right." Damn it.
There's a long pause, the silence thick with tension—until Felicia's voice sharpens once again.
"Now then," she says. "Back to the matter at hand. I'm going in. Try not to panic, alright?"
"D-Do we really have to go in?" I whimper.
"Yes. We do."
"A-Alright…" I give in.
"Hey, If you cooperate, this will be quick. You'll be back with your dear Eris in no time."
"O-Okay…"
With this, somehow… we've reached a mutual agreement.
I swallow my fear.
Because deep down, I know the truth—whether I tremble, whether I scream, whether I beg her to stop… it won't matter.
Felicia will still step forward.
There's no stopping her now.
So, together, we move. One step. Then another. Our shared body crosses the broken threshold of Luminaris—the once-grand castle, now a ruin swallowed by time and shadow.
And the moment we pass through its shattered gate—
WHAM.
The air shifts—no, collapses. A crushing pressure slams down on us like a falling mountain.
Our knees buckle. We fall, gasping, choking.
The weight is indescribable. It presses into our bones, wraps around our lungs, and coils in our stomach like smoke made solid. The very atmosphere is soaked in death—thick, cold, and cloying. It clings to the skin, seeps into the pores, fills the chest with dread.
Darkness looms. Not just around us, but within us—flooding our vision until only the faintest outlines remain.
And in the distance…
Silhouettes.
Shambling. Twisting.
Moving closer.
Badump. Badump. Badump.
Our heart surges, pounding like a drum of panic. Our stomach lurches, and nausea claws up the throat like bile-coated fingers.
But then—
I remember Felicia's words.
Do not fear.
I clutch to them like a lifeline.
Do not fear, Felicia…
I swallow it down, the darkness, the intense feeling that's dreading me.
I want to get back to Eris. I have to trust Princess Felicia!!!
"Good. Keep it like that," her voice murmurs within, calm and steady. Regal. In control.
She rises.
And I yield.
I surrender. All resistance melts from my limbs as I hand over everything to her.
All I need to do is hold my fear at bay.
Let Princess Felicia handle the rest.
And then, slowly—like a tide ebbing away—the chaos begins to quiet.
Our breathing evens out.
Our heart, though still fast, finds a rhythm again.
And in that newfound silence—
They arrive.
Figures, once human.
Now just walking corpses.
Their skin rots in sloughing layers. Bone juts from open wounds. Eyes long decayed still gleam with unnatural hunger. They stagger at first, then suddenly break into a run.
Screeching.
Screaming.
Charging toward us.
———————————-
But still—those faces… those faces are creepy as fuck!
DIE!
DIEEEEEE!!!
DIE, YOU ROTTING FREAKS!!!
I'm screaming inside our shared mind, cheering Felicia on with every ounce of fire I have.
And she answers.
With her in control, our body moves like a living weapon with pure, honed fury. Power surges through our muscles as if the earth itself fuels us. With a snarl, we charge, and our fist crashes forward—
SPLORCH!
It sinks into the decayed, bloated gut of a massive zombie—easily twice our size. One of its eyeballs dangles from a shredded socket, swaying like a grotesque pendulum. Its stomach is gaping open, guts spilling like overcooked noodles.
The punch lands deep.
The flesh squelches.
And for a moment, it absorbs the blow like a wet sponge.
But only for a moment.
BOOM!
Felicia follows through with a monstrous blast of force. The zombie rockets backward, colliding with a crumbling building. The impact detonates its body like a balloon full of spoiled meat.
SPLAT.
Blood, bone, and viscera rain down like gore-scented confetti.
"HELL YEAHHHHH!!" I scream. "THAT WAS INSANE!!!"
Felicia laughs, her grin wicked. "What? Now you're enjoying yourself?"
"YES!!! THIS IS AWESOME!"
Fighting like this… crushing zombies into paste? It's so freaking fun! It's like playing a game on max difficulty with cheat codes unlocked! And Felicia? She's so baddass, crushing our enemies like tutorial mobs!
Haha!
Haha!
MUAHAHAHAA!
I can't even believe that those same zombies… same creepers, gave me such intense fear earlier on!
And now that I think about it—Felicia totally gives off streamer energy isn't she?
Right!
Right!
Isn't this just an ultra realistic stream?
I feel like I've got a front-row seat to the most epic zombie-killing livestream ever. I can feel the impact, the thrill, every heart-pounding beat, and each spine-snapping blow.
It's electric.
It's freaking awesome…
"But huhu… could you please do something about the smell?!" I gag. "It's so nasty! UGH!"
And don't even get me started on the mess. That last explosion soaked us in some sort of… greenish-black ooze. It's thick, slimy, sticky, and smells like rotting fish mixed with bad cheese.
Felicia casually flicks her wrist, flinging the gunk from her hand. "You'll get used to it. Trust me—it's only going to get worse."
"Aaaaah, why?! Huuuuhuuuuu…" I wail, internally sobbing.
Still, even through the disgust, I can't stop watching. Can't stop loving this.
In mere minutes, we've already taken down ten—no, fifteen of the undead. Every punch, every blow, is a spectacle.
But it's not over.
Not even close.
Because now… the real army appears.
Dozens more begin pouring out of the shadows, and soon, Hundreds. Not just zombies anymore—but skeletons. Some armored, some half-clothed, all wielding rusted swords, jagged spears, and broken shields. Empty sockets glow faintly with eerie, blue flames.
They raise their weapons and shriek in unison.
"Oh shit…" I whisper.
Felicia just cracks her knuckles, grinning like a lunatic.
"Round two, then."