Shota's Isekai NTR Adventure Chapter 1966: Skittering

Previously on Shota's Isekai NTR Adventure...

Venturing deep into the heart of Death Valley, the group discovers a labyrinth of towering cliff walls and mysterious tunnels that seem to stretch indefinitely. Despite their efforts to retreat after scouting the area, they find themselves trapped in an impossible loop where every path leads back to the same corridor. As the royal guards prepare to make a desperate sacrifice to find an exit, a sudden reaction occurs. The Mark of God on the protagonist's hand begins to glow, suggesting a direct connection to the elusive messenger of the gods hiding within the canyon.

Even though the Mark of God had manifested upon my hand, its presence alone wasn't enough to clarify the current situation.

I understood, at the very least, that this phenomenon was linked to the god’s messenger.

The Mark of God was likely reacting to a nearby messenger, which explained why it had suddenly appeared on my skin.

The problem was that despite the reaction, the mark provided no specific details regarding their exact location.

Furthermore, the mere activation of the Mark of God didn't guarantee that a magical event was about to unfold.

There was no absolute certainty that the current events were even directly caused by the messenger.

Ultimately, I simply commanded, "Wait here for a bit and see what happens."

A hint of skepticism flashed across the faces of Klein and the royal guards upon hearing my words, yet they obeyed without hesitation. They swiftly transitioned into a defensive circle, positioning themselves to shield me from any threat.

In preparation for the worst, I also braced myself to manifest a barrier around our position.

However, nothing occurred.

The surroundings remained eerily stagnant even after the Mark of God emerged. It felt as though whatever force had us ensnared had no intention of releasing its grip.

"Does this mean that whatever is here isn’t friendly towards the other gods?"

This suspicion crossed my mind for the first time.

Generally speaking, the messengers of the various gods weren't supposed to be antagonistic toward one another.

At least, that should be the case for the majority, even if Aestum and the kraken had previously displayed open hostility toward Aquaron.

Based on the information provided by Zeldir and Lupus, these messengers should have been open to a meeting with me.

Consequently, the only logical conclusion was that we had walked into some sort of trap.

Perhaps the god’s messenger was in peril and was being utilized as a lure to pull me in.

Only the forces of Destruction would be capable of such a scheme...

"Only how would they have found the god’s messenger?"

I pushed the thought aside, as now was not the time for speculation; I needed to prioritize finding an exit.

Yet, no matter how much I pondered, a clear path of escape seemed nonexistent. If we truly wanted to break free, there was only one thing left to try...

"I am here to see the god’s messenger, there’s no need to act this way, right?"

My statement caught Klein and the guards off guard, though they weren't entirely shocked. They had likely surmised my intentions since I had been so adamant about traveling to this specific location.

Nevertheless, they remained vigilant, waiting tensely to see what would emerge from the shadows.

This time, my words elicited a response.

However, it wasn't the type of reaction I had anticipated from the hidden entity.

"Skitter, skitter."

Though the sounds were soft, they echoed from every direction. The sheer volume of overlapping noises suggested that a multitude of creatures had completely hemmed us in.

Despite the sound, we remained blind to our surroundings, unable to identify what was lurking out there.

After a moment, it felt as though a lingering tension was suddenly lifted.

It was difficult to describe, but a wave of relief washed over us. It was as if we had been subjected to an invisible pressure the entire time—one we hadn't even recognized until it finally vanished.

This development was hardly comforting, though.

Being free of that influence only proved that something had been exerting its power over us without our knowledge. The fact that something could affect us so subtly was a grim omen.

Even if we remained unharmed for now, it was a worrying sign...

But we lacked the luxury of reflection as the environment began to shift.

The sources of the skittering noises finally began to reveal themselves.

We quickly realized that we weren't just dealing with a few specimens.

We already suspected a large number due to the surrounding noise, but the sheer variety and volume of things appearing at once was overwhelming.

They poured out from tunnels embedded in the surrounding cliff faces.

Individually, these creatures weren't particularly large, but their staggering numbers allowed them to occupy every inch of space. Their uniform coloration caused them to blend together into massive, shifting carpets of movement.

As they swarmed outward, they rapidly blanketed the entire vicinity.

Watching such a massive gathering was truly chilling.

While a human might be unnerved by just one or two such creatures, seeing a literal sea of them was something else entirely....

They didn't halt upon exiting the tunnels; instead, they pressed forward until we were entirely encircled. The ground around us was transformed into a solid, uniform shade of black by their bodies.

Upon closer inspection, however, one could discern patches of varying colors scattered through the mass.

For a human, it was a revolting spectacle, yet we were powerless against this biological tide.

Our entire group had been completely hemmed in and trapped by this endless wave of insects.