"That's…eww!" Neena scowled as she turned her head, looking somewhere else, coping up her disgust.
As for Compass Carburettor, his face was pale, unable to endure the smell. But, he didn't shy away and looked at Rhizen's actions.
Crouched near the ground, using a file was Rhizen, grinding the exoskeleton of a large centipede that spanned as long as his arm. First of all, the size of the centipede itself was of concern.
The second was his actions, one that directly attacked it the moment he witnessed it. And, the weapon he used to attack the centipede wasn't a knife, wasn't a needle-shaped instrument and wasn't a hammer either.
It was a mechanical file, one of the widely used hand cutting tools in a workshop. A hardened piece of high-grade steel with slanting rows of teeth; it was used to cut, smooth, or fit metal parts.
Rhizen used the mechanical file to poke the head of the centipede, crushing it easily before he ground its mandibles, blunting the sharp edges. He then began to remove them by hand and ate some of the flesh inside.
He didn't seem unfazed upon eating it raw. And, the dextrous manner in which he proceeded about the task indicated that this wasn't the first time he had done this.
While eating, Rhizen turned around, asking the other two, "Do you want to eat?"
"I'll pass," Compass Carburettor waved his hand in refusal. As for Neena, she clutched her mouth, turning around as she resisted the urge to puke.
"Well, it's pretty tasty, you know." Smiling, Rhizen got up and looked around, soon noticing a similar-sized centipede crawling out from a hole in the wall. Upon seeing his arrival, it wriggled as its upper body dangled, trying to bite his legs.
But, Rhizen casually used the mechanical file to flatten its head before dragging it out, smirking, "Wow, it's longer than I thought."
"Wait, this isn't the time to spend on eating. We have to find a way out first." Neena said in a hurry, trying her best to look away from the corpse in Rhizen's hands.
"Well, we have been travelling for an hour now. This stalactite cave seems pretty expansive. And to travel far, we need to eat. Saving our rations for emergencies is for the best." Rhizen said, frowning in thought for a moment before he took out all the rations from his bag, split it up into two and gave them to each.
"I've lived on forest produce since young, so I'll be able to eat the insects here without trouble. I usually do the same as snacks or when I want to have some fun anyway." He laughed, saying, "And, I know which one is poisonous and which one is not. So, you don't have to worry."
"Thanks," Compass Carburettor accepted the rations without hesitation, clearly understanding the reason Rhizen had done this. After seeing him accept it, Neena too reluctantly received her share.
The reason Rhizen did this was so that he could consume the flesh of the creatures without suspicion. He had some understanding as to what was up with the changes in the world.
Neena wasn't aware of his small scheme, thinking that he had voluntarily given his share to them as a show of goodwill. From the start, Rhizen had been rather polite, a jovial character. So, she had a good opinion of him.
As for Compass Carburettor, since he knew the reason Rhizen was acting this way, he went ahead to support him, taking the lead. As he acted as a naïve character, it was easy for him to do so.
"No! No! No!" Suddenly, Neena cried in alarm as her face further paled, suddenly noticing a lot more insects pour in like water from a hole in the wall.
Her forehead was slick with sweat as it seemed like her fears were triggered at the sight of the insects that almost resembled water thanks to their sheer quantity.
"Don't worry, we'll manage to leave this place." Compass Carburettor patted her, consoling her as he said, "Don't look at your surroundings. Just look at me and focus on my steps. This way, you won't have to see them."
"Thanks," Neena nodded, extending her hand to hold the helm of his dress, closely following him as she trembled from time to time.
Even Rhizen couldn't act unfazed at the sight of the number of insects increasing to such a fearsome extent. As they continued to slowly walk through the cave, they eventually reached a dead end.
It wasn't actually a dead end but one where the walls had become so narrow that there was only a small hole at the top. And to pass through it, they had to crawl through. Moreover, the passage seemed pretty long.
Flashing his light into the hole, Rhizen commented, "There's a distance of around ten metres to travel like this. It'll be pretty hard to do so."
"What about after this?" Compass Carburettor asked, "Is there a path beyond the tunnel?"
"Yeah, there seems to be another cave there." Rhizen nodded after probing through a bit more. He then frowned, "But, if I were the one to reach there first, I won't survive the insects."
He then looked at Neena, "Are you sure it's the effect from your bag and not something else that is repelling these insects? I won't risk my life without any level of guarantee."
'So, it's come to this. Guess I'll have to carefully manipulate my ability to fool him.' Neena thought, having already prepared for this possibility as she removed her bag, took out a rope from it, and tied it to the bag.
She then hurled the bag far away, watching it land far into the cave with a thud as the insects alarmingly moved away from the bag. And in response, the insects began to close in on them. Neena tugged the rope, pulling the bag closer to them when the insects rushing towards them moved away once again.
Thumping as she controlled her heart, Neena turned around, raising her bag as she looked at Rhizen, "This should be enough proof, right?"
"Yes," Rhizen nodded, "So, they are indeed repelled by your bag."
Upon seeing Compass Carburettor embarrassingly look at the pouch he had slung on his hip, Rhizen said, "Now, we'll have to figure out how to safely go over to the other side."
