It was a crazy idea.
Yet it was the most likely way to convince the monster to let him go.
The black haired monster continued feasting on the grilled rat meat while the juices dripped them from its mouth. It munched hungrily at the meat as if it hadn't eaten in ages.
Ian gulped in hesitation at the sight before taking the leap of faith.
"...so...thank you for saving me but I think its time for me to leave now."
There was an awkward silence right after as the monster stopped eating and made eye contact with Ian. Its red human-like eyes were crystal clear to Ian now, showing a hint of humanity. Then the monster replied angrily.
"Mmmiiinnneeee..."
Ian unconsciously shivered at the seemingly angry tone before working up the courage to continue the crazy idea.
"Listen to me, I have a home to return to and people who'll miss me..."
The monster became increasingly agitated as Ian continued his explanation.
"....and....and you can come with me too."
It seemed to be confused as the monster tilted its head at those words.
"You can come with me to my world and live a better life. Maybe even revert back to whatever form you were before...this. Unless of course, if this is how you really look then forget what I said before."
The red eyes continued staring at Ian as if contemplating his proposal. Then it finished its meal quickly before walking towards the broken bed. The monster awkwardly pulled out the shabby sword underneath the bed before presenting it to Ian. He smiled in return feeling a weight off his shoulders as he grab the sword.
Ian backed up to swing the sword around feeling the weight. This was a real sword. Not the cheap replicas he had in his collection back home but an authentic double edged sword. The weight was heavy for him but he could still swing it properly. At the very least, he could defend himself better. Though he quickly realized there was no scabbard for the sword meaning he'll be forced to wield the sword for the entire time.
Nevertheless, he shrugged off the disappointment and faced the red-eyed monster.
"So do you know how to get out of this city...safely?"
Ian almost forgot to add that last part to which the red-eyed monster shook its head in response. Feeling dejected Ian asked the same question again but this time slightly different.
"Do you know how to get out of this city at all?"
"Miiinnneeee..."
It responded verbally then pointed at a unlit lantern for Ian to carry and walked towards the exit. Ian complied and manage the lit the lantern up using the makeshift campfire and attached the lantern to his belt. He followed after his savior to stumble upon multiple pathways right outside the room.
It was pitch black but with the lantern, Ian could see enough of his new environment. In the middle of all the pathways were bodies of water travelling in different directions suggesting that he was underneath the city. And unfortunately, Ian was in the city's sewage system. At least, the odor wasn't as heavy as he expected.
The red-eyed monster then continue walking down one of the many complex pathways as if the maze-like system didn't obscure its sense of direction. Ian followed right behind it with his guard up. The giant rat meal from before gave Ian the faint impression that there'll be many more down the line.
In the still silence of the underground tunnels, the unexpected pair walked in the complete darkness with only the lantern as the sole source of light. Ian nervously looked around him and stumbled periodically when random noises interrupted the silence. Meanwhile the red-eyed monster was completely unfazed as it kept leading Ian through the dark tunnels. Often times they would reach a fork in the road only for Ian's guide to continue walking the selected path without a second of contemplation.
Then finally, they reached what seems to be the main sewage tunnel as the tunnel was much larger and the body of water in the middle was practically a flowing river. Ian nervously looked around to see dead bodies of a few people and even skeletal remains. Seeing the corpses was still unnerving for Ian as he can see some of the bodies looked to be chewed on too possibly from rats and whatever is down here.
Hiss
Ian look toward the source of the noise to see the red-eyed monster staring at something in the pitch darkness. At first, Ian squinted to try to see what it is but the faint sound of squeaks alerted him to hold his sword forward.
The squeaking sound were rapidly becoming louder as Ian's entire concentration was drawn towards them. Red, the nickname Ian silently gave to his guide, made a screeching banshee-like battle cry before charging right at the first large rat that came into Ian's line of sight.
It was fast.
Really fast.
Ian could barely see a blur before blood was sprayed everywhere. Red disposed of the first rat quickly with just a simple slice before moving on to the next. Ian got closer to the action so that the lantern would reveal more rats.
But Ian regretted doing that as before him he could see dozens of rats with some spilling out of nearby pipes. He felt his blood run cold from the sheer sight of rats as large as dogs charging at them in mass.
At least Ian was spared from the bulk of the rat horde as Red was easily slicing through them. But now, a couple of them were charging at Ian with no signs of stopping. Ian upon seeing this readied his sword by keeping the tip pointed at the rats.
Once the first rat leaped at him, he recklessly stab in the rat's direction while closing his eyes. He felt the sword hit flesh then muscle and finally the bone. The rat's weight caused Ian to back up a few steps while opening his eyes.
The large rodent was too heavy for his small body forcing Ian to use his right foot to pull the sword out of the now dead rat. Meanwhile the second rat came up shortly after the first aiming low for Ian's shin. Cursing out shit, Ian tried his best to pull the sword out using every muscle in his arms and right leg.
Time seemed to slow as the rat's mouth drew near to Ian's left leg.
Its mouth moved into range and was about to clamp down...
Ptui
....then a sharp stabbing resounded out loud as Ian's sword penetrated the rat's skull with ease.
Ian sighed out loud, relieved that he saved his leg from getting bitten.
"That was clos-AHHH FUCK!!"
Looking down, Ian could see a third hidden rat biting into his right leg. The rodent was smaller than the others and looked nimbler suggesting it circled around to strike at Ian when his guard was down.
Cursing out loud again, Ian immediately stabbed at the tricky rat before it had a chance to dodge. He reprimand himself for letting his guard down before examining his wound.
The bite on his leg wasn't too deep to put it mildly as the leather armor and thick cloth padding kept the bite from reaching his bone. But with damages to both legs, Ian's mobility was further reduced.
Ian grinded his teeth at his stupidity and looked ahead to check on Red.
Pitch darkness.
The only thing he heard was the sound of battle. At the very least, his guide was still alive and didn't abandon him. He shook that cynic thought away. There was no way someone would track Ian across the city and save him from suffocating, only to abandon him now.
So, painfully Ian took a step forward to reach Red.
His blood-soak sword was ready.
Before Ian took another step, he suddenly froze.
Ian felt a chilling cold blowing on the back of his neck.
His body was in shock again as it stopped moving and was shaking uncontrollably. Even worse his mind barely functioned too as if fear itself put his mind into a chokehold.
All Ian could pay attention to was the distant sound of heavy footsteps from far behind him.
He could faintly see black mist in the corner of his eye.