The trio then continued running through the immense underground galleries.
Their footsteps echoed heavily against the rock while the small emerald flames faintly lit their path in the darkness.
Behind them, the monstrous roars continued to echo through the depths.
But little by little—
The noise seemed to fade.
With each tunnel they crossed, the rumbling grew more distant.
A sign that they were finally moving away from the creature.
Eventually, Hinata suddenly slowed down before coming to a complete stop.
Zerath immediately stopped as well.
— Why are you stopping?
Hinata simply raised her hand in front of them.
— Look.
A few meters ahead—
Another one of those gigantic burrowing creatures completely blocked the passage.
Its immense pale body occupied almost the entire gallery.
Its long sensory hairs moved slowly in the air while its bare skin contracted slightly with the rhythm of its breathing.
Then behind them—
Kert finally arrived running before nearly collapsing against a rock wall.
— Damn… you guys really run way too fast…
He struggled to catch his breath before lifting his head.
Then he spotted the giant mutant in front of them.
And unlike the other two—
He almost seemed relieved.
— Oh… then it's fine.
He vaguely waved his hand.
— We already figured out these things aren't really dangerous to us, right?
Zerath slowly turned his head toward him with a blank expression.
— Kert…
He calmly pointed at the mutant in front of them.
— That thing is literally blocking the entire passage.
Kert stayed silent for two seconds.
Then he placed a thoughtful hand on his chin.
— Today really is a terrible day…
He sighed deeply.
— On top of that, I'm seriously starting to get hungry…
Then, unexpectedly—
He casually walked past Zerath and Hinata before starting to approach the giant mutant.
Zerath's eyes widened immediately.
— What are you doing now?!
Kert observed the gigantic mutant thoughtfully.
— Do you think we could eat that thing?
Silence.
Hinata and Zerath immediately exchanged the same expression of disgust.
Zerath finally slowly rubbed his face with his hand.
— Seriously…
He sighed.
— When you're hungry, you should avoid wanting to eat absolutely everything that moves.
Kert immediately crossed his arms indignantly.
— Hey, survival requires sacrifices!
Hinata, meanwhile, continued carefully observing the creature.
— These mutants really look a lot like naked mole rats…
She tilted her head slightly.
— They probably have genes from that type of animal… mixed with those of other mutant creatures.
Her gaze followed the movements of the monster's long sensory hairs.
— And if that's really the case…
She seemed to think for a few seconds.
— Then they probably feed on roots… underground plants… or things like that.
She blinked slightly.
— By the way… what do naked mole rats usually eat exactly?
Zerath answered almost immediately:
— Mainly roots and underground tubers.
He looked at the galleries around them.
— Which would explain why these things spend their lives digging.
Then he looked again at the giant mutant in front of them.
— And honestly… the more I look at them, the more I think we were incredibly lucky they're relatively peaceful.
As if to confirm his words—
A low rumble echoed from deep within the mutant.
GROOOOH…
Kert immediately stepped back several paces.
— Yeah actually… let's just keep moving without trying to eat anyone.
Zerath let out a slight sigh before nodding.
— Yes… very good idea.
The three then began to backtrack through the gallery.
But as soon as they turned around—
Another gigantic burrowing creature had already appeared behind them.
The mutant occupied almost the entire tunnel with its immense pale body.
Kert's eyes widened immediately.
— You've got to be kidding me?!
The monster's long whiskers trembled constantly in the darkness as it slowly advanced through the gallery.
Zerath slightly frowned.
These creatures suddenly seemed much more active than before.
They were now appearing in almost every tunnel.
Moving was becoming more and more complicated.
…Is it night on the surface?
The thought briefly crossed his mind.
Even though deep down…
These creatures probably lived so far underground that they no longer even knew the difference between day and night.
Here, only a few things likely mattered: vibrations, hunger, and movement through the tunnels.
Zerath exhaled slowly.
— This seriously complicates things…
At that exact moment—
Kert's stomach growled loudly.
He immediately placed a hand on it with a pained expression.
— On top of that… I'm really extremely hungry…
Hinata was carefully observing the tunnels around them.
— We need to find a way out of here first.
Around the trio, the creatures indeed seemed to be growing more and more agitated.
Their movements were faster.
More numerous.
As if the entire underground colony had suddenly started moving.
Were they searching for food?
Or fleeing something?
Hard to say.
Zerath watched one of the mutants slowly passing in front of them before speaking:
— Do you think… we could climb onto one of them?
Suddenly—
GRRRRROOOOM.
The entire ground shook violently.
Zerath's eyes widened.
— What the—
And immediately—
The creatures around them abruptly changed behavior.
The mutants suddenly began accelerating their movement through the tunnels.
As if they were all trying to burrow even deeper underground.
Hinata understood instantly.
— Grab this quickly!
An emerald mana rope instantly appeared in her hand before she threw it toward Zerath and Kert.
Both of them immediately grabbed it.
Then Hinata quickly tied the other end around her waist before leaping onto the back of one of the gigantic creatures.
BOOM.
The mutant continued moving without even reacting to her presence.
A few seconds later, Zerath and Kert were violently pulled forward by the mana rope while Hinata was already climbing along the monster's body.
Kert panicked immediately.
— Why are we suddenly climbing onto these things now?!
Without answering, Hinata continued climbing the immense creature before finally grabbing onto one of its long sensory hairs.
Then she pulled the other two up to her.
A few moments later—
The three were now perched on the back of the giant mutant.
And the most unsettling part…
Was that the creature did not even seem to notice their presence.
At that scale, they were probably tiny to it.
Hinata looked at the other mutants rushing through the tunnels at high speed.
— They all got agitated at once…
Her expression hardened slightly.
— I think they can sense danger through their sensory receptors.
She slightly turned her head toward the depths of the galleries.
— The creature that was roaring earlier is probably nearby.
Kert swallowed hard.
— So even THESE things are afraid of something…?
Zerath remained silent for a few seconds before answering:
— That's probably true…
Then he looked at the tunnels they were now speeding through.
— But there's another problem.
He frowned.
— This creature has already passed through a huge number of different galleries.
His gaze became more serious.
— Even if we get down now, it will be practically impossible to find our way back.
Kert suddenly realized the scale of the problem.
— Oh crap…
He turned slightly pale.
— We could really end up getting permanently lost at this level…
But Hinata gently shook her head.
— Not necessarily.
She observed the rocky walls around them.
— If these creatures really feed on roots or underground plants…
She placed a hand against the rock.
— Then they will inevitably head toward areas connected to the surface.
She then looked up toward the galleries above them.
— My mana roots will probably be able to detect real tree roots.
She sighed slightly.
— Because honestly… even I'm starting to have trouble figuring out where the surface actually is.
Her gaze swept across the countless tunnels.
— We've changed direction so many times… gone up… down… crossed galleries…
She shook her head.
— Everything is becoming confusing.
Kert blinked.
— Well… gravity should still tell us where up and down are, right?
Hinata nodded slightly.
— Yes. Up is probably still physically above us.
Then she added calmly:
— But that doesn't tell us how far away the surface actually is.
Zerath then spoke more seriously:
— Hinata is right.
He looked at the immense tunnels around them.
— If this colony has been digging for years… or even centuries…
His expression hardened.
— Then some of these galleries could descend to absurd depths.
He then placed a hand against the rock.
— Tree roots are probably the best way to find a coherent direction back to the surface.
Then he looked at the mutants that continued their underground escape.
— Assuming, of course, that we survive long enough to follow them that far…