9 Chapter 9

Yoshi eventually decided after resting to start hunting again. We did not find any of those weird coyotes again, good for them, I was ready for another of these bloodsuckers getting zapped from the inside out.

Since the fight against that coyote I decided to turn off my leech skills and let Yoshi strengthen herself, if she dies, so do I. It's not smart to focus on myself right now.

And then goes Yoshi yet again, using that rolling skill to get our opponents. It has a bit of synergy with the skills I got for Yoshi a while back; The poison thorns act much like a chainsaw, they do something of a laceration all the while poisoning the enemies, oh and the backstab does give a nice bonus damage.

Oh look, we missed the target again. And again. Oh, we missed as well. Noice!

The biggest problem right now is that we can't really see what the hell we are doing while the wheel skill is active.

[You are panting like you're dying, this skill of yours consumes a lot of energy. I think you-]

"SHUT UP."

OH MY, did she really do that? That was uncalled-for!

[Hey! Do have some manners here, you are killing the image I have of elderly people.]

That should do it, a nice and polite confrontation.

"Goddammit, can you shut the fuck up?!"

Gzus, this fucking hag.

[HEY, LISTEN! I-i mean, don't treat me like that, I am being nice to you, do so and reciprocate. Y-You bitch.]

"God, you are pathetic. Perhaps I do am in hell, fuck, if someone deserves this it is just as well be me…"

[Gzus woman, calm down. Why are you so upset about me pointing out the obvious, you are being reckless. And it isn't accidentally.]

"…"

[So? Do I really need to point it out? Do I really need to point the connection you have with whatever happened in your past life and this dumb behavior of yours?]

"You know nothing of me, shut up."

Hm, so it is like that.

[Is it guilt? Tell me Yoshi, what did you do in your past life?]

"FOR FUCK' SAKE, STOP CALLING ME THAT! CAN YOU UNDERSTAND HOW STUPID IT IS TO BE NAMED AFTER A VIDEOGAME CHARACTER?!"

Well, It was bound to happen, now I am more certain she did come from the same timeline I do, or at least something closer to it.

[Yeah, let all this rage out. Scream as loud as you want, no one will hear it, we are speaking through your brain after all. Oh, and sorry for the nickname, you never said your name, perhaps now is a good time for proper introductions.]

" I won't talk about my name, whatever happened up, it is not relevant anymore."

Now she is trying to negate her past, looks like she had some problematic experiences that she tries to avoid.

[You know, when you said about that 4th World War and all that, I wonder what kind of life you lived there. You are far too aggressive to have been just a common historian. Please, do elaborate if you'd like.]

Common, now is your time to speak freely Yoshi, let's hear those nasty memories you have.

"I wasn't just that, I have graduated in it but never did I work on that, the war gave me my true calling."

I have no doubts Yoshi would have been a soldier, every time I had a patient with PTSD they acted like that, aggressiveness is often used to avoid a wounded mind that's filled with terrible experiences.

[I see... I see. So, what kind of work did you do back then? You did say you were a woman, they are not often used on the front lines.]

"You know nothing of wars, when there is need for blood to be spilled it really doesn't matter with which playground you were born with, everyone goes to the meat grinder."

That's the third time she calls that I don't understand a concept she does, probably it is something she believes it can only be understood with first-hand experiences. As time passes, more and more pieces fall together. Yoshi was a soldier or something in between, yet another case of PTSD, my profession does not free me of it even in death, huh.

"After my graduation the war exploded, I wanted to avoid it at first, but I was conscripted anyway. The things I have seen and done makes me deserve all of this."

Guilt.

[So… you are trying to punish yourself right now? Like, all this constant fighting is all about that? When I woke up here, you were fighting already, all the other lizards like you were killed. Not a moment passed after fleeing and you entered yet another fight.]

I see, back then, I thought it was something like a strategy to do a poisonous backstab like Yoshi did against that centipede, but it wasn't the case, this woman is just acting really suicidal.

[So, are you trying to kill yourself out of guilt and regret? I am not against it, but I really don't want to die again.]

I really don't want to, but would really be that bad? After all, I was reincarnated in a parasite with little to no agency…

[You know, all this thing about hell and what not, perhaps you are not wrong. I did remember about a myth on reincarnation where violent people would be reborn in a world of beasts, fighting for life while in there. I think this place is a perfect portrait of that. So, we died and got in a monster body fighting against others. Fuck, I think we may actually be in hell!]

This line of thought just came out of nowhere, yeah, but I do need to stop this behavior. However, absurd as it sounds that actually makes sense… Damn, I don't think I deserve to be in hell, or do I?

Yoshi chuckled at my rising despair on the possibility of eternal suffering. Someone's a sadist, I see.

"Well, now that you have said it, perhaps we are in this forever. Do we get to be reborn here if we die? Who knows! So, the others here are horrible people enjoying damnation as well?"

[Huh, I don't know, maybe?]

And that was all the push needed for my lizard ride to go on a killing spree. Does Yoshi get even more excited on killing stuff because she thinks those monsters are bad people? The hell, who I am stuck with? Hopefully, we don't find some badass one like last time.

And then we found a solitary ant, small and bruised.

[So Yoshi, do you want to kill it? Get revenge on your fallen family?]

"What family are you talking about? You mean the others with the same species as this body? They were killing each other before the ants intervened, they just ended the slaughter by doing the same on a better scale."

Oh.

"I don't have anything against those ants but, certainly, they are not stupid, I have noticed they do in fact they have show strategies while fighting. They are not mindless beasts, they are smart."

So… you will not kill it to avoid bringing attention to us, right-]

Before I finish my sentence, Yoshi readies itself in a curling position and activated her wheel of death skill. We go spinning as fast as we can at the target.

Boom! It was easy.

[Host has slain Hatchling Worker Ant (Formica sapiens – special)]

[Basic Hatchling Worker Ant profile has been unlocked:

A worker ant from a unique ant variant capable of higher level of thinking and social structure. This species quickly makes themselves the dominant species on their biomes because of their higher cunning and intelligence. They always hunt in packs and employ strategies to have a high survivability and success rate.]

Sentient ants were all I needed right now. So, by the theory Yoshi and I are brewing, are those other reincarnated humans in hell? I would not be surprised, but does that mean we have been killing other people all this time as well!

[Yoshi, do tell me, was there a need to kill this ant?]

"Did I have to kill any other beast before this? Yes, I did need, but this was one just out of spite."

[And the reason for such a strong emotion is…?]

I swear I could hear her spitting on the ground and replying with a tone of scorn.

"Because all of this is a fucking slaughterhouse."

[Hm… what?]

The reptile sighs at my ignorance.