"Father?... Father…?"

It was still okay. It was still fine.

She knew he was here. She knew he went this way.

She would never forget his fragrance. She could never forget his fragrance.

He couldn't be that far away. Maybe behind this tree? Maybe behind this boulder?

He shouldn't be that far away. A few more steps to the right, and the smell grew stronger. A few more to the left, and she knew it wasn't the right path anymore, so she returned and tried again.

It was still okay. It was still fine. Father wasn't that far away. They just needed to cover more ground, and they'll eventually tumble upon him.

"Father?... Father…?"

Maybe he was sleeping? That would explain why he never answered.

Maybe he was too far away? That would explain why he never heard her and the sisters.

So she needed to shoot louder, but her vocal cord were never meant to pronounce word in the first place.

So she needed to explore more land, but the family wasn't growing in number anymore.

Its members were still as desperate as ever. They were still looking for this shining hope that awaited them at the end of an endless road.

But it was still okay. But it was still fine. They'll find him again, soon enough, and the family will be saved from the horrible deeds that this world prepared for their kin.

After all, they weren't welcomed anywhere. People chased them, hunted them, and murdered them.

She responded in the same way. She chased after the humans, she hunted the humans, and murdered them. Then she turned their wasted corpse into food to nourish her younger sisters and brothers.

They need to survive another day, so maybe they'll find the final say of their struggle.

They need to survive just a bit longer, and maybe they'll finally stop worrying about those death-thirsty adventurers who were seeking nothing but the destruction of everything else.

They need to be avoided. Or better… They need to be annihilated first.

"Sister… S'stri?"

A kin similar to S'stri, familiar to her, gently approached her, probably feeling the distress she was feeling here and now.

"We will… Meet again… Mother said… Destiny…"

"… Yes… We will…"

The two sisters were comforting each other, trying their best to dissipate this lingering anxiety that was blocked in their heart.

"Father… Was here…"

"… Yes… He was…"

The smell of the king of the spiders was just too strong in this place, it was unthinkable that he didn't spend a few days in this forest. Maybe to sleep? Maybe to eat? Maybe to rest?

They had no way to determine the scenario that unfolded here. Actually, they didn't even had the idea or the time for it.

The moment they walked inside this forest, they were simultaneously attacked by some sort of greenish floating balls, accompanied by strange fleeing leaves. The most surprising fact was their aggressive state, their very hostile actions. It wasn't natural, but provoked.

Father was behind this, S'stri knew she couldn't be wrong on this point.

So they did what needed to be done. They finished the work, and devoured the residents of the forest.

At some point, they met a gigantic and fat tree, full of vitality and of sap. The best meal to feed a horde of spiders.

They feasted on the damaged treants, on the immobile trees, on the dispirited wisps, on the panicking wind spirits. Slowly but surely, they infested the whole forest, and were eating and eating everything they could find in there.

It was good, but it wasn't sufficient. One day, it would run dry, and S'stri will have to relocate again. How did Mother even manage to feed the family for all this time? If only she could ask for guidance. But she was alone. She was alone in leading the family toward a better future, toward their beloved Father.

So they went and followed the smell, arrived in this forest, and now she is waiting for good news, for someone to come and announce that he saw the path their Father took.

Why did he leave the nest? Was he unsatisfied? Or is it a kind of pilgrimage? A challenge they must undertake to achieve greater heights? S'stri had no idea, but still guessed that she needed to follow after Father. She knew she was right, there were no other possible right answer here.

Or is there?...

"Sister… Sister S'stri?"

A kind voice pulled her out of her unstoppable train of thoughts. It was another younger sister, petite and cute like a child, holding something strange and smelly in her hand.

"What… Is it?"

"I found… this… Over… There."

She directed her finger toward what she described as the latest known position of their Father. The latest known place where he set his foot.

"Did you… Find him?"

"No, sister… But I… Found… This."

She showed her hands. They were empty, or so anyone would thought. In truth, they were soaked in a strange substance. It smelled familiar, it smelled strong, it was…

"Father's…. Blood…?"

Undoubtedly, it was his blood that soaked the ground. Why was he bleeding? Did he fight something stronger than him? Is he… Hurt? Wounded?

This was terrible news, dire news. Father was first lost, then wounded.

They need to find him, quickly. They need to find him, in the most urgent period of time.

They must rush, they must double their effort.

S'stri thought that crossing the mountain in a wounded state would probably a bad idea, that meant… Father must have went toward the easiest, closest and most rewarding path.

Father surely went toward the human settlements and castles draped in blue.

And here it is, the final line of Volume 2.

Hope you guys enjoyed the story so far.

Now, for the afterword... Well, what else can I say, but thank you again, readers!

Let's take a quick glance at the new numbers :

143 Followers

132 Favourites

63,087 Views

And no less than... 101 Reviews !

That's... That's really awesome! We actually managed to more than double those numbers, since the previous volume!

Now, after looking at certain reviews, I'm going to do my best to answer some of the remaining questions :

- Concerning the [Ring of Hunger] or [Ring of Sustenance], it's true that it would have solved a lot of problems, mainly Netere's permanent state of starvation. I first thought about going with the setting that it was a rare item, and thus making his drop-rate low or something. But I remembered that, somewhere in the first chapters of the first volume, it was mentioned that Netere sold most of his items and gears, just to see how much gold it was worth in the end. For me, both are good reasons for not giving him the ring from start. Don't pry too much on this subject, the point of this story is to make a monster-type player (one without Ainz's mental immunity cheat) live some "fun" adventures. But please, do know that I'm open for any suggestions about this.

- Someone seems to wonder why Netere would run away from an empire of monsters constantly craving for flesh. Even if they did, one way or another, proved their loyalty, Netere still has a human mind, and will probably never be able to acknowledge himself as a full-fledged monster like S'stri. He still sees and thinks like a human would. Plus, the recent carnage he did did have a serious impact on him. He now regrets a lots of things, and decided to run away just like that.

- OH SHIT A PERVERT! Bring me the lolis to lure him away before it's too late!

- And now the last one... Yeah, I probably did fail to validate the codes of a good prologue, didn't I? Makes me wonder if I should start rewriting some pages... I probably should... I'll consider this in a distant future.

Once again, that's all folks for this time. Have a nice day!