Catgirls And Dungeons (Yuri)

Second by second, the feeling deepens.

Heavy.

Crushing.

And wrong.

It's like invisible chains winding around my chest—cold, unrelenting, tightening with every breath. My heart races, each beat louder than the last, like it's trying to warn me—to run, to hide.

It's like…

There's something watching me.

And it will be coming for me.

"E-Eris…" My voice is barely a whisper, so thin it almost gets lost in the wind. "C-Can you feel it too? There's something down there… something terrifying."

"Hmmm…"

Eris narrows her eyes, her gaze sharpening as she activates her mana sense. Her aura flares gently, almost invisible unless you know what to look for. She's scanning, searching the terrain below with the precision of a seasoned adventurer.

But then…

She exhales softly and shakes her head.

"No," Eris murmurs. "I'm not sensing anything. Nothing out of the ordinary."

My breath catches. What?

"Could it be…" she pauses, glancing over her shoulder at me with a little concern. "You're just exhausted? We've been going nonstop since this morning, and you barely got any rest."

I bite my lip.

She could be right. My body is tired. My mind foggy from the lack of sleep.

Still…

This fear isn't something that comes from exhaustion.

It's primal.

It's real.

But—

If Eris can't feel it…

And she's A-rank, with sharper senses, stronger mana, and more experience than me…

Then…

Maybe I'm wrong?

Maybe I'm imagining it?

"…Nn." I nod quietly. "Let's just go."

"Alright," she says with a small smile. "Inky, let's move on."

Inky lets out a soft rumble and moves forward, his wings spreading wide.

But the very instant we move—

"URRGHHH!!!"

I double over.

Goosebumps all over my body now.

HOLY FUCK.

It hits me like a tidal wave.

The dread.

The force.

It's no longer just a sensation—it's real. Crushing down on me like a mountain of invisible weight, wrapping around my heart, digging its claws into my soul. My chest tightens so sharply it feels like I'm suffocating.

I gasp, clutching Eris's waist with both arms, burying my face into her back as my whole body trembles violently.

My vision blurs. My lungs forget how to breathe.

It feels like something is reaching up from the earth itself—grabbing me, pulling me, dragging me down into the abyss.

"Eris—!" I choke out, clinging to her with all my strength. "Something's… down there! It's pulling me! I'm very sure!!!"

Instantly, Eris reacts.

"Inky. Stop."

Inky hovers mid-air, his wings flapping slowly, stirring the icy wind beneath us.

The pressure lingers for a moment—thick, suffocating, pressing down like a stormcloud about to burst.

Then, just as suddenly as it came, it fades.

Gone.

Like the remnants of a nightmare, vanishing the moment you open your eyes, yet leaving your heart pounding in its wake.

I collapse against Eris, trembling, gasping for breath. Cold sweat trails down my back, soaking into my clothes despite the chill.

"E-Eris…" I whisper, my voice barely audible, cracked and raw. "I'm not imagining it. I swear. It's there!"

For a few seconds, she doesn't say anything.

She just watches me, really watches me. Her sharp eyes searching my face, reading the tremble in my arms, the stiffness of my tail, the panic in my breath.

Then she nods, once.

"I still don't feel it," she says quietly, her voice steady. "But if it's hitting you this hard… we're going to check it out."

My eyes widen. "I-Is that okay?"

"Yeah," she says with a reassuring squeeze of my hand. "We're not in a rush anyways. And besides, it doesn't hurt just to check, right? And if something is down there…" her voice turns serious. "I'd rather deal with it now."

"Nn…" I nod, still shaking.

"Felicia," Eris then adds, turning slightly toward me. "Let me know the second the feeling gets worse. Okay?"

"Okay…"

With that, Inky begins to descend.

His wings tilt slightly, and we drift downward in slow, smooth arcs, gliding on the cold wind. The sky is still painted with streaks of shimmering aurora, dancing above us like celestial silk. Beneath us, the snowy terrain gleams softly, untouched and silent.

Peaceful.

Deceptively peaceful.

From this height, nothing looks unusual—just another quiet corner of the Vanessa Dungeon. Serene. Still.

But the lower we go…

The feeling returns.

It presses in from all sides—thick and heavy, like walking into a room filled with smoke you can't see, but feel seeping into your lungs. Each second, it sharpens. The air turns heavier. The dread curls around my chest, dragging its claws down my spine.

It's worse than before.

Like tar trying to crawl under my skin.

My breathing shortens. My heart stutters in its rhythm. I can't keep still.

I squeeze Eris's hand tighter.

She squeezes back.

"I'm here," she whispers. "I'll keep you safe, no matter what happens."

Her voice is calm. Confident. An anchor in this storm of fear.

I cling to it.

Tightly.

Right…

Eris is strong.

There's no need to fear…

There's no need to be afraid of anything!

Because nothing can possibly harm me anymore, as long as Eris is here!

And somehow, that thought alone steadies me. The fear doesn't vanish, but it dulls, turns from a scream into a low hum, something I can endure.

My heartbeat starts to calm.

Little by little.

Together, we descend past the tree line, down toward a flat, snow-covered clearing nestled at the base of the mountain. The trees surrounding it are crooked, their dark limbs arching like twisted fingers. Wind blows softly across the white field, rustling the branches.

From the outside, it looks harmless.

No movement.

No sounds.

Just untouched snow and scattered stones.

But I feel it.

Every part of me feels it.

This place is wrong.

Every instinct screams—It's here.

Something is here.

Eris doesn't hesitate. She leaps down from Inky's back, landing in the snow with silent, effortless grace. Her boots sink just slightly into the powder as she straightens.

Inky follows, his massive wings folding neatly against his sides as he settles just behind Eris.

We then stand together, Eris is on her feet, while I'm still sitting on Inky. We stare, at the edge of a silent, snowy clearing. The trees around us creak faintly in the cold breeze, their skeletal branches rattling like bones. The air is still—too still.

And then—

"Monsters," Eris whispers.

My breath catches, my head whipping around to look for enemies.

But, I see nothing.

However, just when I'm about to open my mouth and ask Eris…

The snow rustles.

At first, it's just a soft sound, like wind brushing through leaves. But then—

Shapes begin to emerge from the dark, pulling themselves slowly out of hidden burrows beneath the snow.

And from the darkness around us…

Eyes.

Thousands of them.

Crimson red.

Flaring open all at once, like dying embers reigniting in the shadows. They stare, unblinking, hungry, soulless.

The first one appears into the light, then the second. Then a third.

And soon, an army.

White-furred spiders. Each one bigger than a car, more than two meters tall, three meters wide, their swollen abdomens covered in jagged ice crystals. Their legs move in twitching, unnatural rhythms, scraping against the snow and rock with a sickening chit-chit-chit.

Their mandibles twitch and clack, producing a sound like cracking glass. Drool sizzles as it hits the snow, melting holes in it with acidic hisssss.

Eris and I both shiver.

Yeah…

Of course we don't like spiders.

"Vanessa Ice Spiders," Eris mutters, tightening her stance. "They're nocturnal. Very active in this region once the sun goes down. Rank C."

I nod shakily, gripping onto Inky.

"Felicia, are these what you were sensing earlier?" Eris asks.

However, even though those guy look intimidating indeed, I'm not very sure if the source of my feeling early is coming from them.

"I-I'm not sure, Eris." I mutter.

"Hmmm…"

Neither of us have time to say more.

Because the spiders begin to move.

Clicking. Crawling. Encircling.

Dozens of them. Then hundreds.

They surround us in a shifting, chittering circle of fur and fangs and ice. Their bodies press in closer and closer, legs digging into the snow, building tension like the calm before a lightning strike.

My gut clenches.

I feel sick.

Then Eris's voice breaks through.

"Well, there's only one way to find out!"

She thrusts out her hand—

WHOOSH!

A halberd of pure darkness forms in her grip, materializing in a blast of shadow and cold air. The weapon crackles with energy, its blade long and wicked, glinting faintly with violet edges.

"Inky! Protect Felicia!"

FWOOOOMM!!!

Inky lifts off in a single, thunderous flap of his wings, snow and ice blasting outward in a windstorm.

Webs launch toward me.

Those spiders really don't want me to go!

But—

FWOOOSH!!

A gust from Inky's wings shreds them mid-air, dispersing the sticky threads before they can even come close.

Now I'm high above—safe on Inky's back.

But Eris… she's alone down there.

"ERIS!!!" I cry out, heart hammering.

"Don't worry!" she shouts, her voice confident. "I got it!"

Moment she says that, she disappears.

A blink.

A blur.

She reappears beside the nearest spider, halberd already mid-swing.

And then—

SLASHHHH!

The blade slices clean through the creature's body at a diagonal, severing it in two.

PWOOOSSSHH!!

A burst of dark, steaming blood explodes from the wound—splattering across the snow like spilled oil.

Eris flips back mid-air, just narrowly avoiding the splash.

"Tch… That's why I hate spiders!" she mutters, grimacing.

I gag, covering my nose, my face too is filled with disgust.

Gods, it stinks—like rotting meat and sulfur boiled together.

Anyways, one down.

Hundreds more to go!

The remaining spiders don't even flinch at the sight of their friend being murdered.

They charge.

And thus, Eris, once again, begins her massacre of another entire monster population.