It was a whole swarm of giant bats. Their eyes were closed, and their black wings wrapped around their upside-down bodies.
At the same time, many Human-Raising Beasts Papu crawled over them like ants, clinging to the giant bats' fur with all four limbs.
The Human-Raising Beasts Papu stretched their long tongues into the holes they had made in the bats' heads, greedily sucking away. Now and then, arcs of electricity flashed in the darkness.
The giant bats, meanwhile, were immersed in the pleasure the Human-Raising Beasts Papu brought them.
Gelman and the others had already come this close, yet the bats showed no reaction.
But although the giant bats were unresponsive, that didn't mean the Human-Raising Beasts Papu were.
They were exceptionally good at avoiding danger, and their long lives in dark caves had also made them keen and nimble even in pitch-black conditions.
The Human-Raising Beasts Papu noticed Gelman and the others. Instinctively sensing danger, they all pulled their tongues out of the holes in the bats' heads.
For a moment, wet popping sounds rang out.
Before their eyes, the holes closed as flesh writhed, leaving behind raised lumps of bloodied tissue.
Without the continued effects of "Fatal Pleasure," the giant bats soon began waking up one after another.
Guided by the tongues of the Human-Raising Beasts Papu, they quickly understood what had happened.
Uninvited guests had entered the cave again, and the giant bats were the guards tasked with subduing and capturing them, so they, too, could be corrupted.
Their reward, of course, was the "Fatal Pleasure" of the Human-Raising Beasts Papu.
One after another, they spread their wings while still hanging upside down and let out shrill cries.
Everyone had to cover their ears to feel even slightly better, but their eardrums still ached.
Gelman was