Transmigrated into a reversed world

Greed cried out to announce their arrival before landing outside the green cactus forest.

Viktor who had nodded off at some point in the movie, stirred at Greed's loud cry.

He rubbed his eyes and turned off the movie before getting on his feet. A sudden flash of green broke through the colourless land, catching Viktor off guard.

"We're here, let's go." Zane urged as he jumped out of Greed's body, landing smoothly on the gritty sand.

Viktor snapped out of his daze and came down, as soon as he did, Greed shifted to his human form.

Viktor was too focused on the green cactus to even glance at Greed, "Is there any other colourful thing around here? My eyes were already growing dull." His voice was hopeful.

It felt like an old black-and-white film—this green cactus was like a breath of fresh air.

"it's only this place," Zane responded while sidestepping Greed's hug.

"Master… don't you miss me?! After all we have been through together. Scumbag." Greed, called out in a sad melodramatic tone, making Zane break out in goosebumps.

"Speak normal! Where did you even learn to speak this way? Ugh." Zane's tone was raised, his face scrunched up in disgust.

If Greed didn't have the crystal embedded into his forehead, he might have thought he was switched by someone.

"Master…how could you? We fought—" Greed's words were caught off by Zane's hard knock on his forehead.

Viktor watched from the side and covered his mouth to stifle a laugh—he had a feeling Greed was imitating one of those overly dramatic heartbreak scenes. 'Damn, but his voice was golden—high-pitched like those male actors with broken hearts.'

"Ow! Master, you don't care about me anymore, no food, no snacks like before, do you have a woman outside!" Greed wailed.

Zane cringed and rubbed his arms—Greed's words and expression made it feel like he'd just been caught cheating.

"Ahahaha…I can't take it. Hahaha.'' Viktor bent over and laughed wildly and without care.

"No watching movies in your life," Zane muttered through gritted teeth, jabbing a finger on Greed's forehead.

Zane flushed in embarrassment for having such disgraceful beast, and Viktor's laughter wasn't helping matters.

"Let's go in." He said with a snort, ignoring Greed's confused and sad expression.

Viktor hummed, wiping his tears as he followed the fuming Zane into the cactus forest, with Greed tagging along.

After a while, Viktor's eyes were growing numb from seeing the same green cactus.

"I don't see any monsters around. Do they have a specific spot?" Viktor asked, his tone openly curious. The eerie calm made him doubt if any monsters were here at all—especially after yesterday's sudden attacks.

"They're deeper in… if they still exist," Zane muttered under his breath. He tore open a snack wrapper, grabbed a handful, and began munching as they walked—his ears alert for the faintest sound.

Viktor nodded, fiddling with his bracelet to pass the time. He popped a candy into his mouth, crushed the hard shell, and sucked on the sugary remains absentmindedly.

Greed wore a happy smile, his mouth busy chewing non-stop since Viktor handed him several bags of snacks. He now ranked Viktor as his second-favourite person—right after his master, who clearly didn't love him anymore.

Twenty minutes passed before a clearing when Zane and Greed felt the sudden shift in the air. Viktor didn't notice on time and had to be pulled by Zane to the side.

Bang!

The loud sound startled Viktor, and he looked to where he was standing a moment ago to see a gaping hole through the cactus, and slimy, web-like things dripping from the edge.

Viktor swallowed hard; if that attack touched him, he might be dead by now, and his heart thundered in his chest.

"Thank you.'' Viktor's tone trembled slightly, gratitude clear in his tone as he turned to where the attack came from.

Goosebumps broke out across his skin as he stared in disgust at the spider-like creature, thick web-like liquid dripping from its jaws.

A wave of something rotten, oozed out of the monster as it closed its mouth to form another web.

''What is that? So disgusting.'' Though he was not a clean freak, he couldn't stand the sight of the monster, feeling his eyes were tainted.

''Licks, their webs are erosive, but they make good quality clothes,'' Zane responded, his gaze glancing around for signs of another lick; they usually attack in threes.

And it didn't take long before they heard a cactus falling to the ground, they both turned to see two more licks creeping out.

Viktor didn't have the leisure to dwell on Zane's words. He activated a mechanism in his shoe, releasing a dagger, then slipped on his knuckle ring.

"What's their weak point,'' Viktor asked in a serious tone, his eyes turned sharp as he assessed the licks surrounding them.

''Their skin is hard, strike as soon as they open their mouth,'' Zane said as he unsheathed his sword.

Viktor gave a low hum, eyes locked on the nearest lick. Greed glanced at the third one, claws sliding from one hand while he casually munched snacks with the other.

He wasn't the least bit pressured—he could handle all three alone, but since his master and Viktor seemed eager, he left them to it.

If Viktor had heard Greed's thought he would have wrung him by the neck and asked which eyes of his saw he was interested in facing the monster.

The licks cried out, making ticking sounds as they lunged,  the ball of webs already formed in their mouths.

Zane swung his sword, slicing the web in half. The blade slid free, releasing a potent, rotten stench into the air.

He frowned at the gooey residue on his sword, noting how the nicks along the edge had deepened into cracks. 'I'll just buy another one when I get back,' he told himself, forcing his gaze away.

On Viktor's side, he barely dodged the web, the edges of his pants scorched black.

Viktor held his breath from the smell and eyed the lick cautiously, inching closer and waiting for the right time it would open his mouth.

Greed had crushed the skull of the lick with one punch, frowning at the blood on his fingers, so he walked off to find the stream.

Viktor noticed Greed from the corner of his eyes and was stunned to see him leaving; he was about to call out when he noticed there was one less lick.

A wave of envy crashed through his heart, wondering how Zane trained his beast to become so powerful while Pain remained above average.

"Wake up! Now's not the time to nap—look at your kind helping his master while you sleep on my wrist!" Viktor snapped, shaking his arm to toss Pain off, his eyes locked on the monster.

Pain jolted awake, wrapping his tail tightly around Viktor's wrist to keep from falling.

"Hiss…master!'' he hissed out in annoyance that he was woken up so abruptly, but he froze when he saw the monster in front.

Swallowing his complaints, Pain shook off the drowsiness, slipped from Viktor's hand, and quickly shifted into his larger form.

"Master, what should I do?" Pain asked, slip

ping into fight mode. He assumed Viktor needed help—that's why he'd been woken.

Viktor rolled his eyes at Pain, then dashed toward the lick, seeing its mouth was slightly open.