Chapter 243
“Ahhh…!” I grabbed at the swordsman’s hem, worried that Woo Ragi would collapse.
The swordsman was shaky, but he seed to endure the weight. His knee was barely off the ground. However, unlike when he had easily leapt up with in his arms, I could feel his arm muscles spasming.
“A-Are you okay…?”
“What about you?” Woo Ragi asked, voice filtering through clenched teeth.
“? I’m fine…”
“Then, get off for a mont.” As Woo Ragi said that, he flung onto the floor. I was startled, but I felt he wasn’t intentionally being malicious and, rather, the situation had gotten too difficult for him. So, I awkwardly plopped down on the cold floor, and chased the sounds of Woo Ragi’s movents with my unseeing gaze.
Crash–!
Soon afterwards, it sounded like sothing shattered across the floor. A few pieces of stone that bounced off the fractured floor grazed across my cheek. I flinched, and my shoulders trembled. As soon as I leaned back, sothing that seed like a cold stick touched my back.
“Heeee!” Startled, I turned around. I heard the echoing thrum of a tal plate. I couldn’t be sure because of my blindness, but it felt like Woo Ragi had left one of his echo blades behind .
When I reached out my hand and brushed it with my fingertips, the echo blade retreated slightly. The way it kept away reminded of a magnet.
So, I stopped thinking about trying to touch it and looked straight forward again. I couldn’t even see my surroundings anyway–I might as well focus on the swordsman.
I held my breath and concentrated; the clear sounds penetrated my ears. The sound of sothing tapping and stomping hard on the floor; the lingering sounds of the sword digging deep into the floor. I heard these noises around , both left and right.
Woo Ragi probably, while running in one direction, kept directing his attacks toward the center. Everyti the swordsman attacked, it sounded like glass scraping against glass. However, I’d heard this sound once before, so I could imdiately imagine the scene.
‘The sword struck a shield…’
The tension continued to build.
Clank–!
As ti passed, I beca anxious. It didn’t sound like things were bumping against the walls–it sounded like things were crashing into and breaking the walls.
In particular, whenever that monster used a skill, the sound of glass shattering or tal eting tal erupted. For so reason, it sounded like the swordsman was getting pushed back and pumled into the ground or walls.
Of course, I couldn’t hear any groans from Woo Ragi or anything…But, ominously, his attack rate seed to co slower and slower.
[Mana Drain.]
“Haah…” At that mont, it sounded like Woo Ragi took a deep breath; the echo blade behind suddenly flew away. A long silence followed.
“A-Are you alright?” I asked.
“……”
“Woo Ragi, are you okay?!” I couldn’t resist and yelled towards the last place I could hear any sort of movent. However, no one answered . I couldn’t even hear anything else. I groped and crawled around in that eerie silence.
“W-What is this… Is there no one there?”
At first, I crawled falteringly, but now I began to move with gusto. While it felt like I had moved a fair distance, I ran into nothing. It felt like Woo Ragi and the Monster had disappeared into thin air.
‘Where did the two of them go…? Did I fall into so strange place?’
Even so, I couldn’t possibly just sit in one place. Also, I believed that Woo Ragi, no matter where he disappeared, would co to find . I crawled around a little more…
Sothing round suddenly rolled up to my fingertips and touched it. Because I was blind, I couldn’t see what it exactly was, but I quickly removed my hand reflexively.
I didn’t want to imagine sothing unpleasant, but whatever that thing was…it was so cold. Plus, it felt like there was sothing stringy, and fur-like on the surface… It felt exactly like hair.
“I-It can’t be…” I shook my head and tried to observe it again.
Before I could reach out again, soone’s footsteps approached. That sound–those footsteps–stopped directly in front of . Pierced with fear, I raised my head.
[Were you searching for this?]
The voice’s owner kicked the ’round thing’ towards . As soon as it touched my hand, I clenched my fists and curled my fingers; my body began trembling against my will. “……”
As soon as I was about to say sothing, I rembered Woo Ragi’s reminder to not respond. My breaths ca heavier and heavier as I continued to retreat. However, I soon hit a firm wall.
[Did Ragi tell you not to answer ?]
“……”
That thing, imitating ‘Seo Dawon’s’ voice, asked in an amused tone. I didn’t respond. However, soon, soft fingers touched my cheek. Without hesitation, that ‘thing’ began stroking my face. When I could feel the ring on ‘its’ hand, I firmly shut my eyes.
‘It really feels like Seo Dawon… No, it can’t be….’
[Open your eyes.]
“……”
I clenched my teeth and lowered my head; that ‘thing’ touched my lips as if to make a mockery of . Then, sothing damp touched my lips. I could sll a faint scent of blood–a kiss?
“……”
[I’m not a fake, Lee-kyung-ah.]
That ‘thing’ whispered reproachfully at for not responding. I pushed at him strongly at that mont, but its solid body did not budge one inch. ‘Seo Dawon’ lightly embraced and buried its face into the nape of my neck. It murmured, lips moving against my skin–
[Don’t you find his words suspicious?]
With that said, ‘Seo Dawon’ stroked my lower back. I clenched my teeth and tried to escape his hands, but the more I struggled the more his arms felt like shackles.
Eventually, in my efforts to slip out from its arms, I finally opened my eyes. And, as soon as I opened my eyes, the swarm of black tentacles holding and my body collapsed, as if they were sinking to the bottom of a swamp. Simultaneously, I made eye contact with ‘Seo Dawon’ who only had his head and neck left.
“……!”
I couldn’t even scream and opened my eyes wide with shock as I saw ‘Seo Dawon’ in its current state. ‘Seo Dawon’ smiled insidiously and extended black tentacles towards . Then, those black tentacles slowly began to take on a human form.
Starting from hands and chest–all the way to feet–the tentacles took shape and changed color. Now, it had completely changed into a perfect replica of the Mage I so intimately knew. It then stretched out its newly ford hand towards .
At that mont.
“I told you not to answer it, you idiot.”
Suddenly, I could hear Woo Ragi’s temperantal voice from below; A diagonal line suddenly appeared in ‘Seo Dawon’s’ chest. Still smiling, ‘Seo Dawon’s’ chest was separated from its head.
I was too weary to even scream; I simply looked on with my stiff mouth open, dazed. ‘Seo Dawon’ beca even more grueso after it was cut open.
Startlingly, Woo Ragi, the one who had cut ‘Seo Dawon’ from behind… had nothing above his neck. He still had the stance of an incredibly disciplined swordsman, but, instead of a head, I could see the cross-section of his neck.
Of course, the anatomical details weren’t clearly visible; the edges of his neck were shadowed. Anyway, I couldn’t bear to see such a gory scene.
However, I had no ti to fall into a panic. “What the… Wh… What the hell….”
“Hey, pick up by my throat.”
“What?” I looked towards the direction of his voice. Woo Ragi’s head was near my foot. I stared blankly at his golden hair before, falteringly, lifting his head with both hands. I wasn’t confident enough to look into the swordsman’s face, so I continued to hold it in its backwards state.
Fortunately (?), Woo Ragi’s body, which had finished cutting up ‘Seo Dawon,’ walked over to and picked up his head from my hand. Then, as if he were adorning a crown, he fitted his head onto his neck. I couldn’t bear to look anymore and lowered my eyes.
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TL: D:
The horror is real ya’ll.
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