Chapter 148: A Bad On Is Usually Right (2)
‘I–I have to move.’
Death had co right up to her face without so much as a proper warning.
Do Ildeul trembled as she tapped the barrier bracelet on her wrist.
An ergency barrier device she had received as a birthday present.
But instead of deploying a shield, a red warning light blinked mockingly.
[Recharge required.]
‘Ah…’
This could not be right.
She had been told that one full charge would last a week.
She had recharged it just three days ago—she was sure of it.
And yet it was dead, displaying nothing but that ssage.
Gurrr?
Thunk?
The monster that had torn open the wall tilted its massive eye toward her, as if curious.
It was judging whether she looked tasty enough, whether she was worth hunting.
“U-ugh…”
Her legs gave out, and she collapsed to the floor.
She needed to run.
She knew that in her head, but her body refused to obey.
‘Why won’t I move?’
As she fell backward, the cracked sink behind her collapsed with a crash.
It hurt—she thought she was bleeding.
But that hardly mattered anymore.
The monster had finally recognized her as prey.
Grrrrrr!
It let out a delighted rumble and opened its mouth wide.
A thick, chaleon-like tongue, rows of shark-like teeth packed densely around its jaws.
Disgusting. Grotesque. Terrifying.
Every possible thought scread through her mind as the creature’s maw, reeking of rot, lunged toward her.
‘Eek!’
She squeezed her eyes shut.
Just as she thought this was the end—
BANG!
A violent crash echoed, and her eyes flew open.
The restroom door crumpled like paper and went flying.
At the sa ti, soone brushed past her.
Slash!
A flash of light.
Do Ildeul blinked in a daze.
The monster’s jaws split cleanly apart, top and bottom, as it reeled backward.
GRAAAAAGH!
A shriek that stabbed her ears.
Dark blue blood sprayed like a fountain, but she did not even flinch.
All her senses were locked onto the man now standing in front of her.
‘This person is…?’
Ryu Jinwoo.
Before relief at being alive could even settle in, the sight before her overwheld her.
His broad back, the defined muscles visible beneath his shirt sleeves.
Black hair damp with sweat, and those blue eyes as he glanced back at her.
‘…No way.’
Was this a dream?
She stared blankly at his back, reality feeling distant—then—
Gurrrk!
The wounded monster’s throat bulged grotesquely.
SPLURCH!
With a wet explosion, it vomited a mass of black liquid.
She barely had ti to think she needed to dodge—
Whoosh!
“…Huh?”
Her body suddenly lifted into the air.
Eyes wide in confusion, she saw Jinwoo’s profile right beside her.
He had scooped her up and leapt aside in an instant.
Sizzle—!
The wall and tiled floor where she had been sitting monts ago were rapidly lting where the monster’s acidic fluid had splashed.
Acrid smoke billowed upward.
‘Ah.’
A chill ran down her spine.
If not for Jinwoo, she would be lting like that floor right now.
The fear hit her late, gripping her heart.
At the sa ti, random chatter she had once heard from her friends surfaced in her mind.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if your favorite hero saved you in a crisis?
Totally. If Stray Cat saved , I could die happy that day.
Then it would defeat the purpose of saving you, idiot.
Back then, she had thought:
If you get saved, you just say thank you—why does it matter who it is?
Now she understood.
The icy terror of almost dying.
The sweet, dizzy illusion that her favorite hero had co just for her.
The two emotions tangled together, short-circuiting her thoughts.
“Are you okay?”
Jinwoo set her down and asked.
Countless words rushed through her head—but—
“Ah…”
Only a small sound escaped her lips.
Jinwoo glanced at the monster, clicked his tongue, and spoke quickly.
“That thing’s tough. Regenerates too. If we keep this up, you might get caught up again like before.”
“Ah, um…”
“So get inside first. Can you stop people from coming this way?”
His firm tone snapped her back to reality.
“Y-yes…! I can!”
“Good. Go.”
CRASH!
He kicked through the nearby wall, creating a passage.
She bowed deeply to him and hurried away.
“P-please be safe! I’ll get help!”
This ti, the words ca out properly.
As Jinwoo turned, about to give a small smile—
WHOOSH!
A whip-like tongue shot out from the monster’s maw.
“Ah—watch out…!”
A horrifying image flashed through her mind.
Was he going to be hurt because of her?
But thankfully, it did not co to that.
Jinwoo casually tilted his head, letting the tongue miss.
Slash!
With an effortless flick of his sword, he severed it—
a motion as natural as swatting an annoying fly.
“Don’t worry about . Go get your brother first. Saul’s in the arcade!”
With that shout, Jinwoo charged back toward the monster.
‘Ah…’
Biting her lip, Do Ildeul ran.
Even in this situation, he told her to look after her brother first.
As she sprinted toward the arcade, one thought echoed in her mind.
She never expected to gain a favorite hero like this.
***
‘That takes care of the civilians, at least.’
By the book, the civilians were evacuated.
All that was left was
and this damn giant reptile bastard.
‘Can’t expect help anyti soon.’
From the noise, it was chaos both above and below.
With a sudden gate spawning a monster capable of climbing buildings, even high-rises were no longer safe.
We were in the middle of downtown, so heroes would be dispatched soon—but it would take at least five minutes.
Until then, it was up to whoever could fight on site.
Including .
“…I ca all this way to rest, and this is what I get. Do we really have to fight? You and ?”
I muttered at the monster.
Of course, it did not understand .
Of course, it attacked anyway.
So much for my little day-off plan.
[Kihihihi! Spin, spin! Round and round!]
The mimic’s nonsense cackled in my head.
I had noticed before—this little bastard seed to enjoy it when I got into fights.
Its laughter was always sharper, shriller.
Did it like watching
suffer or sothing?
‘Seriously…’
Clink.
I adjusted my grip on the sword and fixed my gaze on the enemy.
Its severed jaws and tongue were writhing grotesquely as they regenerated.
‘Grade five, right?’
A mid-tier monster—Venom Crawler.
An upper body reminiscent of a chaleon, a lower body like a giant snake.
Its gums were packed with countless teeth.
It puffed up its cheeks like a toad and spat venom—
naturally corrosive, capable of lting tal.
At least it lacked invisibility, despite its appearance.
Gurk! SPLAT!
It spat again.
Globs of black venom shot toward .
‘Accurate.’
It was a damn good shooter.
Not only targeting my position, but predicting my movent path.
I bounced around like a pinball, dodging the venom.
Sizzle—! Hiss—!
But this was still a restroom—not exactly spacious.
Limited room to maneuver, and pools of venom were forming on the floor.
‘Nasty.’
This thing would keep spitting until I collapsed from exhaustion.
I slid toward an untainted area and ducked behind the half-collapsed wall near the entrance.
Sizzle—!
Venom exploded against the opposite side of the wall the instant I hid.
Concrete lted, releasing acrid smoke.
Through the lting hole, I saw its throat pouch pulsing—
charging the next shot.
‘Let’s test sothing.’
I pulled a dagger from inside my coat.
Focusing, I carefully wrapped it in Pain.
A faint black haze rose from the blade.
‘Exactly one unit.’
“One” was my own rough asure—
an output that would boost stats by about one point if converted directly into pain.
That was all I could layer onto a weapon for now.
Any more and it dispersed.
It was a sha, but considering I couldn’t do even this at first, it was solid progress.
‘Eat this.’
Timing the mont its mouth opened, I threw the dagger through the hole.
Whoosh!
The blade struck dead center in its swollen tongue.
GURRK!
The monster flinched, jaws snapping open.
From the wound, a dark red-black energy seeped in.
Part of the tongue ballooned, then turned black and began to rot.
GREEK!
It extended its tongue, pawing at it frantically, writhing in pain.
That sharp, stinging agony should be lighting up its nerves.
But that was it.
The corruption stopped at the tip.
I had hoped it would spread further, but expecting that much from a mid-tier monster was probably unrealistic.
‘Still—not useless.’
A debuff that hindered regeneration and inflicted pain.
Testing its effectiveness against a mid-tier monster was a gain in itself.
‘Since we’re in a standoff anyway, might as well test more.’
Dodging spit was manageable.
Next, maybe I should aim for an eye or a joint.
I reached for another dagger—
BANG!
“Whoa!”
As if it had read my thoughts, the monster smashed straight through the wall, charging in bodily.
I nearly failed to react.
It was an unexpected shift in tactics.
Through falling debris, its venom-glossed eye locked onto .
Getting stabbed by that cursed dagger must have seriously pissed it off.
A monster that had been content to spit from afar switching to close combat?
Monsters trusted instinct.
Which ant this was actually good news.
My cursed dagger was sothing it deed dangerous enough to eliminate directly.
The problem was—it was inside the building now.
From here on, civilians could get caught again.
So dragging this out was no longer an option.
“If you’d just stayed outside and spat venom, this would’ve been better for both of us.”
I drew my sword again.
The monster crouched low.
Its bulging hind-leg muscles contracted with a cracking sound.
‘Now.’
It launched itself like a cannonball, shattering the floor.
There was nowhere to dodge.
Both sides were blocked, and behind
was a wall with a shattered window.
So there was only one answer.
As its massive jaws lunged for , I stepped forward instead—
and kicked off the ground.
Tap!
My body lifted lightly into the air.
I planted my palm against its forehead, vaulted over its head like a poml horse, and leapt behind it.
Whoosh!
Its massive body swept beneath .
Having missed its target, its charge did not stop.
And at the end of its path—
a wide-open, shattered window.
CRASH!
Glass exploded outward.
The monster’s body flew straight out into the fog-filled air outside.
‘Huh.’
Watching it tumble away, a thought slipped out.
“…Did I get it?”
Just fell out on its own—pretty sweet, right?
The mont that thought crossed my mind, I regretted saying it.
CRACK!
First—because the monster, which had just fallen, drove its hooked claws into the building’s outer wall to stop itself.
And second—
Gurrrk!
Grrrk!
Because the noise it had made smashing through walls and glass had drawn others.
Creatures that had been crawling along the exterior now turned their attention this way.
In the fog, countless pairs of glowing eyes lit up.
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