Horse Thief (5)
"Fuck..."
At the ominous sound from outside, the baron and I rushed out of the tavern. An unreal sight unfolded right before our eyes.
Just minutes ago, when we'd entered the tavern, the abomination had been utterly still, like a corpse, dismantled by the guards. But now, not only had it raised its upper body intact—it was devouring the humans nearby with the chunks of its own flesh dripping down.
Tzuzuz... Splurch
"Gaaah! Help! Get me out—urk!"
Meanwhile.
"E-everyone, fall back for now! Don't shoot arrows either. You might hit our own..."
Caught off guard by the utterly unforeseen, straight-out-of-hell phenomenon, the others could only keep their distance, unable to respond properly.
The desperate pleas for rescue from the humans absorbed by the abomination faded one by one. And the moment those sounds vanished completely...
Crunch... Gurgle... Squish...
With viscous noises, the abomination's severed body parts fully regenerated. And on the newly reformed sections of its body...
Traces of the humans it'd just swallowed appeared everywhere. Hands still clutching swords tightly. Faces twisted in agony. Limbs bent at grotesque angles.
"What in the world..."
As terror rippled through those who'd luckily escaped the abomination, Baron Noden's shout rang out around us.
"All mounted knights, to me!"
He'd already mounted his horse. Following that...
Bwooooo!
As the nearby knights gathered to the baron, the horn from Iron Valley blared once more. The wedge formation of horses and men charged toward the fully restored Orobas abomination.
Forget completely annihilating it for now—they just needed to knock the monster back to the ground and stop it from advancing deeper into the village.
The moment I confirmed Orobas's abomination devouring the humans dismantling it—and using them as nutrients to restore its body—Selene and I dashed into the nearest building.
A structure whose roof was just a bit taller than the abomination.
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
"If I toss a bag of holy water over that monster's head, can you throw a dagger and burst it?"
"Yes."
As we climbed the stairs, Selene nodded confidently at my question. Her assurance boosted my own confidence too.
Bwooooo... Thwack! Crunch!
Then, from outside, the horn blared again, followed by the sound of something being thoroughly crushed. Guessing it was Baron Noden and the knights slicing the abomination's ankles once more, we reached the roof...
But strangely, Orobas's abomination stood perfectly fine. Instead, down below...
A scene utterly unlike my expectations unfolded.
Starting with horse and human corpses plastered to the ground like rice cakes pounded in a mortar.
"Cough—ptuh..."
Baron Noden, vomiting blood from his horse, his right arm—the one holding the lance—severed.
"Quick, stop the baron's arm from bleeding! Retreat to the castle for now!"
And the few knights leading his horse in his stead.
Unlike the first clash, the knights' wedge formation lay shattered—beyond broken, in a state where combat seemed impossible. I froze for a moment at the sight.
"Selene, get ready!"
I gripped a bag full of holy water, preparing to throw. Soon after, confirming Selene draw a dagger from her waist and nod to me...
"Hup—"
I swung my arm wide, hurling the bag toward the top of the abomination's head.
'Please work.'
Hoping the holy water would deal at least some damage to the abomination, I stared at the bag arcing through the air for about two seconds. Just as it reached the half-rotted horse head...
Whoosh!
A sharp whoosh of wind came from Selene beside me.
Splurt!
The dagger shot in a straight line, slicing—no, bursting—the bag clean open.
Right after.
Just like a water balloon exploding in midair, the holy water sprayed everywhere, cascading down onto the abomination's head—which was still distracted by the knights.
The stuff supposedly blessed by the archbishop himself was about to drench the horse head completely when...
"Kieeeek!"
One of the faces embedded in its shoulder snapped its eyes open and screamed. Reacting to that, the abomination's massive body tilted left, sending the holy water splashing onto its shoulder instead.
Right onto the screaming face.
Drip-drip... Sizzle!
"Grroooaaargh!!"
The moment the holy water hit the rotten flesh, the abomination thrashed in agony, bellowing. White smoke rose from its shoulder as the flesh and muscle, bound by unholy power, melted away.
"That's it!"
I couldn't help but cheer at the sight of the holy water working perfectly. That's when...
Its rotten, glaring eyes met mine.
"Selene, jump!"
...
The moment our eyes locked, Orobas's abomination swung its foreleg, smashing the roof of our building. Using that as the cue, Selene and I leaped to the next rooftop.
Thus began a deadly game of tag between the abomination staking its life and us.
Splurt! Slash—sizzle!
Would the holy water from the bags I threw and Selene burst melt the abomination away first? Or...
Boom!
Would we get crushed under its foreleg and burst first?
Leaping between buildings like that, we inflicted damage on the abomination with holy water several times. Luckily, its melted body parts still hadn't regenerated thanks to the holy water.
But then, one—no, two problems hit us.
First, there were no other buildings near the one we'd just landed on.
"This is the last one..."
And second, we had only one bag of holy water left.
The next instant.
"I'll draw its attention from below, so try to hit its head as best you can."
With those words, Selene leaped down from the building before I could stop her.
"W-wait—"
Stunned by her jump from at least five meters up, I rushed to the roof's edge. Meanwhile...
Tap—she landed lightly like a feather and drew two daggers from behind her waist. Unlike the ones she'd thrown before, these were longer, with blades curved like crescent moons.
She kicked off the ground, charging toward the abomination ten meters away. As the distance closed rapidly...
The long-reaching abomination stretched its leg to trample her first. If it hit, instant death was certain. Its power would crush her beyond recognition.
But...
Bam!
Selene dodged with movements even swifter and more fluid than when she'd faced the bandits days ago. Her motion was like a stream flowing around a massive rock in its path.
Except this stream carried lethal destructive power incomparable to mere soft water.
Slash!
As shards flew from the impact, Selene's twin daggers deeply slashed the abomination's ankle. Sizzle—white smoke billowed from the cut surface too.
Proof that the effect from soaking in the church's holy font lingered.
But then...
"Groooar!"
The abomination, staggering from yet another ankle wound, roared in fury and...
Crunch!
Slammed its foreleg onto the roof of the building right beside it, collapsing it toward the street. Straight toward Selene's head as she swung her daggers for another strike.
After the first encounter, Selene had gauged Orobas's abomination's speed through observation. That's why, after her close dodge and initial strike, she aimed to inflict damage on the opposite side of its ankle, maximizing her time.
But...
Crunch!
"Dodge!"
The ominous crash from above and Eugene's urgent shout warned her. She had to evade now.
She hurriedly shifted her stance, throwing herself into the abomination's blind spot.
Rumble!
But the adjacent building collapsed first with a thunderous roar. Massive stones, wooden beams, and countless debris rained down on her.
"Ngh!"
Staggering from the blast of wind and debris storm, Selene barely kept her balance, struggling to escape the wave of wreckage.
Her desperate effort paid off, pulling her just out of the collapse's range when...
Thud!
"Guh—"
A flying rock from the dust cloud struck the back of her head. Her body went limp, collapsing to the ground.
Rumble... The debris wave then buried her legs and hips.
As the impact nudged her body slightly, a sinister shadow loomed in her shaking vision.
'We just got married, and I haven't even properly done romance or love... or our wedding night...'
Staring at the abomination's massive foreleg poised to smash her—the grotesque fist that had already claimed many lives—regret and longing welled in Selene's teary eyes.
At that moment, into her muffled ears came Eugene's voice—the man she hadn't yet called husband.
"Hey! You horse-head bastard!"