Slap, Slap. Hmm. What Could It Be?
Slap, slap. Hmm. What was that?
My mind was all fuzzy, and I just wanted to keep lying there, but the juicy smacking sounds coming from somewhere were seriously annoying. Plus, both my cheeks felt stinging.
"Ugh…."
My brain kept ordering me to stay down, but with the sounds picking up speed and my cheeks burning more and more, I had no choice but to push my upper body up. Only then did I figure out the source of the noise.
The Lesser Outer God had tears welling in her eyes and was slapping my cheeks with both hands like they were drums, going at it with total devotion.
Oh. Right. I'd definitely been attacked by the Gardener….
"Aaaagh."
The moment blood started circulating through my body, a dull ache spread across my entire frame. It hurt so bad I checked for wounds, but there wasn't a single external injury. It'd felt like there was a hole punched right through my gut, though? It was just like a game character—no visible damage no matter how much HP got chipped away, only dropping dead once it hit zero.
At least there should've been bruises or something, but with zero marks left behind, that seemed to be the mechanism. Ha, so Super Coward Mode censors even this stuff, huh? If that's the case, maybe my condition could be called "full HP" in game terms.
It wasn't even a direct hit from a Common Outer God—just some mob attack—and I took this much damage. Goosebumps. If a higher-rank Observer turned hostile on us….
Just imagining it made my head spin, so I shook it off quick. Anyway, I'd gained something from this. Thanks to Super Coward Mode, mental fear was manageable, but the physical gap between me and the enemy was another story. I'd gotten pummeled and blacked out for a split second, but now I had solid confirmation on what I'd only suspected. Valuable experience… I guess?
Slap, slap, slap.
"…I'm awake now. You can stop."
I stopped the Lesser Outer God who was still whacking my cheeks, and she pouted and lunged at me, so I soothed her for now. Somehow, her slaps stung more than the Gardener's hits. If I looked in a mirror right now, would there be cute little handprints from the Lesser Outer God?
No time for adorable fantasies like that—the flower things that had ambushed me earlier were closing in. I glanced around; luckily, there were still gaps to escape through.
"Buddy, which way to run?"
But she just kept pointing at the Gardener. What was her deal, stubbornly directing me there? She wouldn't have slapped me awake on the brink of death if she wanted me dead, right?
"Got it, that's how it is, huh?"
Whatever she meant, one thing was clear: I couldn't do this solo. Was it Super Coward Mode? The pain was fleeting. No real agony meant I could bolt in the opposite direction from where the Lesser Outer God was pointing.
Still, was Mu Yeon really okay? I started getting worried.
Squelch, squelch, squelch. Something unpleasant like flesh being crushed echoed rhythmically.
At the center was Mu Yeon, sprinting ahead without looking back. The floor was littered with what used to be knights, shriveled up like saplings drained by plants—she kept her eyes shut to avoid seeing them, stepping right on the corpses.
'Sorry, sorry!'
Even in a place this terrifying, he'd taken the lead for her sake, with what seemed like genuine intent to help. Why was someone so kind labeled a criminal? There had to be some mix-up, right?
'No, no!'
Criminals were guilty by definition, and this one had lusted after an Outer God and assaulted it. An unforgivable crime in Rondan. That's what she had to believe. Otherwise….
As stray thoughts crept in, Mu Yeon finally reached the main gate. She grinned and charged, grabbing the door with both hands. But no matter how hard she pushed, it wouldn't budge, and her anxiety spiked.
"Open, open up…! Why won't you open?"
After shoving futilely for a while, she spotted where the gate met the fence and despaired.
"Ahh, no…."
Tough-looking vines were coiled thickly around the spot, like they were blocking escape on purpose. Mu Yeon had never learned or heard of the Gardener trapping people like this. The most likely reason….
Images of Tantun wrapped in tendrils and dying cruelly flooded her mind. She collapsed in place, terror overwhelming her. Once he was gone, she'd be next. 'No, no…!'
Death itself didn't scare her. The process did. To die pathetically here, unable to conquer even her fear…. Desperate to face nothing, Mu Yeon curled up, plugging her ears.
Then it happened. Something gripped her ankle.
Terror maxed out; her brain spun like it might burst. Her eyes shook wildly, body trembling on instinct. Reason screamed not to look, instinct demanded confirmation—the clash slowly turned her head.
'No, don't move.'
Prayers did nothing; her body moved on its own, like massive magic forced her head around. Finally, she saw behind her.
"…Kyaaaaaaaack!"
A guttural scream ripped from her throat. The scattered corpses lurched toward her en masse. The ones she'd trampled while running bore the imprints, grinning creepily as they shambled closer. One clutched her ankle.
She kicked with her free foot, but even headless, it held fast—mocking her, bracing with both hands. Then her other foot got snared by a crawling corpse, freezing her like ice in her veins.
Fear consumed her.
"No, stay away…."
Pale and frantic, she shook her head at the corpses clinging obsessively to her legs, but no one listened.
"Kuhahaha! So this is your end!"
A voice boomed from nowhere. Mu Yeon whipped around in panic, tracing it to the corpse on her leg. It warped into a knight's form.
"Scared of even a mere Common Outer God, you let the criminal who helped you die?"
"N-No, that's not… I just…."
"Hahaha! Look at her making excuses—what kind of knight is this?!"
Cacklecackle! Skeletons clattered jaws, bony hands clutching bellies in hysterics. Breathless laughter amplified her dread.
"Your father, the Martial God, croaked on that snowy expedition—bet he's wailing underground, buried in snow!"
"D-Dad…."
"Inheriting his blood, yet instead of glorious Outer God hunts, you're playing the fool? What're you doing, you brat?!"
This was a mental assault. She couldn't keep listening. She knew that, but words stabbing her pride were impossible to ignore—human nature.
Mu Yeon plugged her ears to block them, but the voices gnawed at her mind.
"Your father did it all for you…."
"Smearing the name of the strongest knight…."
"You're a powerless child…."
"Cowering at this? What a coward…."
Voices swirled chaotically. Barely holding on, slick with cold sweat, Mu Yeon fought to steady herself. Breathing ragged, corpses yanked her legs relentlessly. Then, like a final punctuation:
"You're not even a hair's breadth of your old man! Useless runt!"
"Aaaaaagh!"
The words broke her; she clawed her hair, venting stress. That's when—crack!
"Ah, ahh…."
The amulet she'd carried shattered, pieces scattering. It had held once against the mental attack, then failed.
Suddenly, the corpses' voices cut off. As Mu Yeon lifted her face toward them, shock stole her breath.
They stared at the torn amulet, then at her blankly.
"…It's torn."
"Torn."
"It's torn, huh."
One crawled up her leg, gripped her chin with one hand.
"Now that it's gone."
We'll finally be one. With that, her leg yanked with incomparable force.
"So sturdy! Mind's weak as can be, but that body's blessed tough!"
She toppled backward, dragged away.
"No, nooooo!"
"Kuhahahaha!"
Once in the horde's midst, they swarmed, groping her body. Only her face stayed exposed, frozen in terror.
"Stop, nooooo!"
Then agony seared her thigh.
"…Ahh?"
"If your mind doesn't break, we can't claim the flesh. But you've lost to us. Time to offer it up, no?"
Confused, Mu Yeon scanned the corpses rapidly. They chorused:
"Become a flower."
"A beautiful flower like us."
"Yeah, join us."
Ahh. So this is it.
"What flower for a coward?"
Her mind blurred. Corpses looked like flowers. Brain cells ripped apart by mental pollution. Whispers devolved to static, converging on one phrase.
The flower bloomed beautifully. The flower bloomed. Flower bloomed. Flower's blood. Blood.
In her fading consciousness, Mu Yeon thought maybe this end suited her. She deserved it. Best to accept humbly—or so she figured.
"…Snap out of it, Mu Yeon-ssi!"