Chapter 90: Spider
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 90: Spider
It was difficult to even get a clear look at my attacker as she rushed forward, wielding a sword that was somewhere between a dagger and a longsword.
Drawing the Ancient Flame, I poured all my magic into it and charged at her. This was my first battle since obtaining a demon's body. The demon form was more agile than I'd expected, allowing me to move with considerable speed.
Her face grew closer.
A woman.
A woman with short hair. Her eyes were completely unhinged. The moment our eyes met, she sent a chilling smile my way and swung her sword down at me. She swung without any formal technique, yet she was clearly aiming for my vitals. It wasn't a blow backed by immense power, either. She raised her sword playfully and brought it down playfully.
I'll go all out.
I judged that testing the waters against such a strong opponent would be poison, so I decided it was best to fight with my full strength from the start and began to circulate my magic with all my might. An immense heat and flame began to envelop me, and I swung my own sword to block hers.
Until now, controlling the flames inherent in the Ancient Flame had been impossible. But now that I had evolved into a demon, I thought it might be possible to some degree. As expected, the flames began to move slowly along the path I desired. But they were blocked. That woman was definitely suppressing my fire.
And then—
“Screeeeech!”
Even though she knew I was blocking, the woman brought her sword down anyway and scraped it against mine. As if the surging flames weren't a threat at all, her blade pierced through them and scraped decisively down my own.
A sickening sound filled the air.
Then.
“Kuh.”
In an instant, blood spurted from my body.
Fuck...
Her sword definitely hadn't touched me.
Despite the distance, I had clearly heard that sound. I could roughly grasp what her ability was.
Sound.
This sickening sound was undoubtedly damaging me. It was as if invisible blades were raining down on my entire body. It was probably a unique ability that turned sound into blades or some form of damage. An ability that could truly be called beyond the norm.
In the moment I was distracted, her sword came plunging toward the space between my eyes. Once again, I raised the Ancient Flame to block her sword.
But the chilling sound echoed out again, and fountains of blood erupted from all over my body once more.
“Dammit...”
I couldn't think straight. This woman was definitely toying with me. She could have killed me for certain just now. The fact that she didn't was proof that she was looking down on me. She saw me as an insect she could crush whenever she pleased.
“Die!”
Her sword came down with a playful tone. All I could do was block it as best I could and try to keep her in check with my flames.
“Screeeeech!”
“Splat!”
In an instant, my whole body was torn to shreds. The fight hadn't even been going on that long. It felt like an eternity, but it was an undeniably short amount of time. Nevertheless, the outcome was already decided. To be precise, it would be more accurate to say there was no hope for me. I knew that fact better than anyone.
But I couldn't die in a place like this. There was only one chance. I began to slowly observe her movements. As I swung my sword, she instantly circled to my left. Even then, she scraped her blade against mine, continuously damaging me, but I had no time to worry about it.
It was crucial to watch her movements to the very end. Left, then right, then left again. And then, she suddenly vanished from my sight.
“Die! Die!”
Behind me.
Her sword came flying at me again. I reflexively gripped a dagger in my left hand and poured every last bit of my magic into it, trying to swap her sword with my dagger.
Unique Ability: Weapon Switch.
The one opening I had been waiting for.
I didn't know if it would work, but thankfully, my newly ranked-up unique ability didn't betray my expectations. The sword she was holding was instantly replaced with a dagger. Of course, the dagger I held was swapped for her sword.
“Huh?”
A look of confusion. An expression that said she couldn't grasp what had just happened. But sure enough, instead of her main weapon, my dagger was now falling toward me.
“Grrrrrrr.”
I instantly swapped the sword of hers that I now held in my hand for the Greatsword Too Large to be a Sword. I didn't try to parry her attack. Instead, I immediately slammed the greatsword into the ground in front of me to block her blade.
She would probably scrape it against my greatsword.
“Screeeeech!”
As expected, the sound came, and blood spurted from my body. But it wasn't enough damage to stagger me like before. What I was aiming for was an opening.
Ignoring my wounds, I swapped the greatsword with the Ancient Flame once more, revealing her face. She looked flustered. I pretended to be fine, but I was also near my limit. This would have to be my final attack.
I swung my sword at her again.
“Fwoooosh.”
The sound of burning fire roared as an inferno instantly swallowed her. I felt her pull back slightly, so I threw myself forward and swung my sword at her.
Got her.
She was definitely within range. With an anxious face, I watched as my sword finally, surely, plunged toward her. The moment I thought I'd won, I heard a voice.
“Not bad, huh? Mr. Demon.”
And then—
In an instant, my body was slammed into the ground.
Dammit...
I could feel her on top of my back.
A rat in a trap. And here I thought I'd gotten stronger. I never imagined it would end this easily. The situation was absurd. It was absurd that a monster like this even existed, but it was just as absurd that the Queen of the North would eventually take most of their heads. I couldn't even imagine myself ever becoming that strong.
We're on a different level.
Truly, a different level. She had undoubtedly been holding back. She probably only revealed her true strength in that final attack, when the fire swallowed her. That one move she used to get on top of me and slam me into the ground was the only real one.
My entire body was already a wreck. I'd tried to endure, but it seemed my limbs could no longer function properly.
“That was... kind of fun... Should I kill you? Yeah, I should probably kill you, right?”
She held the power of my life and death completely in her hands. All I could do was swallow hard. I looked around. I'd been so focused on her that I hadn't been able to check on my clan. They were nowhere to be seen, so they must have heeded my last words. It seemed they understood that, if nothing else, they had to obey their chieftain. No, more than that, it seemed they had trusted me.
If they had remained, the entire clan would have been annihilated, even if they all attacked at once. Pinned to the ground, I turned my head to look at her.
She looked remarkably ordinary. The kind of face you could see anywhere on the streets back on Earth. But the murderous intent gleaming in her eyes was undeniably real. The moment our eyes met, a chill ran down my entire spine. My body trembled uncontrollably. Noticing that I was shaking in fear, she grinned at me.
“A good reaction. Yeah, let's kill you.”
Fuck...
It was just as I was thinking how fucked everything had become.
“Victory! For victory alone! Kkik!”
“For Blood Dagger! Kkik! Kkik!”
Voices came from an unexpected place. My clan members had definitely returned to the settlement. These were voices I shouldn't be hearing. They didn't belong to Gark or Hark. They were the voices of very ordinary goblins.
I snapped my head toward the sound. To my dismay, I saw three goblins bursting out from a forest worm's burrow.
The one with nimble hands and two goblin assassins. They were the three goblins I had unintentionally saved inside the forest worm's lair. When all the other clan members had followed my orders and headed for the settlement... they must have hidden inside the burrow. The situation had been so chaotic that I doubt even Gark or Hark noticed them. I had no idea why they had disobeyed my orders and stayed in the burrow, but they were now charging forward with clumsy movements.
Fuck...
More than their disobedience, I was worried about their lives. It went without saying, but they were no match for her. They would die absurdly.
“I told you to run!”
I shouted at the top of my lungs without thinking. Soon, I heard their voices in reply. The goblin assassins' movements were somewhat better, but the goblin who drew pictures was truly clumsy.
“We repay our debt! Kkik!”
“We cannot let Blood Dagger die! Blood Dagger must live!”
“The sin of disobeying the chief...tain's command will be paid with death!”
Hearing that, I was certain. They knew they were going to die here.
I tried to get up, but my body wouldn't move. I couldn't even shake this woman off.
The woman started watching me with a look of genuine amusement. She knew. She definitely knew that I didn't want those goblins to die. She shot me a grin and then instantly dashed toward them. I had a feeling I knew what she wanted.
I finally understood why that woman wanted to kill humans.
“Stop!”
“For Blood Dagg—!”
The head of the goblin assassin running in the lead fell to the ground. Using that opening, the goblin who draws and the remaining assassin started running toward me again. They reached me in an instant and began dragging my paralyzed arm, trying to pull me away. There was no way they wouldn't be caught. That woman was clearly enjoying this.
“I... I definitely told you to run...”
It wasn't that I wasn't grateful to them for dragging my arm. Of course, I was grateful they were trying to save me. But it was meaningless. It was a pointless death.
“The sin of disobeying the chieftain's command will be paid with dea...th...!”
As expected, the remaining assassin also collapsed, a sword embedded in his neck. Only the goblin who draws was left. Even knowing he was going to die, he showed no fear and focused only on dragging me away. It was clearly a struggle for him to pull me alone; he kept grunting with effort as he moved me, but his body was also becoming covered in blood.
“A father who has lost his honor. A father who disobeyed his chieftain. Kkik. Kkik! Tell them I'm sor...ry...”
In the end, he collapsed too.
“For... Blood... Dagger.”
I bit my lip without realizing it. Powerless. I was so utterly powerless. What did I mean, I'd gotten stronger? How was I supposed to get revenge like this? I couldn't help but ask myself these questions again. In the past, I couldn't protect Choi Seulgi. It was the same now; I still couldn't protect anyone. I realized I hadn't changed at all from my past life.