Like Swallowing Sand, Part II
No matter how much time passes, there are some moments that can never be forgotten.
The scenery of a summer night that was exceptionally clear and cool.
The brief moment of sharing drinks with comrades, free of any worries.
And then, the procession of beasts I first encountered, and the screams of people dying brutal deaths.
The hollow eyes I had been forced to face constantly since that day vanished whenever the wind rippled the water, yet they still choked me from beneath the surface.
Rumble—
The sound of thunder echoing outside the window drowned out the faint screams of the people.
Soon, a violent rainstorm began to rage.
I looked down at my father collapsed on the floor.
His tightly ruptured intestines and shattered ribs emitted a foul stench, and his splayed limbs were twisted at abnormal angles.
His spine was likely severed.
The dark shadow I had completely forgotten about glistened under the weak candlelight.
“Ah...”
At that moment, the beast that had its head buried in him began to growl in a low voice.
Its dark red-stained snout parted, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth.
As our eyes locked, lightning flashed once more, illuminating our mutual recognition.
My eardrums felt like they would burst from the pounding of my heart.
The hand gripping the wooden sword was so tense it felt rooted to the hilt, and in my mind, I pictured slicing the beast's neck a hundred times over.
And then I realized.
I would probably dream this nightmare forever.
There were countless types of beasts, but I could remember every single one without exception.
The beast standing before me now was one of the most common varieties.
It was undoubtedly one of the smallest and weakest of its kind.
Yet, to ordinary people, it was still a living nightmare.
It was always like that.
They preyed on those who wanted nothing more than to live simple lives, wringing the neck of hope so they couldn't even scream.
So they had to die.
The beast, resembling a dog or a wolf, flashed its four twisted eyes.
The sight of its razor-sharp teeth, growing in double and triple rows, was chilling.
I thrust my sword forward, trying to keep my distance.
Lacking any special abilities in this boy's body, I couldn't afford a single mistake if I wanted to take it down.
But the space was narrow and confined.
Overpowered by its sheer strength, I was forced into a corner, exactly where the beast wanted me.
As if it had been waiting for this moment, the beast lunged with its maw wide open.
It was aiming for the hand holding the wooden sword.
I couldn't step back, so I quickly thrust the tip of my sword toward the underside of its jaw.
Grrrk—
The sharp tip of the sword made a dull, scraping sound as it slid against the thick hide.
I couldn't pierce it, but it must have dealt a decent blow.
As if to prove this, the beast jerked its head back violently and retreated a step.
I wasn't about to miss that opening.
Using the wall behind me as a springboard, I lunged at the beast and brought the wooden blade down on its face with all my weight.
"Yip—!!"
The thin skin covering its brow tore open, and a dark red, sticky fluid oozed out.
I succeeded in blinding half of its vision as intended, but my sword snapped against the front paw of the thrashing beast.
And the beast was cunning.
Realizing I had lost my weapon, it lunged recklessly and bit deep into my shoulder.
Before I could even scream from the burning pain, its heavy front paw slammed into me, throwing me to the floor with my flesh torn.
The cold air hitting my exposed flesh pricked like needles.
It's coming.
Every time I moved, an unfamiliar, agonizing pain washed over me, but I couldn't afford to fall down and cry, nor was there anyone left to comfort me.
The beast, seemingly whipped into a frenzy, twitched its muscles and rushed right at me.
My blood-stained shoulder caught its gaze as if it were a target, and I immediately threw myself aside, barely dodging the strike.
The beast slammed into the shop wall with a loud crash, but it didn't even howl.
Its remaining two eyes stared at me as if to pierce me, its lips curling up as if amused.
And then, my vision twisted in an instant.
I exhaled a hot, ragged breath, trying to assess the situation.
The delayed pain burned my lungs.
The tightly closed warehouse door creaked, crushed beneath my back.
Through my splayed legs, I saw the beast leisurely shaking its head.
It seemed to have rammed me while I was off-balance.
Staggering, I reached out, desperate to stand.
Grabbing onto something within reach, I pulled myself up.
Gripping the broken wooden sword so tightly my knuckles turned white, I threw myself at the lunging beast and swung my arm.
Toward its scarred neck, toward its eyelids oozing bloody discharge.
Toward the beast's maw as it thrashed, trying to tear off my left shoulder.
"AAAAAH!"
Perhaps because of the intense pain, hot tears burst from my blurred eyes.
Stabbing, gouging, stabbing again.
I swung my arm frantically until the broken tip of the sword mangled the inside of its skull.
And finally, until its body went completely limp.
I barely managed to crawl out from under the beast's heavy corpse.
Holding onto my fading consciousness, I drove the broken sword down into its chest without delay.
The blunt tip of the sword tore through its hide and flesh, sinking deeper and deeper.
O God.
My cruel God.
I finally understand your will.
Is destiny truly a schedule of the gods, thrust upon those who try to bear its weight?
The war is not over, and I failed to burn through my allotted life.
If so, what I must do remains unchanged.
Setting the sword aside, I thrust my trembling hand into the dark red cavity and ripped out the beast's weakly beating heart.
The only way the humans of old could stand against malice.
The final mercy granted to counter a crushing destiny.
Swallowing the Core embedded in the heart to make its power my own.
Just as the beast had devoured my father's corpse, I chewed and swallowed the beast's heart.
The hair soaked by the violent rainstorm did nothing to hinder the man's movements.
The giant man, easily over two meters tall, drove his greatsword into the beast's neck with an expressionless face.
The neck of the wheezing beast was torn open, and the man, ripping its head off with a brutal tug, tossed it behind him as if it were nothing.
Thud.
Bouncing off a collapsed rafter, the head disappeared into the shadows.
Listening to the drumming rain, the man took in the sight of the blackened village.
Heavy raindrops fell upon the headless, limp corpses of the beasts.
The man walked with slow, deliberate steps, entering the building with the open door.
He looked down at the man's corpse lying amidst bloodstains, claw marks, and collapsed shelves.
The man lay in a miserable heap, surrounded by his scattered organs and shredded flesh.
The man turned his head indifferently, tracking the beast's path.
He had definitely heard a scream from this direction.
Stepping over the collapsed door, the man entered the shadow-filled warehouse and waved his hand toward the candle on the wall.
A small flame flared to life, dispelling the shadows.
The woman hanging from the ceiling had her dark blue tongue sticking out.
Below her lay the motionless beast, its chest ripped open, and next to it, a blood-covered boy gasped for air.
“Did you do this?”
At the man's calm question, the boy blinked a few times, trying to focus his eyes.
Only then did the man notice the boy's mangled shoulder.
The man knelt in front of the boy. He reached out a hand as large as a pot lid and placed it on the boy's shoulder. The boy flinched, but the man paid no heed.
In an instant, a flame flared, and the smell of burning flesh filled the warehouse.
The boy's eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.
The man grabbed the boy by the scruff of his neck like a puppy and slung him over his shoulder.
I didn't know the reason.
A familiar discomfort felt like it was tearing my body apart.
A fire digging into my stomach began to twist my insides violently.
I had swallowed the beast's Core to absorb the power within it.
The method was correct. There could be no mistake in an action I had repeated hundreds of times.
Inside, a massive energy raged wildly, as if a war had broken out.
It was a powerful, immense energy—something unimaginable for a weak beast that a young boy could somehow defeat.
What is this?
It felt as if it had been full from the very beginning.
An energy twice as massive as that of my previous life—perhaps even more—was continuing to swell. At this rate, my heart would surely burst under the strain.
I somehow steadied my trembling, pain-racked body and focused all my concentration on identifying its source.
There were two clearly distinct energies.
One of them, a mere speck, was thrashing wildly.
I tried to gather it, but it only scattered in all directions like a wild colt thrown into a raging inferno.
Then, the massive energy began to claw at my heart as if seeking revenge.
The agonizing sensation of teeth as sharp as saw blades grinding into me surged through my chest.
I retched, coughing up sticky blood along with bile.
Just then, a flash of lightning illuminated the dark warehouse.
“Ah...”
Only then did I notice the presence of someone else in the room.
Mother. My beloved mother.
Scenes I hadn't witnessed began to flood my mind.
Father shouting as he blocked the door. Mother screaming and weeping.
Father must have tried to protect Mother until his very last breath.
The doorknob shatters, the shop door bursts open, and Father falls.
Mother, barely managing to hide inside the warehouse, covers her mouth to stifle her sobs.
Shouts. The beast lunging playfully, as if enjoying the sport.
It would have bitten Father's limbs as he swung a metal tool to drive it away, crushing his bones with its powerful jaws.
The beast ripping open his soft belly and burying its snout inside, feeding on the screams of my fallen father.
Mother, hesitating at Father's final cry to run, hanging herself in despair.
My teeth dug into my gums, and I tasted the metallic tang of blood.
A sob leaked through my clenched teeth.
"Damn it. Damn it!"
My head burned. I coughed, spitting up droplets of blood.
I will chew and swallow you, no matter what.
The beast's energy thrashing inside my heart began to mingle with the meager traces of my own power.
Without hesitation, I seized that energy and forced it deep into my chest.
The energy stopped clawing at me, but it still struggled to disperse.
I had no idea how long it would take to fully absorb this absurd amount of power.
At some point, my vision began to blur. I didn't even have the strength to twitch my fingertips.
Just then, a massive shadow loomed inside the dark shop.
In an instant, the room lit up, and the man's face came into view.
Did I do this?
Yeah.
I strained to get a clear look at him, but my hazy vision refused to clear. Suddenly, the man's blurred face drew closer.
Then came a terrible, searing pain.
And with that, I lost consciousness.