Drunkard (2)
With a tremendous crash, pain exploded through my left arm, and I finally broke free.
"Ugh..."
I tried to grab my left arm with my right hand, but I couldn't let go of the baseball bat. By then, the drunkard had staggered back up in that grotesque way of his.
"Does it hurt...? My loneliness hurts even more..."
Listening to his nonstop bullshit was starting to piss me off more than the pain. If this were the normal world, his bizarre behavior might've creeped me out enough to kill my will to fight. But this was a world of monsters, and he wasn't human—he was a youkai. Recognizing the abnormality dulled the shock of it somewhat.
Stay calm. They say if you keep your wits about you, you can escape even a tiger's den.
The drunkard's recovery wasn't human-level, but his combat power sure was. I'd landed a hit already, but if he'd been Kim Eat-Chil, I'd have been done for. That meant I could still fight back—as long as he hadn't been toying with me this whole time.
As he swung the liquor bottle again, I rolled my body toward the stairs.
"Ugh!"
I must've forgotten about my ankle; the impact reignited the pain. My left arm hurt, my right ankle hurt—this was a total shitshow. But could I not move? No. Even if I couldn't, I had to right now.
Gritting through the pain, I readied the bat. The drunkard staggered toward me like a proper drunk, that wobble probably his youkai trait or restriction. Fitting for something called a drunkard.
He closed in and swung the bottle. I swung the bat much faster, cracking him right in the head.
"Gah!"
He crumpled immediately. His durability seemed average compared to his regen. I kept swinging to make sure he stayed down. But he wouldn't stop moving. Unlike before, he kept writhing no matter how much I beat him.
This wasn't ending. I needed a plan.
The moment I paused, his body twisted grotesquely, and he stood again.
"It hurts... Why do you hurt me...? I didn't do anything wrong..."
"Bullshit."
"Don't ignore me... If you ignore me, I'll kill you..."
"You're the one ignoring me."
"Die!"
He lunged, and I bashed him with the bat again. Talking wasn't working. No matter what I said, he just spouted whatever he wanted. Maybe there was a trigger keyword, but figuring it out now was impossible—I knew zilch about this youkai.
Even if I wanted to listen, he kept spiraling into paranoid delusions and turning aggressive. The only option left was using the rules to take him out.
The nearest was the central stairs, but I could only push him down to the first floor, so to violate the rule, I'd have to send him up. Problem was, I'd come up those stairs myself. I'd violate first and die.
Central stairs were out. I could herd him to the left stairs and shove him down, but that meant crossing the hallway without looking out the windows—impossible.
No central stairs, no hallway. Only one choice left: somehow lure him into Class 1-3.
I leveled the bat at him. He didn't question it, just staggered closer. I backed up, adjusting my angle. The classroom door was still open from earlier. When he, me, and the door lined up straight, I charged.
"Cough!"
The bat hit his gut, shoving him back. If I kept this up, I'd push him right into Class 1-3. I threw my aching left arm into it too, adding force.
But right at the door, we stalled.
"You're trying to trap me...?"
"Damn it!"
He'd grabbed the bat with his left hand. I couldn't budge him anymore. This wasn't the weakling from before.
"People like you... hic... all deserve to die..."
He raised the bottle. The bat's length kept it out of swing range. Instinct screamed: he was gonna throw it. If those broken shards hit me, I was done.
Decision time.
"Die—gah?!"
I twisted the bat sideways, redirecting the force. He staggered. I tackled him full-force.
Bam! My body slam connected with his wobbling form. We tumbled into Class 1-3 together.
No time to daze. As I scrambled up, he grabbed me.
"Don't go..."
I headbutted him on instinct. Lucky for me, he reacted to impacts. He released me, howling in pain. I scanned the floor for the bat—it was close, outside the door.
As I reached for it—
My body lurched backward, yanked like a vacuum, and I pitched forward. The drunkard, now up, slammed the classroom door shut.
"You'll stay with me...? Hic..."
He grinned grotesquely at me, still clutching the broken bottle in his right hand.
"This is seriously fucked."
I was unarmed; he wasn't. And this was Class 1-3.
Class 1-3
As long as you don't stick to the wall, it's safe.
I dodged his attacks, keeping distance. His swings were slow; stay sharp, and I wouldn't get hit. The issue? No escape. He guarded the door, staggering drunkenly with shaky eyes, but reacting sharply if I approached.
I wouldn't die to him, but I'd be trapped here till sunrise. And then? Some bad end, no doubt.
Time for a choice. Clock said past 5 a.m. before I left. Hesitation was a luxury now. The fight had burned too much time.
Last plan. If it failed, game over.
I backed off, then charged like before. He raised his bottle hand, wise to the trick. But I faked the rush, slid low, and swept his legs.
He wobbled. Didn't fall—more than a normal human could take.
But I wasn't disappointed. Expected that. My real goal: make him stagger.
I pushed off the floor and tackled. Same belief as entering: it'd worked once, it'd work again.
A solid guy wouldn't budge, but a wobbler? Thud! Door and drunkard collided with a bang.
Nothing happened. Doors didn't count as walls, apparently.
But we were at the room's corner now. I summoned every ounce of strength, twisting and shoving him toward the left wall.
Squelch. No hard impact—just a soft, cushy give, like his body sank into the wall.
"Ah... ah..."
His back absorbed inward, slowly sucked in.
"Don't... don't abandon me! Save me!"
No matter how he thrashed, the wall held firm. No guilt here. He was a youkai, not human. And even if he weren't, he'd started it.
"You... you bastard! What did I ever do to you...? Die!"
Begging failed, so rage mode. Bizarre how human-like youkai acted.
His final flail: hurling the bottle. Missed.
"Ah... ah..."
The wall swallowed him whole, arm last. Left like that, it'd take the rest. No need to watch.
Knowing he couldn't bother me anymore was enough.
I opened the door, stepped out, and locked it. Picked up my bat and his keyring from the floor. Locked Class 1-1 and 1-2 too, which he'd left open.
Trudged back to the Guard Room. CCTV read 5:55 a.m.
Grabbed the keyring and duty log, returned them to the Admin Office, then crashed back.
My body was wrecked. Left arm, right ankle, bruises everywhere. Exhausted. All I wanted was sleep.
Didn't even post to the Gallery. Collapsed onto the bed and passed out instantly.