53
Chapter 53
"Gwoohhhh!!"
A bizarre scream echoed from behind.
The sticky, choked cry pierced my ears, sounding like it was squeezed out of a strangled throat.
Something resembling a tongue dangled below its wide-open jaw.
The figure charging at me on all fours was enough to make my legs tense up just by looking at it.
"Why is a monster like that in the forest!"
I expected a beast or two, not a ghoul with a human jaw.
Come to think of it, the monster tree was already weird enough. I should have realized it then.
Of course, running away blindly wasn't the only answer.
The ghoul's speed was beyond imagination.
It caught up to my back just a few seconds after I started running, so I had no choice but to pull out my backup plan.
[Water Bomb]
I drew the staff hanging at my waist.
I detonated the mana I had gathered while running.
A blue sphere rose from my canteen and was sucked right into the ghoul's gaping jaw.
Pow!
With a small explosion, fragments of flesh scattered in all directions like splashing water drops.
The impact sent its upper body reeling backward.
'...Did I get it?'
The words almost slipped out of my mouth but stopped in my throat.
But was just thinking it enough to jinx it?
"Geuuuhhh!"
Its shattered jaw started to wriggle, emitting white smoke.
The burst flesh stuck back together, stubbornly regaining its original shape.
Soon after, the fully recovered ghoul twitched its body again.
"Oh, shit-"
Seeing the ghoul lunging at me, I hastily converted my gathered mana into a water barrier.
Thwack! Screech!
The ghoul's nails dug deep into the newly formed blue barrier.
Those nails weren't just overgrown.
They were practically awls.
The barrier that had deflected most attacks until now actually had an attack pierce into it this time.
Looking at the embedded nails, I could guess the extent of its monstrous strength.
And with its hand still stuck in the barrier, it started shaking wildly.
"Whoa-!"
I was swung around like a doll hanging from a wall.
My body lifted, and my vision tossed and turned. I momentarily lost my balance and almost threw up.
From the other side of the barrier, its free hand shot toward me.
I reflexively pulled out my mace and swung it in defense.
Clang—!
A dull thud rang out, hard to believe it was the sound of iron meeting flesh.
The impact spread sharply from my wrist up to my elbow.
My fingertips went numb, and a tear welled up in my eyes.
"Ugh...!"
At that moment, its body tilted back slightly.
Instead of trying to pull its stuck hand out, it buried it even deeper.
Over the barrier, I saw its gray skin and the black drool dripping from its open mouth.
"Gwoohhh-"
Our eyes met.
"You really are... fucking ugly."
Rustle.
If there was one thing the bastard overlooked, it was that I wasn't alone.
I sensed movement behind it.
Eileen. She swiftly darted toward its skinny flank.
A trajectory aimed straight at its lower back.
The tip headed for its gray skin without hesitation-
Clang!
"......What?"
A sound like metal striking a boulder.
The dagger failed to pierce its skin and simply bounced off.
It felt like stabbing a hard shell rather than flesh.
Perhaps it was because of the faint impact from behind.
The ghoul raised its opposite arm and swung it backward just like that.
The indiscriminately flailing hand swept down as if brushing away a branch, and Eileen instinctively sensed it, rolling her body to barely dodge backward.
As soon as I confirmed that sight, I retreated without hesitation, releasing the water barrier.
"Ugh, my sword isn't working!"
"Fall back!"
Was its skin made of steel?
Unless I aimed for its exposed jaw, there seemed to be no answer at all.
I concentrated my mana at the tip of my staff.
With a chilling sensation at my fingertips, a bluish sphere formed.
If I shoved it right into its mouth like this, there might be a glimmer of hope.
But there was no way the bastard would just stay still.
"Kwuok...!"
The ghoul glared at me with bloodshot eyes, then kicked off the ground and flew at me.
It was a speed much faster than expected.
It seemed to be trying to keep me in check, having felt the power of the water bomb.
"Damn it...!"
I reflexively twisted my body and pulled out the mace at my waist with one hand.
If I didn't have the timing to launch a water bomb, I had no choice but to face it directly.
Crunch!
The ghoul's claws tore through the bush and aimed for my neck, and I barely managed to deflect the hand with my mace.
The recoil transferred along with the sound of heavy metal striking the monster's bones.
My fingertips tingled, and I almost dropped the mace.
"Ugh...!"
The bastard staggered, but the threat didn't end with just one strike.
The opposite hand was raised again, and this time, it was a downward diagonal strike.
I tried to deflect it again with my mace, but opted for a barrier instead.
[Water Barrier]
Swinging the mace down, I used the recoil to raise my staff, instantaneously hardening my mana.
A blue film blocked my front.
This was a wall meant to endure for just a short time.
At this distance, I could withstand it. Or so I believed.
Bang!
The ghoul's nails struck the barrier.
A massive shock washed over me like a wave, from my fingertips to my shoulder.
My wrist rattled with a clunk.
Screech, screeech!
The hastily created barrier was pierced by the claws and instantly began to crack.
I tried to forcefully pour in mana to maintain its shape, but that was just a stopgap measure.
Pow! Splash—
With the sound of the water barrier shattering, fragments of crushed water streams scattered everywhere.
And from beyond it, the monster thrust its body forward like a shadow.
"Gwooooh—!"
For a moment, my body froze.
But my body reacted faster than my thoughts.
I reflexively raised the mace I was holding in my left hand.
I had no choice but to block its path.
Crunch!
The mace caught the monster's arm.
Along with the sensation of tearing flesh, a dull impact striking bone traveled up my hand.
Crack.
At the same time, a sound that shouldn't be heard came from the wrist holding the mace.
It was the kind of breaking sound you'd never forget for the rest of your life even if you only heard it once.
My mind went blank, and a short scream burst from my mouth.
"Gaaahhh...!"
Drool leaked out through my tightly clenched teeth.
Taking advantage of that brief gap, the monster turned its head back toward me.
Its torn mouth opened as wide as it could go, letting out something akin to a sticky laugh.
The monster's hand reached out.
Thrusting its hideous face forward, it strode closer.
"Ugh!"
I took a short breath and twisted my body.
It wasn't an intentional dodge, but an instinctive reaction to survive.
The edge of the monster's hand grazed past my shoulder, cleaving the empty air.
The wind brushed my cheek, and just the force of it made my body stagger.
I rolled my body with all my might in that opening.
One roll, two rolls.
After rolling on the ground, kicking up fallen leaves and mud, I gasped for breath and stretched out my hand toward the approaching monster.
I still had one shot left.
Above my palm, mana was condensing while causing a faint vibration.
A final strike that I might never be able to create again.
It was a now-or-never timing.
"Riv!"
Eileen's voice came from behind.
It meant she had an opening to move.
I rolled to the side to avoid the monster's grasp, and at that moment, Eileen brushed past me and dug right into the monster's front.
"Haaah!"
The dagger thrust out in a straight line.
It lodged right into the skinless throat, an area exposed with sticky mucus.
Squelch.
The blade went all the way in.
The monster's movements halted for a moment.
"Get back!"
I couldn't miss this opportunity.
I focused the mana I held in my hand onto the tip of the dagger.
[Water Bomb]
The moment Eileen pulled back, the blue condensed sphere burst into the monster's mouth.
Pow!
With a massive impact, the monster's head was jerked back as if twisted.
Splashing moisture and smoke shot into the sky, and the delayed shockwave vibrating through the air echoed into my bones.
I clearly saw the dagger that was lodged in its throat being pushed by the impact and popping out between its shoulder blades.
"......."
For a moment, silence.
The monster seemed to fall to its knees just like that.
Its throat was torn apart, and black liquid poured out from its hideous face.
However-
Squish.
"......!"
The skin on the back of my neck prickled.
While kneeling, the monster's body was wriggling.
It slowly raised its head.
Half of its shattered face was wriggling and regenerating.
Even the deeply embedded dagger was slowly pushed out.
"M-monster..."
Eileen held her breath.
Is even this not enough?
It slowly began to stand up again.
There was no opening to jump in, nor the leeway to make a barrier again.
"Gah, run!!"
I grabbed Eileen's wrist and started running in the opposite direction.
From behind, I heard the sound of the monster turning its body, the terrible sound of bones clashing and joints twisting.
Piercing through the forest, I ran with all my might.
There wasn't even time to look back.
***
"Pant... pant, pant......."
How long had it been since we frantically tore through the forest and ran?
Out of breath, my strength finally gave out, and I collapsed onto the dirt floor.
Plop.
Beside me, Eileen also collapsed, gasping for breath.
As I laid my body down as if lying on my stomach while on my knees, the sensation of the cool dirt floor transmitted through my clothes.
A feeling of cooling down starting from my back.
It felt like a sensation confirming that I was alive.
"......Is it not following us?"
I listened closely.
Only the sound of swaying blades of grass and leaves brushing against the wind....
I couldn't hear any more footsteps, breathing, or shrieks.
I swallowed hard, clearing my throat that felt dry enough to tear.
The only reason we managed to escape was because it was busy regenerating.
We couldn't kill it, but fleeing during that brief opening was definitely the best move.
In the end, we survived.
That alone was enough for now.
"Ugh..."
As the tension left my body, the pain radiating from my wrist grew much worse.
It didn't look bizarrely bent or anything on the outside, but the pain I felt proved it definitely wasn't fine.
"Are you okay?"
Eileen cautiously asked beside me while catching her breath.
"...No, it hurts so much...."
The feeling of my wrist being crushed was too intense for me to act tough.
I tried my best to keep a calm expression on my face, but on the inside, the thought, 'Isn't this a huge problem...?' was already creeping up.
Since I didn't have any brilliant ideas right now, I roughly wrapped a bandage around my wrist to secure it.
In this condition, I had to give up on fighting for the time being.
"Anyway, where... is this...?"
"Good question..."
The darkness had deepened, so I couldn't see the surroundings well, but it definitely wasn't where we were originally supposed to go.
Since we ran away so frantically, it was obvious we had wandered deep into an unfamiliar forest.
...Aren't we completely screwed here.
Caw, caw.
A gloomy sound like a crow cawing echoed from afar.
Hearing such a sound only made my heart grow heavier.
Still, the fortunate thing was that we hadn't seen any monsters other than the ghoul while fleeing.
Honestly, that single ghoul was more than enough to handle.
"Let's find a place to hide first."
"Okay."
It was a dark forest where it was hard to tell if it was day or night. I couldn't tell the time, but I figured it was at least past noon.
According to the original plan, we were going to stop moving and rest around evening, but since things went south, it seemed we had to stop earlier.
"Which way is north?"
I tried to use some trivia I'd heard before, but the forest was so dark that not even sunlight came through.
All the navigation methods I knew were related to the sun, so they were completely useless right now.
The only viable method would be guessing the direction by looking at tree rings... but since that was also related to the sun, I couldn't rely on it.
With no suitable options, I decided to roughly guess the direction by looking at a broken tree stump.
"Then, let's head this way."
We slowly took steps in the direction we decided on.
The forest was still dreary, and only a windless silence settled heavily over us.
Only the rustling and breaking sounds of fallen leaves and small branches scattered under our feet occasionally echoed out.
Both Eileen and I were walking without a word, but anxiety slowly seeped into a corner of our hearts.
'If we get lost in this forest, where exactly will we end up next?'
In the darkness, our two shadows repeatedly stretched long and then disappeared.
After walking for a while, light suddenly leaked through the dense trees.
"That's...!"
Suddenly, an unfamiliar structure caught my eye in the corner of my vision.
Crumbled walls, broken pillars, and even vines climbing over them.
It was an abandoned building that looked like it had been deserted a long time ago.
We let out a sigh of relief as we approached the abandoned building.
"Phew... Finally, we have a place to rest."
A sense of relief spread across Eileen's face for the first time in a while.
I forced myself to endure the wrist pain and stepped toward the ruin's entrance.
It looked old and decayed on the outside, but walls and a roof that hadn't collapsed yet welcomed us.
As we stepped inside, the air felt a bit calmer compared to the outside.
I carefully sat down on the dusty floor and laid my body down.
"Ugh, now I can finally catch my breath."
At my words, Eileen also quietly nodded.
"Riv! There's something strange here!"
Eileen called out to me as if she had found something while looking around inside the building.
An old pattern was engraved on the floor she pointed at.
A shape where the wings of a massive bird and a staff were intertwined.
It was the exact pattern the Kalzheim priest had mentioned earlier.