Chapter 89
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Ameris's Night
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A deep stab wound from a blade.
I found myself muttering without realizing it.
"I promised to protect you."
I recalled the vow I'd made with her.
The vow to protect her and Seluna.
"I said I'd keep the vow."
I turned my gaze to the things in front of me.
My hand naturally reached for the dagger.
No need to agonize over it.
These weren't human.
It's not that they didn't deserve to live.
Killing them was what mattered.
That's how it had to be.
[Psyche's Blade unique effect activates.]
['Corruption' applied to Worn Dagger.]
-Flash Strike
The moment I activated the skill, I slashed through dozens of the things before me.
Yet even as I stabbed and sliced to keep a single girl's blood from spilling, the humans who'd harmed Selus showed no sign of thinning out.
'Doesn't matter. The path's clear now.'
-Flash Strike Chain 2
My second strike indiscriminately carved through the humans in front of me.
-Flash Strike Chain 3
In an instant, I closed in on the woman swinging her blade at Selus.
'You too...'
That's when Erina's voice rang out.
"Si-woo!"
Only then did I snap back to my senses and look around.
Baek A-rin and Erina were cradling Selus's wound, shielding her.
'Damn it.'
Get a grip, Kim Si-woo.
The vow could still be kept.
I just had to save Seluna.
Save Selus.
'Don't lose it till the end.'
With a calmed mind, I quickly scanned the surroundings.
The crowd around us was bizarrely tearing into each other.
What the hell was going on?
Nearly half of that massive throng had already turned into ghouls.
And with that, the people's screams grew ear-splitting.
-Lord Pureblood! Blood, please! Give us blood!
-Hand over the blood, you bitch!
-Grab her! Tie her up!
-I'm saved now! I touched Lord Pureblood's blood!
-Damn it! Give me whatever blood's on you!
-Take care of your own! Let go, you bastard! What the hell, stop!
If hell on earth had a picture, it'd be this scene.
They tangled over the girl's blood, ripping into each other's flesh and skin.
"Hoo."
Calm down.
First things first: rescue Selus and Seluna.
"But I can't let you off."
I plunged the worn dagger into the gut of the woman who'd stabbed Selus.
"Gah! W-what the hell? Damn it, who the fuck are you?!"
Her face flushed red, veins bulging as she gasped at her spilling entrails and blood.
Revenge ends here.
I had to move with a clear head.
Selus was in Baek A-rin's hands, so check on Seluna first.
With that thought, I turned toward Seluna amid the crowd.
"Seluna!"
The ones around Seluna had turned into ghouls, leaving no one approaching her now.
The strangest part was Seluna herself.
Her body was falling apart, yet she stood, eyes glowing red.
Her naturally red eyes burned even redder.
Her blood-soaked skin paler still.
"Selus... I'll save you..."
As I came to and moved to help her, she stopped me.
"There's a passage under the temple only I know about. We have to escape through there with Selus. Go get her..."
I cut her off.
"Don't worry. I'll bring Selus."
"Got it. Hurry after me."
Was it her weakening body or something else? She panted heavily, struggling.
I turned to the ones encircling her.
'Yeah, they still can't approach.'
Whether she realized it or not, her power kept those inhuman things from turning toward us.
I signaled Baek A-rin and Erina holding Selus.
"This way."
"Haa... haa..."
Shaking off the crowd, we ran through the dark passage for dozens of minutes, panting.
Finally, daylight appeared.
"W-we're out."
Seluna beamed as we emerged, looking at me.
"We have to move before anyone catches up!"
"Where to? Somewhere with a doctor first..."
"N-no. It's too late to reach another village! Selus has lost too much blood. If she doesn't get treated soon..."
I glanced at Erina and Baek A-rin.
"Right! There were definitely first-aid supplies in my pack."
Something for critical stab wounds among them.
Kim Si-woo, always prepared.
Good job!
But Baek A-rin's face darkened.
"I already tried. They wouldn't work for some reason. Probably this dungeon."
"Damn it!"
As I scowled, Seluna pointed toward the mountain.
"The place where Selus and I were hiding. She has medicines she brought from home there. We can treat her for sure!"
Seluna urged us toward the cathedral-like building they'd stayed in.
I felt a twinge of doubt and asked.
"Wasn't that place already compromised?"
"No, don't worry. The spot that got found wasn't around the building."
"Alright then."
No other way to treat Selus right now.
Best bet was the medicines Seluna mentioned for first aid.
"Okay, let's go."
As I nodded to her plan,
A voice echoed from somewhere.
"Damn it! Running off and leaving people behind?!"
"We have to catch her. My brother's turning! Her blood!"
"Let's carve her up and share her whole body."
Four burly men visible in the distance.
Survivors from the ghouls who'd made it here.
'Not your average thugs.'
Tall builds, solid muscles. Armed with swords and spears.
Definitely fighters.
I could take them, but with time short, no point.
I crouched low, held my breath, and whispered.
"Quietly head up."
"Yes."
Seluna whispered back.
But as we started up the mountain, her foot caught a tree root. She tumbled with a loud thud.
"Ow...!"
The four men whipped toward the sound.
"Found 'em. They went this way!"
"Get her no matter what!"
They charged.
Seluna muttered.
"W-we have to run."
I replied to the trembling girl.
"You can't run in your condition."
"Not me, at least get Selus..."
I shook my head at her desperate plea.
"Not happening. Promised her. To protect both you and Selus."
"But...!"
"Don't worry. Never been called weak."
I flashed Seluna a confident smile.
Truth be told, I heard it dozens of times a day, and some academy kid was probably saying it right now.
But gotta act the part to inspire trust.
Kneeling, I aimed for the first man's throat.
[Dark Screen]
[Bunny Hop - Flash Strike]
Darkness fell over the area as the blade sank into the burliest man's throat.
"Next...!"
As I went for the next target, something felt off. I froze.
"What?"
This was weird.
I'd felt it through my fingertips.
I'd definitely slashed.
But why no sound?
Cutting a person starts with ripping flesh, crushing muscle, snapping bone.
Then the thud of falling.
Confused, I hesitated. The Dark Screen lifted.
The man I'd killed was gone.
No blood, no body. Like he'd never been there.
Shocked, I looked ahead.
The four men walked toward Seluna unscathed.
"H-how?"
Impossible.
I'd cut him down for sure.
Stunned for a moment, then it hit me.
Realization left me dazed.
In this dungeon, what must happen does.
Unnecessary things might happen.
But what happened can't unhappen.
Attacking a baker? Fine.
That can happen.
But treating Seluna with my items? No.
That can't happen.
'So this is the plot.'
I gritted my teeth.
What bullshit story was this?
I couldn't accept such a crappy storyline.
I yelled at Erina.
"Run with Seluna and Selus now!"
"W-what about you, Si-woo?!"
"And Baek A-rin!"
Baek A-rin turned at my call.
I took a deep breath.
"Hoo."
Whether Ameris made it or it was memory,
it was still a dungeon.
Which meant those guys were just monsters.
And no monster I knew couldn't be killed.
Way to kill monsters? Simple.
Keep killing till they're dead.
Universal truth.
Deep breath. Gripped my sword.
Flash Strike Chain 3, then spamming it under an hour.
Out of commission for a while.
So I wasn't killing them till they dropped.
The strongest family skill I knew: Inferno.
Considering cast time and power, yeah.
Takes long to cast on multiples properly, but once it goes, it freezes and shreds everything in range till dead. Top slaughter skill.
I shouted to Baek A-rin.
"Snow Mountain! Baek A-rin. Unleash everything you've got!"