Gabyul, I'll Definitely Save You! (5)
Just in case there might be CCTV, I cast a spell to keep us off any cameras and showed her Moon Seyeon's creature.
"Hyaak?!"
"Huh?"
Why was she fainting all of a sudden?
Coming face-to-face with the creature, she let out a short scream and collapsed on the spot.
As she was about to fall headfirst, I quickly caught the back of her head.
Then, suddenly, an angel emerged from her.
The angel who introduced himself as Camael looked at her for a moment before greeting me.
"Contractor of Marbas, well met. Seeing you up close, I can sense Marbas's aura."
"Hoh, so you managed to notice. I was hiding it as best I could."
"Do you remember just how many times I've battled you?"
Camael then suggested we change locations, and agreeing to the proposal, I carried her on my back to my house.
"This child has been continuously suspicious of you. She asked Gabriel to confirm the facts, but only received answers that it was groundless."
"Just what was she suspecting to go that far?"
"That you had seized the weakness of Gabriel's contractor and were blackmailing her."
Hearing Camael's words, my mind went blank.
"It started with just hearing a single rumor. Nothing more than a small piece of unverified gossip.
But my contractor has a tendency to be a bit gullible. She took it at face value."
So in other words, Camael was saying she had believed a baseless rumor without verifying anything and tailed me.
Really... should I call this naive...?
Just then, a call came from Seo Jia.
Had something happened?
"Yes, I've received it. What's the matter?"
Where is he going?
It had been several dozen minutes since I mustered the courage to tail him. He gradually moved toward places with fewer people, then eventually slipped into an alley.
Why... did he go into an alley?
Maybe there's a house between the alleys?
That could be, but...
Based on my sharp intuition, there was a high possibility that Baek Sejin's workshop lay in that alley he had entered.
A black mage's workshop is no different from a treasure vault.
All the evidence of every crime he had committed would be there.
If I could just infiltrate that workshop, it would be a huge help in saving Gabyul.
Killing my presence as much as possible, I entered the alley Baek Sejin had gone into.
The alley I stepped into somehow exuded a gloomy, eerie atmosphere.
Ugh...
Suddenly I really, really didn't want to go any farther.
I checked deeper inside, but he had already vanished into the depths of the alley and was nowhere to be seen.
Swallowing hard, I slowly took a step forward.
Like that, I walked endlessly through the alley.
But the farther I walked, the more uneasy I felt.
A feeling like I was missing something.
Feeling this way made it certain that something was here.
Otherwise I wouldn't feel like this at all.
Moreover, because it was spring the sun set early, and the surroundings had already grown quite dark.
Because of that, the alley's atmosphere became far more menacing than before.
"There's no way there's actually a workshop here, right...? I really hate places like this... It feels like a ghost might appear."
"For a human who is the contractor of me, Camael, to be this weak-hearted. Ghosts are nothing special."
Camael muttered in a sullen voice.
"...What? No, what am I supposed to do if I'm scared. But... yeah. For Gabyul's sake..."
"Hm?"
"W-what...? Why are you looking at me like that...?"
"No, it's nothing. Experiences like this are necessary, after all."
"What do you mean by that..."
Conversing with Camael, I continued deeper in, but Baek Sejin was nowhere to be seen.
"What...? Where did he go..."
"Grrrrrr..."
"Hyaak?!"
Startled by the sudden sound of something scraping its throat from behind, I whipped around.
What stood there when I turned was a monster.
Not just any monster.
A disgustingly formed monster.
Its structure was similar to a human's,
but countless tentacles like acne sprouted from its jaw.
Its head had bizarre horns lined up in a single row, and it had no eyes.
There were no eye sockets at all—the places where eyes should have been if it were human were completely smooth.
Moreover, though it was hard to see in the dark, its skin was a khaki-like color,
and its nails were so long that a single scratch would gouge out flesh in chunks.
Seeing that far, I fled at full speed.
-Grrrk!
As much as I ran, the monster chased after me.
"Save me... Please save me!"
I screamed loud enough to be heard throughout the neighborhood, yet the world felt strangely quiet.
This was clearly an abnormal situation.
No matter how much this was the outskirts and a deep place, if I screamed like this there should have been some reaction.
But I had no time to think about that.
Because the monster was hot on my heels.
I fled desperately to avoid it, yet it didn't seem to tire at all, maintaining the distance and continuing to chase.
Moreover, no matter how much I ran through this alley, I felt like I couldn't escape and was simply going in circles.
"Camael! Camael?"
I urgently called for Camael, but he didn't answer.
No—I couldn't even sense his presence at all.
Something's wrong.
I have to fight back.
Braking my running feet, I turned around and drew my sword.
I planned to use the charging monster's own speed against it.
But when I turned around, no such monster existed.
Only the surroundings that had completely darkened after the sun set.
...?
Guarding my surroundings, I gripped the sword tightly.
At that moment, dozens of those monsters charged at me from all directions.
...Hup!
Widening my eyes, I swung my sword.
If I closed my eyes at a time like this, I could die.
But contrary to my thoughts, the sword didn't swing.
The blade had already disappeared, leaving only the hilt.
"W-what is this...?"
Quickly burying the panic in my chest and recovering my composure, I realized it was already too late.
The monsters had reached right in front of me.
".........Seung, and a holy mage with blonde hair and blue eyes, correct?"
At the faint voice, my eyes opened.
I must have... been having a nightmare.
"Ah, that won't be necessary, it seems."
I moved my hand.
My hand moved smoothly according to my will.
It seemed there was no artifact restraining my body or anything of the sort.
Gradually moving my hand, I shifted it toward the sword that should have been at my waist.
But my sword was gone—who knew where.
Rolling my eyes, I surveyed the surroundings.
I was lying on a bed.
The place I was in seemed to be someone's house, and seeing the quite a few dolls, the owner of this house seemed to like dolls.
Several daggers hung on the wall, and beneath them sat an orange-haired baby doll.
I could feel a ghostly aura from that doll.
A long greatsword leaned diagonally against the wall, and a container filled with black powder sat on the desk.
My sword was also placed on the desk.
Baek Sejin stood with his back to me, taking a phone call, and a woman's voice could be heard from the other end.
"Yes, I've already subdued her."
As Baek Sejin, who had his back to me, turned his body, I quickly closed my eyes and pretended to sleep.
Baek Sejin approached me closely.
"As expected of Sejin-nim, you're amazing."
"Yes? Well, understood for now. As for Kang Ha-seung... I'll handle it myself."
As Baek Sejin drew closer to me, the voice of the person he was speaking with became clearly audible.
Sejin... nim?
So Baek Sejin had already extended his clutches to multiple women.
Soon, a click sounded.
Baek Sejin had definitely taken a photo of my body.
Like this, I too would have my weakness seized by him...
And I would forcibly become a doll for him to pour his desires into, be toyed with,
and in the end, unable to escape him, live my whole life as his plaything.
Thinking that, the area around my lower abdomen gradually grew hot.
My breathing also grew rougher.
"Hm? Your face seems flushed."
Baek Sejin, who had been looking at his phone, sensed my condition and began examining me carefully.
I tried my best to maintain composure and make regular breathing sounds.
Unable to resist him and showing my body—it was quite humiliating.
-Beep beep beep!
Suddenly the ringtone from Baek Sejin's phone made my body flinch.
Fortunately he didn't seem to notice, but for a moment my heart felt like it dropped.
"Ah, Gabyul."
At the word that came from Baek Sejin's mouth, my body froze.
The name Kim Gabyul had come from his lips.
"What's the situation right now? Why is Ha-seung unnie with you?"
"Ah, as I explained, Kang Ha-seung was tailing me so I used a bit of Seyeon's item and..."
"Enough. Do I just need to go there?"
"Well... something like that."
Gabyul is coming here?
No. I don't know what he'll do to her using me as a weakness.
"No, Gabyul! Absolutely don't come here! I'll sacrifice myself so you run away!"
With firm resolve, I immediately shouted so she could hear.
"...Haa, I'll get there as fast as I can."
"That would be best, it seems."
But Gabyul ignored my words.