Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Episode 4 - I Want to Get Out, Forest of Skeletons (3)
“Uwaaaah!!!”
Woooong-
“Aaaagh!!!”
Woooong-
“Kyaaaah!!!”
Woooong-
The bizarre dance continued.
The skeleton swung its sword, and my body flew sideways.
The missed blade only smashed apart innocent piles of bones behind me.
“Ughhh…”
I quickly hid behind a nearby mound of bones during the opening.
“Huff…”
The thing tilted its head around, searching for me.
‘So the stronger the attack, the stronger the evasion becomes…’
After several exchanges, I’d learned a few things about Emergency Evasion Maneuver.
‘First, like Momo said, my survival is included in the optimal route.’
Emergency Evasion Maneuver was considering my survival, at least to some degree.
For example, when the thing tried to slash my neck earlier, instead of snapping my neck backward, it moved my waist and neck together to dodge the attack.
‘Unless it’s an extreme situation, I probably won’t die.’
Once I confirmed that, I started experimenting a little while using the skeleton.
‘This was probably Momo’s intention.’
Understanding my ability with my own body.
No matter how much someone explains something to you, humans learn poorly unless they experience or think through it themselves.
…Well, I was no different.
‘Second, it dodges using the smallest possible movement.’
Wide-area attacks were unavoidable, but for ordinary downward slashes, sometimes it simply twisted my body slightly and let the blade graze right past my face.
‘At first I almost pissed myself…’
But now, I was starting to get used to swords flying at my face.
‘Third, this connects to the last point. The stronger the attack, the stronger the force used for evasion.’
I didn’t know the principle behind it, but whenever Emergency Evasion Maneuver activated, some mysterious force pushed my body around and shifted my center of gravity.
And that force changed depending on the power and range of the opponent’s attack.
Large-range attacks or powerful blows made my body fly away with tremendous force, while weaker attacks only nudged my body slightly.
‘That’s about it for now…’
As I organized my thoughts, I reviewed the plan again.
‘Good. It’s mostly within expectations.’
Thankfully, “that method” I thought of earlier seemed possible.
‘Then…’
I carefully moved behind the bone piles, avoiding the skeleton’s gaze while searching for the right location.
Clatter!!-
But the moment I peeked my head out, the thing spotted me and charged.
“Shit!”
I immediately ran toward the place I had picked out beforehand, but—
“Ghk!”
The thing had apparently gotten angry, because it was clearly faster now.
Clatter!!!-
The distance between us rapidly closed, and my breathing grew ragged.
“Huff… huff…”
BOOM!
The skeleton swung its sword, and suddenly my body lurched forward and fell.
The sword, having lost its target, smashed into the ground and sent debris flying everywhere.
Woooong-
“Gah!”
My body automatically rolled to avoid the fragments, widening the distance between us again.
“Ughhh…”
I hurriedly got back up before Emergency Evasion Maneuver could make me roll across the floor again.
‘Just a little more…!’
If I moved just a bit farther, I’d reach the place I needed for “that method.”
Clatter!!-
But my exhausted body, worn out from the exchange, refused to obey me any longer.
Meanwhile, the thing, seemingly incapable of fatigue, charged at me with murderous intent while raising its sword high.
‘Damn it…’
I grabbed my trembling legs and barely managed to stand.
But that seemed to be the limit. My legs stubbornly refused to cooperate.
‘Just a little farther…!’
After calming my shaking legs, I estimated the distance.
One more sprint.
That was all I needed.
“Fuck…”
But my body showed no intention of moving.
『Honestly, it’s impressive you lasted this long.』
“Momo…”
『Unfortunately, your fate ends here…』
‘Am I really… really going to die here?’
『Lee Siwoo… then this is where we—』
“No!!!!!”
『…Hm?』
Clatter?-
“I don’t want to die here!!!!!”
The moment I screamed, both Momo and the skeleton froze in surprise.
“Uwaaaaaaaah!!!!!”
Shrieking wildly, I squeezed out every last ounce of strength and charged straight at the stunned skeleton.
Clatter!-
The thing quickly regained itself and swung its sword massively toward me.
Woooong-
Emergency Evasion Maneuver faithfully moved my body once more.
Naturally, dodging past the skeleton wasn’t even considered.
Both sides were blocked by the debris created when it smashed the floor earlier.
‘Then there’s only… one path left…!’
Because of the skeleton’s huge swing, my body was dragged with tremendous force toward the only remaining opening.
“Gghhh!!!”
A mysterious power yanked my body backward faster and faster.
And then—
CRASH!
I slammed into the enormous mountain of bones behind me.
Kuguuuung-
The gigantic bone pile, barely maintaining its balance, collided with me flying in at terrifying speed and began collapsing with an earth-shaking roar.
Da… clatter?-
KWAKAKAKAKANG-
The collapsing mountain of bones buried both me and the skeleton chasing after me.
‘Good… it worked exactly as planned!’
Originally, I’d planned to lure it into position and collapse the pile myself at the perfect timing…
‘Well, whatever. It collapsed, so I guess it’s a success?’
『Hmm… so this was what you were aiming for?』
“Of course!”
『To collapse a mountain that size, ordinary force wouldn’t be enough…』
“O-Obviously…”
『If your plan was just pulling out a few bones and hoping it would fall over, I’d have been disappointed.』
“…Obviously.”
CLATTER!!!-
The bone mountain crashed down thunderously, and the skeleton, buried beneath the avalanche of bones, toppled with it.
And I leisurely escaped the collapsing zone.
Woooong-
Naturally, thanks to Emergency Evasion Maneuver, I escaped without a single injury.
Kuguguguguguung-
The entire mountain collapsed, filling the surroundings with thick dust.
“Cough cough, gah… there’s so much dust…”
『Cover your mouth as much as possible while moving. This dust is terrible for the body.』
“Okay… cough cough…”
I covered my mouth with one hand and pushed through the dust with the other.
“Stop.”
A deep voice suddenly echoed out, and something cold touched my neck.
“Huh…?”
I rolled my eyes downward.
Instead of the rusty blade I’d been dodging until moments ago, a sharp blue-tinted sword rested against my throat.
“Hands up.”
Slowly, I raised both hands above my head.
“Name and affiliation.”
“Uh… my name’s Lee Siwoo…”
“Affiliation. Where are you from? How did you get here?”
“Uh… you probably won’t believe me, but I’m a Hero from another world…”
“…”
The other person gave no reaction.
‘Well… even I think it sounds ridiculous…’
“Walk forward. Slowly.”
Threatened by the blade, I slowly walked where the stranger directed me.
“This is…”
“Kneel.”
The stranger led me into what seemed to be their hideout.
And now I was kneeling with both hands raised like a criminal being punished.
“So… you’re supposedly a Hero?”
The red-haired threat carefully looked me over from top to bottom before asking skeptically.
“Probably…”
“What do you mean probably?”
“Well…”
“Forget it. Just answer my questions.”
“Yes…”
The red-haired threat narrowed crimson eyes at me and slowly spoke.
“How did you enter this place?”
“Uh… I fell from above…”
The moment I answered, their gaze sharpened further.
“N-no, I mean…”
I hurriedly explained everything that happened after being summoned to another world.
“So in other words… you’re an idiot who got thrown down here after trying to sound cool?”
“Th-that’s… um… yeah…”
The person’s gaze turned into one looking at something truly pathetic.
“So… Mister? Who exactly are you…?”
I slightly raised my head and looked up at the person staring down at me.
“How dare you look me in the eyes while speaking?”
The threat glared at me while wiping their sword with a cloth they’d pulled from somewhere.
The moment I lowered my head again, I heard Momo sigh from atop my head.
『Sigh… I don’t know exactly who this brat is, but they’re probably a vampire.』
“A vampire?”
“What did you say!!!!!”
The threat, who had been sitting nearby while watching me, instantly appeared before me with their sword at my throat again.
“How do you know what I am?”
“W-well…”
Momo answered lazily.
『Relax. Tell them you’re a friend of “Nosferatu.”』
“Nosferatu…?”
“You dare speak that great one’s name!!!!!”
“N-no, wait…”
“Give me a proper reason, or I’ll cut your head off. Five… four…”
“Aaaah…! S-she said she’s their friend…”
I desperately blurted it out while sweating coldly.
“Friend…? What nonsense—”
“M-Momotani Himeko… said you’d understand…”
The moment I said Momo’s name, the threat slowly stepped back.
“…Who are you? What relationship do you have with the Blood-Red Swordmaster?”
“Blood-Red Swordmaster? Who’s that?”
“…What nonsense are you talking about? Momotani Himeko, the Second Hero. Her title was the Blood-Red Swordmaster, or Blood-Red Sword Demon.”
“Huh? Seriously?”
I lowered my head while trembling.
『Ugh… I wasn’t trying to deceive you, but… well…』
“That sounds insanely cool!!!!! Give me a title like that too!”
Eyes sparkling, I grabbed Momo from my head and shook her around.
『H-hey! Stop! I’m dizzy!!』
“…Is she really sealed inside there?”
The threat had somehow moved beside me and was now holding one side of Momo’s mask while speaking rapidly.
“My mother spoke often about you. She said she was worried sick after you suddenly vanished…”
“But why Blood-Red Swordmaster? Does it mean red blood or something?”
“So you truly were here all this time? If only my body had been in better condition, I could have searched this place sooner…!”
“Right! How did she know you were a vampire? Is it related to the Blood-Red Swordmaster title?”
“But are you truly the Blood-Red Sword Demon? Ah, I’m not doubting you… I’m just naturally cautious…”
“If you’re a Hero, do you automatically get cool titles like that? Then maybe I can—”
Unable to endure any longer, Momo screamed.
『Shut up! Shut up! One at a time!!!』
“…”
“…?”
When I suddenly stopped talking, the threat looked at me with confusion.
『…First, both of you sit down.』
At some point we’d both stood up.
Momo calmed us down and made us sit.
“…Fine. Sit.”
“Yes…”
I sat across the table in the threat’s hideout.
The threat also seemed embarrassed about suddenly bombarding us with questions.
“So… it seems you can hear the Blood-Red Sword Demon’s voice.”
“Huh? You can’t hear her?”
“Gilles de Rais.”
“Huh?”
“Vlad Gilles de Rais. My name.”
“Ah… like I said before, I’m Lee Siwoo…”
“Family name?”
“…Lee.”
“I understand, Lee Lee Siwoo.”
“…?”
『…You idiots are exactly alike.』
“No, just Lee Siwoo…”
“Hm? Then… Siwoo Lee Siwoo?”
『Morons…』