Chapter 8
Chapter 8
“Over there…”
“Yeah, that’s the exit.”
We pushed through the mountain of skeletons and slowly approached the exit of this prison.
“Is that… the gatekeeper…”
And there, standing where Zildre had mentioned, was the gatekeeper.
It looked like a mass of skeletons fused together, as if countless bones had gathered into a single existence. In some ways, it just looked like another pile of skeletons scattered across the ground.
But it clearly asserted its presence. At the very top of its skull-like structure, a pair of eyes glowed a menacing red.
“Stop.”
We were about to move closer to the exit when Zildre raised a hand and stopped us.
“One more step beyond here, and you enter its territory.”
“….”
We halted and quickly checked our condition.
“You still remember the plan, right?”
“Yes…”
In my hand was Zildre’s sword, while Zildre focused his energy into both empty hands, forming a crimson sphere of blood-like energy.
“We stick to the plan. Once the opportunity appears, you run straight through.”
“Zildre, I—”
“Promise me.”
With that, Zildre moved immediately.
The crimson sphere in his hands twisted and elongated, forming a spear made of blood energy.
“GATEKEEPERRRRRRR!!!!!!!”
Zildre shouted at the top of his lungs to draw its attention, then hurled the spear.
Swoooooosh—
The gatekeeper exhaled a chilling aura and turned its gaze toward Zildre and the incoming spear. Then its body began to move.
Bones protruded from its mass of skeletons as if multiple limbs were stitched together. With a casual motion, it flicked the blood spear away like it was nothing more than a toothpick.
Clatter… clatter… clatter…
Then it opened its mouth.
The red glow that had only been visible in its eyes now spilled out from within its jaws.
From all around, skeletons began to surge forward, rushing straight toward Zildre.
“Blood Wave!”
Zildre spread his arms, and a wave of blood surged forward, sweeping through the skeletons.
Aaaaaaaa—
But the gatekeeper raised both arms and released a dense, purple aura, blocking the wave effortlessly. Zildre didn’t look surprised. He already knew it wouldn’t work.
“I see it! Over there!”
“Yeah, I see it.”
As the gatekeeper spread its arms, something that had been hidden behind its limbs was revealed.
A red core.
“If we destroy that core, it goes down.”
“But…”
“Yeah. That’s not our plan.”
Zildre’s plan wasn’t to defeat the gatekeeper. It was to get past it.
“Past it?”
“Yes. We can’t kill it with our current strength. Going through is the best option.”
“But if we attack it from outside its territory—”
“It’ll still react. Don’t underestimate it. It can think.”
Wait. I thought they said it was made of vengeful spirits with no intelligence.
Zildre sighed.
“I can see what you’re thinking… A lack of reason doesn’t mean a lack of intelligence. Think of it like an animal.”
“An animal…”
“Yes. A very dangerous animal. Bigger than us, smarter than you think, and capable of using magic.”
“…That sounds like we’re going to die before we even pass it.”
Zildre laughed brightly.
“That’s fine. The most important thing in battle is trusting yourself.”
At that moment, he looked like a hero from a TV show I used to watch when I was a kid.
“Blood Stream!”
With his shout, the gathered blood energy fired forward like a beam.
Aaaaaaaa—
The gatekeeper raised its hand, and skeletons threw themselves in front of the beam like shields.
“Are those meat shields… no, bone shields?”
Countless skeletons sacrificed themselves to block it.
“HAAAAA!!!”
Zildre moved to the gatekeeper’s left, drawing its attention along with the skeletons.
“Blood Hurricane!”
Soon, the skeletons surrounding him were swallowed by a storm of blood energy.
“Siwoo! Now!”
“I know!”
That was the signal.
Aaaaaaaaaaaaa—
Most of the skeletons were swept away, but the gatekeeper stood firm, spreading its arms and releasing its aura to resist the storm.
I gripped Zildre’s sword tightly and ran.
“UOOOOOOO!!!”
I needed to stay unnoticed, but I couldn’t stop myself from yelling. If I didn’t, my legs wouldn’t move.
I ran along the path Zildre had shown me earlier, avoiding the reach of the blood storm.
Luckily, the gatekeeper was focused on resisting Zildre’s attack.
“I’m going!!!”
Just a little more and I’d see the exit. I circled around the gatekeeper, pushing forward desperately.
By the time I reached the other side, Zildre was no longer visible behind the massive body of the gatekeeper. Only the faint storm of blood energy remained in view.
Then the gatekeeper slowly turned its head.
Sssssss—
Through its hollow eye sockets, a red glow pierced through and locked onto me.
‘No way…’
That terrifying gaze made my legs freeze. I tripped and fell.
“Ah!”
“Siwoo! Get up!”
Momo’s voice echoed in my head, but my body wouldn’t move.
“Blood Lance!”
Zildre noticed the shift and fired a massive spear of blood energy toward me.
Aaaaaaaa—
But the gatekeeper raised its left hand and casually blocked it. Then it slowly extended its right hand toward me.
“Momo! No! Please! Just move!”
Dark energy gathered in its hand, mirroring the same kind of attack Zildre had used earlier.
Aaaaaa—
And then it fired.
“Ah… am I going to die here…”
Wooooong—
At that moment, my body moved on its own.
“Wha—!”
I rolled forward just as the black beam shot past me, narrowly avoiding it.
“Haah… haah… emergency evasion mode…?”
“There’s no time to relax! Run!”
The gatekeeper seemed momentarily surprised that I had dodged. I scrambled back up and ran again.
This time, I could feel it more clearly. The fear was still there, but my body didn’t freeze like before.
Zildre kept holding the skeletons back on the left, while I ran along the cleared path.
Now was my chance.
The gatekeeper stopped firing wide attacks and began shooting smaller beams from its fingers.
“Shit!”
Wooooong—
My body kept dodging automatically, but I was being pushed further to the right, away from the exit.
‘Damn it…’
Whether intentional or not, the attacks were herding me toward a dead zone.
The right side was filled with bone piles and scattered skeletons. The stronger ones had already been destroyed by Zildre, but some still remained.
Going outside the territory and re-entering wouldn’t help either. It would just repeat everything.
I had to move forward.
I kept running, dodging everything with emergency evasion.
Sssssss—
The gatekeeper seemed annoyed that I kept escaping its attacks. It stopped firing and changed its motion.
‘What…?’
Then a wall of bones rose in front of me.
I turned back, but another wall had already formed behind me.
I was completely surrounded.
And above me, through the only open space, the gatekeeper was raising its hand to fire.
There was no way out.
Momo’s voice rang out.
“Break the wall!”
“What?”
“Use the sword! You can break it!”
I gripped Zildre’s sword tightly and took my stance.
“Please…”
There was no other choice.
“Blade Technique First Form—Piercing Cut.”
My body moved instinctively, and the bone wall shattered.
At the same time, the black beam fired.
“Ugh!”
I pushed forward and ran again. I noticed faint cracks forming in Zildre’s sword.
“This is its limit. One more use and it’ll break.”
“…Got it.”
I ran with everything I had.
Before I knew it, I was already behind the gatekeeper.
“There it is… the exit!”
It looked like a passage similar to the one I had first entered from.
On the left, Zildre’s blood storm was fading. I didn’t hesitate.
“I’m going!!!”
Ssssssssss—
The moment I stepped forward, I heard something crack behind me.
The gatekeeper twisted violently.
Its spine-like structure stretched and bent unnaturally, its upper body swinging over my head as its arms slammed down in front of me.
And then I saw it.
The gatekeeper’s face, upside down.
Its eyes and mouth glowed red.
“Ugh…!”
Fear froze me in place.
Even after everything I had seen in this underground world, this was too much.
“ISHIUUUUU!!!”
Two crimson chains shot out and bound its arms.
“Zildre!”
I turned.
Zildre was there, gripping the chains with both hands.
But he was surrounded. Skeletons were biting, clawing, and tearing at him from every direction.
“Go for the core! Now!”
I looked up.
There it was. The red core. The heart of the gatekeeper.
Almost hypnotized, I raised the sword with both hands.
“Blade Technique Fifth Form—Great Cleave.”
I swung down.
The gatekeeper was split in two.
The impact was so deep the entire underground space seemed to tremble.
“Zildre! Wai—”
I turned, but Zildre was already buried beneath skeletons. Only his right arm and head were still visible.
“Go! Get out of here, Siwoo!”
“Zildre…”
“Leave! Get out and keep your promise!”
“Wait, I—”
“Siwoo! Hurry, or you’ll die too!”
The world began to collapse.
Emergency evasion pulled me forward toward the exit as Zildre sank deeper into the swarm.
“ZILDREEEEEE!!!”
“I’m counting on you… Siwoo!”
I ran.
And ran.
And kept running.
Finally, I saw it.
Two moons hung in a dark, endless night sky.
“You can stop now… it’s enough…”
Momo’s voice reached me, but I couldn’t process it.
In my hand was only the sword hilt, as if I had always been holding it like that.
“Now that I think about it…”
The air outside was cold.
“So cold…”
A voice echoed softly.
“Welcome… to another world.”