Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: If You Fall Asleep, You Die (6)
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"Gah!"
As soon as the test began, Na-rae clutched her stomach and doubled over, collapsing to the floor.
In front of the fallen Na-rae stood the old woman, staring blankly at her bloodstained hands.
Chunks of Na-rae's flesh were stuck to the old woman's hands.
No one could tell how it had happened, but the old woman's hand had pierced Na-rae's abdomen like a knife.
"Damn it! Stop that old hag!"
The usually calm Emel shouted in alarm.
Na-rae writhed on the floor in agony, vomiting blood.
This time, the old woman spread her bloodied fingertips and lunged at Byung-su.
Byung-su stumbled back in panic, his feet tangling until he fell flat on his butt.
The old woman's fingertips flew toward Byung-su's throat like sharp daggers.
Emel grabbed Byung-su by the scruff of his neck and hurled him toward Judge Choi, who was perched on the coffin.
Judge Choi caught Byung-su effortlessly and released Black Dog's leash. Black Dog launched itself, slamming into the old woman and knocking her down.
"Will those two young ones last until dawn? Hahaha."
Beelzebub's voice echoed from the darkness.
Only then did Emel realize why Beelzebub had emphasized the word "endure."
Emel hurriedly pressed her hand to Na-rae's wounded stomach to staunch the bleeding.
White spiritual energy rose from Emel's body and gathered over Na-rae's abdomen.
Even with the powers of Emel the "Ghoulra," who could revive the dead, her energy was simply being drained away. Na-rae showed no signs of waking.
Damn! Beelzebub's trying to force me to exhaust my energy saving this woman.
She couldn't stop, as her endless energy was being sucked into Na-rae, but she had to keep her alive.
"We've been had! He's going to kill these two and end the test. Hurry and tell him we're offering the sacrifice! If you two die, the bet and the test mean nothing. We'll all die at Beelzebub's hands!"
Emel shouted at Byung-su as she continued pouring her energy into Na-rae's body.
At that moment, the old woman's hand, pinned under Black Dog, pierced right through the dog's belly.
Black Dog let out a short yelp before collapsing onto the old woman's face.
The old woman pulled her hand from Black Dog's stomach, shoved the body aside, and stood up.
"Stay down!"
Hong Sang-in rushed over and smashed his torch down on the blood-soaked old woman's head.
Sparks flew as she toppled back onto Black Dog's body.
"Black Dog!"
Judge Choi called out, but Black Dog only twitched faintly at its master's voice, showing no other movement.
Despite his urgency, Judge Choi stayed atop the coffin and pleaded with Emel for help.
"Hey, Emel! Save our Black Dog too! I beg you!"
Emel had already poured more than half her energy into Na-rae.
Thanks to Emel's energy, Na-rae's breathing was returning.
Emel paused to consider Judge Choi's request, then held up a hand to stop Hong Sang-in from approaching.
"Don't come any closer. Send Black Dog over here, and you stay by that old hag. I might accidentally hurt you, so don't leave her side no matter what."
Having expended so much energy, Emel seemed on high alert.
"Is it possession?"
Hong Sang-in asked as he pushed Black Dog toward her.
Fear filled his voice.
Emel pressed energy into Black Dog's belly to stop the bleeding and replied.
"Not possession—mental domination. That old hag's fingers must all be broken. Anyway, I figure you'll be next for mental domination, Mr. Hong. Move even a little, and I'll snap your neck."
Hong Sang-in quietly took his place beside the old woman at Emel's threat.
He still clutched the torch, ready to bring it down without mercy if she stirred.
White smoke rose from Emel's body as she expended her energy.
"Thank you. Emel, even if Beelzebub accepts me as the sacrifice, he won't let you all go. Protecting these people until dawn is our best shot. You're smart—you get what I mean."
Judge Choi expressed his gratitude to Emel as she treated Black Dog and offered his thoughts.
"We still have five hours until sunrise. Even if you and I endure, can these frail humans?"
Emel was demoralized by the old woman's unexpected attack.
"I'll guard this one, so you protect the woman and hold out."
Judge Choi pointed to Byung-su beside him and Na-rae lying next to Emel. Hong Sang-in jumped into the conversation.
"What about me? Who's protecting me?"
Emel thought for a moment, then answered flatly.
"Protect yourself, Mr. Hong."
Hong Sang-in's face fell at Emel's cold response.
His sense of security was gone.
He turned toward the window, steeled himself, and stood.
"You all stay here. I'm leaving."
With that, Hong Sang-in bolted for the window.
A chill wind hit his face through the broken pane.
Hong Sang-in reached the window and leaped out.
Thud!
His body bounced off something soft and rolled across the floor.
He sprang to his feet. He wasn't badly hurt, but shock twisted his face.
"What the hell? What did I hit?"
He muttered to himself and raised the torch to illuminate the window.
Long eyelashes. Black pupils. Bloodshot whites.
A massive eye, larger than a person, covered the window and followed his movements.
"Gah! What is that? When did that get there?"
Reeling from the giant eye staring down at him, Hong Sang-in backed away and fled back to the group.
Judge Choi glanced at the stunned Hong Sang-in from atop the coffin and asked Emel.
"Those ten minutes he gave us were just to trap us in here, huh. How's the girl?"
He was asking about Na-rae's condition.
Black Dog, revived by Emel's energy, was already up and sitting by its master's side.
The ghoul's power to resurrect corpses had brought the dying dog back to life.
Emel placed a hand on Na-rae's neck and replied in a low voice to Judge Choi's question.
"She's alive."
"Then why isn't she conscious? Even with your ghoul powers of healing, what's keeping her under?"
Judge Choi seemed well aware of a ghoul's resurrection abilities.
Emel tilted her head, her voice weak.
She probably wasn't entirely sure of her own suspicions.
"Her life isn't in danger. I poured so much of my energy into her that she'll live a long, healthy life with enhanced physical abilities... It's been ages since she should have woken up... Wait, could it be?"
Fear filled Emel's face as she answered Judge Choi.
Na-rae's eyebrows twitched as if trapped in a nightmare.
Emel whispered softly to the unresponsive Na-rae.
"Is it hard? So hard, what are we gonna do? It's okay. It'll be okay. You'll wake up just fine, without a scratch."
* * *
Na-rae had been dating Min-seong, a friend from her high school film club, for seven years before marrying him five years ago. They had a four-year-old daughter.
Na-rae's father had passed away before she was even born, and her mother had raised her alone in hardship.
With no siblings, her mother had been her only family until marriage.
Na-rae had always been an excellent student through high school and dreamed of medical school.
Her mother and everyone around her took it for granted that she'd go to med school.
On the day of her first college entrance exam...
She and her mother ended up in the emergency room instead of the exam hall after a car accident.
Na-rae fell into a deep sleep on her ER bed.
She didn't dream, but she felt suffocating pressure on her chest, as if someone were straddling her and strangling her throat.
Countless hands grabbed her body, dragging her down into the bed in agony.
"Is it hard?"
In the endless pain where she couldn't wake, a tender, gentle voice reached her.
It had to be her mother's voice—the woman who had lived solely for her.
"Yes, Mom... it's so hard."
"So hard, what are we gonna do? It's okay. It'll be okay."
Only after hearing her mother's kind voice in that deep slumber did the strangling pressure and the distant hands pulling her into the bed fade away.
When she awoke, it wasn't her mother waiting for her—it was Min-seong.
"Where's Mom?"
Min-seong just wept endlessly at her question.
Her mother had arrived at the ER and passed away while Na-rae slept so deeply.
Min-seong had stayed by her side alone.
Na-rae's sleep had lasted five days, and the doctors had been debating whether to pull the plug.
Upon learning of her mother's death from Min-seong, Na-rae tormented herself for not even being able to attend the funeral.
Her classmates had pooled money to hold the service, she was told.
She ached at the thought of how shabby that funeral must have been, performed by young students.
Imagining her mother's lonely, pitiful final journey—after raising her alone in such hardship—Na-rae lay in bed for days, sobbing.
To pay the hospital bills and funeral costs covered by friends, she used the med school tuition her mother had saved for her.
Min-seong stepped in to fill the void her mother left.
With Min-seong's devoted care, Na-rae pulled herself together and was discharged.
Min-seong became her everything, always there with encouragement and comfort.
After discharge, she buckled down for a second shot at the entrance exam and med school.
Her scores were excellent, and she applied to her top-choice university.
No one doubted she'd get into med school.
But the results were different from expected.
Min-seong held the dejected Na-rae, comforted her, and urged her to try again.
With his encouragement, she took a third crack at it and sat for the exam again.
The results were just as devastating as before.
As she tried to give up, Min-seong encouraged her once more, giving her strength.
She prepared for the exam yet again but didn't apply to med school.
Without consulting Min-seong, Na-rae applied to the police academy and got in.
It wasn't a bad outcome after years of exams.
But her unilateral decision, betraying expectations, deeply hurt Min-seong, who had silently supported her.
Watching her efforts yield no results and seeing Min-seong grow weary over time, it had been a hard choice for Na-rae too.
Having given up her dream, Na-rae struggled immensely with her own pathetic failure, despite Min-seong's devoted support. She hadn't taken a single step toward her goals.
Even after starting at the academy, she couldn't shake the despair of letting Min-seong down. She'd cover her mouth in the bathroom and sob alone.
Fearing Min-seong might be waiting outside home, she'd wander the streets hungry, unable to go inside.
She sank deeper into self-loathing, unable to break free.
And she could never escape the despair of accomplishing nothing.
That's when Na-rae started hoarding sleeping pills.
One pill, two... soon the bottle was full.
Whenever she drank, she'd pull out the bottle and hesitate.
She figured drunk, she'd unknowingly swallow them all.
"Is it hard?"
It was a gentle voice.
Someone stroked the head of Na-rae, passed out from drink.
It sounded like her late mother's voice—or maybe Min-seong's.
"Yes... so hard."
"It's okay. It'll be okay."
The voice faded, and she woke.
No usual hangover.
The bottle of sleeping pills was gone.
Thanks to that kind, gentle voice, Na-rae found peace. She graduated from the academy and was assigned to Susu Police Station.
She mended things with the distant Min-seong, ended their long courtship with marriage, and built a family.
They even had a beautiful daughter.
For Na-rae, who finally had a family after so long, those were blissfully happy days.