Necromancer Survival

ange ‘laughter’ flowed from what I assumed was ‘Seo Dawon’s’ lips.
Even more goosebumps rose; it felt as if I had found a huge insect clinging to the corner of my ceiling.
As if the insect’s head had turned to look at me while I was observing it.
My breath caught in my throat.

[Kek… Kekek….
Gigigigik…..]

     “……”

[Kikik… Gigigik….
Kek….
Gigik…]

     I tried to ignore those sounds but failed.

     When I’ve occasionally fallen prey to sleep paralysis, I was loathe to look in a certain direction because I was scared to see if anything was pressing down on my chest.

     This was the same: I trembled without raising my head because of the bizarre fear I felt since ‘Seo Dawon’s’ face had begun to waver.
It felt as if something terrifying was happening–as if something was looking down at me from above.

     When I closed my eyes tightly–unwilling to confirm my vague fears–‘he’ unfortunately lifted my chin with his fingertips.

     I came face to face with a spinning, pitch-black face.

     In the end, I had to watch as, right before my nose, the monster’s face began to tilt until the head reached the shoulder.
Accompanied by a horrible crunching sound, its eyes were now where its chin should be; the face’s position was inverted vertically.

     Furthermore, the face began to laugh and smile grotesquely, as if it were told to grin with all its might.
The wide-open eyes and the corners of his lips were pulled together; if I were to take the expression separately, I would assume that the smile was some punishment given to a sinner in inferno.

     These weren’t even Seo Dawon’s features anymore.
Against the backdrop of a black canvas, its eyes, wide-open grin, and sharp, jagged teeth kept turning and spinning around… I couldn’t find any words to express this sight except for ‘terrifying.’

     “Ah….”

     When you’re too scared, you can’t even scream.

     I released a long groan and trembled helplessly; this was the scariest thing I had ever seen.
I wanted to close my eyes, but I couldn’t–I was afraid the face would come closer if I did close them.

     My fright seemed to bring great pleasure to that ‘thing,’ whose form couldn’t honestly be said to resemble a human anymore.

     It continued to giggle mockingly at me.

[Oh my, it seems like, you’re scared, was this, not a face, you liked?]

“”

    “……”

[Hmmmm….
Kehehehehe… Kikikeke… Hihihihi…]

    ‘Insane…’

     I tried to say something, but when its mouth opened and its chin began to clatter up and down, all my thoughts flew away.

     It leaned towards me like that, as if it were going to chew and swallow me up.

[YoushouldhaverunawayLee-kyung-ah,hm?No–let’sbetogether.Youwantedmylovetoo,right?Pleasestayasleeplikethis–Don’t wakeup.Youcandoanythingyou’dlike here;Let’sdreamtogether.Let’shaveadreamyoucan’twakeupfrom.
Don’ttrytoescape,andgiveup.No–youdon’twanttodie–youknowthe truth.You’rerunningfromthedreams–don’tignoreyourhunch.Whydon’tyoustillrealizeI’mkillingyou?]

     It quickly muttered at me, using the Mage’s voice.
The rapid sentences almost sounded recorded.

     It spoke so fast that I didn’t understand half of what it said, but it was clear that it would soon do something terrible to me.
Its grip on my body was getting stronger.
If I stay in its grasp, I may burst within its hands and die.

     ‘If I lose consciousness here, it’s all over…’

     I held back my nausea and bit my lips until it bled.
Then, I thrust [Sylph’s Fall], hidden in my skirt, into its thumb.

     Then, its grip weakened a little…a pause that may be caused by the prick of a small thorn.
However, I didn’t give up and placed more strength into thrusting [Sylph’s Fall].

    At that moment, its spinning face stopped.
It now screamed with a terrible voice I hadn’t heard before, no longer imitating ‘Seo Dawon’s’ voice.

[Ahhhhrgh!]

     It sounded as if countless people were screaming simultaneously.

     After that, black smoke rose from [Sylph’s Fall]’s blade.
I felt as if I was going to vomit from the disgusting scent that wafted near my nostrils.
However, my hands did not release their tension.

     It tried to reach out with its other hand to grab my head–perhaps the blade was actually painful.
But, strangely enough, it started and stopped several times.

     Then, I saw that the wound site on the thumb had gradually hardened to a gray mass before crumbling away.

     Finally, I felt as if I could breathe again–

[The sweet dream is over.]

     –But, I could not relax when I heard its murmur from its still grotesquely-bent head alongside its half-demolished hand.