Necromancer Survival

Chapter 325

 

     When I heard his voice, I instinctively hid the dagger between the folds of the ragged lace of my skirt.

     Fortunately, ‘Seo Dawon’ must not have noticed anything; he stretched out a finger towards me without saying anything.
Though I was nervous for a moment, I soon realized he was trying to lift me out.
So, I relaxed my body.

     ‘Seo Dawon’s’ face was still blackened; I had no idea where I should look at him, so I lowered my head for now.

[You’re so docile now.]

     “…What about Bang Eunji?”

     ‘Seo Dawon’ spoke softly as if he were praising my obedience, but his aura soon changed after I inquired about Bang Eunji.

     After a deep, wary silence, he responded in a tone that belied lingering emotions–

[Who knows.
What do you think happened to her?]

     “…What are you talking about.
Don’t tell me–did you do anything to her?”

[I can hear the cogs rolling in your head, Lee-kyung-ah.]

     “……”

“”

[Nothing good could have happened to her, of course.
I told you, didn’t I? I’m going to handcuff you.]

     I took a deep breath, trying not to be swayed by ‘Seo Dawon’s’ words.

     Though the fake being spoke coldly, I still had yet to receive a failure message from the system.
In other words, Bang Eunji, as surprising as it may be, was likely safe.
Seo Dawon must have done something to make it difficult for her to find me.

     To be frank, I should be nervous about my own safety.
This thing imitating the Mage would be of no help to me.

     ‘Will Bang Eunji be able to find me? Before it’s too late, I mean…’

     I glanced at ‘Seo Dawon’s’ blackened face as I squeezed the handle of the dagger hidden in my skirt.
I had no idea why or how the ring took the form of the dagger, but it was a little comforting to have a weapon on hand.

     ‘Of course, it’s unclear whether or not this dagger can hurt or affect ‘Seo Dawon’…’

     Humans wouldn’t get scared just because a hamster threatened them with a toothpick, after all.
Though this metaphor was a bit humiliating, I couldn’t deny reality.

     Still, it crossed my mind that ‘Seo Dawon’ would be careless and underestimate me due to the size of my body.
I don’t know exactly what he was–and I doubted he was human, but…

     ‘In any case… I can still communicate with him… right?’

     He was obsessed with me.
Though I wasn’t sure why.
I decided to ask the questions I had been dying to ask.
“Seo Dawon.”

[Yeah, Lee-kyung-ah.]

     “You and I… we met in a past [Vengeful Ghost Memory], right?”

     I had asked without any great expectations as to his answer.
At that moment, though, where the mouth should be on ‘Seo Dawon’s’ blackened face tore into a wide simulacrum of a smile.

     That sight would make anyone scream.
The red interior beyond that pitch-dark face… The uncanny, human-like grin…

[Hmm, I wonder what instances you’re referring to…]

     “……”

[We’ve met more than once, Lee-kyung-ah.]

     With that smile still on his face, he affirmed my hypothesis.
And, he stroked my head as if he were praising me.

     The ‘mouth’ that formed did not disappear and remained on its previously featureless, pure-black face.
After the mouth formed, ‘Seo Dawon’s’ face kept wriggling and stretching, as if something–other features–were still being formed…

     ‘Disgusting…’

     It was hard to continue to look at that wriggling mass of a face.

     However, regardless of my reaction, the being continued to talk to me pleasantly, continuing to imitate Seo Dawon.

[Hmm… Still, you noticed it quite quickly, this time… Judging by your fear, it seems like the façade I wear isn’t working anymore…]

     “……”

[In any case, to think you’d remember the ‘me’ you met in the past… Hoo~… I’m glad.
I thought…you had completely… forgotten.]

     ‘What’s he talking about now…?’

     I wanted to dig into the story in more detail, but ‘Seo Dawon’ took the initiative to stroke both my cheeks with his hands.

     Then, after saying something strange, something changed about his touch.
Should I describe his touch like an ice-cold corpse stroking my cheek?

     That strange sensation sent goosebumps rising all over my skin.
Though I tried to continue speaking, I couldn’t say anything; my jaw had tensed unwittingly.

     Furthermore, a strange ‘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.