Necromancer Survival

   With one arm now rendered useless, the monster glared at me as it breathed roughly.
I was scared that it might suddenly rush at me, but I didn’t intend to let it continue hurting me.

     When I lifted [Sylph’s Fall] and brandished the blade, its momentum slowed.
Its hand was lost; my previous attack seemed to have dealt a severe blow.

     “Get away from me!” I shouted with all my might, swinging the dagger from side to side.

     The monster then tried to copy Seo Dawon’s face once more, with its head rippling.
But when I saw that, I shouted even louder, “Argh! Stop trying to imitate him!”

     Only then did the quivering features calm down.
However, I couldn’t rest on my laurels.

     The monster paused for a moment before suddenly opening its mouth wide.
Its open mouth was vast–as if there were a passage behind it that exceeded the bounds of its face; the situation was so bizarre I had almost forgotten the urgency of my circumstances and stared blankly at it.

     Furthermore, there was something inside the monster’s mouth, wriggling grossly.
Goosebumps naturally rose all over my skin.

     “What on earth is that…” The subtle light that leaked from [Sylph’s Fall] allowed me to just barely see inside.
The mouth appeared as if it were crammed full of something that looked like elongated, haphazardly tangled threads.

     I mumbled to myself, hoping that my guess was wrong, “…Snakes?”

[Kyaaaaaaaaaaghh!]

     Unfortunately though, as soon I finished mumbling, the snakes opened their bright yellow eyes in unison.

     The countless snakes raised their heads simultaneously and began to approach me.
I faltered and retreated; when the snakes began to speed up, I screamed.
“AHHHHHHH!”

     I ran towards the corner of the room, but I couldn’t outrun the snakes that continued to pour out of his mouth like a waterfall.
There was nothing for me to climb, either.

     “Haah, haah….” Eventually, after being driven into the corner, I leaned my back against the wall and, once more, gripped [Sylph’s Fall] tightly.

     Before I knew it, the black snakes had surrounded me, hissing and making all sorts of unpleasant sounds.
However, they could only threaten me with their poised heads; perhaps they were cautious of [Sylph’s Fall].

     ‘What should I do…?!’

[Stupid Hamster!]

     Suddenly, I heard a familiar voice ring from the ceiling.

     Startled, I looked up; a cat covered in cute pink fur stood, shouting over a hole she had pierced through with her claws.

     “Bang Eunji!” Though I was relieved by her appearance, I still grimaced as I couldn’t reach her from my spot, surrounded by snakes.

     Silly of me to think that, however; Bang Eunji jumped straight down as soon as we made eye contact.
She gracefully trampled the snakes’ heads.
A jaw-dropping landing.

[Ke-e-e-e-ek!]

     Of course, the snakes didn’t stay still.
Posing with its poisonous, black fangs outwards, they tried to snap at the young girl’s heels.
Bang Eunji was faster, though.

“”

     The pink cat approached me, stomping on the snake’s heads and torsos and avoiding their attacks with fluid, seamless movements–I wanted to ask how she could dodge without even seeing the attacks.
The snakes actually bit each other while trying to attack Bang Eunji, and twisted their bodies into a tangled mass.

[What are you doing, staring so vacantly like that!]

     Thanks to Bang Eunji creating pandemonium (?), the snakes were shaken; their formation was disrupted.
There was space for me to move.
As soon as she shouted, I ran towards her, brandishing [Sylph’s Fall] wildly.

     When the snakes faltered and created some space, Ban Eunji leaped high into the air before landing near me; she bit me painlessly on the scruff of the neck and leaped once more.

     I could hear a furious hissing sound coming from behind, but even that noise calmed down after a few jumps.
We had escaped from that bloody, death-trap of a room.

     “…H-How did you get here? Also, what’s with that appearance?”

[It’s not the time to ask that.
We need to run quickly to a place where we can sign the contract…]

     As I listened to her, a sudden thought forced my mouth open, “You can’t do anything even though this is your [Vengeful Ghost Memory]?”

     An unexpected response fell from her lips–

[Those guys… Eunji can’t get rid of them because they’re connected to Hamster-ssi.]

     “What?”

[Why are you surprised? Hamster-ssi brought them all inside.]

     “No… What do you mean by that? I don’t have anything to do with that guy! Rather, it’s chasing me one-sidedly–and it’s not like we share a body.”

[Hmmm.]

     But, Bang Eunji didn’t seem to be interested in my argument.
She looked at me as if she had not an ounce of conviction in my statements–as if she found all this troublesome.
She tilted her head and said–

[But, from Eunji’s perspective, they all look similar to Hamster-ssi.]

     “What? What are you saying! Those things look like snakes, don’t they?”

[Eunji isn’t talking about one’s outer appearance.
Eunji looks like a cat right now, right?]

     “Then…”

[If you don’t understand, Eunji doesn’t particularly want to explain.
Eunji doesn’t think you’ll understand even if she explains.]

     “What?”

[More than that, there’s no time to explain and it’s…exhausting.]

     “W-Wait a minute… What am I supposed to do when you’re being so evasive…!”

     However, instead of answering, Bang Eunji kept walking, still biting my scruff, and ignoring my complaints.

     I tried to organize my complicated thoughts using what she had said.
That monster was trying to trap me in these [Vengeful Ghost Memories] by imitating Seo Dawon.
Furthermore, Bang Eunji stated that the monster and I were connected.
Therefore, she couldn’t get rid of him…

     “…You’re saying I’m just like that monster?” I grumbled, not bothering to hide my displeasure.
Then, Bang Eunji made a tactless remark–

[You’re similar.]

     “What exactly makes us so similar!”

[The obsession with Guildmaster-nim…]

     “What?” I looked at her, surprised by her unexpected response.
However, Bang Eunji only calmly looked around at our surroundings, as if she hadn’t dropped a bomb on me.

[Hmm… Will this place be okay? Hamster-ssi, please take out the contract.]

     “……” There were one or two more things I wanted to argue, but I couldn’t afford to air all my grievances now.
I suppressed my complaints; the contract came first.

     Staring at my deeply displeased face, she licked her paws languidly–despicably.
Then, she placed her paw–still damp and scented from her spit–on my head, patting and stroking my hair.

[Hamster-ssi.
No matter how kindhearted you may be, it’s not healthy to be obsessed.]

     I took out the contract, floated it in front of me, and looked back at the cat.
I still didn’t understand what she had meant–before and now–but I felt choked up for some reason.
“…I said I don’t know.
I’ve never made anything like that.
That thing always gets in my way.”

[……]

     “Moreover, what ‘obsession’ are you talking about…”

     This time, Bang Eunji didn’t even pretend to listen to my complaints; she merely placed her paw on the contract–right where she should sign her name.
I frowned but also added my own signature; it was better to finalize this contract anyway.

[Ooooooo—-]

     As soon as we were finished signing, a long, terrible roar echoed bitterly from where we fled.

     I looked back; a strange mood washed over me.
However, a sharp tongue licked the back of my head, and I was forced to turn around and look at Bang Eunji again.
“W-What was that!”

[Hamster-ssi.
You haven’t forgotten our other contract, have you? Regarding Eunji and Garam-kun’s future.]

     Actually, I had forgotten a little–a needle of guilt poked my heart.
But, when Bang Eunji squinted her eyes, I nodded hastily despite the cold sweat that ran down my back.
“O-Of course…”

[Hmm… What an untrustworthy expression…]

     As she spoke, Bang Eunji pressed my cheeks with her soft, jelly-like paw pads.
It seemed that this was one way she expressed familiarity, so I didn’t want to push her away.
Suddenly, her body began to slowly shine.

     We raised our heads as one; then, light rose spread and unfurled from our feet.
Fortunately, it seemed our contract had been completed properly.

     “Haah…” I really thought this was my biggest ordeal yet.
I couldn’t help the sigh that tumbled out of my lips.

     Still, I felt as if I had completed my trial successfully.
The relief that I had done well made all strength seep out of my body.
Meanwhile, the light continued to rise until it reached a point where I found that it was no longer possible to open my eyes.

     But, just before I closed my eyes, I saw something black and gargantuan collapse over the horizon as it tried to rush towards me.
I tried to open my eyes again to see what it was, but…

[Once again–don’t be too obsessive.]

     I shut my eyes tight, flinching at Bang Eunji’s firm words.

     Just like that, we were plunged into white.

     “…Hagh!” I stood up, breathless.

     But…

     “…W-What happened?”

     When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by chaos in my home.