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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Jjescus ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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Chapter: 151
"A dagger?"
The blade that appeared didn't look like a weapon designed to kill a person. It was no bigger than the palm of my hand, a tiny trinket that seemed more suited for decoration.
Gong Chomun sneered as he held it up. This wasn't a joke. To pull out something like that in a situation like this. It was easy to guess that this was no ordinary blade.
"What the hell are you..."
Gong Chomun chuckled coldly and suddenly slashed his forearm with the dagger. Blood dripped down immediately.
The stench of blood filled the air. It was impossible for the smell to be this strong unless it was due to some kind of supernatural ability, even though I wasn't standing right next to him. The effects of the bellflower were almost completely gone.
As soon as I realized that, an unusually heavy weight pressed down on my shoulders. A sinister aura seemed to be waiting for this moment, ready to crush me. My nerves were on edge.
Drops of blood continued to fall. And from them, I noticed something. The dagger Gong Chomun had drawn was a medium for a spell.
A powerful energy spread out, carried by the scent of blood. It was cold and sharp. Soon, its presence engulfed the surroundings.
It wasn't just me who noticed the change. Fear gradually crept across Gong Chomun's face.
"What kind of expression is that for something you've done?"
Then, a terrible howl tore through the air. The roar that came from beyond the nearby cliffs had clearly started far away, but I didn't feel confident that it would stay there.
It was as if those creatures were about to be summoned here, their ominous sounds filling the air. An alien and bizarre aura brushed against my skin.
"...Are you summoning a beast? What are you going to do with it?"
Gong Chomun started to laugh instead of answering. It was an unnatural laugh that didn't fit the grim atmosphere. I stepped towards Gong Chomun with my sword drawn.
"Don't you want to live?"
"Live? Do you think that's possible, you little prince?"
As soon as Gong Chomun spat out those mocking words, the ground began to tremble. Small rocks around us were dislodged and disappeared into the soil, and the shadows above began to sway.
"There's nowhere to run. Look,” Gong Chomun said.
As unfortunate as it was, he was right. There was no escape.
I didn't even need to look around. This was a passage that only led in one direction, and we were in the middle of it.
The wound Gong Chomun had inflicted on himself with the dagger continued to bleed.
A small puddle of blood had already formed beneath it. Because of that, Gong Chomun's complexion looked so pale that you could almost mistake him for a ghost.
"Damn it."
And behind me, a presence was drawing closer. I could almost feel the beast's fur brushing against the wind as it approached.
Realizing that I would soon be unable to move freely, I started to run, grabbing Gong Chomun by the collar.
"Let go!"
Gong Chomun threw me off. I grabbed his collar again.
"Do you think I'm trying to save you? I just need to keep you alive until I get the information I want."
"Ugh." Gong Chomun spat in my face.
I frowned and threw Gong Chomun to the ground. He rolled on the floor.
"Kuk, kukkukuk."
He must have bitten his tongue when I threw him. Gong Chomun spat out blood-stained saliva onto the floor.
I looked down at him with a look of contempt and waited for a moment.
"Yes."
And then Gong Chomun answered. I stepped on his already broken hand.
"Aaargh!"
I heard the sound of bones breaking. Since the beasts were already chasing us, I wasn't worried about alerting them by making a loud noise.
It wasn’t exactly a fortunate situation.
"Was it Huawei?" I asked, and Gong Chomun grinned. I was amazed that he still had the energy to smile, despite the obvious pain he was in.
That was what I couldn’t understand. Gong Chomun was a warrior brought by my grandfather. Surely, the general couldn’t have been wrong about someone.
I thought I knew what kind of person he truly was. That’s why I had completely trusted the general’s judgment.
But there had been a mistake. I couldn’t believe it without finding out why.
"How could someone who has seen the gods be satisfied serving a mere human?"
So, was Huawei saying that they were on the side of the gods?
I scoffed and said, "I hope you have a very painful end."
"...Kuk, kukuk. Who... who are you to say..."
Even lying on the ground, Gong Chomun retorted. I left Gong Chomun behind and ran away. The beast's presence was getting closer.
I ran for a long time, but instead of the beast’s presence fading, it seemed to multiply.
But I couldn’t let my life end as the beast’s meal. I had a place to return to.
Eventually, I was caught up with.
“——!”
The beast roared.
The echoes bouncing off the cliffs on either side pounded against my head, warning me that the enemy was right behind me.
I didn’t need to look back to know its identity. The beast’s ferocity was conveyed through its presence and sound.
When the beast got close enough that I could no longer avoid it, I finally stopped and turned around.
The beast was a creature with a body as massive as a mountain. It was hard to believe that it could move so fast, chasing me with that huge body.
Its pitch-black eyes pierced through me as if it had spotted its prey. Greed was evident in the way it saw me as food.
When the beast roared once, its ferocity swept through the surrounding air. Its gaping maw, filled with twisted teeth and dripping with poisonous saliva, was revealed as it roared.
I held my breath. All my senses were acutely aware of my surroundings, but I had already used up a lot of my energy.
There was nothing I could do to gain an advantage over this beast except to stay on high alert.
I gripped my sword tightly with one hand. A feeling of heaviness was slowly creeping over my entire presence.
The beast, which had closed the distance, swung its front leg.
I instinctively knew that I couldn’t dodge it. I raised my sword to meet the beast's attack.
I was pushed back, unable to withstand the beast’s strength. Immediately, the next attack came.
As if savouring this moment of aiming for my life, the next attack, weaker than the first, rushed towards me where I had raised my sword to block.
I rolled to the side to avoid the attack. Angered by its failed attempt, the beast’s huge claw dug into the spot where I had been, followed by another attack.
Rocks and dirt flew everywhere. What would have happened if I had been hit by that front leg...?
Judging by the deep hole in the rocky floor, I would have been crushed beyond recognition. The scattered remains of the rocks seemed to be my fate, and my heart turned cold.
The beast swung its front leg again, attacking me once more. This time, I couldn't dodge completely.
The incoming front leg struck me, and I was sent rolling across the ground.
I was out of breath. The sudden impact caused pain to surge through me as if my ribs were broken. I couldn't help but let out a choking sound.
But I didn't have time to wither in pain. I tried to get up again, but the beast was already close.
Just before the beast launched its next attack, I raised my sword and aimed it at its front leg. My sweaty palms desperately gripped the hilt, afraid that I might ruin the blade's path.
As the blade cut through half of the beast's front leg, the leg dangled, revealing its bones.
“——!”
The beast thrashed about in pain, twisting its limbs. As it thrashed around with its massive body, the space around it echoed.
While the beast was thrashing, I noticed bloodstains on its fur. More precisely, I realized that its dark outer coat was originally a different color.
The black fur, soaked in blood of unknown origin, was matted together like thorns. It seemed that this wasn't its original form; the parts of the fur that weren't soaked in blood and looked unremarkable were likely its natural state.
It wasn't difficult to assume that Gong Chomun had died at the hands of this beast. However, most of the beast's massive body was covered in blood.
It was unlikely that nearly its entire body would be covered in blood after attacking just one person like Gong Chomun.
I realized that this beast had probably defeated the other beasts that Gong Chomun had summoned through his spell and had chased me alone.
I had been conserving my energy, anticipating any further attacks from the beast, but if this was the only enemy I had to deal with...
As soon as I decided that I only needed to eliminate this one, I gritted my teeth and approached the beast, swinging my sword.
Blood spurted out as the skin was torn. The beast howled even louder.
Still, I couldn't relax. My movements were gradually slowing down. I was exhausted.
And I was injured from the previous attack. I was almost at my limit.
Then, the beast thrashed around in pain and slammed its body into the cliff’s side.
Kwaaang-!
A tremendous roar echoed, and small stones and sand began to fall from the wall.
My heart pounded. It hadn't been long since I had almost been buried in a landslide. If the beast had stopped there, the cliff collapse could have been avoided, but there was no way a beast like that could have foreseen such a danger.
As the beast continued to thrash and hit the cliff again, it collapsed with a loud crash.
I couldn't believe I was going to fall down there.
I doubted if I could escape, but as always, I moved my body before I could finish thinking.
Hoping that my quick guess wasn’t wrong, I pushed off the ground and put as much distance as possible between myself and the collapsing cliff. Soon after, the beast's massive body began to tilt over the edge of the collapsed cliff, along with the rubble.
“——!”
Desperately pushing off the ground was all I could do to escape, but luck wasn't on my side.
I was caught by the beast's wildly swinging front leg and fell over the cliff with it.
I let out a low groan from the pain of my injury, just as my vision started to blur.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Jjescus ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
Join our Discord for release updates!
https://discord.com/invite/dbdMDhzWa2
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