CH 247

Though the spiders did not approach us hastily, they kept spewing translucent threads from their spinnerets. At first, I was ignorant of their goals, but the skeins of yarn-like threads created spider webs that crept closer to our position in the hallway

At that moment, perhaps to activate a skill, Woo Ragi quickly flung one of his huge echo blades at the spiders. The problem, though, was that the spider webs had, in an instant, completely entangled the sword.

“What the…” Woo Ragi frowned and glared at his sword. When I followed his gaze, I noticed that the sword was floating midair–as if it had been nailed to the spot. At first, I thought the swordsman was using his power to float the weapon, but the strange expression on his face made me wonder if that wasn’t the case.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“……” In lieu of answering, Woo Ragi tensed the arm wrapped around my side. His strength almost crushed my ribs, but he soon lept away with me plastered to his side. Simultaneously, the echo blade Ragi had thrown was suddenly pierced into the ground where we had been standing just moments before. If we had stayed still, it would have penetrated through the tops of our heads.

“Did your sword get stolen?” I asked, bewildered.

“Haah….” Woo Ragi didn’t respond properly, but I needed no explanation–my eyes caught the spider web strands stuck to the echo blade, reflecting in the dim light. Even as the spiders died, the monsters must have gradually attached their webs to the blade that killed them; with enough spiderwebs, his weapon was stolen.

I felt increasingly suffocated in this hapless situation.

It was then.

[Kyaaargh–!]

Something shiny flew at my eyes; before I could avoid it, the swordsman snatched it with his off-hand.

When he unfurled his fist, a sticky, silver liquid flowed down his palm. At first, I panicked at the horrible smell, worrying that it was poison; however, thankfully, the swordsman’s hands did not show signs of being poisoned.

The liquid soon hardened, like candle wax, on his hand. When Woo Ragi noticed the liquid was hardening, he tried to move his fingers. However, his movements became rigid and unnatural, as if his index finger to his ring finger had become affixed.

That wasn’t all.

Whip–!

Woo Ragi suddenly raised his hardened hand, as if it were caught on something. His body began to be pulled with great force towards the swarming arachnids.

Only then were we able to see the transparent web of spider silk attached to his arm. It seemed that the long strands, similar to the strands that held his echo blade hostage, were connected to the ‘adhesive’ on the swordsman’s hands.

“…W-What should we do?” Flustered by the unexpected crisis, I looked up at Woo Ragi.

“There’s not much else I could do.” When we made eye contact, the swordsman looked annoyed; however, his mumbled voice sounded quite casual–at least, on the surface. His mid-sized echo blade–one of the few that wasn’t entangled by spider silk–poked itself into Woo Ragi’s side as if it wanted to be used. I definitely thought Woo Ragi would take the sword in hand, but…

Slice–

The swordsman quickly slashed through his wrist and absentmindedly stomped on his hand rolling on the floor. I froze at the sight, speechless.

Meanwhile, Woo Ragi began to step midair, climbing up the hallway walls on invisible steps, as if he were some stuntman. Consequently, the spiders rushed after him, the monster wearing Chairwoman Shin’s body as a shell reached out to him as well. However, Woo Ragi continued forward by trampling on Chairwoman Shin’s numerous snake heads.

I felt dizzy as I saw him step atop the snakes–their fangs tearing at his long legs. I thought he might gradually lose his balance, but the swordsman paid no heed. He even docilely let a few snakes bite at his thighs or forearms. It was as if he only cared whether or not the snakes touched my body; now ragged, flesh torn, he landed behind Chairwoman Shin’s back.

“This body… I feel like I now have a rough idea of how to use it.”

“…You…You…”

“It’s not so bad being an Undead.” Woo Ragi muttered in a professional, business-like tone and began to run while calmly evaluating his torn body. It seemed like he didn’t want to hear any apologies or concerns from me.

Without another word, I grabbed his clothes and shrugged my head into his embrace. However, our escape route soon encountered a wall shortly afterwards. The monsters we had failed to get rid of had swarmed together; Woo Ragi came to a sudden stop. “Hey, you can walk by grabbing onto the wall, can’t you?”

“What?” I asked, flustered, before noticing some strange smoke billowing from Woo Ragi’s body–especially the snake-bit regions. The injuries smelled awful.

Astonished, I hurried to escape his arms and tried to quickly observe the bite marks. However, Woo Ragi coldly pushed my hands away and pointed, with his chin, in the direction I needed to go.

“…You’re not poisoned, right?”

“Shut it–I’m fine. Just concentrate. You see that room ahead to the front?”

“Huh? Y-Yeah…”

“Go in there and lock the door.” With that said, Woo Ragi turned his back on me. The echo blades floating behind his back stood upright–like a tombstone. It was as if the blades were promising me that nothing would cross that line of defense.

I hesitated, feeling something foreboding. “But…”

“Don’t be a nuisance.” Still standing with his back to me, Woo Ragi’s usual sour tone sounded somewhat anxious.

‘Well, I suppose… It’s not like anything will change with me here…’

Eventually, after hesitating for a while, I looked at him, turned around, and placed my hand on the walls. At the end of the hallway, there was a room with a flat wooden door. If there was nothing dangerous within that room, then perhaps it would be best to wait there first.

‘Though, if something pops up again, there’s little I can do…’

I took a deep breath and took great efforts to hobble on one foot. Woo Ragi wouldn’t die if his throat was slit; even the thought of that was terrible, it wouldn’t be a huge deal. Even as I thought that, I felt miserable. I clenched my fist, repressing my desire to look back.

‘If only I had the ability…’

It would be possible for me to stand in front of my servants and wouldn’t need to spare my body like this. I was relieved that I at least had the Swordsman with me, but if it was just me and Lackey, we would have died while trying to escape the cat statue from earlier.

The frustration that had been piling from before and my own patheticness compounded into anger at myself. If I can return safely from this place…

‘First, I won’t let Koo Hui-seo be.’

And…

‘I’ll need to ask Seo Dawon and find something that I can do–my role. Or, perhaps, go through Kim Olim’s training.’

With that in mind, I arrived in front of the wooden door. It was heavier than I thought, but the door opened gently, and I was able to slip inside. Only then did I look back at Woo Ragi.

“……!”

I almost screamed at the sight before my eyes. Woo Ragi had been carved to pieces, and Chairwoman Shin was sucking him into her mouth. I started to run towards him but stepped on my bum leg.

Someone, though, pulled me inside the room. When my toes touched the floor and I felt electrifying pain, my body lost balance and collapsed backwards. The thick wooden door completely closed before the swarm of black spiders could reach me.

Crash–!

“No!” I stood up recklessly, enduring the pain in my leg. However, even if I limped to the door and desperately tried to turn the doorknob, the door stayed shut.

‘I have to break it apart…!’

While banging on the door wildly, I thought of a last-resort option.

Soon, though, a thin white hand reached past my ear. I froze–I hadn’t fully realized that someone stood behind me. I shuddered–I couldn’t muster the courage to turn around.

“You mustn’t make noise, Lee-kyung-ssi…”

The owner of that hand–the owner of that familiar whisper–slowly grabbed my hand.

As soon as I heard that voice, anger bubbled within me, and I looked straight back. Behind me stood a young boy staring at me with a tearful expression.

“What on earth…you…”

I was bewildered–that voice was definitely Koo Hui-seo’s! Looking closer, the young child had features that looked similar to the ex-chimera. He was… what a teenage Koo Hui-seo might look like.

“You mustn’t make noises… You mustn’t let mother find you…” Koo Hui-seo ignored my confusion and begged with tears streaming down his face. Then, before I could respond, his thin, fragile hands gripped onto my arms with a robust force that didn’t suit his slight frame.

I tried to shake him off, but, at that moment, I heard something large slam against the door. I retreated one step instinctively, stepping with my unbroken leg. Koo Hui-seo (?) leaned in close with a terrified expression on his face.