Shiinnng–!
As if responding to her call, the huge sword raised its sword-point as if it would soon cleave down like an axe. At the same time, Moon Issak took a step forward; even though his veins popped out prominently from the effort he made to struggle forward, he could not escape Lim Jisoo’s restraints.
[If you let me eat a little more, I can block that, Lee-kyung-ssi…]
As the sword moved, Koo Hui-seo, who had been stretching his neck, began to whisper in my ear.
Instead of responding, I stabbed the tentacle with the dagger I was holding. After a deep plunge, the dagger’s handle hit the tentacle, halting its greedy movement that had been targeting my abdomen.
Koo Hui-seo paused and tilted his head, as if he couldn’t comprehend my actions.
[…Why?]
“Haah, Haah…” I didn’t have time to respond to that stupid question. I kept pushing away the tentacles, increasing the gap between them and my stomach.
I was a little scared to see the blood gush out when the tentacles retreated, but I couldn’t let Koo Hui-seo cling to me like this. I twisted the dagger forcefully and gradually pushed the tentacles away.
Cr-r-runch–!
Meanwhile, Lim Jisoo’s summoned sword was steadily approaching us. Several layers of tentacles were entangled like a net, blocking the sword’s progress, but seeing how taut the network was, I didn’t think they could hold out for long.
Fortunately I was able to completely push away Koo Hui-seo’s tentacles with my dagger soon afterwards. I immediately pressed on my wound afterwards. To be honest, I wasn’t trying to stem the blood flow; rather, I was trying to stop the tentacles from wriggling back into my stomach.
As the tentacles retreated, they softened; simultaneously, Koo Hui-seo’s mirky eyes regained their light.
[…Ah?…]
Koo Hui-seo blinked slowly and looked down at me. He rolled his eyes around as he observed my pale complexion and the tentacles holding onto my limbs.
[…Lee-kyung-ssi?]
“…….” I didn’t intend to wait until Koo Hui-seo understood the whole situation. And, I didn’t intend to obediently die when I’d already come so far.
“[Lackey].” So, I summoned the only servant I could call without incurring too much risk–my most faithful soldier.
I hadn’t thought of summoning Lackey earlier because I had the other servants by my side. But now, given my physical condition, the only servant I could summon was Lackey.
[Clack Clack!]
[Master!]
Fortunately, Lackey quickly manifested before me. However, one of its arms was broken beneath the elbow. Despite this, Lackey managed to skillfully land on the tentacle, balancing itself while holding a sword in one hand.
Lackey’s purple pupils shook after checking on me–it was probably shocked. Without any specific instructions from me, it immediately raised its sword.
[Slice]
Then, it cut through one of the tentacles that was wrapped around my body and ripped the other tentacles off, one by one. The tentacles flinched and wriggled, but they released my body without attacking the skeleton.
[Clack Clack Clack Clack!]
[Master! I’ll save you!]
Lackey was currently in its [Skeleton Soldier] mode, so it could easily support me to a standing position without much difficulty.
The tower made of swollen tentacles began to fall, little by little; the sword that Lim Jisoo had summoned narrowly passed over our heads.
‘Potion…’
Only then was I able to grab a potion out of my inventory. My hands were too weak to work properly, so Lackey helped out by chewing off the lid of the potion bottle with its teeth.
I splashed the contents of the potion bottle–whose spout was absolutely demolished–over my wound. My split skin began to suture closed as the bubbling liquid foamed over my injuries.
“Cough…”
However, my wound was merely sealed–the horrible internal damage remained. Blood surged backwards and poured out through my nose and mouth. I gulped down another potion to survive.
[Lee-kyung-ssi…]
Meanwhile, Koo Hui-seo returned to the size of a regular human being and had crumpled into a crouching position. However, his legs still resembled the roots of a tree.
Koo Hui-seo whimpered as he looked at me with a flushed face.
[I…I’m sorr–ryyy…. I… I….]
When I heard his whining, I grimaced, “Enough–Just make sure to watch behind properly.”
At that moment, [Clarent] flew by again, aiming for Koo Hui-seo’s torso. However, idiotically, Koo Hui-seo didn’t dodge, and [Clarent] hit him square in the chest.
“What are you…?!” I shouted.
Yet, Koo Hui-seo remained strangely calm; the ex-chimera merely sobbed as [Clarent] withdrew from his chest after stabbing him.
At that moment, I saw Koo Hui-seo’s pierced body from a close distance. His tentacles weaved a fiber-like mesh over the hole left by the sword.
‘Can we… even call him a human being?’
While it was a relief to see Koo Hui-seo return to his usual pathetic demeanor, the sight of him unaffected while being impaled by the sword was unsettling.
At that moment, Lim Jisoo shouted, shocked, “…What the hell is that? Moon Issak, you never told me anything about that?!”
“……”
Whether he was speechless or perhaps he still held a grudge against her for going against his wishes, Moon Issak didn’t even pretend to listen to her words.
Koo Hui-seo began to gradually diminish his tentacle’s reach; each slimy appendage retreating. The resulting scene shocked both allies and enemies. The flowers quickly withered away, revealing the carnage that had been hidden in the flowerbed. Lim Ji-soo’s subordinates were scattered around here and there like withered mummies.
‘If I didn’t summon Lackey…’
The thought that I might have met a similar fate to those withered men made me less sympathetic to Koo Hui-seo.
Lim Jisoo grinded her teeth as she counted her fallen subordinates. “Fuck! Six of them are dead… Do you know how much it cost to raise each one?”
Several of her living subordinates flinched at their fallen comrades being treated like some damaged asset, but Lim Jisoo didn’t pay them any mind.
Now, she had fully turned her gaze away from me, glared at Koo Hui-seo, and pointed her chin at her men, “What are you all doing? Why aren’t any of you attacking him? Bring me that tentacle bastard’s head!”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
Shiiing–!
[Clarent] and the rest of the subordinates started running towards Koo Hui-seo. Koo Hui-seo looked as if he wanted to rush to my side, but he was forced to respond to the oncoming attacks instead.
However, that didn’t mean our problems were all resolved. I still needed to deal with the biggest obstacle; I glared down at the handcuffs around my wrist before glaring at Moon Issak as well.
“……”
“……”
Moon Issak looked down at his freed limbs and then slowly lifted his head towards me. Then, as if stalking his prey into a corner, he began to approach me, staring straight into my eyes.
‘…Can I handle him?’
It wasn’t that I was scared–I was full of anger towards the man. Seeing his arrogant attitude in his blatantly leisurely walk, I wasn’t intimidated. Rather, I felt the desire to kill him surge within me.
In response to my abnormal emotions, Lackey reacted quickly and blocked the way in front of me. However, considering Moon Issak’s abilities, I couldn’t expect Lackey to be able to buy me time.
‘I could probably handle him if I summoned another Servant, but…’
If I were to summon another Servant in my current condition, I would surely lose consciousness. Moreover, I had run out of potions.
As I continued to think, Moon Issak had already narrowed the distance until he was right in front of my nose. I took a few steps back to buy myself some time to organize my thoughts.
As he watched me maintain my distance, Moon Issak said something appalling, “Don’t defy me, Choi Lee-kyung.”
“Don’t come any closer.”
“You’ve already lost anyway.”
Before I could even ask him to clarify, Moon Issak threw a ring towards me.
“……” My eyes knew this ring well.
It was one of the rings that Dawon-ie always wore.
As he watched me freeze, Moon Issak continued to speak in a half-amused, half-mocking tone, “Seo Dawon is already in my hands.”
“…What?”
“To be frank, this trap was designed to capture him.”
TL: Koo Hui-seo truly is an eldritch abomination D:
