Chapter 45 : Assembly (3) (2/2)

Thinking it over, it made sense. There were several oddities in the monster’s movements.

The wild swings of its arms, its unpredictable changes in target, and its erratic movements. 

At first, it seemed like it was just confusing us, but after hearing her, it became clear.

The wild swinging of its arms was because it couldn’t see and was trembling in fear, and its change in targets was because it couldn’t see and was following our footsteps.

The reason we couldn’t approach it recklessly was because it seemed like it was intentionally trying to confuse us. 

But if this wasn’t intentional, and it was simply acting out of necessity…

Then this could be used.

I felt clarity in my mind. It seemed I could now see a way to deal with this monster.

And it wasn’t just me.

“I’ve got a plan to catch it!”

Agnes shouted. I asked her, eager to deal with this disgusting creature as quickly as possible.

“What’s the plan?”

“First, throw the holy sword to me! I’ll explain while we move!”

The holy sword? Why suddenly? The reason was simple. 

She couldn’t use the holy sword, so it would be much better for me to hold it. 

More importantly, if I threw it, I would be left without a weapon, putting myself in danger.

But as soon as I heard her words, my body began to move.

I wasn’t sure why she needed the holy sword, but I knew she wouldn’t say such things without a reason. 

I had learned that much from observing her.

So, without hesitation, I threw the holy sword to her.

‘I’ll resolve my doubts later. For now, I trust her.’

The holy sword flew without obstruction, heading straight to her without any hindrance. 

She caught it easily.

I looked at her, watching closely to see what she would do next.

Holding the holy sword in one hand, she raised a dagger in the other. 

Then, with all her might, she brought it down.

Clang!

The sound of the sword striking another blade echoed through the corridor.

And in that moment,

The monster’s head turned toward her.

Seeing that, I understood her intentions.

She was making the noise to attract its attention.

“I’ll make the noise to get its attention, and you sneak up on it! The moment you get close, I’ll throw the holy sword back to you!”

She raised the sword again and shouted. 

Her plan made sense. 

While she made noise, I would approach, and the monster wouldn’t notice me because the sound of my footsteps would be masked.

Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t have worked. 

A simple clashing sound wouldn’t be enough to mask the sound of footsteps. 

But she wasn’t a normal swordswoman. 

The sound generated by her enhanced magic was far from small.

At least it was enough to cover my footsteps.

Each time the sound rang out, I moved, closing the gap until I was right behind the monster. Then, I gestured to her.

She threw the holy sword as hard as she could.

“Catch!”

I caught the holy sword as it flew toward me and quickly took a stance. The monster’s legs were right in front of me. I imagined its form.

The monster’s limbs were twisted. 

Because of this, it was standing precariously, like it might fall any moment.

If I cut it now, its balance would definitely break. If that happened, the monster would likely fall to the ground.

I swung the holy sword with all my might.

“Ha!”

It felt like I had struck something soft, and blood spurted from the monster’s body along the path of the sword. I quickly pulled back.

Aaaahhhhhhh!

The monster let out a loud scream, then began to topple in the direction of Ben’s leg.

Boom!

The giant collapsed onto the ground. It was as if a precarious building had fallen.

‘Good!’

I smiled as I watched it. If things went on like this, we could easily handle it. The end of this damn hunt seemed in sight.

After that, we continued to sever the monster’s legs using the same method.

Left leg, right arm, left arm—each was cut in turn. 

Unlike before, it became easier to sever with each passing moment. 

As it lost its limbs one by one, the monster’s resistance grew weaker.

At the moment the last left arm was severed,

The monster could no longer move.

“It’s over…”

I let out a rough breath and looked ahead. In front of me was a monster, now unable to support its own body, just flailing its arms and legs.

“Good work, Dane. Let’s finish it.”

“Yeah.”

I nodded slightly at her words, then drew my sword and moved forward. I climbed onto the monster’s back and made my way toward its head.

Nuuuuuuuuu…

As I approached the head, the monster continued to scream. But this time, unlike before, the sound was not as loud.

Its crying was different now.

Where the sound had once been like a scream, it now resembled sobbing.

It seemed as though it had sensed its own death.

I felt a sense of disgust. I thought that I needed to end this monster’s life quickly.

Before I knew it, I had reached right above its head, lifting the holy sword with both hands.

Nuuuuuuu! Nuuuuuu…!!!

Was it aware that it was about to die? The monster trembled. I could feel its trembling beneath my feet. The sound of its cries was growing frantic.

Its cries, sounding like a person’s sorrow, began to make me uneasy. I felt an unexpected pity for this monster.

I repeatedly reminded myself that this creature was just a monster. 

I had to shake off these feelings and focus. I gripped the holy sword more tightly.

At that moment,

“Nuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!”

The monster screamed.

What?

Suddenly, my hand, which was about to strike down with the sword, froze.

It wasn’t just my hand that stopped. 

My entire body froze, as if it had been paralyzed. 

My mind was no exception. 

The thoughts I had been processing up until now suddenly began to fade to white.

It didn’t last long. It was just a brief moment.

But that brief moment proved disastrous.

When I froze, the monster moved its body violently. 

Because of that, I lost my balance atop it. 

Normally, I would have been able to regain my balance, but due to my frozen body, that was impossible.

Losing my balance, I fell down. 

Thankfully, I wasn’t badly injured, as I managed to move my body halfway through the fall to break my landing.

However, because I had to brace myself for the fall, I couldn’t avoid its arm, and I ended up rolling on the ground.

I felt a tremendous impact all over my body, and at the same time, I felt a floating sensation. 

My body flew backward, and it wasn’t until I tumbled on the ground several times that I finally stopped.

“Dane!”

Agnes screamed and rushed to me. She helped lift my fallen body.

“Are you okay?”

She asked with a worried look on her face. 

But I couldn’t answer her. 

To be more precise, I couldn’t focus on her.

My gaze was fixed on one thing.

I raised my trembling arm and pointed at the monster. The monster continued to make horrific noises.

“J-just wait… that…”

I murmured in a trembling voice.

A terrible thought flashed through my mind.

No way…

“Zuuuuuuu… Zuuuuu… Goouuuuuu…”

“No…”

I rejected the thought.

But then, it happened.

The monster began to rise.

The creature, which had been flailing its arms and legs, somehow found a point of support and began to rise. 

Though unsteady, it managed to get its legs to move and struggle to stand up.

However, the action the monster took after standing wasn’t to charge at us.

It just stood still, adopting some kind of posture.

The monster bent its back legs underneath its body and started to bring its front legs together.

Seeing this, my eyes widened. I could already tell what it reminded me of.

The terrible thought I had just rejected resurfaced.

“Don’t joke with me…”

I denied it again, but for some reason, my body was accepting the terrible image.

My whole body was trembling. In my ears, I could still hear its cries.

Meanwhile, the monster

Kneeled down,

Brought its dismembered arms together,

And began crying in a posture like it was praying.

“Hiiiiddderuooo… Ahh, it hurts…”

It began sobbing.

“Agnes, it’s not you, right…?”

I asked her, smiling, though my voice was filled with unease. 

I wanted her to deny my question. 

I could still hear the beast’s screams in my ears, and it sounded different from before.

“Does this sound like what I think it does?”

I asked her.

“It hurts… it hurts…”

“Am I wrong?”

I desperately wanted her to deny it, wishing for her to say that I was wrong.

“Juuuuukoshikee… Juuummggeeerjooouuu… Nugua Narruul…!!”

“Right? Right?! Agnes, I’m not wrong, right?!”

I kept asking her.

“Zeeberaal… Zeeberaal!!!!!!”

She didn’t respond.

“Zeeeebraaaaaaaa!!”

The monster’s scream echoed in the air.

I waited silently for her answer. Her lips parted and closed repeatedly. I waited for her to speak.

“Ahhhhhhh!! It hurts… It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!!!”

“Answer me, Agnes! No, it’s not you, right?!”

Unable to bear it any longer, I urged her for an answer. 

My voice was filled with desperation, almost like a demand.

“Shiiiru… Shiiiru… Iriiruosssss…”

“What the hell are you saying?! Answer me!!!! Please!!!!”

I yelled at her. 

She flinched in surprise at my shout.

“Please say it’s not true! Please! Say I’m wrong! Please!!!”

“Nuuuuuu… Nuuuu… It hurts…”

The monster’s scream rang in my ears.

It can’t be a person, right? Right? Agnes!!! You think so too, don’t you? Right? Right?! Answer me, Agnes!!! Answer me!!!

“Th-those… Those…”

Agnes’s pupils shook violently. Her voice trembled. Her lips quivered, as though afraid to speak.

I felt guilty toward her. What I was doing right now was an act of escaping from my duty. 

It was cowardly to entrust my responsibility to someone else. 

But I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want to accept it.

Then, the monster’s scream, which had been piercing my ears, began to subside.

“Nuuuu… Nuu… Nuuu…”

A different sound began to repeat itself.

Hearing that sound, I felt goosebumps all over my body. I stood up and looked to see the creature’s form.

It was still repeating the same thing. 

Up until now, I had thought of it as just a strange noise, but now, it was different.

It seemed as though it was trying to say something. It looked like a baby babbling.

The act didn’t last long. 

The pronunciation began to become more precise.

“Nuuuu… Nuuu… Nuu. Naa.”

Then, as if it were a baby saying its first word,

“Nayas…!”

It spoke one word.

And at that moment,

Light descended upon it. The light began to “heal” it. The wounds on its limbs, bleeding before, started to close.

As I saw this, I cried out toward the divine power enveloping it, my voice filled with sorrow.

“Damn!!! God!”

In that moment, everything I had been desperately denying turned into acceptance.

“Why are you giving this trial?!”

I finally admitted what I had been trying to deny all this time.

It wasn’t a monster.

“I… Nayas! I… Nayas!”

It was a person.