Chapter 15: Split in Half |
The Deadmen were sniffing the air as they shambled toward us. Their skin was torn and tattered, revealing rotten bone on their faces and creating a grotesque impression.
And fear filled the eyes of the others as they watched the creatures. These were people who had been living ordinary lives just yesterday; it was too much to expect them to react with any agility after seeing Deadmen for less than a day.
Grrr. Grrr.
The Deadman at the front let out a low growl. Its slow pace suggested it hadn't spotted us yet. But as it growled, one of the creatures at the very back turned in a different direction, and I frowned. At this rate, dealing with all three at once was out of the question.
Grrr. Grrr.
Each time a Deadman growled, I felt the tree tremble. A quick glance confirmed it. The culprit was An Sol. She was leaning against the tree, shaking violently.
Swish, swish.
With the sound of rustling grass, two Deadmen finally reached the tree. They paused, tilting their heads, before slowly resuming their advance. The tree we were hiding behind was quite thick, so I quietly signaled to the others. With every step a Deadman took, we moved the same distance sideways. If they suddenly turned to the side, we'd be caught instantly, but since they tended to walk straight, there was a chance we'd remain unseen.
One step closer. One step sideways.
One step closer. One step sideways.
After repeating this three or four times, we had circled more than halfway around the tree, and the Deadmen had reached a point where they could see our original hiding spot.
Our surroundings were silent, everyone holding their breath. The Deadmen scanned the area, shaking their heads, then let out a frustrated growl and began walking forward again. Just as a flicker of relief appeared on everyone's faces at the thought that we just had to hold on a little longer...
Snap! Crack!
"Gasp!"
An Sol, who had been trembling with her eyes shut tight, finally misplaced her foot and made a noise. Looking down, I saw the small twig she had stepped on and broken. To make matters worse, she couldn't stifle her gasp, letting out a sound loud enough for the Deadmen to hear clearly. And just like that, it all went wrong.
Grrr! Grrr! Grrr!
The Deadmen's growls grew more frequent. Hearing the sound, the others froze. The creatures' footsteps quickened until their hideous faces peeked around the tree we were hiding behind. We were spotted.
"Graaaaaaaah!"
"Mmph! Mmmmmmph!"
The Deadman bared its blood-red teeth, opened its maw wide, and charged. An Sol finally screamed. An Hyeon had one hand clamped over her mouth, so it wasn't as loud as it could have been, but it was enough for the three nearby creatures to hear.
A moment of life and death. As I aimed my crossbow, An Hyeon raised the shield with his free left hand, protecting himself and An Sol. A moment later, the charging Deadman crashed into An Hyeon's shield with a loud thud.
Thud!
The sound of the impact echoed, and I saw An Hyeon stagger. Thankfully, his defense held, but the Deadman only took a single step back. His attention was divided, as his right hand was still protecting Sol. Seeing the next Deadman charge in, I quickly moved to draw my crossbow's string. But in that instant, a thought flashed through my mind. I lowered the crossbow, which had been aimed at its head, and fired the bolt.
'Once or twice won't be enough.'
With a twang, the bolt flew and pierced the chest of the second charging Deadman. While the Deadman stumbled, I drew the longsword from my waist.
"An Hyeon! Send your sister over here! And use this sword!"
An Hyeon gritted his teeth as the Deadman charged at him again. He pushed An Sol toward me while simultaneously reaching out with his right hand.
"I'm counting on you!"
The moment An Hyeon finished speaking, the Deadman struck his shield again, knocking him back several steps, but he still managed to push her my way. She stumbled toward me as if sliding, and I caught her. At the same time, I tossed the sword in a way that would be easiest for An Hyeon to catch. The longsword and An Sol crossed paths mid-air. As I securely caught the falling An Sol in my arms, I heard the urgent voices of Lee Yu-jeong and Kim Han-byeol from behind me.
"Behind you!"
"Watch your back!"
'I know.'
A quick glance back revealed the Deadman that had changed direction earlier was now rushing at me. To an ordinary person, it would have been a fleeting moment, but my perception had already transcended the ordinary. In a mere two seconds, I loaded the crossbow, aimed between its eyes, and fired.
Thwack!
This time, I aimed precisely for the space between its eyes, and the bolt sank effortlessly into the Deadman's head.
"Hic... sob... sob..."
When I was just watching from the side, I had dismissed An Sol's frantic behavior as just that. But holding her now, I could feel her sobbing so sorrowfully, tears streaming down her face, that it pained me to watch. Without thinking, I stroked An Sol's head and whispered, "It's okay," into her ear. I felt her trembling subside slightly.
An Hyeon's eyes, now armed with a sword and shield, were filled with fear. But he did not back down. He faced his fear head-on, his feet planted firmly on the ground. And that was exactly the attitude I had hoped to see from him and the others. An Hyeon's mental awakening had begun, even if only slightly.
An Hyeon raised his shield to the upper part of his chest. It was a decent choice, true to the saying that the best defense is a good offense. Instead of swinging his sword first, he charged forward with his shield and slammed into them with all his might.
Thud! Crack!
This charge was quite powerful; I could hear the sound of something breaking. Looking closely, I saw that the chest of the Deadman struck by the shield was caved in. It seemed An Hyeon had put his all into that charge. Seeing him raise his sword to quickly counter-attack, I offered a helpful piece of advice.
"Aim for the head. Their head is their weak spot."
An Hyeon, who was about to swing his sword wildly, seemed to have heard me and brought it down on the Deadman's head. His form was clumsy, but he put enough force into it that the Deadman in front of him couldn't even resist before its skull was split open.
The fate of the next Deadman that rushed in was not much different. He used the same method: defend or stun with the shield, then aim for the head while it was disoriented. With a squelching sound, the Deadman twitched a couple of times before collapsing, still impaled on An Hyeon's sword. An Hyeon, whose arm was dragged down by the weight, quickly pulled the sword out and turned his head with a dazed expression.
The sound of ragged breathing filled the air. They must have been incredibly tense, because after safely killing the Deadmen, everyone exhaled the breath they had been holding. Block with the shield, stab with the sword. What An Hyeon did was simple, but not something just anyone could do. What if the Deadmen had gone after the others? Even if they didn't freeze up like An Sol, executing a clean series of attacks while facing a Deadman would have been difficult.
An Hyeon let his arms hang limp, panting heavily.
"Pant... pant... I didn't realize when we were hitting them with rocks from above, but fighting them up close is tough."
Of course it is. To remain calm and control your body in a life-or-death situation is an incredible feat. Just then, I felt a small stirring in my arms and gently loosened my embrace. An Sol immediately darted over to check on An Hyeon.
"Oppa... are you okay?"
"I wasn't bitten anywhere. I think I'm fine."
"Sob... sob... I'm sorry..."
"Don't cry. Stop."
Knowing her brother had been in danger because of her, An Sol's tears fell like rain. An Hyeon insisted he was fine, but An Sol's tears showed no sign of stopping. Lee Yu-jeong walked over, her face showing immense relief, and patted An Hyeon on the back.
"You saved us. Not bad, huh?"
"It was nothing. If Su-hyeon hadn't given me this, I would've been in real trouble. Ah, Hyeong. Here, I'll give this back."
Seeing him reluctantly offer the longsword back, I shook my head. An Hyeon's face lit up.
"In my opinion, you'd be better off keeping the longsword."
"Really? Is that okay?"
"Yeah~. He has a crossbow anyway. By the way, have you done kendo or something?"
As Lee Yu-jeong chimed in, An Hyeon sheathed the longsword and bowed his head to me. Watching An Hyeon and Lee Yu-jeong chatter away, I smiled inwardly with satisfaction. A moment ago, I had aimed for the Deadman's brow but intentionally shot for its chest.
'Seems like it worked out...'
"Wait a moment."
It was then. Kim Han-byeol, who had successfully made the Deadman flinch with a thrown rock, looked at us with a worried expression. Since she was usually quiet and rarely spoke up, I was curious about what she had to say.
"In the clearing... didn't they suddenly swarm us after we killed one?"
"Uh... did they?"
As Lee Yu-jeong reluctantly agreed, the color drained from everyone's faces. An Sol, in particular, looked like she was on the verge of a panic attack. An Hyeon, sensing her distress, patted his sister's back and spoke urgently.
"Then shouldn't we get out of here quickly?"
"R-Right. How about we run in the opposite direction from where it came?"
"Hmm... No. Let's keep going in the same direction. If we change course now, we might end up spending the night in this forest."
Impressively, An Hyeon was already thinking about getting out of here before nightfall. If we were master and disciple, I would have patted his head, but for now, I was content to simply nod in agreement. Although I could sense a few Deadmen ahead, what An Hyeon said was the right answer.
After briefly composing ourselves, we quickly began to leave the area.
============================ Author's Note ============================
1. Corrected typos and phrasing.