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Chapter 242
“Haah
” As soon as I hopelessly sighed, the mattress creaked–Woo Ragi probably shifted.
And his voice, which I had heard from next to me, had begun to originate from above my head. He must has shifted to look at me. “What’s with the sigh?”
“I’m at a loss
”
“You don’t do anything, anyway.”
“

.”
Woo Ragi truly had a talent to shut others up by annoying them; however, he wasn’t trying to scold me at that moment. He stared at me silently before saying, “Even if your eyes were healthy
you still probably wouldn’t have been very helpful?”
It sounded like he was only stating the truth, so I couldn’t even be angry anymore. Besides, I also got used to Woo Ragi’s speech patterns, so I knew this was simply a remark without any particular emotion behind it. When he wanted to be malicious, he’d call me a homo.
So, I could answer without my ego rearing its head. “That’s true, but
 I’m seriously just luggage right now.”
“It’s probably better for you to be blind.”
“What?”
“I feel like you’d throw a fit if you saw this place.”
Uneasy, I grabbed the pillow that I had buried my face into tightly. Ever since I felt the dust blowing around in the wind, I actually thought the rooms wouldn’t appear normal, but
 Perhaps the surroundings are absolutely filthy–or there might be bugs scurrying about.
I had no way of knowing because I was blind; even if I were to ask clarifying questions, no one would answer. A renewed uncomfortable feeling surged forth; I felt itchy all of a sudden

“The pillow I’m laying on
is it super dirty?” I asked.
“Hmmm. If it were me, I’d never let it touch my face?”
“Why didn’t you say anything–Haah
 Whatever.” I grumbled, placed the pillow back in its original spot, and laid down. The swordsman giggled in glee.
After a short silence, Woo Ragi said, “You never know when our environment will change, so you might as well get some sleep.”
He recommended that I recover my stamina; I closed my unseeing eyes, but sleep felt so far in this unfamiliar place.
I fixed my posture several times; each time, the mattress creaked. Though the swordsman didn’t say anything, the vibe gradually became murkier and murkier. I breathed deeply and then muttered, “I don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep
”
“You want me to hit you on the back of the head and knock you out?”
“

.”
Woo Ragi answered immediately as if he had prepared that response. I mouthed, “fuck off,” but I had no idea if the swordsman saw that or not. He didn’t say anything, so I simply laid by his side, wide awake and sober.
An hour passed like that.
Bang–
I could hear something echoing, as if something had slammed against a distant hallway. Before I could do anything, Woo Ragi quickly dragged me off the bed. “[Unsheathe.]”
His reaction rate was unprecedented; the speed at which he activated his skills was extraordinary as well. The relaxed mood he had while leisurely grumbling with me had disappeared in an instant. I had become tense through osmosis.
‘No way, did the monster downstairs climb up?’
That was entirely too plausible, but I didn’t bother to confirm the situation and ask. The swordsman had silenced his breathing, and he, someone who hated touching me, had pressed me against his chest, as if urging me to stay silent.
Rather than feeling embarrassed or uncomfortable, anxiety began to dominate my emotions, filling the entire room. I kept an ear out as I clung to the swordsman, hoping Woo Ragi would say something.
[Haaaaaa
. Arghhhhh
. Hagghhhhh
]
However, my sensitive ears didn’t pick up the swordsman’s voice and instead picked up a groan that travelled through the air close to our room. It sounded like a ghost in a graveyard was singing; as soon as I heard that, goosebumps raised all over my body.
Woo Ragi moved swiftly but cautiously as soon as he heard the noise. Without taking any extraneous movement, he had brought my body close to his and quietly exited the room. I sensed that he was moving quietly by hugging the wall.
“That’s not broken
” Woo Ragi murmured.
I could feel him look down at me as he spoke. His center of gravity shifted forward, and he grabbed my hand subtly tighter.
I wanted him to continue speaking, but he remained silent and began to run somewhere. Then, after running for some time, he said something strange. “Hey, you really can’t see anything right?”
“Huh? Y-Yeah
”
It felt like he was double-checking my condition. I noddle absentmindedly and vaguely looked towards the direction of his voice. I wondered why he bothered asking me that question.
“Then
” Woo Ragi said.
“Hm?”
“From now on, no matter what you hear, stay still. Got it? Never open your mouth.”
“What? What will I hear?”
“It doesn’t matter what noise you’ll hear. Just try not to listen to it if it’s not my voice.”
“A-Alright
”
Even though Woo Ragi knew I was incredibly curious, he didn’t elaborate. It wasn’t on purpose–it felt like he was bewildered and had little idea how to craft a proper explanation.
However, this confusing silence didn’t last long. The thumping sound that had been in the background was clearly closer. As soon as he heard that sound, Woo Ragi jumped up, dangled from somewhere, and clambered up. As soon as he regained foothold, he whispered, “I’m jumping down.”
“What? Arghh!”
After giving me that meaningless advance notice, the swordsman dove down. The sensation of air brushing past my feet made me terribly stressed–being blind made my discomfort worse. However, I had no time to complain.
As Woo Ragi fell, he activated one of his skills. “[Curtain Call].”
I could feel a chill on my back; the sound of something loudly crashing and crumbling echoed out.
At that moment, I heard ‘that sound’ Woo Ragi had warned me about.
[Lee-kyung ah.]
I looked back reflexively. I was sure I heard Seo Dawon’s voice. Before I could open my mouth and say something, Woo Ragi’s hand covered my mouth. “Don’t respond! Are you an idiot? Seo Dawon isn’t here.”
“Mmmph
!”
“That kind of monster imitates others. If you answer, you’re fucked. So, stay still.”
“

”
It was hard to understand what was happening, but the swordsman’s voice sounded exceptionally desperate.
I nodded slightly; the swordsman loosened his grip. However, from then on, the monster’s voice, imitating Seo Dawon, became increasingly intelligible.
[Lee-kyung-ah, can’t you see me?]
“

” If I had been slightly doubtful before, the more it spoke the more its voice creepily resembled the Mage’s.
In addition, its voice grew louder and louder. I felt vaguely horrified at its increasingly accurate mimicry. That ‘thing’ sounded like it was gradually adopting Seo Dawon’s shape.
“Perhaps this mansion was a trap.”
“

”
Woo Ragi muttered something that sapped my hope.
‘What does he mean by trap? Why now?’
However, the swordsman did not seem discouraged; instead, he faced the unidentified voice head on. I could feel his summoned echo blades rushing past the back of my head. He spread his blades fully out, adopting an all-out attack stance.
I couldn’t tell if he was making the deliberate decision to face the monster head-on or if this course of action was the inevitable second best option because we had no escape route. The depressing reality of this situation, though, was that Woo Ragi would be fighting with a fatal weakness–he was still carrying me after all. He was probably unlikely to flee

“
W-What should I do,” I asked, unable to bear the anxiety and suspense.
“Just stick close to me.” Woo Ragi spoke bluntly before brandishing his arms wildly. “[Masquerade].”
As soon as he invoked his skill, a great gale poured forth. I wondered if this was what it felt like to be at the center of a tornado; it took all my strength to barely cling onto his body.
However

[Gravity.]
I heard a subdued, soft voice; simultaneously, Woo Ragi’s knees instantly bent and bowed.