CH 252

However, after we finally searched through every room on this floor, I could draw a conclusion. “I don’t think…”

“Yes…”

“…we’ll be able to leave through the basement, right?”

“There are still other floors to search…” Koo Hui-seo answered belatedly with a lukewarm attitude, but his answer inspired no hope. The situation was certainly on the despairing end of the spectrum.

Every time we searched through a room, the time the monsters waited before they invaded us was getting shorter and shorter. In the end, we only had about five minutes of leisure time to investigate. In addition, more and more monsters Koo Hui-seo didn’t recognize began to be mixed in.

The rooms’ appearances were a problem as well. I felt an unpleasant sense of deja vu that we were repeatedly searching the same room. All this taught me one thing: the nightmare was warning us not to do anything foolish.

‘Furthermore, the sound of the key is getting louder… Although, we can’t see the monster.’

The key could be heard outside. In other words, there was a growing possibility that we’d be caught in between monsters while trying to avoid the enemies that barged into the rooms by climbing out the window. Moreover, the sound seemed to suggest that the key would be the only way out. We had to make a decision.

“Hui-seo-ssi.”

“Yes…”

“About the monster with the key. Can we defeat him?”

""

Koo Hui-seo blatantly stared at my legs in lieu of answering. The swelling was worse than before; now, even to the naked eye, my feet looked useless. Though it didn’t hurt as much as I’d expected it to, that didn’t mean my legs were working properly.

I followed his gaze to check my leg’s condition and leaned against the window sill, frowning. With this leg, I wouldn’t be able to do much except to cling onto Koo Hui-seo’s back. I was fed up with this familiar helpless feeling.

‘Think, Lee-kyung, think! I can’t just sit around like this forever.’

At that moment, my brows furrowed as I looked out the window. I looked towards the main gate–where Woo Ragi and I passed earlier. There, I could see dry, barren land spreading out between the gaps made by the trunks of these strange trees that shone gloomily in the sunset.

While looking at the endless horizon, I suddenly thought, “If we leave the house and go into that wilderness, will we be able to escape this dream?’

“Hui-seo-ssi, have you ever woken up by going through the garden?”

“…No.”

I had asked, just in case, but I already knew that route would be difficult. So, I gave up on that method quickly; however, I suddenly had a crazy idea. ‘We’re about five or six floors up from the ground. What would happen if we jumped from here…?’

Maybe, like other nightmares, Koo Hui-seo would wake up in cold sweat after falling from a great height.

“Ugh…!” But, as soon as I thought that, a gust of wind flew over my seat on the sill. That wind wasn’t one that would normally blow into a four-walled room–it felt strong, like the winds that might blow at the edge of a cliff.

Furthermore, I was almost swept out the window by the strange gust of wind; even stranger, the window, which had been closed and intact until recently, had disappeared.

Now that the window frame and panes had vanished, I had almost lost balance and fell out of the open hole in the wall. If Koo Hui-seo did not quickly wrap his tentacles around my waist, I would have crashed to the ground.

“Lee-kyung-ssi! What are you doing?” he shouted.

“No, the window suddenly…!” Disconcerted, I hastily grabbed at the other’s tentacles. Koo Hui-seo’s strands firmly wrapped around me and pulled me into his embrace.

The missing window wasn’t the only problem. Under the lip of the missing window sill, a hand shot up and grabbed where the frame should have been. Then, something round clambered up as well–a familiar head.

“Seo…..Mmph!”

Before I could inadvertently call out the Mage’s name, Koo Hui-seo covered my mouth with his hands. However, [Seo Dawon] seemed to have already noticed us. We falteringly walked backwards; [Seo Dawon] took a step forward for every step we retreated.

It was then.

“[Lay low].”

[Tsk…]

Koo Hui-seo, behind me, rapidly used a skill. Immediately, [Seo Dawon]’s expression changed. He blinked in confusion, and his gaze slid off of me. That thing was definitely staring straight at me a little while ago, but, as soon as Koo Hui-seo used his stealth skill, the [Mage] began to grope at the air like a blind person.

After gritting his teeth, Seo Dawon looked back into the room and pleaded, [Lee-kyung-ah, why are you running away?]

“……”

[Until when will you stay here?]

“……”

[You know I’m searching for you.]

His earnest voice made my feet automatically stop. I was even more confused this time–it truly felt like Seo Dawon.

Last time, the monster had only carefully crafted the Mage’s face and left the rest haphazard, so my feelings weren’t compromised, but this time, the image was perfect from the head to the tips of his toes. Even the subtle body movements were creepily similar.

My eyeballs rolled around, following his movements, bewildered. Koo Hui-seo clicked his tongue, noticing my wavering heart. “You can’t let yourself be deceived, Lee-kyung-ssi…”

“……”

“Honestly… why are you so gullible….” 1 Koo Hui-seo murmured lamentingly. Furthermore, he still didn’t take his hands off my mouth even though my back and his front were stuck together like glue; perhaps he was in disbelief at my attitude.

I punched Koo Hui-seo’s thigh to convey that I understood, but all I felt were rigid tentacles and not flesh. My efforts were in vain, and I was left with nothing but a tingling, aching hand.

Koo Hui-seo jumped lightly to the ceiling without making any noise. Like a spider, we tried to crawl out the door, crossing over the Mage’s head.

It was then.

[…Close.]

The door closed right in front of my nose with a bang. Startled from nearly being caught in the threshold, we curled up on the ceiling. It was obvious that [Seo Dawon] had locked the door with his skill.

[Demonhound].

The [Mage] didn’t stop there–he stamped the ground twice with great force. Immediately, black shadows formed at his feet; its slender body and canine snout resembled a greyhound.

The five shadow dogs that formed began to sniff and explore the floor; Koo Hui-seo stealthily recollected his longest tentacles, which were dangling over the ground in the dog’s path.

By a hair’s breadth, he was able to pick up the tentacle before the dog passed by; we breathed a sigh of relief. Eventually, the dogs, tails drooping, crawled back to [Seo Dawon]’s feet. The [Mage] looked down at the whining shadow dogs and smiled crookedly.

[So, they’ve already escaped… I thought things were going too well, since I’ve already finished off Ragi.]

After hearing his murmurs, I dispelled all lingering doubts as to the thing’s identity. The real Seo Dawon wouldn’t casually mention attacking Woo Ragi.

At the same time, though, goosebumps rose all over my skin.

If I had encountered him without Koo Hui-seo, I probably would have run to him, delighted to see him. It wasn’t just his face and voice, but also his actions and gestures while using skills were the same as the Seo Dawon in my memories. The only difference, perhaps, was that the real Mage appeared more relaxed.

Perhaps because we had slipped through his fingers, the fake Dawon’s electrifying bloodthirst roiled underneath his skin. I thought the Mage looked like he was awash with blood as he stood by the window, drenched in the glow of the setting sun. Perhaps Koo Hui-seo felt that intimidating pressure as well–he couldn’t easily attempt to slip out of the room.

Just then.

[Wooo~ Woooo~]

Suddenly, the monster holding the key in its mouth appeared before the vanished window. As of now, that monster’s key was the only way to escape this nightmare, so we kept a nervous eye on the monster.

Its face–large enough to fill the space left behind by the window–observed the room’s contents. Suddenly, Seo Dawon reached out to the monster.

Crack–

The monster’s head burst like a watermelon; its entire body became rigid at the unexpected situation. [Seo Dawon] obtained the key after flicking the monster away with one finger and turned his back on the dead creature.

Soon afterwards, we could hear the thump of the fallen gigantic monster; however, Seo Dawon’s low tone felt even more audible.

[Well… It’s not a bad idea to have them come to me.]

TL: Quick chapter upload before I leave for a date! Still Trying to decide if I have time to do a bonus chapter either this week or next. Might make it Next week…since the projected final chapter for this week ends on a bit of a doozy.

Footnotes

The word 헤프신 means “easy,” and can mean many things: from easy to deceive and also easily taken in by romance/lust. It’s kinda like…calling Lee-kyung gullible but also especially gullible with men, lmao.