When I heard his voice, I instinctively hid the dagger between the folds of the ragged lace of my skirt.
Fortunately, âSeo Dawonâ must not have noticed anything; he stretched out a finger towards me without saying anything. Though I was nervous for a moment, I soon realized he was trying to lift me out. So, I relaxed my body.
âSeo Dawonâsâ face was still blackened; I had no idea where I should look at him, so I lowered my head for now.
[Youâre so docile now.]
ââŠWhat about Bang Eunji?â
âSeo Dawonâ spoke softly as if he were praising my obedience, but his aura soon changed after I inquired about Bang Eunji.
After a deep, wary silence, he responded in a tone that belied lingering emotionsâ
[Who knows. What do you think happened to her?]
ââŠWhat are you talking about. Donât tell meâdid you do anything to her?â
[I can hear the cogs rolling in your head, Lee-kyung-ah.]
ââŠâŠâ
""
[Nothing good could have happened to her, of course. I told you, didnât I? Iâm going to handcuff you.]
I took a deep breath, trying not to be swayed by âSeo Dawonâsâ words.
Though the fake being spoke coldly, I still had yet to receive a failure message from the system. In other words, Bang Eunji, as surprising as it may be, was likely safe. Seo Dawon must have done something to make it difficult for her to find me.
To be frank, I should be nervous about my own safety. This thing imitating the Mage would be of no help to me.
âWill Bang Eunji be able to find me? Before itâs too late, I meanâŠâ
I glanced at âSeo Dawonâsâ blackened face as I squeezed the handle of the dagger hidden in my skirt. I had no idea why or how the ring took the form of the dagger, but it was a little comforting to have a weapon on hand.
âOf course, itâs unclear whether or not this dagger can hurt or affect âSeo DawonââŠâ
Humans wouldnât get scared just because a hamster threatened them with a toothpick, after all. Though this metaphor was a bit humiliating, I couldnât deny reality.
Still, it crossed my mind that âSeo Dawonâ would be careless and underestimate me due to the size of my body. I donât know exactly what he wasâand I doubted he was human, butâŠ
âIn any case⊠I can still communicate with him⊠right?â
He was obsessed with me. Though I wasnât sure why. I decided to ask the questions I had been dying to ask. âSeo Dawon.â
[Yeah, Lee-kyung-ah.]
âYou and I⊠we met in a past [Vengeful Ghost Memory], right?â
I had asked without any great expectations as to his answer. At that moment, though, where the mouth should be on âSeo Dawonâsâ blackened face tore into a wide simulacrum of a smile.
That sight would make anyone scream. The red interior beyond that pitch-dark face⊠The uncanny, human-like grinâŠ
[Hmm, I wonder what instances youâre referring toâŠ]
ââŠâŠâ
[Weâve met more than once, Lee-kyung-ah.]
With that smile still on his face, he affirmed my hypothesis. And, he stroked my head as if he were praising me.
The âmouthâ that formed did not disappear and remained on its previously featureless, pure-black face. After the mouth formed, âSeo Dawonâsâ face kept wriggling and stretching, as if somethingâother featuresâwere still being formedâŠ
âDisgustingâŠâ
It was hard to continue to look at that wriggling mass of a face.
However, regardless of my reaction, the being continued to talk to me pleasantly, continuing to imitate Seo Dawon.
[Hmm⊠Still, you noticed it quite quickly, this time⊠Judging by your fear, it seems like the façade I wear isnât working anymoreâŠ]
ââŠâŠâ
[In any case, to think youâd remember the âmeâ you met in the past⊠Hoo~⊠Iâm glad. I thoughtâŠyou had completely⊠forgotten.]
âWhatâs he talking about nowâŠ?â
I wanted to dig into the story in more detail, but âSeo Dawonâ took the initiative to stroke both my cheeks with his hands.
Then, after saying something strange, something changed about his touch. Should I describe his touch like an ice-cold corpse stroking my cheek?
That strange sensation sent goosebumps rising all over my skin. Though I tried to continue speaking, I couldnât say anything; my jaw had tensed unwittingly.
Furthermore, a strange âlaughterâ flowed from what I assumed was âSeo Dawonâsâ lips. Even more goosebumps rose; it felt as if I had found a huge insect clinging to the corner of my ceiling. As if the insectâs head had turned to look at me while I was observing it. My breath caught in my throat.
[Kek⊠KekekâŠ. GigigigikâŠ..]
ââŠâŠâ
[Kikik⊠GigigikâŠ. KekâŠ. GigikâŠ]
I tried to ignore those sounds but failed.
When Iâve occasionally fallen prey to sleep paralysis, I was loathe to look in a certain direction because I was scared to see if anything was pressing down on my chest.
This was the same: I trembled without raising my head because of the bizarre fear I felt since âSeo Dawonâsâ face had begun to waver. It felt as if something terrifying was happeningâas if something was looking down at me from above.
When I closed my eyes tightlyâunwilling to confirm my vague fearsââheâ unfortunately lifted my chin with his fingertips.
I came face to face with a spinning, pitch-black face.
In the end, I had to watch as, right before my nose, the monsterâs face began to tilt until the head reached the shoulder. Accompanied by a horrible crunching sound, its eyes were now where its chin should be; the faceâs position was inverted vertically.
Furthermore, the face began to laugh and smile grotesquely, as if it were told to grin with all its might. The wide-open eyes and the corners of his lips were pulled together; if I were to take the expression separately, I would assume that the smile was some punishment given to a sinner in inferno.
These werenât even Seo Dawonâs features anymore. Against the backdrop of a black canvas, its eyes, wide-open grin, and sharp, jagged teeth kept turning and spinning around⊠I couldnât find any words to express this sight except for âterrifying.â
âAhâŠ.â
When youâre too scared, you canât even scream.
I released a long groan and trembled helplessly; this was the scariest thing I had ever seen. I wanted to close my eyes, but I couldnâtâI was afraid the face would come closer if I did close them.
My fright seemed to bring great pleasure to that âthing,â whose form couldnât honestly be said to resemble a human anymore.
It continued to giggle mockingly at me.
[Oh my, it seems like, youâre scared, was this, not a face, you liked?]
""
ââŠâŠâ
[HmmmmâŠ. Kehehehehe⊠Kikikeke⊠HihihihiâŠ]
âInsaneâŠâ
I tried to say something, but when its mouth opened and its chin began to clatter up and down, all my thoughts flew away.
It leaned towards me like that, as if it were going to chew and swallow me up.
It quickly muttered at me, using the Mageâs voice. The rapid sentences almost sounded recorded.
It spoke so fast that I didnât understand half of what it said, but it was clear that it would soon do something terrible to me. Its grip on my body was getting stronger. If I stay in its grasp, I may burst within its hands and die.
âIf I lose consciousness here, itâs all overâŠâ
I held back my nausea and bit my lips until it bled. Then, I thrust [Sylphâs Fall], hidden in my skirt, into its thumb.
Then, its grip weakened a littleâŠa pause that may be caused by the prick of a small thorn. However, I didnât give up and placed more strength into thrusting [Sylphâs Fall].
At that moment, its spinning face stopped. It now screamed with a terrible voice I hadnât heard before, no longer imitating âSeo Dawonâsâ voice.
[Ahhhhrgh!]
It sounded as if countless people were screaming simultaneously.
After that, black smoke rose from [Sylphâs Fall]âs blade. I felt as if I was going to vomit from the disgusting scent that wafted near my nostrils. However, my hands did not release their tension.
It tried to reach out with its other hand to grab my headâperhaps the blade was actually painful. But, strangely enough, it started and stopped several times.
Then, I saw that the wound site on the thumb had gradually hardened to a gray mass before crumbling away.
Finally, I felt as if I could breathe againâ
[The sweet dream is over.]
âBut, I could not relax when I heard its murmur from its still grotesquely-bent head alongside its half-demolished hand.