I had worried he might do something absurd like fleeing toward us, but Saillon was not stupid enough for that, at least.
Before the scream could even finish, he kicked the inn door open and dashed out into the rain.
As if following him, the monster's massive body stepped onto the village road, drenched in mud.
Thud... thud... thud...
The muddy road, pooled with rainwater, resonated as a whole.
The monster belatedly straightened its floundering body, then promptly turned in the exact direction Saillon had run.
"Haaack... haaack...!"
Saillon ran down a narrow alley, gasping for breath.
He leaped over a half-collapsed stone wall, passed in front of a warehouse where an old cart had been abandoned, and quickly threaded narrow paths running between mud puddles.
Crack!
A sound came from behind of something smashing against a wall.
Stone dust and rain mixed together and splashed, and the hem of his coat was ripped to shreds.
"It's really chasing me, you crazy—!"
Saillon bellowed as if he were about to cry, but his two legs never stopped.
As if trying to widen the gap by even a single step, even with legs that seemed about to give out.
Behind him, the monster's axe split the air, swung wildly and irregularly.
Cutting through the center of all that chaos, Saillon clenched his teeth with ragged breathing.
"How much longer do I have to run!!"
The monster chasing him moved following only 'sound'.
Smashing the eaves along the roadside, crushing carts, with enough force to make the roofs shake.
Thud, crash, bang!
That charge shook the village itself.
Breaking through silent narrow alleys, crossing behind warehouses full of carts and debris, the monster was gradually moving away from the center of the village.
Watching all of that from a distance, sword in hand, was Baldik.
Beyond the collapsed inn wall, he held his breath and muttered, twisting the corner of his mouth.
"...Alright. I think we've gotten far enough from the inn for now."
"The problem is what comes next. How do we catch that thing?"
I said, having quietly stuck close behind.
Baldik turned around, furrowing his brow.
"What? You sent him off without a plan?"
"I have to come up with one now."
"Huh-huh..."
Baldik laughed hollowly and pressed his palm to his forehead.
"You really take the cake."
The truth is, I'm not used to this kind of situation every time either.
But my body moving first and my brain working later... I'd grown somewhat used to that, I suppose.
"Seeing as it won't die even with its head smashed, it must have a weakness somewhere."
"I suppose so. The problem is how to find it."
"For a brute, the method has to be brutish too."
...If we keep slamming water bombs into it, it'll fall eventually.
But the problem is that it's not easy.
It's not an idiot either, so it won't just stand there and take it.
I can bind it with [Water Prison], but it's too much to follow up with attacks while maintaining that.
In the end, I needed something to hold it down for sure.
I turned my eyes and asked the innkeeper.
"Excuse me. Do you have things like ropes, chains, or iron nails in a warehouse or somewhere?"
The innkeeper looked at me with a somewhat blank face, then coughed and answered.
"Uh... sure. I've got some left over from fixing carriages. But what are you going to do with—"
"I'll borrow as much as I need. If we can restrain that thing, we can finish it."
It was then.
"Just a moment."
Then, the merchant who had been sitting quietly opened his mouth.
"May I send my servant along as well?"
Everyone's gaze turned to the merchant.
"...Now?"
When I asked, the merchant spoke calmly.
"...He lacks strength, but he should be able to handle something like tying it up."
Beside him, the servant silently nodded.
Slowly unwinding the chain wrapped around one arm, he demonstrated his intent with action.
Holding his trembling left arm, he quietly stepped forward.
'Is that a magic artifact or a relic?'
I had definitely felt it when I saw it earlier, but it was no ordinary chain.
Besides, until just moments ago, his eyes had clearly been searching only for a way to escape.
What kind of change of heart could have occurred in that time... honestly, it was a bit unsettling.
But now was not the time to be picky about our forces.
"...Then let's do that."
I spoke briefly and organized the battle plan.
***
'Just when are they coming!'
Thud... thud... thud...
The monster's footsteps were still following behind.
He hadn't even screamed, and had deliberately stifled his breathing, yet the monster chased after only the sound of his feet splashing through the mud.
That alone was enough.
Saillon panted as he turned corner after corner.
He continuously leaped over old warehouses and walls on the outskirts of the village, but the creature knew not the meaning of giving up.
'Crazy, how is that thing still following me!'
Even from afar, he could see the monster's axe-wielding arm slashing through the air.
Moments ago, he had heard the sound of wood shattering over his shoulder.
His coat was soaked with mud and blood, and his breath had already risen to the tip of his jaw.
"Haa... haaack..."
He couldn't run anymore.
Hurriedly, Saillon squeezed his body into the gap of a sunken pile of firewood nearby.
The rain was still falling, and a single piece of wet tarp barely covered him.
Thud... thud... thud...
The monster's footsteps drew closer.
Saillon covered his mouth and held his breath.
His heart seemed to be beating too loudly.
It felt as if the creature was right in front of his nose.
However, the monster passed him by.
Staggering, the monster turned toward the space where sound was lost.
'...I'm saved.'
Saillon carefully relaxed the tension in his shoulders.
But at that moment, the edge of the wet tarp dragged on the ground and made a ripping sound.
"...Ah, I'm done—"
Swoosh.
The monster's torso slowly turned that way.
Though it had no ears, no eyes, its headless upper body stopped as if it had heard something.
Dragging through the mud, that massive body quietly approached.
Thud... thud...
Saillon froze solid.
Beneath the debris of a collapsed warehouse, he couldn't even breathe, unable to take a single step.
He just clenched both hands and curled his body up against the aura of death pouring down upon him.
But the monster didn't stop.
Hoooong.
Both arms shot up.
From already shattered and torn forearms, two massive axes rose sharply above the mud.
The trajectory of the axes was clear.
Their ends were aimed at Saillon.
"—!"
He instinctively wrapped his arms around his face and squeezed his eyes shut.
There was no way to avoid the impending blow.
But at that moment.
Shwaaaaaak!
An ear-shattering roar.
Not wind, but something slicing through the air.
A pillar of water erupted in an instant, surging up around the monster's upper body.
Splitting the pouring rain, the jet of water that burst through the ground struck the monster's body head-on.
Swaaaaah-!
Like a massive wave crashing in, the water column enveloped the monster's body and formed a prison in an instant.
The tightening water pressure completely locked down the monster's movements.
The arm that had been swinging stopped in midair, and the monster's staggering body, axes and all, froze as if suspended in the air.
A massive droplet surged up from shoulder to waist, wrapping around the monster's upper body.
The water surface trembled tautly, and the monster inside was trapped, unable to break free no matter how hard it struggled.
It was by no means natural water.
It was unmistakably the form of magic, recognizable at a glance even in the pouring rain.
Saillon slowly relaxed his frozen body's tension and muttered unconsciously.
"...This is—"
Soon after, the mud churned and two figures revealed themselves.
"Switching places now, you bastard!"
The first to appear through the downpour was Baldik.
Dried bloodstains spread chaotically across his back, and the sword in his hand still shone red, soaked in blood.
Following him, Reeve could be seen standing with his staff raised.
One of his hands was still stretched toward the water pillar, and at the tip of his staff, a stream of flowing water coalesced and floated.
The two silhouettes slowly opened like the curtain of a play between the downpour and lightning.
"...H-Hyung-niiim!!"
Saillon plopped down as if he couldn't endure any longer.
On his face, a smile mixed with relief formed amid the rain and mud.
***
"You were cursing me out before, and now it's 'hyung-nim.'"
I muttered quietly and lowered my staff.
The monster inside the [Water Prison] was still thrashing like mad, and before it stood Saillon, gasping with his breath at the tip of his jaw.
'He held out for a long time.'
I had sent him knowing the monster was slow, but I hadn't expected him to endure this long.
At that point, he had done more than his fair share.
"That's enough. From here, it's my turn."
Baldik approached and tapped Saillon's shoulder.
"Fall back now."
"...Hah, shit."
Thud.
Saillon collapsed on the spot as if his strength had given out.
Swish! Swish!
The [Water Prison] distorted, and the axes the monster swung began to tear through the water wall.
The water pillar splashed, and droplets scattered in all directions.
The omens of collapse spread like ripples.
'I reduced the mana consumption because it's raining, but it can only hold out this long?'
It was a magic I had constructed with considerable care, but it looked difficult to endure long against the monster's absurd strength.
The [Water Prison], sloshing precariously, finally shattered into pieces at the monster's next struggle.
Swaaaak!
Water burst out as if exploding, and the monster was free once more.
"Over here!"
Baldik raised his sword high and sprinted with all his might.
Though it had no eyes, the monster turned its body precisely following Baldik's footsteps.
Thud... thud... thud...
The chase began anew.
This time, Baldik took the lead, and the monster followed as if led by instinct.
Baldik ran, feeling behind him the monster's sightless head and the sound of its pursuing footsteps.
Rainwater soaked the scabbard, and the mud grew deeper.
The heavy thudding still clung to him from behind.
"...Good. It's coming."
He adjusted his speed instantly.
Slowing his running pace slightly, he lured the monster to come closer.
Dadadadak-!
Baldik turned the corner of the narrow alley and rolled his body to the side.
Right after,
Tweeeeng-!!
Along with a metallic ringing sound, the monster's body bounced into the air.
The moment it tried to take a high step, its ankle caught on something and it collapsed.
Thud-!!
The monster's massive body plunged into the mud.
The force of the fall cracked the ground with a snap, and the axes that had been slicing through the air embedded vertically, sending fragments flying.
"...Got it."
Baldik gasped and raised himself up.
Only then could I confirm the sturdy rope half-exposed in the mud at the end of his gaze.
The ropes, crossed like a spiderweb, had been hidden beneath grass and mud without a trace, as if deliberately placed.
Their ends were tightly tied to the fallen warehouse's ridge beam, a post under the eaves, and a crack in the collapsed outer wall.
"Can't believe it actually got caught in this."
"The dumber they are, the easier they fall for traps."
Baldik smiled wordlessly.
Then he raised his sword and slowly walked toward the monster floundering in the mud.
"Now stay still for a change, you bastard."
The fallen monster went berserk at the approaching sound, flailing its four limbs wildly.
It swung both arms to strike its surroundings, its heaving torso splashing mud.
It had lost its weapons, but the sheer destructive force from that body alone was threatening enough.
But around one of the monster's legs, the sturdy rope was still coiled.
Every time it thrashed, the rope shook the connected structures, and the building's pillars and beams groaned as if about to be pulled along.
Groan.
Eventually, one of the ropes tied in the cracks of an old wall came loose, followed by another shaking and pushing out bricks.
Amid beastly howls, the rope's tension was gradually reaching its limit.
Ignoring all that commotion, Baldik advanced resolutely toward the monster, step by step.
The monster's torso heaved.
As Baldik closed to a certain distance, the monster twisted its upper body up as if reacting to the sound.
Squelch.
From the headless upper body, a short, ragged tremor like breathing spread.
Neither pain nor weeping, just a primal sense of intimidation gushing from the body itself.
Whoosh.
The monster's arm swept down through the air.
Baldik twisted his body in an instant to avoid it and rolled once as if tumbling through the mud.
Rising again, he tightened his grip on his sword and circled around to the monster’s side.
At that moment, the monster’s body lurched violently as it lunged toward Baldik.
The instant its arm, packed with monstrous strength, swung down—
Whoosh!
A noose thrown through the fierce wind caught the monster’s wrist with perfect precision.
At the same time, a shout rang out from somewhere.
“Pull!”
Hain pulled the rope once more, and Sailleon, who had joined in behind him, added his strength with desperate effort.
They dragged the ends of the rope and began wrapping them around the eaves pillar of the inn, the thick pillar of a shop, the iron frame of an overturned carriage, and anything else they could use.
“This bastard’s strength—damn it, my arms feel like they’re going to come off!”
“Shut up and pull! If this snaps, we’re done for!”
While Sailleon gritted his teeth and held on, even the merchant, with trembling hands, unpacked his baggage and handed over spare rope.
It was a clear difference from how they had done nothing but flee before.
“What the hell is this thing…!”
Clank! Creeeak!
The rope wound around the pillar was pulled taut, letting out a strained groan.
The monster struggled with all its might to yank its arm free, twisting its entire body, but the resistance of the three people holding firm on the mud was stronger than expected.
Thanks to that, I was able to buy time to prepare my magic.
The rainwater seeped straight into the orb atop my staff, then slowly swelled in volume and began to swirl.
[Water Bomb]
Bang! Bang!
Two explosions struck the monster’s torso directly.
Spray burst up as a thunderous roar spread, and its massive body half-lifted before tumbling backward across the mud.
Riiip—!
The burst shoulder split open as if rupturing, and the stitched marks tore apart just as they were.
One arm hung there limply, barely attached, and looked as though it could no longer function.
Between the torn pieces of flesh, something flesh-colored flashed into view for an instant.
It was too clearly shaped to be dismissed as just a lump of meat.
A firm contour, distinct lines—as if there were something else inside.
‘What is that…?’
Squelch… squelch…
The monster was still writhing.
Covered in liquid that might have been blood or mud, it dragged its mangled upper body along and tried to rise.
Its ragged breathing leaked out unevenly, like the groans of a beast.
“…It still won’t die?”
I gritted my teeth and raised my staff again.
Snap!
One of the ropes being pulled taut burst apart.
Then the knots wound around the pillars came undone one after another, and the connected ropes sprang up like severed bundles of nerves.
“Damn it…!”
Sailleon cried out as if screaming, but before he could do anything, the monster’s arm had begun cutting freely through the air.
Freed, the monster ignored even Baldik, who stood closest to it, and turned its body straight toward me.
Why me, of all people?
What could I do? The Water Bombs I kept launching at it must have been the most annoying.
I had no idea how a thing without eyes knew where to come, but at the very least, I didn’t have the leisure to worry about that.
Vmm, vmm, vmm, vmm.
I neither stepped back nor canceled the spell.
I simply stood still where I was, lifting my staff close as I condensed my mana.
‘It broke free sooner than expected… but still, this much is enough.’
The monster’s huge forearm came crashing through the air in a frenzy.
To someone watching, it might have looked like reckless stubbornness, but to me, it was a risk I could handle.
Because—
I had already laid one more fallback in place.
Clink.
A metallic note, mingled with the rain.
A line that flashed from somewhere swept through the air, cutting across the downpour.
Clatter-clatter-clatter—
Hain moved.
The chain extending from his right arm shot straight out like a snake possessed by thought, catching the monster’s arm with perfect precision.
The chain, gleaming purple, wrapped around the joint and began to tighten.
Zing.
In that instant, faint patterns surfaced across the entire chain, and a vibration spread through it like a heartbeat squeezing the heart.
Thud.
The monster’s arm stopped right there.
Even its massive bulk lost all movement, fixed in midair like a puppet hanging from strings.
But in that moment—
“Ggh…!”
A short groan escaped Hain’s lips.
His entire body shuddered, then collapsed as it was, strung taut like a short-circuited wire.
Thump.
He fell to the ground, clutching one arm, and the chain slipped from his hand.
The purple light went out in an instant, and the surroundings darkened again as if a circuit had been severed.
That was not simple exhaustion.
Anyone could see it was the backlash after paying an impossible price.
Hain’s thin breathing and sweat-soaked face explained everything.
Crack—
The monster’s shoulder twitched.
The joint that had been temporarily stopped began to move slowly, and its ragged forearm scraped through the mud as it gripped the ground.
Only a few seconds.
A silence so brief it felt empty.
But.
That much was enough for me.
Without hesitation, I raised my staff high.
[Water Bomb]
KABOOM!!
This time, the water pressure exploded beneath the headless shoulder, from between the mangled flesh.
The pressure bursting from inside tore through muscle and shattered twisted bones to pieces.
Crunch, craaack.
A wet rupturing sound.
Blood, mud, and bodily fluids like rotten pus sprayed through the rainy air.
And beyond the wound where the Water Bomb had passed—
“…What the hell is that…”
“U-uurgh…”
What was revealed inside was a sight difficult to express in human language.
“A baby…?”
Between the exposed flesh—
Wedged there, as if preserved inside the body while still retaining its form, was a monster the size of a fetus.
Twisted patterns were carved into its red, slick skin, and marks of being violently torn and carved up covered its entire body.
Its eyes were closed, but the faint trembling of its eyelids made it look as though a living creature, still conscious, had been trapped inside that body.
Everyone sucked in a breath, and an instinctive revulsion surged through us.
However.
As if it cared neither that its true nature had been exposed nor that its arm was hanging in tatters, the monster spat out raw, irritable rage and rose again.
Squelch, squelch.
The sight of it crawling forward, clawing through the mud, was neither beast nor human, but an alien creature created solely for destruction itself.
It had already lost its balance, and its left arm dragged along with only the shoulder bone barely attached.
But its remaining leg and right arm were still alive, and without caring that its own flesh was being ripped away, the monster sprang up as if wringing out every last bit of strength it had left and charged at me.
Close. Too close.
One swaying arm cut through the air.
Its tip, not fingers but a hook of tangled bone and flesh, came pouring in as though it would tear my throat apart at any moment.
I did not even blink.
‘…You’re already too late.’
The Water Bomb I had just fired was only one shot.
But the number I could fire at the same time was two.
Swaaaaaash!!
A mass of blue water cut through the rain, cut through the sound of breathing, and flew ahead of the monster’s arm, piercing the exact center of the patterned fetal form.
KABOOOM!!
The pressure bursting from within bent the monster’s torso backward as if it had exploded.
Torn flesh scattered in every direction, and bodily fluids mixed with pus, blood, and mud sprayed through the air.
The inside of its ruptured chest was abnormally empty, and the patterned fetus lost its shape entirely, tearing apart in all directions.
And then.
Thud… thud, thud… squelch.
The monster collapsed into the mire without even taking its final step.
“…”
I lowered my staff.
There was no longer any need to stay on guard or confirm anything.
Shwaaaaaa—
Amid the falling cold rain, not even steam rose from the monster’s body anymore.
Its limp limbs and ruptured torso revealed the end of everything that could be called life.
At last, the monster had completely fallen.