Thank you EldritchSquiggles for the Ko-fi ♥
[Chapter 32]
“Shooting isn’t a big deal.”
The tense atmosphere shattered with the sound of gunfire. I could feel the gaze of people looking at me from both sides, but I didn’t care. Despite the recoil threatening to break my wrists, I continued to shoot without easing the tense posture. It felt like a good opportunity to count how many bullets were loaded in the magazine.
“Princess?”
The watcher tried to calm me down with a forced smile, but I had no intention of stopping.
“I’m sorry to say, but the sound of gunfire might attract monsters.”
“Monsters can’t cross the river, can they?”
“Well, that’s true, but… Ah, look!”
That’s when it happened. The startled watcher, who was looking at something, pointed at it, and at the same time, the trigger that was being pressed with the index finger made a lifeless click. The ammunition had run out.
“Isn’t there a monster lurking by the riverside?”
The startled watcher quickly hid behind Deon as their gaze, which had been fixed on me, suddenly turned towards the riverside. It was true. The moonlight shimmered through the reflection on the water, and the monster that had been lurking around the area vanished and reappeared repeatedly, as if fascinated by the sparkling light of the flowing river. Curious, I reached out my hand toward the water, but I was startled and stumbled backward when I touched it.
“With that level of intelligence, it would probably take them a year to cross over.”
Deon was right. Compared to the vigilant officers, the monster behaved like an innocent young creature, splashing around in the river. It would have appeared rather cute if it weren’t for the eerie vertical slit pupils engraved in its eyes.
“Still, just to be safe, should we move?”
“Well… Lemony, I don’t think it’s necessary.”
“Anyway, if we stay here, we might end up drowning in the river.”
For once, Deon and Ian agreed on a course of action. They didn’t seem to be particularly afraid of the monsters and didn’t perceive them as much of a threat. With their consensus, I securely holstered my gun on my waist and leaned against a nearby tree.
I could hear the sounds of insects chirping from the direction of the forest. Amidst the rhythmic and soothing background noise, I could occasionally sense Deon replenishing firewood. My eyelids slowly drooped. Among the four of us, the only one on edge and nervously chewing on his lip was the vigilant watcher guarding the riverside. However, as an hour passed, and then two hours, his head slowly drooped in sleeplessness.
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In the tranquil dawn, the monster, still unable to divert its gaze from the river, reached out its hand towards its own reflection in the water but ultimately fell into the river. As a result, the crimson pupils that had been concealed by the darkness were revealed.
As expected, it happened just as Deon had anticipated. The monster, abruptly falling from the ground, thrashed about as if it had been frightened, and then slowly sank beneath the surface. However, after a few minutes, Deon, sensing something unusual, quietly stood up.
“Why?”
Unable to fall asleep, Ian was also vigilant. Leaning on Lemonie’s shoulder, he quietly gazed at her hand. When Deon and Ian sensed something amiss, they silently walked towards the riverbank. The sparkling river, illuminated by the moonlight, began to turn a deep crimson.
Suddenly, a portion of the river ceased its movement, while another part rippled as if something with arms emerged from beneath the surface. It seemed as if something was dancing beneath the water.
“….Wake the others up.”
Deon, who had been observing the irregular flow of the river, quickly turned his head and headed back toward the group.
“What?”
“Wake the others up.”
It was at that moment. With a gurgling sound, a gigantic creature emerged from the river and lunged at Ian. Fortunately, he quickly dodged its attack, but the problem was that there were not just one or two of those creatures.
Kiiik. Kieeeek. The eerie sound of grotesque growls echoed from all around. Strange silhouettes, tainted with shadows, crawled out one by one from the river, illuminated by the backlight.
The prisoners who were trapped beneath the river had all transformed into monstrous beings.
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“Le….”
The darkness before my eyes shakes.
“Lemony….”
Someone in the distance was desperately searching for me. Unconsciously, I slowly lifted my eyelids to respond, but I suddenly screamed as an uneasy face with trembling teeth approached me up close.
“Lady Lemony!”
“Yes?!”
In a split second, my mind snapped back, but it seemed insufficient as the watcher forcefully grabbed my wrist and led me somewhere.
“Hurry, let’s run! We’ll only be a hindrance if we stay here!”
As we ran frantically, it became apparent that eerie roars were erupting all around us, as if bombs were going off. Trying to assess the situation while running, I noticed beyond Deon and Ian, a monstrous creature three times larger than the others, with thick fur swinging in the air. Its smooth skin glistened as if it were waterproofed.
They were the monsters we saw in the river, and there were not just one or two of them.
“What’s happening?”
“It seems like the creature that was showing interest in the river has infected all the prisoners in Building D who were in the water!”
As I turned my head, startled by the chilling scream from behind, I saw Deon leaping at a rapid speed, piercing the eye of one of the creatures with his sword.
“P-Princess! This way!”
The watcher, who had been running away for a while, led me behind a tree, far away from the riverbank. I knelt down, desperately trying to calm my pounding heart, and peered beyond the tree.
The grotesque creatures with four legs relentlessly climb up. The corrupted river flowed crimson. On the other side, the creatures that had rushed in upon hearing the sound were falling into the river one by one, and the uprooted trees were burning. In the midst of it all, one of the creatures leaped towards Ian.
With his long legs, Ian kicked the creature’s abdomen, and as the humanoid creature tried to attack him from behind, Ian swung his fist. Startled, I tightly shut my eyes. The hand that pierced through the creature’s chest, right around its abdomen, was holding an organ of indiscernible shape.
“Sir Deon advised us to escape as far as possible. But if we go into the forest, won’t there be more of those creatures? Personally, I think it would be safer to stay here.”
“It might be a good idea.”
“Yes, it seems safer here.”
The watcher, who had been covering his eyes with his hand, peeked through his fingers. He then shook my shoulder roughly.
“Pr-Princess, Princess…”
“Wha-what is it?”
As I was about to load ammunition into my gun just in case, the expression on the face of the watcher who was holding onto my shoulder turned pale.
“U-uh. Tha-that, is-is-, is that thing coming toward us?”
Thud. I picked up the fallen gun from the ground and turned my head in the direction he pointed. It was true. There was a single monster, far enough away that Deon and Ian couldn’t see it. That meant it was lurking around our vicinity.
“Wa-watcher. Stand behind my back.”
I’m going crazy, seriously.
With my hands trembling, I held the gun and took aim, but my hands were shaking as if vibrating. While I wasn’t completely unarmed, I had never shot at something referred to as a life form before.
Fortunately, the creature was a humanoid creature that was only about 2 meters tall. While it was much larger than me and the watcher, it was relatively manageable compared to the ones the men across from us were dealing with.
Its emaciated body revealed a hunched spine through its tattered hide. The creature, whether out of hunger or habit, wiped the drool that dripped between its wrinkled lips and by chance turned its head, locking eyes with me. Amidst the deep shadows, it seemed like there was only a single dot within its unusually white eyes.
It wasn’t just nearsightedness, but perhaps farsightedness. Clearly, it was not in a normal state. With an eager grin on its face, it started moving toward us, seeing us as its next meal.
“Princess, Princess!”
No, it was charging at us. The eyes, lifted due to its hunched back, glimmered with greed, fixed on its prey.
“It hurts, so let go.”
“Do-do you know how to shoot? Would that be all right?”
The grip of the watcher holding my shoulder tightened.
“Let go of me!”
When I screamed and shot because I was nervous under his pressure, the back that was pushed out by a sudden rebound hit a tree.
“Princess!”
I struggled to get up, placing my hand on my waist. It didn’t hurt, but my body felt weak. It was clear that I had taken a physical blow. Naturally, the bullet had failed to pierce through the creature’s claws and only grazed it. It was already a difficult task to concentrate alone, and with the constant pressure from the side, it was even more challenging.
“Damn it, Princess. Princess!”
Seeing the approaching creature, the watcher screamed and grabbed me, running away. However, there was no way to escape from the creature in this state.
“Just let me go.”
I pushed the watcher away and stumbled forward, bracing myself and firing the gun repeatedly. Despite the recoil causing my arm to sway, I couldn’t stop shooting.
“Pri—…..”
“Run! Fuck, it’s not an empty request! Please just go!”
Now I don’t know anymore. I just hope that at least one more person can survive. And then, as the bullets continued to fire, the creature happened to be hit, making a wheezing sound and stumbling forward. It had an effect. Hope flickered briefly. With the belief that I could hit it, I clenched my teeth and pulled the trigger.
“….ah.”
A mixture of confusion and disappointment filled me as I let out a sigh. No matter how many times I pulled the trigger, all I heard were clicking sounds with no bullets being fired. Should I run? Running away would undoubtedly result in capture. Should I scream? I tried to part my lips to let out a scream, but my mouth felt as if it were stuffed with cotton, and I couldn’t move it as I wanted.
Yes, let’s run for now.
In less than a second, as I finished countless thoughts, I turned my head and tried to move my legs with all my strength. But suddenly, my body jerked and a strange sensation spread throughout me. Barely opening my eyes, I realized that the hunchbacked monster was already tearing at my neck.
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Thank you for reading!
