Chapter 30
I inadvertently held my breath. The monster—whose appearance and behavior were already utterly horrifying—apparently wasn’t satisfied with that. From its split gums, teeth longer and sharper than fangs sprouted. Protruding randomly like a hedgehog’s quills, they made the monster’s appearance even more terrible. Every time the monster opened and closed its mouth, the densely packed teeth moved together—like leeches. The man seemed to dislike it too, hunching his shoulders in disgust.
“This is the first time I’ve seen one that changes its body.”
The man lowered his stance and remained vigilant. He kept his knife at his side and carefully gripped his gun. Sensing the changed atmosphere, the monster shook its entire body. But the way it moved up and down while watching the cautious man seemed more like it was rejoicing. The monster pressed its body close to the ground and swung its body from side to side.
The moment its swaying body lunged forward, Hwang Jang-ju beside me also trembled. It was a similar ecstasy to the monster’s. I glimpsed the monster’s appearance in Hwang Jang-ju.
The man hurriedly twisted his body to avoid the monster’s charge. And in that instant, the man’s gun spat fire. Bang. As if pushed back by the long, resonating sound, the monster’s body staggered. The man didn’t miss the opportunity and kicked the monster, knocking it down. The fallen monster convulsed, clutching its pierced head, but this lasted only for a moment.
Kiyaaaak!
The shrill scream pierced my eardrums. It was an incredible scream that seemed to shake my brain. The man who was aiming his gun again felt it too, as did Hwang Jang-ju and I. In the moment we were staggering, the monster didn’t miss its chance. Bleeding from its pierced head and opening its huge mouth, it sprang up like a coiled spring.
As the man quickly stepped back, the enormous mouth snapped at the space where he had been. Having missed its prey and bitten only air, the monster shook its head and went berserk. And with each violent movement, black blood poured down like a heavy rain.
The monster’s blood splattered onto my face as well. Terrified by the blood pouring down one side of my face, I rubbed it off. My temple burned hot and stung. The stinging pain made me worry if there might be poison in the blood. Fortunately, the pain was brief; the pricking sensation quickly subsided.
The man grimaced as he shook off the blood, but Hwang Jang-ju couldn’t do the same. No, he didn’t do it. With a face full of tension and bulging veins, he glared at the monster and the man. The more ferocious the monster became, the more cornered the man was, the more visibly Hwang Jang-ju’s face changed.
The monster lowered its body again and attacked the man. The rapidly moving black shadow blended with the dark forest, making it difficult to even track its movements. If I had been the opponent, my throat would have been torn out in an instant. But the opponent wasn’t me, and the man skillfully avoided the monster.
Not only did he avoid it, but occasionally he aimed his gun and shot the monster. Bang, with each sound, the ground also shook. The bullets hit the monster’s chest, head, and feet, but though the monster suffered at first, it continued to move well even with its injured body.
A chill ran through me at the sight of a monster that wouldn’t die. I remembered the monster that had moved with an iron bar stuck in it. If they didn’t die even when stabbed in the chest or shot, was there no way to stop these creatures?
I felt like my soul might fly away at any moment, but the man responding to the attack remained steady. He fired his gun without hesitation when an opportunity arose and held back when it seemed dangerous. And as the loaded bullets were about to run out, the man drew the knife from his waist.
The thick blade reflected the campfire’s light dully as it moved up and down. Like when the monster positioned itself to attack the man. And when the monster rushed in at a terrifying speed, the man swung his arm. Toward the face he had been trying to avoid until now, no, toward the neck.
Thud.
A dull sound was heard. The monster’s bulging neck muscles swelled as if about to burst. Due to the balloon-like neck, its head looked grotesquely small. The mouth with teeth like thorns kept opening and closing incessantly as if breathing, but the monster trembled and made a giggling sound. The groan, similar to human laughter, seemed not to be suffering but rather enjoying it.
Before the monster could make another move, the man kicked it down. The fallen monster writhed and clawed at the ground with its nails. The ground was gouged, and it seemed like the man might be thrown off by the tremendous force. But the man didn’t yield to the monster’s strength and stepped on the knife stuck in its neck, pressing down.
Kikekekek!
My spine stiffened at the chilling scream that sounded like a mix of female and male laughter. My head started to ache, and as I was about to turn away, I caught a strange scene. Hwang Jang-ju, who had been threatening me with a gun to my neck, was positioning himself with an odd smile. I thought he was going to shoot the monster while the man had it pinned, but the atmosphere was different. Moreover, the direction Hwang Jang-ju was aiming wasn’t at the creature writhing on the ground, but at the man who was reloading his gun.
Hwang Jang-ju was targeting the man.
“Are you crazy!?”
“Shut up!”
My skull shook. Pain that started from my jaw shot up to the top of my head, momentarily blurring my vision. I nearly collapsed as my legs gave way, but I managed to hold myself up. Even in my dazed state, I held my jaw and tried desperately to figure out what had happened. Ah, I was hit with the gun stock.
I glared at the shotgun. Ignoring me as I turned red and blue with rising anger, Hwang Jang-ju aimed his gun again. I saw the man fire a shot at the monster. The monster jerked its body with a loud noise, but the man pressed down harder on the knife he was stepping on. The man’s leg was cut and his clothes fluttered from the violent struggle. But without the slightest movement, the man fired the next bullet.
Bang!
The monster’s struggles subsided. It was only slightly better compared to before, and there was not a bit of docility—it was still behaving so violently that an ordinary person would have been thrown off. But the man stepping on the knife handle showed no hesitation except for his body swaying.
The man pulled the slide and loaded the next bullet. Seeing this, Hwang Jang-ju smiled as if pleased. The man was too focused on watching the monster to pay attention to his surroundings. He didn’t even know Hwang Jang-ju was aiming a gun at him; if left like this, he would die in an ambush. Rubbing my painful jaw, I kicked Hwang Jang-ju’s knee as he was about to pull the trigger.
Bang!
A heavier resonance than when the man fired his gun shook the area around the campfire. After the man shot at the monster, Hwang Jang-ju’s shotgun fired into the air. Hearing the echoing gunshot, the man blinked and looked at us. I briefly wanted to sigh in relief or wave at the man, but Hwang Jang-ju came first. Having missed his target because I kicked his knee, Hwang Jang-ju flipped out. He rushed at me with a distorted face, and I raised both fists.
Thud!
My fist dug into Hwang Jang-ju’s belly. Caught by the sudden counterattack, Hwang Jang-ju couldn’t even defend properly and took the punch head-on. He opened his eyes wide and his mouth gaped. He looked like he was about to vomit stomach acid, but I didn’t stop there. I immediately folded my arm, pulled it back, and delivered a hook to Hwang Jang-ju’s face. My elbow struck his face precisely. Hwang Jang-ju’s body staggered and crumpled.
“You son of a…”
Despite being hit repeatedly, Hwang Jang-ju still moved his mouth. Afraid he might pick up the gun he had dropped and attack me, I kneed him in the abdomen as he was hunched over and struck his back with both hands.
“Kuhek.”
This time I seemed to have properly drained his strength; Hwang Jang-ju opened his eyes weakly and then collapsed to the ground. I quickly snatched the shotgun and examined Hwang Jang-ju thoroughly. He didn’t get up at all, drooling foam-mixed saliva. He seemed completely unconscious. I dusted off my hands and massaged my shoulder, which was hurting from the sudden exertion.
“Ah.”
I felt a strange stinging on my face, and realized the man was looking at me. After firing one more bullet at the writhing monster, the man separated the magazine and made a peculiar expression. His eyes, scanning me up and down, had a look as if he’d seen something incomprehensible. But the same was true for me. He tilted his head and then smiled.
“Not bad.”
Click. The sound of loading a new magazine was heavy. I watched his hand. The man demonstratively fired another shot at the monster.
Bang!
“I should thank you for saving me.”
“That’s not necessary. You saved me first. Honestly, this… I also had some personal grudges.”
“Personal grudges?”
I frowned and grumbled.
“Being used as bait, being threatened with a gun. And paying back for the hit I took.”
“Ahahahaha.”
The man laughed brightly. Even with the eerie monster struggling in the background of the dim forest, his laughter was so clear that I momentarily relaxed. That would have continued if the monster hadn’t raised its head so forcefully that it seemed like its neck would tear. I hastily grabbed the shotgun. The man stopped laughing and lowered his head.
Kikikikikik!
The monster opened and closed its mouth toward us. New teeth began to sprout from its mouth, which split widely at the side of its face. Now not just its neck but also its head was swelling. As if growing its head and mouth to devour its prey. Its arms and legs also bulged, repeatedly contracting and expanding fully. Each time, its fingers and toes elongated, and its claws thickened.
The man fired one shot at the monster’s face and several at its limbs. Seeing the man’s quick actions, I hurriedly pulled the shotgun trigger and embedded bullets into the monster. Fired without even having time to aim, the gun barrel shook and my body jerked along with it, but due to the close distance, I didn’t miss the target.
Bang! Bang bang bang!
I kept firing the shotgun until it made a clicking sound, indicating it was empty. The moment the bullets disappeared was as brief as when the campfire spat out sparks, but to my eyes, each shot felt long. I exhaled a rough breath and threw the shotgun toward the unconscious Hwang Jang-ju. The empty gun clattered as it rolled on the ground, stopping just in front of Hwang Jang-ju’s nose.
Perhaps due to the pain from the gunfire, the transformation stopped, but the monster was still alive. It opened and closed its mouth at us, rolling its eyes. The surviving eye in its mangled face shone even more intensely blue.
The man clicked his tongue, then shattered both eyes with bullets before stepping off the monster’s body. When he pulled out the knife, the monster’s body convulsed, and its hook-like hands flapped as if trying to tear at his throat. I was worried, but the man nonchalantly grabbed the monster by the nape and lifted it up. Despite the monster with its deformed body clearly being heavier than an adult man, the man showed no sign of strain. The monster struggled and tried to bite the man’s face.
Bang!
The man quickly fired multiple shots into the monster’s face. With a sound like something boiling, the monster’s neck shrank. A hissing sound came from its punctured neck, and the wounds contracted and then started to stick together bit by bit. It was a frighteningly rapid recovery. I stepped back, but the man didn’t release his hold on the monster. Instead, he seemed to be dragging the monster by its neck toward the forest. I grabbed him in alarm.
“Where are you going!”
“To dispose of this thing.”
Then he dangled the creature in his hand. Seeing the monster’s hands withering, I stepped back in surprise, but the man seemed to be enjoying it.
“Without killing it?”
“Do you think we can kill something that’s still intact after being shot like this?”
“…No.”
“That’s why I’m throwing it far away. We don’t know when it might recover and attack.”
The man strode off. I hurriedly tried to call after him, then realized I didn’t know his name. Still, I needed to thank him, so I raised my voice.
“Hey—!”
I worried he wouldn’t hear me, but fortunately, the man who was just about to enter the forest turned around.
“Thank you for saving me.”
The man smiled. He didn’t emit that clear laugh like before, and since he was standing at the edge of the forest, I couldn’t see his face properly, but I thought he smiled. It might have been an illusion, but I just had that feeling.
The man walked back into the forest. Though he was walking of his own will, it seemed as if the vast forest was opening its black maw and swallowing him. The occasional cries of the monster he was dragging might have contributed to that impression. I anxiously saw the man off, and just before he was completely devoured by the forest, he spoke to me.
“Name.”
“Pardon?”
“What’s your name? I’m Jang Jae-gyeong.”
“…Ah, Kang Seongho.”
“Kang Seongho. Kang Seongho.”
He strangely chanted my name a few times, then waved his hand.
“Then, Seongho. Take care of yourself.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
