# Chapter 30
“Heerim!”
I shouted his name involuntarily. One of the snake heads turned to look at me, responding to the vibration. It seemed to have been attacked by Heerim earlier—one of its eyes was torn with blood flowing out.
“Don’t look over there. Focus on me.”
Heerim lifted one foot and stomped hard on the ground. At that moment, the surrounding air vibrated strongly with a “woong” sound. At that sound, the snake turned back to Heerim.
“Hssss. Sss.”
“That’s right.”
Heerim faced the monster as if he were its trainer. Unlike me with my sweaty palms, he maintained a very relaxed attitude.
BOOM!
The snake struck down its three heads toward Heerim in succession, creating an enormous noise. It sounded like the sky was falling. It was clear that being crushed by them would not only break my bones but turn them to powder.
“Oh. That was close.”
One of the snake heads landed right next to Heerim’s body. It was truly a narrow escape.
“GRAAAAH!”
The monster, seeming irritated that Heerim kept dodging its attacks, extended its tongue and raged.
BOOM!
BOOM!
THUD! THUD!
The enraged monster used even its long extended tail to press Heerim without giving him a chance to rest. Despite being far away, Heerim’s figure stood out intensely in my vision. His face, which had been relaxed until just a moment ago, had hardened.
Watching this, I was going out of my mind. How long would he just keep dodging like that? We needed to deal with that disgusting monster quickly and find an exit.
“This isn’t much of a challenge, so don’t worry too much.”
As I nervously bit my nails, I heard Heerim’s voice in my head, mixed with a slight laugh. Though he couldn’t see me from where I was since there was no light, he seemed to have noticed my anxious state. Despite Heerim’s nonchalant words, I couldn’t calm down. Even if he was an Esper, the Heerim I saw now just looked like an ordinary young man in his early twenties.
“With three heads, aren’t you heavy? Isn’t it tiring? I think it’d be fine to cut off a few.”
Heerim asked the monster with a mischievous smile. As if understanding the taunt, the monster let out a bizarre sound. It was like the air was being torn.
Though it was a chilling sound that made the hair on my body stand on end and my mouth go dry just from hearing it, Heerim paid no attention. Rather, he loosened his muscles by rotating both shoulders as if stretching.
“Hyung. It’s going to shake a bit, so don’t be surprised.”
“What?”
Boooooom.
Before I could understand Heerim’s words, the ground suddenly shook violently as if an earthquake had struck. It was such an intense vibration that it was difficult to stand properly.
“Yip!”
“W-What’s happening? Ahhh!”
As I slumped down unsteadily, the frightened dog in my arms scratched my chest with its front paws. I stroked the dog’s head and looked toward where Heerim was.
The area was hazy with dust, perhaps due to the shaking ground. Through the dissipating dust, I saw something. A cone-shaped earth pillar with a very sharp end had risen from the flat ground.
“Hssss. Sss—!”
One of the snake heads with its long tongue extended rushed toward the earth pillar. The pillar, having received the impact, seemed to collapse but soon adhered to the snake’s face.
“Hsssii, hiii—”
The snake’s breathing quickened as its entire face was suddenly covered with soil. The snake violently shook its head, trying to shake off the soil covering its face, but the more it shook, the more soil stuck to it.
THUD!
Finally, one of the three heads collapsed.
“GRAAAAH!”
“KYAAAH!”
The two remaining heads, having lost part of their body (or perhaps a comrade), made threatening noises and thrashed about wildly. Venom dripped from their mouths. When the venom touched the earth pillar, steam rose. The monster’s venom couldn’t dissolve the earth pillar but was being absorbed into the soil. I could see the solid earth pillar containing the poison gradually crumbling. If the earth pillar collapsed over Heerim, he would be covered in poison. In this dangerous situation, Heerim stood crooked with his arms folded. He looked so relaxed, without any sense of crisis.
“But is this one monster? Or is it three?”
“What are you talking about?”
I was anxious to death, but Heerim was just making idle chatter. I frowned at him without realizing it. And then I caught my breath for a moment at Heerim’s unexpected appearance.
Heerim, whose hair had completely turned silver, looked like someone who didn’t exist in reality. It wasn’t the innocent and mischievous demeanor he usually showed me.
Though Heerim pretended to be nonchalant with his idle talk, I could sense a heavy and intense killing intent from him. Rather than simply wanting to kill the monster, he seemed to be angry about something.
My heart pounded at this unfamiliar side of Heerim. He didn’t seem like the Heerim I knew.
“Since there’s only one body, should it count as one monster? What do you think, hyung?”
“Heerim! Behind you! Behind!”
While Heerim was being casual, the monster slyly moved its tail behind him and raised it in the air. At my shout, Heerim turned around, and then the monster forcefully brought its tail down over Heerim’s head.
Boooom—!
The sound of the air being cut was extremely heavy. The force was so strong that the wind created by the swinging tail reached where I was.
Fortunately, the monster failed to strike Heerim and instead hit the earth pillar heated with venom. The earth pillar, crushed by the monster’s tail, turned into a pile of soil and flowed down like an avalanche.
“Ah. This is bad.”
Just as Heerim let out a short sigh, the collapsing soil engulfed him.
“…!”
I couldn’t even breathe properly at the sight of Heerim disappearing in an instant.
“N-No way…”
I exhaled the breath I had been holding and stared blankly at the soil piled up like a mountain. There was no reaction from the soil that had turned black from the intense heat, except for the steam rising.
“Hssss. Sss.”
“Hsss, hsssii.”
The two snake heads wiggled happily as if dancing on the sand. My mind went completely blank at the situation I couldn’t believe even after seeing it.
“Heerim? Heerim!”
After a moment of confusion, realizing what had happened, I found myself stepping into the darkness, calling out for Heerim in despair. Going toward the monster without Heerim was as good as suicide. Yet, as if bewitched, I couldn’t stop my feet.
“Woof! Woof!”
The dog barked urgently, awakening my dazed mind. I stopped in my tracks. I could see the soil pile still steaming up close. I was probably only about 30 meters away from where Heerim had been. The monster had disappeared into the darkness and was nowhere to be seen.
What do I do? What am I supposed to do? What about Heerim? I can’t just leave Heerim behind.
I tried to think rationally, but emotions tangled with fear and anxiety turned me into an idiot who couldn’t do anything.
“Grrrr. Woof! Woof!”
Suddenly, the dog that had been quietly in my arms started barking. Though trembling, it stared fixedly at a specific point and barked loudly. Reflexively, my gaze also turned in that direction.
I could hear the “Hsss. Sss” sound of a snake from the darkness. The monster hadn’t disappeared. It was just hiding in the pitch-black darkness, waiting for the moment to devour me.
“Y-You should at least escape.”
I took the dog out of my arms and put it down on the ground. After hesitating, the dog whimpered and then began to move away. Left completely alone, I bit my lip and prepared myself mentally.
Rustle, rustle.
I could hear the sound of the monster moving. Realizing there was no longer any threat to itself, the two heads slithered slowly toward me.
I’m scared.
Unable to bear looking at the monster approaching to devour me, I tightly closed my eyes.
“…”
At some point, no sound could be heard. I cautiously opened my eyes to the heavy silence weighing on my shoulders. And I faced it—a monster’s head wide open right in front of me.
“U-Ugh…”
It was so close I could feel the breath of the monster. I realized at that moment that when gripped by extreme fear, even a scream wouldn’t come out.
“KYAAAAH!”
Just as the monster, having finished its exploration, lunged at me.
WHOOSH—!
A strong wind enveloped me. The force pushed my body backward as if flying. The distance between the monster and me widened, and that gap was filled with sand swirling violently. Soon, the sand clumped together and formed a solid wall. I tried to watch this happening, but I couldn’t open my eyes properly due to the hazy whirlwind mixed with sand, making it difficult to understand what was going on.
After a while, the violent sandstorm stopped. Only then could I properly see what had been hidden in the sand.
“Ah…”
“Wow. I thought I was going to die from the heat.”
Heerim stood in front of me, exhaling ragged breaths.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
