Since I’d never received Guiding and used 100% of my abilities properly before, even I couldn’t imagine what result this single strike would bring. Whether it would be insufficient or excessive.
‘At the very least, I shouldn’t go berserk from this.’
To embed my fist into the core attached to the monster’s forehead, I deliberately didn’t avoid the attack and charged toward its mouth. The monster opened its mouth to swallow me, and I barely managed to pull my body out just before its jaws closed.
My calf grazed against a fang, but I had no time to feel the pain. The monster momentarily let its guard down, perhaps thinking it had caught me after tasting my blood, and I didn’t miss that opportunity. I jumped up, stepping on the bridge of the monster’s nose. The monster realized too late that it had missed me and tried to strike me with its huge front paw, but by then I had already struck the core.
“…!”
Though I had expected it, when two powerful energies collided, the shock swept through the entire dungeon. The surrounding air vibrated greatly from the force, and the floor and walls couldn’t withstand the aftermath of the collision, cracking with a sharp sound. The energy emanating from the core was certainly worthy of S-class, but my power had the upper hand.
[Graaaaah!!]
The monster howled in pain and thrashed wildly. I created as much distance as possible to escape its reach.
‘I succeeded.’
The core embedded in the monster’s forehead cracked from the point where my fist made contact, then shattered into pieces. At the same time, the writhing monster’s body collapsed with a thud. With the thought that it was completely over, all the tension left my body, and I sank to the ground.
“Ha, it’s over.”
The moment the core was destroyed, the dungeon’s activation also stopped. I had completed the mission.
“Right. My risk of going berserk.”
The warning sound had been ringing for a while, but I kept ignoring it during battle. Now it was quite bothersome. I lifted my trembling wrist to look at the number on the band. The warning sound becomes faster as the risk of going berserk increases. Right now, it was wailing in my ears almost continuously, so I expected it to be high, but when I actually saw the number, my head spun.
“158. And it’s still rising.”
Instead of sprawling here, I needed to get Guiding quickly. I dusted myself off, stood up, and looked ahead, only to be dumbfounded by the empty sight.
“It disappeared?”
No matter which direction I looked, there was no sign of the monster, not even a shadow. The monsters I knew didn’t vanish when they died but left behind corpses. In this wide space with nowhere to hide such a huge body, it was a real mystery.
Scratching my head, I walked to the place where the monster had collapsed. The floor, which had suffered all sorts of chaos, was a mess as if it had been bombed, and with each step I took, the ground that had once been solid rock crumbled like sand.
I arrived at the spot where the monster had been and scanned the floor thoroughly. In the center of the dirt-covered floor, where the ground was most deeply excavated, a black ball of fluff was sticking out.
“What’s this?”
When I picked up the palm-sized ball of fluff, a black cat was revealed. Somehow still conscious, it was breathing heavily with its golden eyes half-open.
‘A cat that appeared suddenly after the monster disappeared…’
With a sudden realization, I looked at the cat’s forehead. The spot where the core had been was torn and bleeding.
“You’re that monster from earlier, aren’t you?”
It felt a bit awkward talking to a cat, but in the current situation, it would be harder to find evidence that this creature wasn’t the monster.
At my question, the cat’s bright yellow pupils rolled as it avoided my gaze. It seemed like I could almost hear the thoughts spinning in that small head.
[Yes.]
The monster confessed its identity in a resigned voice.
[Kill me now.]
It spoke while squeezing its eyes shut. It probably meant to sound solemn, but coming from a cat no bigger than my palm, it just looked cute.
“I don’t have a hobby of killing cats.”
The monster slightly opened its eyes at my voice.
[You’re not going to kill me?]
“You know your condition better than I do, right?”
[…]
“You’re not a threat to me at all, and you’ve just become a talking cat. Why would I kill you?”
I discreetly examined the monster’s body, and perhaps because the core that was the source of its power had shattered, it was no different from an ordinary animal. The monster made a very wounded expression before exhaling heavily. Then, dangling in my hand, it spoke solemnly.
[You are the first human to defeat me.]
The monster fidgeted with its front paws and lowered its head. Its triangular ears tilted back slightly, and its drooping tail swayed gently. It looked almost as if it was feeling shy.
The monster kept its head slightly lowered while raising only its eyes to look at me. Though its eyes sparkled like Puss in Boots, for some reason, I felt an uneasiness creeping up.
[My name is Serubi. From now on, I am yours.]
“…”
I like animals. Unlike Woo Jeonghyun who preferred variety shows, I preferred watching documentaries—gazelles running through the Serengeti plains or giraffes leisurely grazing. I enjoyed exchanging slow blinks with stray cats I encountered on the streets and following bird calls to watch birds perched on trees.
But liking and keeping them were separate matters. I liked them, but I didn’t want to keep them. It was the same with flowers. I preferred seeing them in their natural state rather than picking them.
“Yours? You?”
To my incredulous question, Serubi nodded slightly. Seeing those slightly expectant eyes, I felt my head growing cold.
No, I don’t particularly…
“I don’t want to accept…”
The only thing I had ever raised in my life was a kidney bean in elementary school. But even that withered and died for some reason. That’s when I knew—I was someone who was terrible at raising anything.
[If you reject me, kill me right here.]
I was honestly going to say that I wasn’t confident in raising anything, but Serubi’s thinking was extremely radical.
“Why is the conversation going that way again?”
[I am already yours. If you reject me, only death awaits me. Can’t you kill me?]
“Such a tiny thing, yet so many big words?”
[I’m only small now because my power is weakened. I am not tiny.]
“You’re talking back to me?”
[I’m only stating facts.]
From how it speaks, it seems like it would stubbornly survive, yet when talking about its own death, it was beyond serious—it was downright grim. It looked like if I abandoned it here, it would just die.
‘I’ve lived this long, only to be blackmailed by a monster.’
If not for Serubi’s claim that I had ownership over it, I would have gone my own way regardless of whether it lived or died. But now, I couldn’t just ignore the situation. If it really died, I’d probably have nightmares.
‘Even if it’s lost its power, it’s still a monster. Is it possible to keep it?’
Feeling my thoughts increasingly leaning toward keeping it, I looked down at Serubi, who was still calmly held in my hand.
“You’re a monster. What guarantee do I have that you won’t be dangerous? Why should I accept you as mine?”
[I swear on my life. What is your name?]
“…Woo Jeongjae.”
[Woo Jeongjae is my master, and I am wholly his possession and can never harm him. I swear to pay with my life if I break this oath.]
It was just a cat rambling on, but looking at those serious golden eyes, I started feeling increasingly strange.
‘Isn’t it unfair to be this serious?’
The concept of something truly belonging to me didn’t exist in my life. I died at the young age of 27, but perhaps in that short life, I lost more than I gained. Yet here was something I hadn’t even desired, rolling into my life.
As soon as Serubi finished speaking, a soft pattern appeared on its forehead. The pattern split in half, and one part settled on the back of my hand holding Serubi.
[Are you satisfied now?]
The pattern quickly disappeared, and I looked at Serubi with a gaze demanding an explanation.
[I placed a restriction that will stop my life if I harm my master.]
It was absurd, but the conversation didn’t end there.
[Hold me.]
“What?”
[I’m getting sleepy after using all my power.]
As if the swearing had been quite taxing, Serubi went limp in my hand. I put Serubi inside my clothes.
‘It doesn’t seem to be a threat, so I guess it’s okay to take it with me for now?’
If the Center Director had seen this, he would have told me to quickly end its life, but I wasn’t such a heartless person.
Holding Serubi, I turned toward the hole I had made. The hole I had dug was still intact despite all the commotion.
“I should leave on two feet this time.”
I’d already used too much of my ability, but I didn’t think adding a bit more would be a big problem. I tucked Serubi safely inside my clothes and raised my hand. But before I could even touch the wall, I heard a loud bang and the sound of a wall collapsing. I thought I might have used my ability without realizing it, but it wasn’t me.
“Esper Woo Jeongjae.”
As I turned at the familiar voice from behind, I saw that the wall on the opposite side had been blown open. A whitish dust cloud rose from the suddenly collapsed wall, but I could recognize the figure visible through it without being told.
“Director.”
“I was too late, it seems.”
So he knows. How could he appear right as the situation ended?
I heaved a deep sigh with my insides boiling.
It wasn’t because the Center Director was late, but because the aftermath of using my ability was rising from deep in my stomach.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
