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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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“A cat? A c-cat? The beast those people were talking about?”
I laughed and stuffed the bow I was holding into my duffel bag.
“Yeah. That thing is a complete monster.”
I stood up and drew the swords from my waist.
Shing
The monster cat’s black fur stood on end as it turned its head towards me. Arrows were stuck all over its head and one of its eyes. It glared at me with its remaining eye.
“A monster? Is it dangerous? What’s the situation?”
A smile hung on my lips.
“Rather than dangerous…”
“What do you mean? Should we move out?”
“No, it’s just…”
“Aish, seriously. What is it? It’s frustrating not being able to see. Should we move out?”
In the center of the village stood a magnificent, ancient tree and a well. I held a sword in each hand and walked slowly towards the tree. The monster cat, its black fur bristling, took one step at a time. The debris from the wall that had been on its back fell off.
…This was exciting.
“Sung-hoon. Are you dead? Huh?”
“I’m not dead. Be quiet.”
This was so annoying. I had never thought of fighting as fun before. Before the apocalypse, the messages had always told me what to do, so I just followed orders. After the apocalypse, I just fought to survive. After getting a specialization and being covered in blood, I had felt a little excitement, but that too had quickly become routine. But this… no one was telling me what to do, and if I lost, I would die, right? Or would I be eaten?
In the dead of night, with only the streetlights illuminating the area, my vision became clear. The colors were vivid. My heart was pounding. …I could get addicted to this.
The cat and I were circling each other as if there were a pillar in the middle. The detached houses, scattered around, were the spectators, and this open space in the center of the village was the Colosseum. Thinking about it that way made it even more fun. I smiled, locked eyes with the cat, and slowly moved.
It stopped. The cat’s tail went down. Its ears folded back. It flattened its body. Its mouth. Its lips trembled. …Oh. So that was the signal to attack.
I couldn’t stop smiling as I gritted my teeth and stood my ground. I tightened my grip on my swords.
“Screeech!”
It leaped. Eight sharp claws on its two front paws. A movement that reeked of a desire to tear me apart. I stood still. I waited. It rushed towards me. Its form expanded in an instant!
[Auto Cast: Acceleration]
That’s right. The cat was so fast that it was almost a blur. Now I could see it clearly. I quickly glanced left and right. Its two front paws were coming down from above, as if to embrace me.
“Phew.”
I plunged my sword into its paw. It went in smoothly. The arm that I had stabbed. I pulled with all my might and jumped. And pulled out the sword at the same time.
Thump.
I landed on its front paw. I immediately leaped towards the cat’s head and plunged my sword in.
Crack, crack!
Good. No matter how thick its skull was, the sword went in. A brief moment. The thought that even if I stabbed it like this, it wouldn’t die, flashed through my mind. How should I attack it? I crouched on its head and looked to the side. …The neck. …I’ll cut it off. There was no time for complex judgments. While Acceleration was active, I would cut off this monster’s neck.
“Hup!”
I pulled out the sword and immediately ran down its head and stood on its shoulder. Then, I crossed my two swords and swung with all my might.
Shred!
Droplets of blood flickered slowly in all directions. The skin on its neck was cut and torn. I could see the muscles being torn apart. I’ll cut this thing’s neck bone…!
I hesitated. I couldn’t believe my eyes. This thing. This monster beast. Inside its body, under its skin and muscle, it wasn’t its internal organs. What I saw were human faces. It was the forms of humans, suffering, agonizing, and screaming. At that moment, I realized. The human beasts that this thing had eaten. The human monsters. The zombies. They had been accumulated inside its body. It wasn’t getting bigger by eating. It was storing them inside its body.
Looking down at the grotesquely exposed human faces through the torn skin and muscle, I felt a strange mix of horror and joy. I plunged my sword down.
Crack!
A human face. It definitely had a skull. I pulled out the sword and, turning, swung both arms down. I could feel the two swords piercing its skin. With the swords still embedded, I ran. I ran down its body, towards its tail.
Rip!
The skin was torn and ripped by the swords. The disgusting sound was pushed away by Acceleration. And I smiled.
“Hup!”
When I reached its rear, I jumped with all my might. And I thrust my arms forward, crossing them. The two swords appeared in front of me, spraying blood.
Acceleration ended.
Thump.
I landed on the ground. A piercing shriek. The monster’s scream. Hearing the death throes behind me, I turned my head.
Rumble!
A thunderous sound. The cat, collapsing and crashing into the well, writhed in agony. The broken stone fragments of the well flew in all directions. I walked slowly towards the monster, watching it. And I thought. If my guess was right. The way to defeat this thing was… I threw my sword forward. Just as the hilt was about to leave my fingers. From my fingertips. From my toes, shadows leaped out as if combining and grabbed the sword.
Whoosh!
My Shadow Warrior, leaping forward and kneeling on one knee. I commanded, “Kill that thing.”
The Shadow Warrior, still kneeling, leaped forward. And it swung its sword at the writhing monster, which was trying to get up.
Slice, thud! Crack!
“Screeech! Roar!”
The Shadow Warrior knew exactly where to attack. It was the embodiment of Afterimage, a melee skill that always attacked a weak point. Without hesitation, without a moment’s pause, the Shadow Warrior stabbed and slashed at the creature’s stomach, shoulder, chest, and thigh, sending pieces of skin and flesh flying in all directions along with blood. As if it were being ground in a blender.
“Roar! Screech!”
The cat continued to be stabbed and slashed, struggling. But it couldn’t think to attack the Shadow Warrior. It was the same as a human beast. It didn’t react to non-living targets. Just as the human beasts had died with a single slash without even knowing what was happening, this thing couldn’t resist as its entire body was being cut.
I walked towards the duffel bag I had left behind. “…Status.”
If my guess was right. I watched the monster cat, my eyes fixed on the status window. …My guess was right.
[Strength – 91 / 100]
My Strength was decreasing. It was already 90, 89, 88… I reached the duffel bag and picked up the bow I had left there. And I took out an arrow and knocked it.
The Shadow Warrior swung its sword down. Slice, a chunk of the monster’s front paw was cut off.
“Roar!”
It collapsed. I aimed the knocked bow at the monster and drew back the string.
Whirr
A circle appeared. …I could see it. The creature’s state. The monster beast, whose entire body had been glowing red. The dozens of red LED lights that had seemed to spread like pastel colors. The lights were rapidly disappearing. One by one, every time the Shadow Warrior swung its sword.
Red light. Five, four, three. I released the string and held out my hand. Come back.
The Shadow Warrior stopped. It whipped its head around to look at me. It crouched down. And in an instant, it was back in front of me, its hand extended. The hilt of the sword fit perfectly in my hand.
Sizzle
White smoke rose. I swung the sword to shake off the blood. Splatter! I spun it in my hand, holding it upside down, and sheathed it.
Shing Click
I slowly reached out and put my fingers on the bowstring. The form of the black cat. A monster beast that could no longer be called a cat. Its entire body was mangled, its front and back paws were severed, and it was writhing and trembling.
“Growl, roar!”
I held the bow forward. And I drew back the string.
Whirr
A transparent circle. The monster beast was perfectly centered in the circle. All the lights on its body were out. It was no longer glowing red. Only its heart was shining. I released the tightly drawn bowstring.
Thwip.
Whoosh
The arrow, arcing like a snake through the air, plunged diagonally into the creature’s heart. The monster beast leaped once, as if electrocuted, then stretched out its four legs and stopped moving. And it became quiet.
“…Phew…”
…So that’s how it was. It wasn’t that it didn’t die when I shot it in the head. It had heads all over its body. In that case, I just had to kill it until it was dead.
“…Haha.”
Laughter escaped from between my clenched teeth. The blood that had splattered all over my body ran down and into my mouth. A familiar, metallic taste.
Growl, roar!
A familiar sound. A sound I hadn’t heard while I was focused on the monster. Human beasts were gathering towards the village. I looked around. …There weren’t as many as I thought.
“Growl! Roar!”
Some of them were quite close. I didn’t wipe the smile from my face as I let go of the bow.
“Graaagh!”
They rushed at me from all sides. Thud, the bow fell on top of the duffel bag. I laughed. “Haha, haha!”
Acceleration.
[Auto Cast: Acceleration]
I lowered my arms and grabbed the Ingram MAC-10s from my thighs. As soon as I pulled them out, I spread my arms. Human beasts rushing at me from all sides. I smiled and pulled the trigger.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat.
The bullets were projected slowly, flying through the air.
“Ha, hahaha, hahahaha!”
I couldn’t stop laughing.
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