STM 20

The red eyes were as eerie as blood. Only then could I take in the creature’s full form.

Every non-human being I’d seen until now had been half-transparent and shapeless, but this one was different.

It had a solid, distinct body.

It was a mountain goat. Except it had four horns. Two of them rose high like pillars. The tips split like branches, reminding me of a stag’s antlers.

The horns reached so high they pierced the ceiling, their tops unseen. But whether it had four horns or ten didn’t matter now. The terrifying red eyes devoured everything else.

Why the hell do your eyes spin like that?

I stopped myself from saying it out loud. The goat slowly tilted its head to the side, like it was amazed that I could see it.

No, that makes it scarier. Don’t tilt your head with those insane eyes.

A few seconds passed that felt like hundreds of years. Then the goat lowered its eyes. I finally took a breath and followed its gaze.

Huh?

The pervert pinned beneath me was muttering something.

At the same time, a magic circle floated into the air.

Wait.

That doesn’t look good.

“You bastard, I’ll tear you apart.”

The pervert sneered as he gave his warning. Damn, the guy actually knew magic.

I tried to back away, but in my view, the goat’s forehoof appeared.

It tapped the magic circle with its hoof tip, then withdrew.

In that instant, the magic circle that had grown brighter scattered into the air and vanished. The light fragments sparkled as they spread, and for a brief moment, I was stunned by how beautiful they were.

Like starlight.

When I came to my senses, the goat’s body had vanished with the starlight. Even so, I couldn’t tear my gaze away from the empty space. A voice echoed faintly.

‘…Glad I came to watch after hearing the word of…’

But the name the goat spoke blurred like a rushing wind, and I couldn’t hear it clearly.

Who is that? Why are they telling you to watch me?

The strangest part was that the goat spoke respectfully. I didn’t know much, but the goat felt like a mighty being. If divine beasts really existed, it would be something like that goat.

“Haha, whoever you are, my magic will blow your whole body apart… huh?!”

The pervert’s sudden voice pulled my eyes down. He’d just realized the magic circle was gone, and his eyes widened in panic.

“What, what the hell? What did you do to my spell? Why did the circle vanish?!”

“Because you screwed it up. Who else’s fault would it be?”

“Huh? No, I did it right… ugh!”

His babbling stopped after one hit from my fist. I landed it right on his jaw, and his body went limp as he passed out. But there was no time to mock him.

Bang! Bang!

“Lord Bilge! Are you all right?!”

The guards pounded the door, trying to break in. I got up and approached the brown-haired youth.

“I’ll cover you. Don’t be scared.”

I saw his trembling eyes and hurried to pull up his fallen clothes, fastening the buttons.

Why are these buttons so tiny? I froze for a second, staring at the pea-sized things.

…My hands moved very quickly.

Almost too fast. Like the body knew exactly how to open and close someone else’s clothes. Damn it, Lu, how many people did you undress.

Crash! Creak!

The door twisted and a gap opened, revealing the guard’s face.

“Ah! Lord Bilge!”

“Who are you?!”

Hearing that, I whispered to the brown-haired youth.

“People will come and help soon. You went through something nasty, but just think of it as a dog bite.”

I patted his shoulder and ran to the balcony. The same instant, the door shattered.

“Stop!”

The guard shouted as he burst in. Would you stop if you were me? I laughed at him and jumped onto the railing, leaping straight toward the branches.

The branch had broken earlier, so I had to jump with all my strength.

Grab it! I can grab it!

Smack!

My hand barely caught the broken edge of the branch. My arm strength was weak, and I almost slipped.

“Ugh!”

I clenched my teeth and forced my other hand up to grab the branch and climb.

Huff, huff, when I get back, I’m doing a hundred upper-body sets, damn it.

I pushed through and finally climbed onto the branch. Through the thick leaves, I could see the balcony below.

One guard stuck his head out and looked down. He didn’t think I’d jumped all the way onto this branch.

“He vanished! He must’ve teleported!”

The guards made up my alibi themselves. Great. That meant I could get down safely.

Still, I waited a bit, hidden among the branches, before climbing down. But I’d used too much strength hanging on that tree.

I tried to hold the trunk and slide down, but my trembling arms refused to obey.

Ugh, this damn body.

No strength went through it, and I slid straight down the pillar very quickly. My body hit the ground with a loud noise, then rolled once.

“Shit.”

I groaned and cursed. I pushed my hands against the floor and tried to lift my upper body. I stopped when a pair of black shoes appeared in my sight.

What’s that?

One thought crossed my head.

Did they catch me?

But the awkwardness flipped into familiarity. The shoe tips looked like military boots. I couldn’t see clearly in the dark, but I felt irritated first.

Wait. I saw those same shoe tips from this angle once before.

I lifted my head slowly along the line of the shoes. Golden eyes glowed in the dark. And his lips twisted in a strange smile.

“Adeye Lu.”

‎

‎

‎

‘Don’t get dragged by emotions.’

That was the advice I gave my team most often when I led the volunteer corps. Even a small lapse could lead to death, and nothing caused mistakes more than emotion. Yet right now, I was caught in it.

“Adeye Lu.”

The other person immediately recognized my identity, but instead of panic, I felt something else. Because I knew that face too.

How could I forget? Back at the resort, when I’d barely climbed the slope to escape the monster, that grinning bastard had kicked me off.

You son of a bitch, good to see you again. My anger burned like a spark hitting dry wood.

“Ha.”

I stood slowly and let out a short laugh. I brushed my pants and greeted him.

“Good to see you.”

“Good to see me?”

Yeah, damn right. I nodded and smiled wider.

“I can’t help feeling glad to see trash worse than a monster again.”

Even when I cursed him to his face, the smug grin didn’t leave his mouth. He only answered,

“I should’ve slit your neck back then.”

“Oh, you need a weapon? Well, your kicks were so weak it felt like a feather tickling me. Guys as weak as you need a big sword to feel safe, right?”

This time, my sarcasm got ‎a little reaction from him. I could see the irritation in his eyes.

“Keep talking. That way, It’ll enjoy seeing your blood.”

The guy took a threatening step closer. He was a head taller than Lu, enough to cast a shadow over me.

Of pièce, I welcomed this turn of events. I looked straight into his sparkling and smiled, baring my teeth.

“Keep smiling too. It’ll get even more fun from now on.”

As soon as I finished speaking, I kicked toward his torso.

Thud.

His arm blocked my leg and his other hand reached out. But I ducked my upper body the moment I landed and dodged his hand by a hair. Then, I delivered a decisive blow.

The kick was bait, you little shit.

I drove an uppercut into his side. Take that…

Huh?

Why is it that hard?

It was definitely a good hit. But the guy’s si de where the fist landed was as hard as stone. So, Lu’s weak fist took the hit. The shock traveled up his arm and into his body.

This is….a human body?

I froze and looked up. Golden eyes stared down at me like cold ice.

Ah, screwed, I thought, and the moment I did, the guy grabbed me by the collar. I tried to run away, but he gently lifted me up with one hand.

I grabbed his wrist and tried to pull him away, but the grip around my neck was so tight I couldn’t exert much force. I tried to break free, but to my pride’s shame, it was impossible.

My legs only flapped like a store’s balloon doll celebrating its grand opening. His face was calm as he looked at my reddened face, and his mouth twisted again.

“It’s not fun at all?”

With a cold laugh, he toss my body into the air and kicked me like a soccer ball. I flew again. No cliff this time, but there was a big tree.

Crash.

The impact echoed loud enough I wondered if that sound came from my body.

It hurt.

I hit the trunk and rolled to the ground, thinking one thing.

I’ll kill that bastard myself.

I clawed at the dirt and pushed myself up. My whole body hurt, too slow to move fast. I gritted my teeth and spat it out.

“You’re right. I didn’t try hard enough.”