STM 59

Ottma was moving again. And so was I. An arrow appeared, visible only to my eyes.

Bang!

The sword struck where I had been again. It was a powerful blow, shattering the stone floor and sending it flying everywhere, but I dodged it by the hair of my head and rolled across the floor.

Thud, bang.

The blade swooped down on me, and I dodged with all my might, rolling on the ground. Now, my target was within arm’s reach. But just as I was about to reach it, another variable appeared.

Rumble.

Suddenly, the floor shook again, and small rocks fell from the ceiling and walls. The sha king caused me to lose my balance and I fell over.

Ottma didn’t miss that opportunity. Even though my insides were shaking to the point of collapse, she lunged at me like a demon, intent on destroying me. The problem was, I couldn t escape now..

Damn, one of my arms is going to fly off…

Whoosh~

Slash.

The sound of flesh being cut off echoed eerily along with the sound of the wind.

Thud.

Clang.

A severed arm rolled across the floor, acco mpanied by dust falling from the ceiling. Nex t to it, a fallen sword clanked and rolled near its owner.

It was Ottma’s arm.

Ottma looked down, oblivious to the dripping blood, as if she couldn’t believe her own arm had been severed.

Then she turned her head and looked in the same direction as I did. Someone had just stepped in through the broken wall.

How the hell did he get here?

“Tai…”

Ottma tried to say his name, but couldn’t even finish the short word.

Whoosh.

This time, the sound of the wind seemed to be a bit louder, and the sound of cutting was also clear.

Slash.

Ottma’s severed head fell to the floor first, followed by her body collapsing.

Thud.

I looked at the severed head for a moment, then dusted myself off and got up.

It had been a long time since I faced death up close. I’d forgotten how easily life could end.

I was alive only because of luck. No one could’ve known this man would show up and help me.

“How did you get here?”

I asked Tairok, but he just stared at me with his sword down.

“There’s a problem with this mansion right now, and there’s no way out..”

“Were you hit?”

The sudden question confused me for a moment. Then I remembered my face was a mess, but so what? Does that matter in this situation?

Even at this moment, the walls were shaking and the ceiling was slowly col
lapsing.

“Can you go back out the way you came in? This place is about to collapse…!”

He walked over, grabbing my chin and lifting my face. He looked at my brui
sed and swollen face with a blank expression.

“What are you doing?”

Only when I asked did he finally raise his eyes to meet mine. Why are you s o angry?

“I really can’t stand it.”

He muttered and pushed my face away, letting go. I was so dumbfounded I
didn’t even get angry.

No, is this the time to pick a fight with my face?

My mouth opened, but the ground shook again. This time, it shook so
much I lost my balance, and a large hand grabbed my arm.

But I didn’t have time to express my gratitude. A large piece of debris fell fr
om the ceiling.

Bang!

After that, the ceiling began to crumble like dominoes. And that too from the entrance where the wall had been breached.

Dust billowed like a fog, instantly obscuring my vision. Through it, I could see that half of the entrance was blocked.

Ah, we can’t got out of there.

But Tairok pulled me back and raised his sword, probably intending to cut through it with brute force.
But if the entire building were to collapse, would he, even if he were a Swordmaster, be able to survive?
I stepped back and grabbed his arm. He looked at me as he tried to move forward.

“Don’t worry. I’ll keep you alive.”

“I’m not worried because I’ll survive.”

As I spoke, I pulled him closer, clenching my other hand tightly. Inside it was the key I’d grabbed, ready to risk losing an arm.

I dragged Tairok’s and jumped straight into the shimmering gate that was still open.

“It’s collapsing there……”

Tyrok’s words, which were meant to stop me, were silenced by the change in scenery in just a few steps.

The world suddenly changed, like a page turning in a book.

Whoosh~

A wind that I hadn’t felt indoors brushed my whole body as it to announce a change.

No words came out. I simply couldn’t believe this situation. Was this really
а key? I unconsciously looked down at my hand and turned around.

Behind us, we saw the room we had come through collapse, and then it be
came blurry and the door completely disappeared.

We were out of the danger, but my caution outweighed my joy. The world was awash in a crimson sunset. I raised my head to look around, but so on realized I was mistaken.

What, what is that…

The world was engulfed in a crimson glow, but it was only for a moment. A strong wind blew, and the surrounding light changed into another color. It was as if the wind itself had color.

Huh? The wind?

My eyes were drawn upwards. A huge wave of wind rippled across the sky,
rippling with light. The wondrous sight took my breath away.

Without thinking, I raised my hand and reached into the light. Velvet-soft air brushed against my fingertips.

Can the wind be this warm?

The sensation was so pleasant that I reached out my hand in a daze, but then I heard a low murmur.

“…The Forest of Crimson Waves.”

Only then did I remember that Tairok was still beside me. But before I could turn, he stepped forward, blocking my path with his massive sword already drawn.

Why?

I looked up and saw some non-human beings between the trees and the grass.

When did they gather?

Although I’ve encountered a lot of non-human beings before, this time there were surprisingly many of them. Furthermore, they were all different shapes. There were also small spirits like The Spirit of Poison, and random balls of fur like the back of a Bichon’s head.

From chicken-like creatures with branches hanging like arms, to lizards wit h many legs like centipedes, to deer with short legs like Welsh Corgis, to groups of rocks with long leaves hanging like rabbit ears.

Mysterious creatures straight out of a fairy tale were watching us.

Tap.

Tyrok took a step forward. He still held his sword menacingly, and I unconsciously stopped him.

“They are not dangerous, so put your sword down.”

“How do you know that?”

In response to the cold answer, I pointed at them with my hand.

“They don’t look very dangerous.”

“Those things?”

Oh, right, I’m using a filter right now. I’ve gotten used to it so much I’ve for gotten. Maybe the real thing is creepy. Sure enough, Tairok looked at me with a suspicious look.

“……l’m a bit insensitive to appearances.”

“Ha.”

Ha? As I looked at him quizzically, he added.

“You used to fuck with anyone as long as they had a dick.”

No, I only look at appearances. If the appearance suits my taste, I’ll accept i t even if their personality is like a dog. What is he saying?

I wanted to protest, but I couldn’t get a single word out.

“……Yeah, I’m a bit of an egalitarian when it comes to looks.”

Tairok looked down at me, openly scoffing. At that moment, a strong gust of wind blew towards us.

The mighty wind that dyed the world pink was breathtakingly beautiful and exhilarating. But for others, it was the complete opposite.

“Urgh.”

Tairok groaned softly and collapsed. He fell to one knee, barely holding on to his sword with his teeth clenched, showing considerable agony. He gasped with ragged breaths.

“Haa..damn wind…” he muttered.

Wind? Only then did I notice that every time the wind blew, his hands tightened and his breath caught. The breeze that felt pleasant to me was tormenting Tairok. Why?

[Forget that human! Come here!!!]

Suddenly, familiar exclamation marks appeared before my eyes. Wait, the one who uses this many exclamation marks… …. Huh?

Boom, boom, boom~!

There was a loud noise of footsteps that made the ground shake, and soon
a huge black rock two stories high came running out of the forest.

The reason I said “running” was because the rock had short, stone legs. Its pitifully small legs swayed as it arrived in front of me, tilting its head as if it were bowing.

Hey, it’s scary when you come that close!

I took a step back with an internal scream, and the rock stopped in its position as if in greeting.

Instead, the long leaves that had been hanging above its head, shaped like rabbit ears, came down and swayed right in front of my nose.

[You eunuch human!!! Eunuch human!!!]

Huh? Dia?! Your original form was a large rock?