Chapter 20: Even the bone marrow has a heart, Part 2

Seo Da-In froze.

She hadn’t expected to encounter a monster here.

Grrrr.

A growl that seemed to resonate from the depths of a shared abyss.

Seo Da-In stood still, staring at the pupil outside the window.

Perhaps, if she didn’t move, the monster wouldn’t notice her.

Shift.

How much time had passed? The monster’s pupil moved, then its eye disappeared.

Seo Da-In quickly shouted,

“Hear me! Knowing that my call is the key, you, the unwavering armory! I command you to return my blade, honed endlessly!”

Rumble.

This time, the words flowed smoothly.

The storage case opened with a rumble, revealing a golden spear with a gleaming blue blade.

Grab!

She grabbed the spear.

The monster’s eye reappeared outside the window.

She lunged towards the window with her spear.

Shatter!

The window exploded into shards of glass, which flew towards the monster’s eye.

Pitter-patter!

But the glass shards didn’t reach the monster’s eye. It had closed its eyelid and raised its head.

“As expected…!”

Seo Da-In, propelled by her momentum, landed outside and looked up, exclaiming,

“It was you!”

The giant, intimidating, wingless dragon-like form, and the fiercely glowing eyes that resembled hellish jewels, clearly revealed the monster’s identity.

The one Han So-Yeon had mentioned.

The very monster she had seen in the video at Headquarters.

‘How did it know I was here…?!’

Seo Da-In gritted her teeth.

She had been planning to search for the monster, but not like this.

She was caught off guard, encountering it just as she was about to leave.

Whir.

Her spear, reacting to a worthy opponent, vibrated.

Zing.

No, this wasn’t a worthy opponent. The blade glowed red.

‘This is…!’

A warning.

A message telling her not to fight the being before her.

‘Don’t be ridiculous!’

Retreating in the face of this monster was unthinkable.

She had to at least inflict significant damage or gather clues for future capture.

That was why she had even pleaded with the Association President.

Crack!

She assumed a fighting stance.

『!@%@.』

Unintelligible words reached her ears, the same as in the video.

『@#(%^@#@#%.』

She couldn’t understand what it was saying, but she assumed it wasn’t anything good.

Disaster-level monsters often uttered incomprehensible sounds.

They were usually curses or some form of bewitchment.

“Shut up!”

She leaped into the air.

She soared upwards, stopping right in front of the monster’s face.

“!”

She met its gaze.

An intense pressure, unlike anything she had felt from any other monster, weighed down on her.

“Haaaaaaaa!”

With a shout, she pushed back against the oppressive feeling, spun in the air, and drew an arc with her spear.

SWOOSH!

A white energy slash, accompanied by a tearing sound, shot towards the monster.

THUD!

The slash struck one of the monster’s fangs.

“Ugh?!”

But the slash, like light reflecting off a mirror, didn’t cut the fang and ricocheted, flying past her.

‘Impossible…!’

It was a slash generated by an epic-rarity artifact, even if it was still A-rank.

It should have at least scratched the fang.

The spear was practically a divine weapon.

For the attack to be repelled so effortlessly was unexpected.

‘No!’

Seo Da-In tightened her grip on the spear.

‘It was just one attack!’

She descended and spun her spear, assuming a stance and initiating her spear technique.

‘First Form!’

Her spear thrust forward, piercing between the monster’s claws. It didn’t penetrate, but it caused the monster pain.

Seeing the monster flinch, she quickly dashed forward, pulled her spear to the right, and swung it to the left.

‘Second Form!’

The spear, empowered by the artifact and enhanced by the rotational force, grazed the monster’s skin.

‘Third Form! Fourth Form! Fifth Form! Sixth Form!’

Her consecutive attacks finally activated the technique’s full effect.

Empowered by the technique, she used her spear to propel herself upwards, towards the monster’s neck.

Reaching the monster’s neck, she leaped into the air, spun, and brought her spear down.

“Conclude!”

The final strike.

The scene of the spear falling towards the monster was imprinted in her mind, frame by frame, as if in slow motion.

KWAAAAABOOOOM!

A sound that shouldn’t have come from a blade resonated from the back of the monster’s neck.

“Ugh?!”

It should have inflicted a grievous wound, but for some reason, it was her face that contorted in pain.

“What is…!”

Her spear, empowered by the technique, continued to push forward, but it stopped after slightly penetrating the monster’s skin, unable to go any deeper.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaah!”

If this continued, the amplified effects of her technique would dissipate, leading to her defeat.

“Complete!”

The final strike after the conclusion.

She squeezed out every last ounce of her strength.

KWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

The spear, propelled by her remaining power, roared like thunder, struggling to pierce the monster’s neck.

『#%@#……no.』

At that moment, using all her power, she heard the monster speak.

『It won’t work.』

“!”

As her eyes widened, the monster suddenly turned.

Her balance faltered as her focus shifted.

She stumbled and fell, following the direction of the force she had been exerting downwards.

KABOOM!

At the same time, the monster’s tail slammed down on her.

It had spun around and swung its tail.

“Gah?!”

She crashed to the ground, gasping for breath, her internal organs feeling like they had been rearranged.

『This is the end.』

A shadow fell over her.

She saw the monster’s foot descending towards her with trembling eyes.

“I….”

Gritting her teeth, she slammed her spear into the ground and used the recoil to push herself up.

“I won’t dieeee!”

A scream.

Her only S-rank skill, All-Out.

The ability to draw out all her strength until the very end drove her to fight back.

But it was already over.

The monster’s foot continued its descent, colliding with the ground without pause.

KWAAAAABOOOOM!

The monster’s foot embedded itself in the ground, crushing everything beneath it.

“…….”

Silence.

Seo Da-In lay beside the monster’s foot, gasping for breath.

“Haah, haah….”

She stared at the monster’s foot, then looked up, a bewildered expression on her face.

The monster was looking down at her, its eyes sharp.

『I apologize, but I didn’t come here for a fight to the death.』

The monster spoke.

She could now clearly understand its words.

『Judging by your expression, you can understand me now. I expected as much. I thought your skill might temporarily bridge the gap in our ranks.』

She wore a confused expression, unable to grasp the meaning of its words. The monster continued,

『You can still understand me even though your skill’s effect has worn off? Perhaps mutual understanding is established once the gap in ranks is bridged. Interesting.』

Then, the monster turned and walked away.

『I’ve done what I needed to do, so I’ll be going. It was a pleasure meeting you, albeit briefly.』

“W-Wait!”

Seo Da-In, who had been frozen, quickly raised her spear and shouted.

“Where do you think you’re going! The fight isn’t over yet!”

『I didn’t come for a fight, but for a ‘spar.’』

A spar.

She swallowed at the unexpected word.

“What do you mean by that?!”

『Don’t bother trying to understand. I know you have a grudge against monsters, but I suggest you stop now. Otherwise, you’ll really die.』

“You bastard…!”

『I saw the pictures in your house.』

She paused at those words.

『I didn’t see anyone else there. If you have memories you want to protect, don’t throw your life away for a moment of foolishness.』

“…….”

『If there’s a chance, let’s meet again.』

The monster continued on its way.

The trees in the forest swayed as it passed.

“…What was that?”

She gripped her spear, staring blankly at the spot where the monster had vanished.