Cradle of Delusion (3)

The problem was the moment I opened the box and saw the camera.

My face was briefly reflected in the small, black lens.

My heart sank, and I closed the box.

With the tightly closed box on my lap, I sat still for a long time.

I never opened that box again.

To me, Han Da-eun looked like a stain.

A stain that wouldn’t come off once it settled.

I couldn’t let such a thing taint Gawol.

Compared to Gawol, Han Da-eun was far too shabby a woman.

Because she can’t go back to kendo which she devoted her life to, has learned nothing else, has a bad personality, thinks gloomy thoughts every day, and is a woman whose heart is crawling with jealousy.

Because in the game, I got all excited on the stream Soolbbang opened for me, but in reality, I’m a fool who couldn’t even turn on a camera once!

What can I do? I was too scared.

It felt like all the things I’d done out of ugly jealousy were grabbing my ankles and mocking me.

– With what face do you dare step in here?

– Did you think something changed just because you dreamed for a moment?

– You, who stole others’ light to wear?

– Why didn’t you die that day?

“Ah.”

No. If my thoughts go that far, I won’t be able to recover.

Just then, the fake Gawol stabbed my shoulder.

The shoulder pierced by the dagger felt hot as if burned.

If it were me, I wouldn’t stop here.

As if it were natural, the blade inside my body made a full rotation.

Blood pouring out as flesh and muscle tear.

Hot blood trickled down between my white armpits, breasts, and thighs.

The pain that overwhelmed me took my breath away.

“It hurts.”

It hurts so much it’s hard to bear.

Was it always this painful? I think I endured it pretty well in the Arena.

It’s so painful that I hate the whole world – I even terribly hate the woman in front of me.

A fiery hatred rose in my stomach.

It felt like my internal organs were burning.

Or is it? Maybe I’ve always hated you.

I have no intention of letting you go after you put a knife in my body.

You should hurt too. I struck the blade that was coming out with the back of my hand.

The glove slightly cuts, revealing skin. But it didn’t leave a wound.

A gap was created as the dagger flew to an unintended place.

I naturally slit the artery… but although it looks like me, the opponent is ultimately inanimate.

Even if I open the blood vessels, no blood flows.

At least I could damage the wrist a little.

[The enemy receives the ‘Enhanced Bleeding Poison’ effect.]

[For 30 seconds, maximum health…]

The breath I inhaled smelled of blood.

It’s probably my blood smell.

I don’t particularly like the scent of blood, but I don’t hate the body temperature contained in it.

This warmth isn’t bad either.

Thanks to the hot pain, my head cleared up.

It’s funny. Rather than me trying hard to pull myself together, pain is more effective.

Is this why people who are hurt mentally self-harm?

Did they want their bodies to hurt rather than their hearts too?

I… I’m still okay.

Until now, I’ve never harmed my body in reality.

I still have enough strength left to endure by entering the connection device if necessary.

Although I can’t say my mind is healthy, the reason I honed during my athlete days hasn’t been completely destroyed.

Let’s focus on the battle, nevermind the trivial things.

As I erase idle thoughts, perhaps this emotion will subside a bit too.

‘It’s ambiguous what we can do with daggers in this state. What would I do in this situation?’

Of course, I’d use my legs.

I pressed down with my hand to block the rising knee.

I tilted my head to avoid the dagger, and while grabbing the thigh, I attempt a takedown.

This was a kind of gamble.

If that one’s strength is overwhelmingly higher than mine, it might become a fatal mistake.

I forced it because if we go by the book, I’m at a disadvantage with my weaker body.

But… there’s no way it won’t work.

This game doesn’t create unbeatable bosses.

“Hm……”

It’s a good start.

This should be hard to break out of right away?

Martial arts are the Akashic Records built up by human weapons from all over the world for thousands of years.

Modern martial arts. Especially ground techniques are the essence of essences, scraping together only the best.

With time, it might be able to analyze this too, but it’s definitely not something that can be solved by intuition or instinct alone.

This time, you made a mistake.

I’m the woman who’s best at one-on-one combat in this world.

You shouldn’t have imitated my body too!

…I should probably visit a hospital soon.

My bipolar disorder has gotten worse.

[Successfully activated the effect ‘Vital Point Attack: Tendon Cutting’.]

[The ‘Strength Weakening’ effect has been applied to the enemy.]

When I cut behind the knee, in the popliteal area, a welcome system message rang out.

Does it recognize damaging the drive unit as cutting tendons?

While restraining both arms, I stabbed under the armpits three or four more times.

It’s a pleasant score, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing.

The speed at which it learned countermeasures was much faster than expected.

It started to push me away with force while untangling its entangled legs.

As I pressed down on the forearm and breast, I couldn’t protect the left side of my waist.

This kind of exchange is disadvantageous.

If the opponent were just human, I would have kept pushing, but the other side is clearly a dungeon boss.

I can’t guarantee victory with just a slight advantage.

At the very least, we shouldn’t go in the direction of mutually slashing each other.

I grabbed both arms, and our thighs touched.

“Ungh…!”

As expected, strength alone isn’t enough. I’m getting overpowered right away.

If I didn’t have the advantage of position, I would have been pinned down already.

Moreover, this one has already learned how to use elbows.

The angular bone pressed against my body, causing pain.

I need to come up with an answer before my ribs are crushed.

Originally, I could also press the neck to block breathing, but would that be meaningful?

Even if it looks exactly like me, this one is ultimately a machine.

Choking a machine’s neck, that’s too stupid.

They don’t even do that in old Hollywood movies.

‘Instead, I can change the method.’

I inserted the overlapped legs a bit further in.

The force pushing in the thigh and the force pulling out the calf act in opposite directions.

Aiming for the weakness of the knee joint to bend the leg sideways.

It was a technique banned as a foul even in martial arts like jiu-jitsu.

Because the risk of injury is too high to be tolerated in sports.

In other words, it’s excellent for destroying the body.

As I twisted my whole body to apply force, finally there was a cracking sound as the leg broke.

While the fake was trying to recover its posture, I released the hold and retreated slightly.

One leg isn’t enough.

That woman, so full of obsession, won’t give up until she dies.

Her ceaselessly moving eyes must still be looking for my solution.

“Don’t be so pathetic. It would be easier and better for both of us if you just died quickly.”

Since the opponent is a boss, it might recover quickly.

I immediately approached and aimed for the right eye.

As expected, it doesn’t let me have it easily. The missed dagger sliced through the air.

The enemy’s gaze briefly turned to the floor. Then I should be careful of shadows.

I stopped one step to avoid, and something like sharp thorns shot up.

In that interval, the fake Gawol attacked me as if pouncing.

I thought I would dodge to the side.

Is it the same for the other side that can read me?

I missed the timing due to the shadow blade that came in one beat late.

[Delusion: Damage received from the guardian increases in proportion to stacks.]

Moreover, the amplified damage was too great.

Even though I succeeded in parrying accurately, my wrist bent and the dagger flew far away.

A blade was stuck in my side, but in exchange, I grabbed one of the fake’s arms.

I’m not dead yet either.

We’re both equally filled with killing intent, so I have no intention of ending it here.

Using the back of my arm as a fulcrum, I bend the fake’s arm.

Although its body is much harder than a human’s, if I use all my strength and weight, I can manage to break it.

Because I exerted too much force, blood burst from the wound I just got.

“Kuhuk…!”

Is it because there’s no one around?

A scream I couldn’t hold back burst out.

Still, a sense of elation started to rise in my mind.

I won. Although I’m bleeding heavily, the other side has one arm and one leg damaged.

There was no way a proper fight could continue from now on.

I can freely adjust the distance, but the fake can’t do that anymore.

I gradually increased its wounds and planted two hidden weapons in its ankle.

A screeching sound like that of rusty iron came from the Achilles tendon where the dagger was stuck.

“Critical damage confirmed to drive unit”

“Until recovery…”

The ashen body collapses.

I didn’t miss that opportunity.

I sit on top of the fake’s stomach while pressing down both arms with my knees.

I need to stab with the dagger… but I couldn’t see it.

My left hand is unusable as the wrist has been cut.

I should have some hidden weapons left somewhere on my body, but I couldn’t remember well.

That face facing me. Seeing that face that looks so much like me, my thoughts couldn’t function properly.

“If there’s no weapon, then fists.”

I silently planted my fist into the expressionless face.

Fortunately, it seems the face isn’t protected by a hard outer shell.

It was still sturdier than my body, but if both the face and fist get damaged, of course, it’s to my advantage.

Thud. Crack. Thump.

My hand gets crushed.

At the same time, the fake’s face gets damaged.

The fake didn’t bleed, but I bled instead.

Blood from my fist. Blood flowing from my body and mouth.

Bright red bloodstains splattered on both our bodies.

So we both looked like we were bleeding.

I didn’t stop moving my fist.

Again and again. I hit over and over.

With each punch, it felt like my heart was getting a little lighter.

Some kind of lump started to melt away, and I couldn’t even feel the pain anymore.

Then at some point, I saw a hidden weapon on the inside of my thigh.

So it was here.

I guess my head isn’t working right.

I should get some sleep once things settle down.

I stuck the throwing dagger into the temple.

The fake Gawol’s body went limp.

“331,352nd communication. Requesting permission to terminate protection mission.”

“Guardian ‘Father’ central processing unit destruction rate 89.44%, mission continuation impossible.”

“Terminating operation.”

“Thank you.”