episode_0007

The darkness had already settled around us, allowing us to clearly see the numerous trails of light created by the firing of the guns.

Even from a distance, we could sense that something had changed in the village.

As I witnessed the scene, the faces of my mother, Jin-ho, and Ina flashed through my mind.

They were all inside the village now.

“Yeon-a, you stay here for now! I’ll go to the village…”

“No! Absolutely not!”

Yeon-a desperately blocked me as I reflexively tried to rush out.

“I need to go and check on my mom and friends…!”

“We don’t even know what’s going on exactly! Let’s observe the situation for a bit…!”

“That’s why we need to go and see!”

“No, you can’t! If you really want to go, then I’m coming with you!”

Yeon-a stubbornly dragged me along.

There was no time to argue, and with a sense of urgency, I had no choice but to take Yeon-a with me towards the village.

We tumbled down the mountainside several times in our haste, but I felt no pain at all.

The village was now completely obscured by the trees.

All we could hear now was the sound.

-Tatata…

-Thud! Roar…!

The loud noises that had been echoing for a while gradually began to subside.

I fervently prayed that nothing serious had happened.

I prayed that the cocky captain, who always acted superior, had faithfully fulfilled his duty.

*Gasping for breath…*

After running for a while, we were finally able to descend the mountain.

Before our eyes, in our breathless state, a gruesome scene unfolded.

I couldn’t fathom what had happened in that brief moment.

Uncontrolled flames were burning everywhere.

The walls surrounding the village were severely damaged in many places.

There was only a gaping hole where the main gate used to be.

Around it, there were marks that looked like animal hoof prints scattered haphazardly.

Every print pointed towards the inside of the village.

I could see a body lying on top of the wall.

It was a gruesome corpse with its throat gruesomely torn out, leaving only the torso behind.

Below it, there was a necklace that belonged to the guard uncle who had greeted us warmly just this morning.

“No… No…”

My heart raced faster as I saw the corpse.

“Just wait… Going further in is really dangerous…!”

“Stay here. I’ll be back soon…!”

“No…! Hyuna…!”

I pushed Yeon-a aside and headed towards the village.

We re-entered through the hole we had come out of and ran down the path behind the village.

The scene inside was even more gruesome than what we had seen from outside.

Houses were collapsed everywhere.

Sticky, dark red liquid was splattered all over the ground.

Unextinguished flames flickered here and there, and the thick black smoke made my eyes and throat sting.

As I cautiously looked around, I spotted a body lying on the side street of the square.

It was the body of the captain.

As if regretting not being able to protect the village, he lay dead with his eyes wide open.

His blade, which he always carried at his waist, lay broken on the ground.

The fact that the captain had ended up like this meant that the situation had reached its worst.

And soon, I noticed something strange.

Next to him, there were over six bodies lying together, and the ground around them was covered in puddles of blood that had leaked from the bodies.

They looked vaguely human, but their stature was massive, and their bodies were covered in thick black fur.

Clearly, there were huge hooves where feet should be. The head was that of a beast with long, twisted horns hanging above its neck.

In the midst of the horrifying sight, I momentarily lost my senses, but the sudden sound of footsteps in the distance brought me back to reality.

It was a rough and rugged sound, much like that of a horse or a goat. As the sound drew closer, I instinctively hid behind a large tree trunk off the beaten path.

At first, I thought it might be survivors from the village, but that hope was quickly shattered.

Instead of survivors, what appeared before me were strange monsters with dark, gnarled fur and beastly heads.

Though they varied in size and color, their appearance was eerily similar to the corpses I had just seen.

Each of them had dark red bloodstains mixed with saliva around their mouths.

Their vertically slit pupils were incredibly eerie.

One of them was making a guttural sound, constantly gnashing at something.

I didn’t want to know what was inside their mouths.

They seemed to be communicating in a language resembling animal cries. Then, the leader emitted a rough growl and sniffed the air around with flaring nostrils.

Instinctively, I brought my hand to my mouth to stifle my breath. I couldn’t help but think they might have come to sniff out my scent.

Perhaps due to the smoke and flames engulfing the surroundings, they grimaced and then retreated.

Only after their figures had completely disappeared did I manage to release the breath I had been holding.

I could easily recall the identity of the monsters.

Demons.

Sinners cursed by the gods, transformed into grotesque beasts.

Driven out to the northern regions beyond the barrier, they were vile tribes waiting for an opportunity to invade.

The monsters I had just witnessed passing by were the ones from the stories I had heard from my grandmother.

But there was no time to feel relieved, even for a moment.

Before long, I realized that our house was in the direction the monsters had come from.

“No…”

I forced my body to stand up, despite it not listening to me.

I steadied my trembling hands and feet and tried to calm my pounding heart.

I continued to move forward, hiding among the debris.

Soon enough, I witnessed the unfamiliar sight of familiar faces.

The grocer who always gave extra change when buying goods.

The film theater lady who always greeted with a smile.

The neighbor who sang sea shanties when drunk.

Those who had exchanged greetings with smiles until yesterday were now all cold bodies lying on the ground.

-Clang!

Now, just holding onto reason was a struggle.

Suddenly, someone grabbed me.

My heart sank for a moment, but then I heard Yeon’s voice panting behind me.

“Huff…huff…what are you doing, Hyeona? Didn’t you see the monsters gathered over there? There must be dozens of them. We need to get out of here quickly. Hurry…!”

“No…my mom…Jinho…Ina…!”

“It’s too late.”

“What…?”

“I just checked that area. The villagers are all gone…”

As I listened to Yeon’s words, a pain as if something was squeezing my chest was felt.

Yeon grimaced but continued to hold my hand and pull me along.

-Swish…

But then, suddenly, a low, eerie wail was heard from behind.

We turned around, and not far away, we could see three monsters standing there.

The monsters from before had returned to find us.

The ones who spotted us grinned wickedly, as if their mouths were about to split open.

One man raised his head to the sky, letting out a scream that seemed to tear his ears apart.

And shortly after, the sound of dozens of hooves shaking the ground could be heard from afar.

“You… what… why would you do this to our village…”

As if it were all too obvious, the monsters did not offer any response.

With a wicked and sinister smile, they licked their lips as if they were looking at a tempting meal.

After the situation had escalated to this point, I was able to regain some semblance of reason.

It was all too clear that they intended to kill not only the villagers but us as well.

I immediately thought of Yeoni’s safety.

Yeoni had only come here because of my stubbornness.

Though it was already too late, I had to find a way to save Yeoni no matter what.

If the alarm system had been functioning properly, the commotion would have already been relayed to neighboring areas.

Considering the time when the first explosion was heard, if we could somehow get out of the village, we could soon receive help.

This was the only chance before other demons approached.

“Yeona, I’ll hold the monster back. Quickly, run away!”

“What are you-!”

Making a split-second decision, I spoke to Yeoni and dashed forward.

And I recklessly charged at the demons in front of me.

I desperately tried to create an opening to give Yeoni time to escape.

-Thunk!

-Thud!

“Ugh…!”

However, as a 16-year-old who was still not fully grown, and quite petite among my peers, I had no chance of taking on three towering demons like an average adult male.

As I clung to them, they beat me all over, and I rolled on the ground.

It felt like my mouth had burst open, and I could taste the warm, bitter blood slowly seeping in.

I wondered for a moment why they hadn’t broken my neck to kill me, but looking at their expression as if they were enjoying a monkey’s antics, I soon understood the reason.

“No…!”

“Hyuna!!”

But my efforts were in vain, as Yeoni just cried helplessly and made no attempt to escape.

The demons seemed to change their target and approached Yeoni, leaving me behind.

“I told you… not to…!”

I struggled to get up, and once again stood between Yeoni and the demons.

But with a slight movement, the monsters easily dodged my full-force attack.

Then, they sharpened their claws and struck me, causing me to lose my balance.

-Swish!

“Ah!”

By reflexively turning my head, I managed to avoid a fatal blow. But the burning sensation and pain from the lower part of my face were intense.

I could also feel warm liquid flowing down my face.

As I fell to the ground again, a demon approached me. With a rough grip, they grabbed my neck and lifted me into the air.

“Ugh…!”

“Hyuna!!!”

I felt the merciless strength squeezing my neck.

In the distance, I could hear Yeoni calling my name.

As I thought I might pass out from lack of oxygen, the demon threw me forcefully towards a stone wall.

-Crash!

“Ugh…!”

The impact with the wall and the excruciating pain of my bones breaking overwhelmed me.

My head felt heavy, and my thoughts began to blur.

The last sight in my eyes was Yeoni running towards me.

And the demon turning to target Yeoni.

Seeing my pitiful state, Yeoni almost screamed out in anguish.

“No!!!!!”

And as I locked eyes with Yeoni running towards me, I let go of all consciousness in that moment.