Necromancer Survival
chapter-377

Thud.

Moon Issak stood between me and Dawon, blocking our gazes. The remaining wolves hurriedly fled behind Moon Issak.

A gap opened between the wolf pack and Dawon, and in that moment, Dawon raised the staff that had struck the ground. The slow flow of sand ceased, returning the ground to its original state. Dirt-covered wolves began to climb, one by one, from the ground.

Though their heads were gone, the wolves still weren’t ‘dead.’ They struggled around, half-alive, and kept scratching at where their head should be with their paws. They couldn’t scream, but I could clearly see that they were in pain.

“What’s so great about being unable to die?” Seo Dawon looked at those pitiful figures and muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, the sand continued to invade the wolves’ bodies. Sand seeped into their skin, and their bodies, which had been convulsing, gradually stopped moving, freezing in place. It was as if they had become particularly life-like sculptures.

As a result, most of the wolves were immobilized; then, as if to show off, Seo Dawon plunged his hands into the chest of a still-alive wolf that was standing on its hindlegs.

Plop–!

Within seconds, Dawon’s hand held a heart so big that it filled his palm. Dawon squeezed it, making it swell. “It seems you all are under the misconception that immortality is some sort of great boon…”

“……”

“But, let me show you reality.”

“……”

“You all are just toys that can be broken multiple times.”

At that moment, as if testifying to the chilling nature of Dawon’s words, the eyes of the wolf whose heart was torn out began to tremble. Fear and pain clearly permeated the wolf’s gaze. It seemed that the sand had not yet seeped into their wet eyeballs.

However, the wolf remained silent. Of course, that wasn’t according to their will; they must have been screaming with their whole body. Their snout had already turned grey from the sand and they were helpless.

At that moment, the vigorous growls of the wolves behind Moon Issak dwindled. Dawon-ie used his momentum to throw the heart to the ground like garbage, kicking the recovering wolf as if he were kicking a sand castle.

Crumble–!

Then, as the sand burst, the wolf’s body fragmented and dissipated. Sticky blood oozed out from each clump of sand. Still, though, they were half-alive.

The remaining wolves watched the scene with their tails tucked between their hind legs. Of course, Moon Issak wasn’t agitated like the other wolves, but I could feel he was sufficiently wary of Seo Dawon’s skills.

“Don’t get close and waste time. That undead thing won’t last long anyway,” Moon Issak said, distancing himself from Seo Dawon.

Because of the information Moon Issak had extracted from my head, my power was certainly exposed. I was angry, but, as he said, I only had 10 minutes left of his summoning time.

In addition, since Moon Issak was standing closer to me than Seo Dawon, there was nothing Dawon-ie could do if the investigator tried to take me hostage again. Besides, Dawon-ie couldn’t actively attack me.

“Ara…?” I mumbled.

Still, I thought I could block the other’s actions to some extent with Koo Hui-seo’s tentacles.

Suddenly, Koo Hui-seo started struggling in my arms. I looked down in surprise, “What’s wrong with you?”

“M-My feet…”

When I lowered my gaze, I could see that Koo Hui-seo’s ankle was submerged into the floor. The area beneath his feet had turned to sand, and Koo Hui-seo was gradually being sucked inside.

‘Isn’t this Dawon-ie’s skill…?’

Startled, I looked at Dawon-ie, but, before I knew it, his silhouette had disappeared into a sandstorm. Moon Issak also seemed confused, glancing around with widened yellow eyes.

‘Then…’

I understood that Seo Dawon was trying to do something by utilizing Koo Hui-seo. Therefore, I told Koo Hui-seo, who was trembling and clinging to me, “Relax. Just a minute…”

“It feels baaadd….” Koo Hui-seo shook his head with a tearful expression, but soon, as I had told him, he gently loosened his grip on my arm. And…

Schlorp–!

“Lee-kyung-ssi…!”

As soon as he released my arm, he suddenly sank and disappeared, leaving only a deep hole. I felt a bit worried about Hui-seo, but soon, I turned around, reassured by the familiar warmth grabbing me from behind.

‘Dawon…!’

“Wait. It’ll be troublesome if I get caught.”

I floundered, unable to speak.

Seo Dawon held me in his arms, and, looking down at me, placed his finger on my lips. Only then did I feel that suffocating breathlessness ease up–my voice had returned.

I nodded to Seo Dawon, acquiescing. Now that I had calmed down, Dawon-ie whispered into my ear quietly, “Let’s leave this place to Koo Hui-seo for a moment.”

‘How?’ I mouthed, worried. But, just then, I heard the howls of wolves around me. I looked towards the source of that sound.

Slither–!

Avoiding the expanding sandy ground, the wolves cautiously stepped on the floor and advanced. However, they stumbled or missed their footing due to the sudden appearance of black tentacles protruding from the ground.

If they landed in the wrong place….

[No! Arghhh! Save me!]

They were instantly engulfed by the sand, sinking and screaming with their mouths wide open. Only then did I understand that Seo Dawon had hidden Koo Hui-seo somewhere beneath the floor and tasked him with disturbing the wolves’ movements.

When I nodded, Dawon glanced at Moon Issak momentarily before opening his mouth, “[Warp].”

Moments later, we had moved out of the building–where the wolves were running amok–and into a green garden, lush with a floral scent.

“Where are we?”

“Lee Seolhwa’s dungeon.”

I looked around at my surroundings from within the safety of Dawon’s arms. But, to call this a dungeon… It was more like….

‘A well-decorated, rural vacation cottage?’

The beautiful backyard complete with its quaint landscaping and tiny fountain just seemed peacefully charming. It was a stark contrast to the ferocity of the wolf pack we had just escaped from.

Still hugging me, Dawon-ie spoke in a sedate tone, “I think we should reunite with the others and capture Lee Seolhwa first.”

“Really?”

“I could defeat him right now, but… he could potentially escape with Lee Seolhwa’s skills. So, I bought some time.” Dawon’s eyes showed a deep, burning determination to get his hands on Moon Issak, no matter what, today.

I nodded, “Then, do we need to search this area now?”

“No, the others already cleared the way.” When he finished speaking, he flicked his fingers. Soon, a red line that looked painted appeared before our eyes. That red line led to one of the many various entrances this residence had.

“I see.”

“We’re going immediately. Just one second.”

When I nodded, Dawon-ie lifted me up deftly. It was a little embarrassing, but when I saw him bound towards the front of the door with one light leap, I thought I should just obediently cling onto the Mage.

However, I was curious about something, “Can’t we leave Lee Seolhwa to the others? We can deal with Moon Issak while that happens.”

“We can’t kill Moon Issak right now.”

“What?”

“Lee Seolhwa must have his ‘heart.'”

In other words, if we couldn’t get our hands on Moon Issak’s ‘heart’ by capturing Lee Seolhwa, he’ll just revive.

“The reason that bastard was able to break out of his hypnosis was because he separated himself from his heart, storing it in some other location,” Dawon said.

“……”

“Because that werewolf’s core is right over there.”

Boom–!

Dawon’s face looked calm, but, when he kicked open the closed door with his feet, his expression suddenly became grim. I tore my eyes away from his face when he stopped moving and looked straight ahead, matching his gaze.

And, my eyes opened wide at the scene that unfurled before me. “What the hell…”

Inside the room, identical copies of Moon Issak were lined up like robots as far as the eye could see. Almost doubting my own thoughts, I clung to the Mage and asked, “No way… Do we really need to find the one with the real heart among all of these?”

“That’s right.”

“……”

“Of course, we don’t have to be brutish and pluck all of their chests. We just need to find Lee Seolhwa, then it’s game over.”

Become a member!

TL: Putting aside the horror of multiple Moon Issak flesh shells….

…For a moment, I thought that Seo Dawon was taking this chance to finally kill Hui-seo too lmao.