Loenel took a few steps back.
Even a mid-ranked Explorer was filled with fear at the sight that defied comprehension.
“Let’s…slowly retreat.”
Karin said with a trembling voice.
The group carefully took steps back.
After retreating a certain distance from the central square, someone stumbled out from a side alley.
It was a female human Explorer.
The female Explorer was wearing a leather armor that was torn in various places.
She swayed as she slowly approached.
Gilsian stepped forward with a torch in hand and stood in front of the woman.
“Hey, are you alright?”
The neck of the female twisted to the side.
“Are you injured? Can’t you speak…”
Thud.
A bone-cracking sound rang out.
The woman’s neck didn’t stop there but bent at an odd angle.
Something was not right.
Loenel sharply inhaled.
Gilsian quickly gripped the longsword on his shoulder with both hands.
The female’s lips stretched apart as if she were smiling.
Swish!!
Gilsian swung his greatsword, but the woman leaped back and dodged.
A speed impossible for a human.
Gilsian’s body tensed for a moment.
In that moment, the woman’s body started convulsing.
Thud-thudding sounds were heard as her neck started to pull out.
The group froze at a scene more shocking than anything they had ever seen.
The cross-section of the neck began to pull out from the cervical vertebrae up to the end of the spine.
It was similar to a parasite eating through its host’s flesh and fluids before bursting out.
Thwack. Squeak. Thud.
The guts attached to the spine splattered onto the ground.
The folded ribs spread out elegantly under the torchlight.
At the end of the spine was a sharp stinger resembling that of a scorpion.
A centipede with a human spine as its body.
Its face was still human.
With no head, the female body collapsed.
It looked like the empty shell of its host after it had finished its job.
“Gilsian! Snap out of it!”
Karin rushed forward while gripping her dagger tightly.
The centipede with the human face let out a scream as it landed on the ground.
“KeEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!”
The bizarre cry echoed through the streets and reached the square.
Gilsian shook himself out of it and swung his greatsword.
The centipede dodged.
Clang!!
The greatsword struck the ground.
Ssssshhhiiiiing!!
Its stinger flew toward Gilsian’s neck.
Ting!!
But it bounced off Gilsian’s plate armor.
Taking advantage of the moment, Karin slashed with her dagger.
Gyaahh!!
The face of the human-faced centipede split in two, and it crashed to the ground.
Green blood gushed out from the split face.
It shivered slightly but no longer moved.
“···We saw these creatures on the 4th floor. Their faces were covered by human skin, so I didn’t recognize them. Now I understand.”
Gilsian said with a trembling voice.
Why were the creatures from the 4th floor here?
Could it be that these monsters could move between layers?
Jeong Yusin’s thoughts couldn’t go further.
“They’re coming!!”
Loenel shouted in horror from the back.
Looking behind, hundreds of goblins and explorers from the square were screaming and charging toward them.
“Run!!”
No one waited for anyone else to start.
Karin’s party gritted their teeth and ran.
Jeong Yusin was the slowest.
For about twenty minutes, they ran at full speed.
Jeong Yusin’s breath was reaching its limit.
The distance between his group and Karin’s party was increasing.
Jeong Yusin briefly turned around.
Somehow, hundreds of centipedes with human heads were wriggling forcefully toward them.
“Through the alley!!”
Karin shouted.
The party entered the alley.
They sped through the web-like alleyways.
Jeong Yusin barely managed to tag along behind the group.
“Shit!!”
Karin shouted.
In the front of the alley, dozens of human-faced centipedes were crawling toward them.
Behind them, an enormous number of the creatures were advancing.
Some of them were even crawling up the walls.
A perfect ambush.
“Prepare for battle!! Ahiman, block the back!!”
The party quickly formed a defensive array.
Gilsian stood at the front.
Loenel, Ahiman, and Jeong Yusin took the center.
Karin covered the back.
Ahiman closed his eyes and began chanting.
Loenel’s arrow signaled the start of the battle.
Whoosh!!
The arrow let out a tremendous whistling sound as it flew.
Poof!!
The face of a centipede climbing the wall exploded like a firecracker.
Loenel continuously launched arrows without interruption.
Whoosh!!
Whoosh!!
Headless centipedes dropped like rain onto the alley floor.
“Haaaah!!”
From the front, Gilsian shouted fiercely and swung his greatsword.
The holy text engraved on the sword glowed brightly.
Gilsian swung his sword like a storm, stubbornly blocking the front.
Karin moved nimbly, aiming for the heads of the human-faced centipedes with her dagger.
Sssssshh!!!
The dual daggers split the air and slashed through the centipede’s face.
In a blink, dozens of corpses stacked up in the alley.
The strength of a mid-ranked Explorer showed itself even against unknown monsters.
Jeong Yusin’s mouth slightly opened in awe.
At that moment, something unexpected happened.
“Ugh!”
Karin’s surprised cry escaped her lips.
The edge of her dagger had dulled.
The sticky green blood of the centipedes had stuck to the daggers and refused to come off.
Jeong Yusin saw it clearly.
Despite Karin’s desperate struggle, her posture was already faltering, and her sharpness had diminished.
She was shaken.
The price came immediately.
In an instant, the stinger of a human-faced centipede grazed Karin’s shoulder.
The armor split, and blood spurted out.
Karin gritted her teeth.
“Ahiman!!”
Karin shouted.
In response, Ahiman cast a spell.
[Abyss Strike]
Several portals oozing an ominous aura opened in the air. Giant tentacles burst out from them and began striking the human-faced centipedes.
Bang!! Kuuuwhaaaaaam!!
The massive tendrils struck not only the centipedes but the stone walls of the alley as well.
Dust and debris splattered everywhere.
In a single go, dozens of human-faced centipedes were crushed and exploded.
Crruuggghh.
The alley began collapsing.
The swarm of centipedes retreated.
Karin also stepped back.
Kuuuaaaam!!
The alley completely collapsed.
Jeong Yusin lowered his head.
Dust and stone powder swept past his helmet.
The rear was utterly blocked.
“Karin!!”
Gilsian shouted.
The holy text glowing on Gilsian’s sword was fading.
He looked exhausted.
Karin stumbled forward but collapsed.
“Guh!”
Her body wouldn’t obey her commands.
The panicked Karin struggled, but the stiffening body only convulsed, showing no signs of movement.
Ahiman spoke.
“Scath! Help Gilsian! I’ll attend to Karin.”
“Yes!”
There was no time to argue.
Although the back was blocked, the human-faced centipedes were continuing to climb up the walls.
Loenel was barely holding them back, but it was unclear for how long.
The number of arrows she had left was visibly decreasing.
Jeong Yusin put down his bag and took out a glass bottle.
The bottle contained a black liquid that swayed inside.
Weapon oil.
A potion to prevent fat from sticking to swords.
He had no idea this would happen.
He saw Karin’s daggers covered in green fat.
He didn’t know how effective this would be, but he unscrewed the cap anyway.
The black liquid slid down the blade.
Carefully, he rubbed it to coat the entire sword.
“What are you doing? Hurry!”
“Coming.”
At Ahiman’s urging, Jeong Yusin rushed forward.
Gilsian was barely holding on by using the advantages of his plate armor.
Most attacks were blocked by his armor while he retaliated by killing the centipedes.
“Karin?!”
Gilsian asked without looking back.
“She’s down! Ahiman is checking on her.”
“Ugh! Give me some time.”
“Yes!”
There was no time to ask what to do.
Passing Gilsian who was retreating, Jeong Yusin stepped forward.
Jeong Yusin lifted his sword high.
Upper stance.
‘A rude guy.’
The words of the swordsmanship teacher suddenly came to mind.
He chuckled slightly and clenched his teeth.
A human-faced centipede charged.
Overhead slash.
Gyaahh!!
The centipede split in half and fell beyond Jeong Yusin.
“Suck!”
Diagonal slash.
Jeong Yusin cut off the centipede’s neck.
‘Weak point discovered.’
The cervical vertebrae located between the skull and thoracic vertebrae.
His experience working endlessly at the Demon Disassembly Site sharpened his eye.
He stood firm.
The relentless training hardened his legs, which anchored him firmly to the ground.
Jeong Yusin’s sword moved like lightning.
In an instant, he cut off the cervical vertebrae of three human-faced centipedes.
‘Shoulder off.’
The instructor’s advice resonated in his mind.
“Yes.”
Though the coach wasn’t there to counsel him, he corrected his stance alone.
The stiff sword moved faster.
Sssssshhhhhiiiing!!
In a flash, five heads flew off.
One centipede ran outside his reach toward Gilsian.
[Sacred Weapon]
Ssshhiiing!!
A dagger of light flew through the air and pierced through the centipede’s skull.
The dead centipede rolled and stopped at Gilsian’s feet.
However, Gilsian didn’t flinch. He drove his sword into the ground and muttered something.
Kuuuwaang!!
An explosion sounded from behind.
Ahiman had cast his magic.
“Scath!! It’s poison! Be careful not to get hit by the stinger!”
Ahiman shouted from behind.
“Yes!”
Jeong Yusin loudly responded and steadied himself.
Three human-faced centipedes flew toward him at once.
[Sacred Weapon]
He threw a dagger of light that took down one centipede.
He made a big circle and simultaneously cut the necks of the other two.
A centipede crawling under him swung its stinger toward his feet.
The sharp stinger shot toward him.
Jeong Yusin stepped back slightly and stomped on the stinger.
Kung!
The steel plate of his boots crushed the stinger to pieces.
Gyaahh!!
The centipede screamed in agony.
Jeong Yusin turned the longsword backward, pierced it into its mouth, and twisted it. The centipede shivered and stopped moving.
“Got it! Scath! Nice job holding on.”
Gilsian stepped forward.
A divine light surged through his entire body.
“Everyone, get ready to rush forward!!”
Gilsian pointed his sword forward and crouched slightly.
“Understood!”
Looking back, Ahiman was carrying Karin on his back.
Loenel carried the bag Jeong Yusin had put down.
Jeong Yusin locked eyes with Loenel.
Loenel silently nodded.
[Holy Lance]
Gilsian’s greatsword was enveloped in a divine light.
As the aura that shimmered like the sun settled on the sword, it appeared twice as large.
Kuuuwaang!!
In an instant, Gilsian’s figure disappeared.
Only fragments of light fluttered at that spot.
Jeong Yusin’s eyes widened.
The front was completely torn open.
Dozens of human-faced centipedes were torn to shreds and stuck to the alley walls.
Gilsian stood at the end of the alley, unchanged from his original stance.
“···Crazy.”
Overwhelming speed and piercing power.
“Run!!”
Loenel shouted.
Jeong Yusin snapped out of it and ran.
Breaking out of the alley with reckless speed.
Standing back on the main road.
“We’re almost there! Just a little further north!”
Loenel shouted.
At that moment, an enormous number of human-faced centipedes burst out not only from the dozens of alleys but also from behind the main road.
A number at least in the thousands.
Loenel’s face went pale.
“Run!”
At that moment, Gilsian collapsed.
His body was shaking violently.
Just like Karin.
It seemed the broken-off stinger had pierced through the cracks of his armor or helmet.
“Shit.”
Loenel clutched his head and cursed. His lips trembled.
Jeong Yusin stepped forward and carried Gilsian on his back.
‘Goddamn it.’
The immense weight made his legs wobble.
Jeong Yusin’s face went red.
He clenched his teeth.
If it weren’t for Level Up, he couldn’t have even attempted it.
“Scath! Thanks.”
“···Not at all.”
They ran toward the north.
For how long?
It felt like they had run for quite a while.
With the plate armor, added with the seals and greatsword, running at full speed was almost driving him insane.
His devil and angel split personalities screamed in unison to drop the burden, cursing wildly.
‘Just shut up! Both of you!!’
The ranged attacker could be dropped, but he couldn’t abandon the party’s only tanker.
The number of pursuers multiplying from the back only grew larger.
At that moment, a large circular tower came into view.
And ahead, hundreds of human-faced centipedes were spotted as well.
It seemed they would meet head-on if they proceeded.
Loenel gritted her teeth.
“Let’s enter the tower.”
“Phew. Phew. Like rats trapped in poison. It’s the worst option.”
Gilsian mumbled faintly while gasping for breath.
“There’s no other way!”
“…”
In the end, the party ran toward the tower.
Bang!!
The wooden door of the tower burst open.
Members of Karin’s party rushed in.
The first floor of the tower, surprisingly, was quite spacious.
Fortunately or unfortunately, there was no one around.
“Ahiman! Seal the entrance!”
“Got it.”
Ahiman put down Karin and started casting a spell from afar.
Loenel took out all the arrows from the bag.
Jeong Yusin set Gilsian down and fell to his knees.
“Huff. Huff.”
His heart felt like it would burst.
“···Thank you.”
“Huff. Huff. Just… be quiet.”
A swear slipped out unintentionally.
“The plate armor really went overboard.”
Gilsian fell silent.
Jeong Yusin caught his breath and stood up, grabbing the longsword.
“Take this.”
Loenel approached and handed him a potion filled with yellow liquid.
Jeong Yusin lowered his visor, uncapped the potion, and drank it immediately.
“Phew. What is this?”
“Nutrient tonic.”
“Why do you carry this?”
“It’s better than health restoratives. Please. Buy us some time.”
The drained stamina slowly filled back up. Strength started returning to his body.
As a slight leeway appeared, he remembered something he had forgotten – an item.
“There’s an Antidote Scroll in my luggage.”
“It won’t help much. The poison is infused with forces from the other realm.”
Ahiman stopped his incantation and spoke.
‘Dammit.’
It was too late to escape alone. He didn’t want to escape anyway.
Outside the tower, hundreds of human-faced centipedes were screaming.
Jeong Yusin,
Stood at the dark entrance of the tower with one flickering torch beside him,
Gripped the handle of the longsword so tightly it might break.
“Come. All of you.”
