The Novel's Extra - Side Story 34 – Dream in a Dream (34)

Yoo Yeonha suspected that her mind simply played a trick on her since she could only see the creature through its reflection on the monitor. However, the reflection looked too hideous. She had never heard of nor seen such a grotesque monster.

“…”

She slowly turned her head sideways to steal a glance at the hideous figure. Yoo Yeonha still couldn’t tell if it was a human, monster, or large insect.

The hideous creature had red eyes and squirmed grotesquely.

Guo… Gueeek…

She felt her heart drop when she realized it wasn’t a hallucination. Yoo Yeonha tightly gripped her whip, but couldn’t muster the courage to turn around and attack. She had never seen such a scary monster before in her life.

Yoo Yeonha nervously gulped and shifted her position. She could no longer see the creature now.

“Haa… Haa…”

Her heart pounded so hard that it could burst out of her chest at any moment.

She couldn’t even watch a horror film alone, but had to deal with this horrifying thing. Could it be a ghost or a monster?

She had no reason to fight if it just stayed there and didn’t move, right?

Yoo Yeonha calmed her breathing when she suddenly remembered Kim Hajin. He lay on the bed not far from where she sat.

Ddrruuk…

She slowly moved in her wheeled chair and placed Kim Hajin in another chair. Then she pulled him towards the desk. Yoo Yeonha could easily lift a 75 kg adult male with one hand, but the fact that she had to do this without turning around or looking back made it slightly difficult.

“Hey… Wake up…” she whispered into his ears.

He didn’t respond, but just having someone sit next to her made her more comfortable.

Yoo Yeonha finally managed to compose herself thanks to Kim Hajin’s company. She thought about how that hideous creature managed to enter the bunker. They carefully planned this location without digging or breaking the sewer walls, so no enemies would spot it.

Did that creature manage to enter when she opened the door a while ago?

Chills spread throughout her body again and she slowly reached for the walkie-talkie.

Her hands trembled and she wanted to call for help. However, she stopped and didn’t press the talk button. Yoo Yeonha knew very well that everything would be ruined if she called for help.

She looked at Kim Hajin sound asleep beside her.

“When are you going to wake up?” she pleaded while tightly holding his hand.

He didn’t answer this time either, but she felt better with him leaning on her shoulder.

***

The city went into an uproar after the bombs cut off the power supply. Rachel and Chae Nayun safely reached the edge of the Thames River without being detected.

“Is this the right place?” Chae Nayun asked.

“…”

Rachel silently observed the riverbank and sensed someone underneath the water.

“In the water,” she said.

“Is that so? You go in,” Chae Nayun said.

“What about you?” Rachel asked.

“It seems we have a bothersome bunch to keep me company,” Chae Nayun smirked and turned around.

Boom!

A huge man suddenly landed on the ground from the sky and asked, “Are you the intruder?”

His entire body looked hard as a rock. He had broad shoulders and a chest so wide that someone could fit across. His black-painted body towered at least three meters.

The man looked like Colossus from ancient mythology.

However, Chae Nayun didn’t seem fazed at all and confidently stepped forward.

“Hey, what are you doing? I told you to go on.”

“Alright, I believe in you,” Rachel replied and dove into the river.

Only the two of them remained on the riverbank.

“Who the hell are you?” Chae Nayun asked.

The man didn’t respond and only stared at her. Chae Nayun cracked her neck and pulled out her 130 cm longsword from her back.

The man smiled as if he found her amusing.

Then another man wearing a robe suddenly appeared. He looked familiar to Chae Nayun.

She peeked under his hood and he seemed to fit the description of Marcus that Yoo Yeonha and Rachel told her about.

“And who the hell are you?” Chae Nayun asked.

“This man here is Chiffelin. He’s a djinn known as the Lord of the Arena at Pandemonium,” Marcus suddenly explained.

Chae Nayun sneered in disbelief, “Hmph… So what?”

She infused her mana into her longsword and it glowed bright blue.

“Sounds good to me. I can cut you in half if you’re a djinn.”

“Haha!” Chiffelin laughed as if he found her amusing.

Chae Nayun kicked off the ground and charged at the djinn. She instantly closed the gap and swung her longsword.

Bam!

The djinn grabbed her mana-infused longsword with his bare hand and her sword couldn’t budge an inch in his grip.

“What the hell is this?” Chae Nayun muttered in disbelief.

She became speechless at what happened when Marcus suddenly burst into laughter and exclaimed, “Hahaha! Chiffelin has great resistance against swords and steel! Something like your pathetic sword can never win against him!”

“…”

Chae Nayun realized that Marcus wanted to provide her with information regarding the djinn.

Chiffelin found his actions suspicious and glared at him. “Thanks for the praise, but you should shut up Marcus.”

“Huh? Ah, yes. I apologize, Chiffelin. I got irritated seeing that greenhorn act all high and mighty towards you,” Marcus replied while rubbing his hands together.

“Hmm… I see. I understand.”

“…”

Their exchange astounded Chae Nayun. This Chiffelin guy seemed dumber than he looked. She couldn’t help but wonder if his brains were also made of rocks.

“Hmm… Is that so? A sword won’t work against him?”

Chae Nayun withdrew her sword.

Marcus quickly spoke as if he had been waiting. “That’s right! Anything made from metal won’t work against the great Chiffelin! Idiots like you who only depend on weapons should just obediently kneel before greatness! Hahaha!”

“Mehehehe!” Chiffelin tried to suppress his laughter, but his shoulders shook.

Chae Nayun became flabbergasted by the djinn’s stupidity. She smirked and also laughed.

“Kehehehe!”

Chiffelin could no longer suppress his laughter after seeing her laugh, “Mwahahahaha!”

The two of them heartily laughed for a while before Chae Nayun raised her sword again.

“That’s only because you never met me before, you son of a bitch.”

She infused her mana into her longsword once more.

“Hey…” Marcus muttered in disbelief. He couldn’t understand after he already gave her all the hints to fight this musclehead.

However, it didn’t take long for the frustration on his face to turn into horror.

“What the hell is that?” he muttered in surprise.

Chae Nayun’s sword grew larger until it became the size of a tower crane.

Marcus had never witnessed such a sight in his life. He couldn’t help but stare in awe at the gigantic, majestic blade towering to the heavens. Even Chiffelin, who confidently laughed a moment ago, stared dumbfoundedly at her sword.

The giant mana sword that ascended to the heavens came crashing down with full force.

“Bwahahahaha!” Chae Nayun laughed like a maniac as she swung at the djinn.

***

The five English Royal Court and three Reislaufer guild members marched through the passage. The place had a sinister aura, but they didn’t worry after all their preparations.

“Don’t you think we went overboard and prepared too much?” Tilma grumbled while looking at the dozens of sacks tied around their waists.

They looked more like a traveling merchant troupe than heroes because of the sheer amount they brought.

“One cannot be too prepared,” Fermin replied as she infused mana into her staff and made a fire that served as their torch.

Thud!

A huge sound echoed from somewhere and the group stopped in their tracks. They nervously waited for what would appear, but nothing happened. They nodded at each other to confirm the coast was clear before marching onwards.

“I think this is the second continent. Does this mean that Vice Leader is here as well?” Darren asked.

“Who knows?” Fermin replied.

“Guee…”

They suddenly heard a low growl from somewhere. It sounded like the wind playing tricks on them or maybe something really lurked in the darkness.

“Wait a moment,” Fermin stopped the group after sensing something.

She sent a fireball into the darkness to illuminate the surroundings. The fireball went on until a hideous creature moaning in the corner appeared.

“What in the world is that?” Fermin furrowed her brows.

The creature looked like a wriggling tentacle, but it also resembled a human upon closer inspection. The humanoid creature stretched out its long arms and legs that wriggled. Smaller tentacles wriggled out from its red eyes.

The wriggling tentacles briefly stopped before darting towards the group.

“Ack!”

“Everyone, fall back!” Sehat exclaimed as he reacted first and swung his sword.

Clang!

The sound of clashing steel reverberated.

“Gueeeeeee!”

The creature opened its mouth and also shot out grotesque tentacles from it. The reddish-black tentacles shot forward and tried to grab the party members by their legs.

“Heup!” Tilma activated her mana shield. She jumped high and smashed her shield at the incoming tentacles.

However, the monster tentacles had already filled the entire passage.

“What in the world is that monster?” Fermin exclaimed in disbelief.

A serene mana suddenly flowed from somewhere when they had no idea what to do. The English Royal Court members flinched in surprise at the familiar presence.

“Kieeeeee!”

The monster sensed the mana as well. It began convulsing hideously and shot its fluid all over the place. Its hot, gooey body fluid that seemed like acid covered their surroundings.

Whoooosh!

However, a powerful gust came through and swept away the monster’s body fluid.

The English Royal Court members felt surprised again, but at how powerful the gust had been.

Rachel appeared with Galatine in her hands.

“Is everyone alright?” she asked.

“Yes, but…” Fermin staggered and fell on one knee.

The smoke rising from the monster’s body fluid made her dizzy.

“It could be poison!” Sehat immediately shouted at Rachel.

She nodded and swung Galatine again. The water spirit came forward this time and slashed the monster’s tentacles.

“Kieeeeek!”

The monster made an ear-piercing shriek and tried to shoot its body fluid again, but Rachel swung Galatine once more and swept its attack away.

The monster finally realized that it stood no chance against Rachel and gave up on fighting.

Instead…

Bam! Bam!

It stuck its limbs into the ground and its body began turning bright red.

Rachel quickly caught on to the monster’s self-destruct plan.

“Run!” she screamed and flung everyone to the far end of the passage with her wind spirit.

——!

The monster exploded and a powerful force of mana blasted through the passage.

Shwaaa… Kaboooom!

Rachel tightly gripped her necklace as the explosion occurred.

In that instant, she summoned all her spirits and harmonized them together.

***

Meanwhile, Yoo Yeonha became locked in a fierce battle of her own. Well, it seemed more like a battle of wits regarding who looked at who first.

She observed Lancaster’s movements through the monitor with one eye while observing the hideous monster with her other eye.

“Kieeek… Gueeek…”

The monster’s voice grew louder by the minute.

“Hiiing…” Yoo Yeonha let out a whelp.

Fear, horror, and anxiety. She felt all three despite being a hero. After all, being a hero didn’t mean immunity to these emotions. Most heroes had no qualms fighting djinns and monsters, but quite a few feared supernatural beings like ghosts.

Yoo Yeonha was one of them.

Gueee…

A breeze blew from within the closed-off space. It came from the hideous monster’s breath and Yoo Yeonha felt it coming closer.

She suddenly felt something on her shoulder. A horrifying chill spread throughout her body and made her completely numb with fear.

Yoo Yeonha stole a sideways glance at Kim Hajin tossing and turning in his sleep.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

He shouldn’t be tossing and turning. Someone in deep sleep wouldn’t move like that. Movements only occurred in light sleep. This meant… Kim Hajin would soon wake up!

“Gueeeeeeek!”

The monster made a horrifying shriek and snuffed out Yoo Yeonha’s small ember of hope.

Gulp!

She mustered all her courage to finally turn around and face the creature.

The hideous monster stood just a few feet away. It stared at her with deep red eyes and a wide-open mouth that exposed all the grotesque contents inside.

The monster seemed to be smiling.

“Ugh… Euk! Hiccup! Hiccup!”

Yoo Yeonha felt like passing out. She tightly held onto Kim Hajin and uncontrollably shook from the chills throughout her body.

Then she formed an electric barrier around herself and Kim Hajin.

“Gueeeee!”

The monster finally made its move. It slammed against the barrier with its long arms.

Bam!

“Ugh!”

Yoo Yeonha trembled at the impact. However, anger slowly replaced her fear.

“Hey, are you taking me for a fool just because I let you off the hook?” she angrily spoke.

Yoo Yeonha clenched her fist and glared at the monster. Now she wanted to beat the living daylights out of this hideous thing.

However, the monster simply responded by widening its red eyes and small tentacles crawled out from its eye sockets.

A chill went down Yoo Yeonha’s spine. She couldn’t easily overcome this fear with just anger.

“What the hell is that?!” she screamed in horror.

Yoo Yeonha shut her eyes and tightly grasped Kim Hajin. She also infused as much mana as she could into her barrier.

Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

The monster continued knocking on the barrier. Its attacks grew more aggressive by the minute.

Yoo Yeonha became so overwhelmed by fear that she couldn’t even look at the monster anymore. She racked her brains for a way to kill the monster without looking at it.

She managed to keep defending while coming up with a solution. A way to deal with the monster without looking at it… Kim Hajin’s pocket contained the answer.

Something glimmered there. The weapon that she hoped he would gift her one day, his Desert Eagle.