SCT-Novel Chapter 172: Isolation
Chapter 172: Isolation
Phobia Homer.
The Phobia Homer I knew was a beastman and enemy of humanity, but he was also someone who could discern right from wrong and respect his enemies.
I thought that one day I might meet him as an enemy, but even then, I believed we could respect each other.
-Kuoo!! Kuooaaa!!
But something about this situation...
Why is he appearing in this sanctuary, and why is he blocking our path as a monster like those we defeated before?
Were the monsters not just humans who transformed for some reason?
Why did even he, who should have no relation to this sanctuary, appear before me like this? Why...?
“Hero! It’s dangerous!”
A shout aimed at me, who had stopped in confusion, echoed.
Only then did my body, regaining its senses, gain strength, and my gaze caught the approaching massive paw.
Even in his grotesquely twisted state, he moved with speed.
The sheer size alone was overwhelming, creating an immense pressure even without any special abilities.
An attack that saps the opponent’s will just by facing it. No matter how strong one was, if they were overwhelmed, their reason would be paralyzed, and their body would be slaughtered in an instant.
-Whoosh!
But my body had experienced such things countless times over the past six months.
Steeling my courage, I aimed the tip of my spear at his paw, infusing it with mana, and spun the shaft.
It was pushed back by the mana flow following the trajectory.
In that state, the shaft struck his now open body.
-Bang!!!
The accompanying mana explosion hit his massive body, but Phobia only flinched slightly, not being pushed back.
Damn, to withstand a counterattack with sheer mass alone, what a monster.
-Grrr, kaak!
No, seeing him cough up blood, he did take some damage.
But the monsters we had encountered so far had regenerative abilities.
Minor internal injuries would surely heal quickly.
-Whoong, kuung!
As if to confirm my guess, a series of paw swings followed immediately.
In my mind, while I continued to fend off these attacks using my spear, I only thought of strategies to exploit my opponent.
If the adversary had lost its rationality and had become a monster, I couldn’t afford to be complacent.
What I needed to do now was not let past connections ruin the fight but think about how to defeat a monster superior in size.
‘In a fight, the difference in size is absolute. No matter how much mana you can use, if the opponent also uses mana, the difference in power will become even greater.’
As Flang taught me, the idea that larger opponents are slow and clumsy is just a fantasy.
If that difference could be easily overturned, humanity wouldn’t be treated as the weakest in this world, standing on the brink of extinction.
I realized this even as I deflected Phobia’s frenzied charge at this moment.
A slight misstep in deflecting these attacks, and my neck would be severed in an instant.
‘Some say that the strong are easily careless because of their power, but thinking that all strong people show weaknesses out of carelessness is the arrogance of the weak. Betting on the hope that the opponent will act according to your thoughts is something the weak should never do.’
As the saying goes, you can’t expect all enemies to act as you hope.
Expecting beasts or monsters, or now these crazed monsters, to act with reason is too much.
‘So always remember, if you think the opponent is stronger than you, they can overwhelm you with full power at any time.’
The power of a strong opponent, a prime example of that teaching, was continuously rushing at me.
Whoong, whoong, a series of paw strikes from the massive body.
While deflecting the attacks with my spear several times as I moved across the drawbridge, I felt impatience rising from deep within my heart.
Is it really enough to just deflect the attacks like this?
Shouldn’t I be counterattacking whenever I see an opening?
‘Never charge first. If the opponent is stronger, they can withstand showing an opening, but if the weaker party shows an opening and gets caught off guard, everything will end.’
As I struggled with this conflict, I began to notice changes in his body.
The swelling that started from his torn body parts soon turned into something like flesh and bone tentacles, spreading around me.
-Kwa-deudeuk!
Sharp, deadly weapons whipped around repeatedly.
Had I rushed in out of impatience, I would have suffered from these attacks.
But more shocking than that, something seemed to be launching from his opened torso.
The pounding heart and the swirling organs inside it.
And the huge... flow of mana that was distorting between them.
-Kwaaah!!
The moment the flow of mana condensed and shot out like a cannonball, my body moved instinctively, bringing the spear shaft to the cannonball.
Then, I spun it in that state.
To deflect the impact starting from the tip of the spear and control the flow of that force.
-Whooooosh!
The fierce rotation of the spear was trying to neutralize the mana cannonball attack.
Precise movement was crucial for my tactics, yet the cold was inhibiting such mobility.
-Roar!
Damn, I can’t deflect this charge.
I had no choice but to gather mana into my armor to respond with my body, even if only for a moment.
-Shwhaak!
At that moment, a shadow jumped in front of me, deflecting Phobia’s paw, and a bundle of threads wrapped around and threw my body in the opposite direction.
The skill that couldn’t be imagined from such a small frame.
I immediately knew who it was from.
“Flang, you...”
“Run.”
Despite my bewilderment, Flang spoke urgently.
Following her urging, I felt the drawbridge we were on shaking violently.
-Creak!
One of the chains connecting the drawbridge was about to snap.
The drawbridge was far too weak to withstand Phobia’s violent rampage.
-Grrr, kaaah!
Phobia, seemingly unaware, prepared to charge again in a frenzy.
Flang looked at him sadly but then turned around and started pushing me.
“Run!”
If the bridge collapsed, further fighting would be pointless.
I finally retrieved my weapon and, following Flang’s shout, turned and fled, while Flang guarded my back and glanced at the approaching Phobia.
The frost monster, raging with a twisted body, charged towards us, bringing a fierce snowstorm in his wake.
The drawbridge, already collapsing, accelerated its destruction with his charge.
Flang, who had been looking at the monster pitifully, finally followed me off the drawbridge.
And then, crash! The chains finally snapped, and the drawbridge began to collapse.
Phobia’s body, standing on the drawbridge, couldn’t defy gravity and fell mercilessly into the raging river below.
The fierce blizzard that had been raging also subsided as if it were a lie.
In the ensuing silence, the soldiers cautiously looked down at the spot where he had fallen and spoke quietly.
“Is it... over?”
“Even if he’s alive, he won’t be able to come back up. Not after being swept away by those rapids.”
The height of the cliff and the rapids that even formed waves.
Falling into a place like that, akin to a natural disaster, would make it impossible for even an immortal monster to survive.
Even if he lived, he would be swept to the sea, never to reappear before us again.
As I finally caught my breath, I noticed the expedition members nervously glancing at each other.
“That was Phobia Homer just now, right?”
“It seems the beastmen did invade here. Then something went wrong, and they went berserk.”
“Are you saying the vampires caused that berserk state?”
“What on earth is going on...?”
We defeated the formidable Phobia, but many questions remained.
I felt the same way, but it was difficult to resolve those questions right now.
“...It’s not over yet.”
The gate stood at the end of the collapsed drawbridge.
Flang, looking ahead and beyond the gate, spoke quietly as she gazed at the city below.
It didn’t take long to understand what she meant.
-Screeeeaaaam!!! Rooooar!
Though mist obscured it, the city, rightfully named a sanctuary, blended antiquated formality with sanctity.
However, the screams of monsters echoed from every corner, and the bloodstains and flesh pieces at the entrance greeted us ominously.
“...Yes, it’s just beginning.”
Despite the confusion, one thing was certain.
With the drawbridge destroyed and our route cut off, we were now completely isolated within a sanctuary swarming with monsters.
Meanwhile, in the sewers beneath the fallen city.
A monster, treading the sewers created to handle the city’s rainwater and sewage, kept moving along a path formed by the frozen river.
The strange power that spread from the moment he set foot on this land had long since corrupted his body and consumed his reason.
“I will never...”
Yet, he had a purpose.
A purpose deeply imprinted beneath the realm of his instincts.
“I will never... forgive...”
Revenge.
That was the sole driving force behind the monster that had returned alive to the depths of this underground.