Chapter 177

Chapter 177. The Assault (3)

A massive monster emerges from the rift.

No, can that even be called a “monster”?

Its form is like a clay doll, crumpled and discarded by a child.

A horrifying appearance, as if countless pieces of flesh were mashed together.

The Ten-Eyed monsters I faced before were grotesque, but compared to this flesh monster, they seemed almost cute.

“…Ugh.”

Professor Elisha covered her mouth, gagging.

Memories flood back.

-“Kyaaaaah!”

-“Elisha! R-run!”

A burning village.

Screams echoing.

A tragedy in a small village of less than 200 people.

Villagers fleeing, monsters chasing.

And then, and then, and then.

-“Boooooo!”

A horrific screech that tears at the soul.

The flesh monster, dozens of meters tall, uses its tentacles to snatch fleeing villagers like fish.

Munch, munch.

Villagers being devoured alive by the flesh monster.

Enna, who used to tease me with bugs from the forest. Uncle Oliver, who taught me farming and exercise. Aunt Philia, who secretly baked sweet treats for me.

The people she knew.

The world she lived in.

Crushed and shattered by the monster’s teeth.

Reduced to unrecognizable pulp.

-“Ah, ugh.”

-“Kuh! It’s too late to run!”

-“Honey, over here! Hide Elisha here!”

Her parents, frozen in fear, hid her in a closet.

The scene visible through the cracks.

Her parents being dragged away by tentacles.

Their faint screams.

The sound of flesh being chewed. Bones crushed. Organs mangled.

“Ah, ugh.”

Elisha clutched her aching chest, gasping for breath.

“Kukuku. Remembering now?”

“Jackal…”

Professor Elisha gritted her teeth.

“Well, since you’re reminiscing, let me reunite you with your parents.”

“…What?”

Jackal tapped the flesh monster’s body with the back of his hand.

Gurgle, gurgle.

The monster’s flesh shifted, taking on a human form.

The figures of a man and woman, their faces twisted in pain, rose from the flesh.

“Uncle Oliver, Aunt Philia…”

“Hmm? Oh, my mistake.”

Jackal chuckled, shrugging his shoulders and smirking.

He tapped the flesh monster again.

Gurgle.

The flesh shifted with a disgusting sound.

The form it took…

“…Ah.”

Elisha’s eyes widened.

“Mom… Dad…”

She staggered back, her face pale.

“Ah, ugh.”

The memories of that day.

The screams from afar.

The sound of bones breaking, flesh being crushed.

Filling her mind.

Corroding her soul.

“Gasp, gasp, gasp!”

She tried to calm herself by drawing on her magic, but for some reason, the magic that usually flowed naturally wouldn’t budge.

“Why…?”

She looked down at her Holy Mark with trembling eyes.

“Professor.”

Dale approached, grabbing her shoulder.

“Step back for now.”

“…Dale, the candidate.”

Dale stepped forward, facing Jackal.

“Hmm. So you’re the candidate Mephisto mentioned.”

Jackal crossed his arms, looking at Dale with interest.

“Be careful of one candidate… was it?”

Dale clicked his tongue and spoke.

“That guy sure loves to spread my name around.”

“Kukuku. I’m honored. In the decades I’ve known Mephisto, this is the first time he’s warned me to be careful of someone.”

So.

Jackal slowly raised his hand, looking at Dale.

“I even prepared a gift for you.”

“A gift?”

“Kukuku. Why do you think I gathered all those lowlifes and sent them to the school?”

Jackal pulled out a sharp dagger and slashed his palm.

Blood poured out, soaking the patterns engraved on his body.

Crack!

Dozens of rifts opened around Jackal, and monsters poured out.

Each one a Ten-Eyed monster or stronger.

“Honestly… it feels like overkill for just one candidate.”

Jackal shook his head, pointing at the dozens of monsters.

The patterns on his body glowed ominously.

“My children.”

“Grrrr!”

“Kyaaaaah!”

The monsters writhed in pain, letting out horrific screams.

Jackal gave them a low command.

“Kill.”

Boom!

The Ten-Eyed monsters charged at Dale.

“D-Dale, the candidate!”

Professor Elisha tried to shoot a web towards Dale, but her magic suddenly stopped, and she couldn’t.

“Ugh!”

Pushed back by a charging monster, Elisha rolled on the ground.

In an instant, the swarm of monsters surrounded Dale, blocking him from view.

‘Why… why won’t my magic work?’

Elisha, anxious, placed her hand on her Holy Mark, trying to draw on her magic, but it still wouldn’t budge.

“Kukuku. Why won’t your magic move?”

“You… what did you do?”

“Nothing.”

Jackal shook his head leisurely.

“I did nothing.”

“Then why…!”

“The Holy Mark is connected not just to the hero’s body, but to their soul as well.”

Jackal tapped his left chest as he spoke.

“So the magic within the Holy Mark is the same.”

“…What are you trying to say?”

“It means a Heart Demon has taken root in your heart.”

Heart Demon.

She’d heard of it.

A phenomenon where negative emotions like fear, worry, anxiety, and despair become too overwhelming, blocking the flow of magic.

‘Am I… in a Heart Demon state?’

Professor Elisha looked at Jackal with trembling eyes.

No.

That can’t be.

Since childhood, since the day Jackal destroyed her village and killed her parents.

She’d been waiting for this day.

The day she’d meet Jackal again and take her revenge.

But.

Now that she’s faced him, she’s so scared she can’t even use her magic?

“Nonsense…!”

Crunch.

Elisha bit her lip hard enough to draw blood.

The sharp pain brought her back to her senses.

Her magic, which had been immobile, began to stir.

“E-E-E-Elisha…”

“Come here…”

“…!”

A familiar voice reached her ears.

Elisha’s eyes widened as she looked up.

Her mother and father, formed from the monster’s flesh, reached out to her, speaking.

“Ah, aaaaah!”

Elisha screamed, falling back.

Her father reaching out, her mother beckoning.

It was more terrifying than anything in the world.

“Ah, ugh. Ah.”

Elisha crouched on the ground, hugging herself.

Wrapping her arms around her shoulders, trembling like a child.

‘Just like back then…’

Hiding in the closet, watching the scene outside.

Watching her parents being dragged away by tentacles.

The helpless, powerless little girl.

“Kukukuku. Do you understand now?”

Jackal approached her with a disgusting smile.

His old eyes licked over her up and down.

“Rank 9 hero? The Spider of the Abyss? No, no, no. That’s not your true self.”

Jackal’s wrinkled lips curled into a deep smile.

“This is your true self.”

Helpless, powerless.

A little girl who can do nothing.

“This… is the true face of Elisha Baldwin, the hero!”

Kukukuku!

Jackal laughed, clutching his stomach as if something was incredibly funny.

“What a shame! Your disciple should have seen this pathetic sight!”

“……”

“But… it seems your beloved disciple is already dead.”

Jackal turned his head leisurely.

Dale Han, surrounded by his minions, was nowhere to be seen.

The gray-haired candidate must have met a miserable end, even without seeing it.

“…Ha.”

Then.

A soft laugh escaped Elisha’s lips.

“Hmm? What’s so funny?”

“I admit it.”

Elisha nodded slightly, continuing.

“Jackal, you know more about me than I thought.”

The true face she’d hidden behind her cold exterior.

The vulnerable little girl, scared and helpless.

Jackal had seen through it all.

“But.”

Elisha smiled faintly, looking towards Dale, surrounded by monsters.

“You know nothing about my disciple.”

“What?”

As Jackal frowned.

Whoosh!

A massive burst of ash fire erupted from the swarm of monsters.

“Grrrr!”

“Kuhhhh!”

The monsters surrounding Dale were swept away by the ash fire, screaming in agony.

“What is this…?”

Burning ash fire.

Amid the swirling gray smoke.

“Ha.”

A green light glimmered.

“…He’s alive? In the middle of all those monsters?”

Jackal’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Step, step.

Dale walked out of the gray smoke, ignoring Jackal completely, and approached Elisha.

“…Dale, the candidate.”

Elisha, embarrassed to show such a pathetic side to Dale, avoided his gaze.

“I’m sorry. I…”

“My thoughts are different.”

“…Different?”

“That tattooed bastard acts like he knows everything about you, but I disagree.”

Dale spoke softly, looking at Elisha.

“I don’t know what past you’ve been through. I don’t know what you were like as a child, or how much pain you’ve endured.”

But.

The Elisha Baldwin I know is.

“Cold, blunt, secretly playful, and sometimes even cute.”

He reached into Elisha’s pocket.

Pulled out a cigarette case and handed it to her.

“The strongest, most amazing hero I’ve ever seen is Professor Elisha.”

“Dale, the candidate…”

“How about it? Touched?”

“No, honestly, it’s cringey.”

“What.”

“I feel like recording this and playing it over the school broadcast.”

“No.”

How could you even think of something so terrible…!

“But… well, yeah. It helped.”

Professor Elisha took a cigarette from the case and put it in her mouth.

Sizzle.

Lighting it with the ash fire, Elisha slowly stood up.

Inhale, exhale.

Taking a long drag, Elisha smirked as she looked at the flesh monster’s imitation of her parents.

“Thanks to you, I can now crush my parents with a clear conscience.”

“……”

Wait, Professor.

That sounds really weird, you know?