The earpiece is a communications device designed to allow contact with the command center at any time during combat. It’s mainly used to report the situation on the ground or to receive updated orders.
Of course, various variables are bound to arise during combat. Pre-set operations might go awry, or situations entirely different from the pre-briefing could develop.
Thus, this earpiece can be considered the second most important equipment after weapons.
However…
I am currently demanding that Arna remove this precious earpiece.
“Remove the earpiece? Do you even realize it’s dangerous out here? There’s a monster right in front of us!”
“I’m not joking. I’ve never been more serious.”
To show how serious I was, I removed the earpiece I had on and shoved an earplug into my ear.
It must have been the first time I used one since my reserve military days.
“Why do you have to wear earplugs after removing the earpiece?”
Even with my ear canals blocked, I could still clearly hear voices from up close. I started speaking.
“Decarabia will soon start singing. If you hear that song directly, you’ll instantly drift off to dreamland.”
“Sleep magic… It’s a variant monster then.”
“That’s correct. Do you believe me now?”
But Arna shook her head.
“No, I’m even more suspicious now. How did you know that was a variant?”
Because I’m the overall director. I even wrote the story myself.
But explaining this to Arna would probably be a waste of time. It would only complicate the story unnecessarily.
So, I decided to brazen it out.
“My ancestors told me in a dream.”
“…”
Arna’s face immediately twisted. The expression clearly said, “What kind of fool are you?”
But this didn’t hurt at all. It’s a look I’ve been faced with plenty of times while at the company. Mostly, it was the art director who wore that look.
“What do you have to lose? If it turns out not to be a variant, we can simply put the earpiece back on. There’s really no risk involved.”
“Then why share this information only with me?”
Arna’s point was valid: it was something I could have explained to others as well.
At first, I thought that would work. But it turned out to be more complicated than I expected. No one listened to what I had to say.
That’s why I chose to focus on getting Arna to believe me.
“I spent all day running around to persuade only you, Arna. I even bought women’s underwear for the first time. I didn’t have the time to involve anyone else.”
“So why me? You had other people to choose from, right?”
“Because it’s something only you can do.”
I grabbed Arna’s hand and pressed the earplug into the softness of her palm.
“You’re the hero everyone is watching, right? I’m counting on you. I believe you can take Decarabia down with a single blow.”
“…”
Arna quietly stared at the earplug in her palm, hesitating until the very last moment.
Finally, it seemed she’d reached her decision, and she sighed deeply.
“Fine, I’ll do it. It’s not like I have a choice anyway.”
Arna promptly removed the earpiece she was wearing and put on the earplug.
She’d decided to trust me.
“If it turns out not to be a variant, I’m really going to be mad. I won’t even talk to you anymore.”
“In that case, let me buy you a drink.”
“Drinks… That sounds good. I’ll take the most expensive cognac at the bar.”
Because of this delay, we were now falling behind. The other Awakened had already approached Decarabia, and even the reporters were there.
We were the most delayed.
“Let’s hurry before we’re too late.”
Just as we were about to move, far away, the giant monster Decarabia opened its mouth.
Is it summoning more lesser monsters?
Zeek—
No, this was slightly different from before. No lesser monsters emerged from its open mouth this time.
Through this, I had an instant realization: Decarabia was about to sing.
—AAAAAAAAA!
It was an overwhelming roar, more like noise than a song. Even with the earplugs in, it made my head ache.
Both of us had no choice but to close our eyes and cover our ears tightly.
“Amazing singing skills, huh? Your vocal cords might be larger than Arna’s. Why don’t we compare?”
“Another nonsense comment! How can you say that in a situation like this? If you have the time, you should hurry… eh?”
Suddenly, Arna turned her gaze forward and shivered nervously. The scene in front was completely different from before.
Awakened ones had fallen unconscious, and reporters had dropped their precious cameras and started snoring.
Everyone in front of Decarabia was asleep.
“Is it… really a variant…?”
We were the only ones still conscious. Only we, wearing earplugs, had escaped the trap.
“Arna, hurry up. Its mouth is still open.”
Decarabia’s mouth was still wide open, and soon new lesser monsters began emerging one by one.
“No, that’s impossible! We should save everyone first!”
“Save everyone? Do you really think you can save everyone alone?”
The emerging lesser monsters weren’t just a couple. They appeared in a large horde.
Of course, Arna could handle that many lesser monsters on her own.
However, the problem wasn’t the lesser monsters but something else.
The unconscious people lying around, that is the condition that she had to protect them while fighting.
Fighting while protecting something is completely different in difficulty compared to simply fighting.
It’s manageable if they were all gathered in one place, but they’re scattered everywhere.
Even if Arna hurried around frantically, there would inevitably be gaps somewhere.
“So, you’re saying we should abandon those people now?”
“I haven’t said anything about giving up. We’re just changing the method a little.”
I pulled a spoon from the inner pocket of my jacket and used its enlargement function to increase its size.
“Arna, climb onto this spoon immediately.”
“Huh? What is this supposed to be…?”
“If you want to save everyone, trust me and climb onto this spoon.”
I forcibly seated Arna on the spoon’s head.
Arna’s face was still puzzled, as if she didn’t fully grasp the situation.
“I’ll explain just this once. This spoon is going to head straight to Decarabia’s head.”
Seeeeuu—
Simultaneously with the explanation, I focused all my strength on the spoon. It immediately lifted off the ground and floated into the air.
“What…? Can this spoon really fly?”
*
“Arna, go break the magic stone embedded in that creature’s eye. Once it’s destroyed, the lesser monsters will naturally stop moving.”
Arna let out a shout at Shin Yoon-seong’s absurd plan.
“Just a minute! What about you? You’ll be left behind!”
With his only weapon, the spoon, given to Arna, Shin Yoon-seong was no different from being unarmed. He was the perfect prey for the lesser monsters.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m tougher than cockroaches. You know that better than anyone, Arna.”
There had been 23 evaluation matches with Shin Yoon-seong since the beginning of last year. Naturally, Shin Yoon-seong lost every match.
Even after losing so many times, he didn’t give up. He kept attacking Arna without rest, day after day.
No matter how many times Arna pushed him away, he wouldn’t fall. He kept clinging annoyingly.
No matter where she was or where she went, he always followed her. He was the villain she had never seen before.
Thinking about it again, he was utterly infuriating.
“And didn’t I tell you earlier? I’m putting my trust in you. As proof of that trust, I’m entrusting my life to you.”
But.
That annoying villain.
Right now, he was trusting Arna more than anyone else. He handed over the spoon which was practically everything to him, and even placed his life on the line.
He gave everything he had.
“Go, Arna. Destroy that thing and come back.”
“Wait a moment! It’s not done yet…”
The spoon rose even higher than before. Up to a height where it was out of reach of the lesser monsters’ hands. Then it soared straight toward Decarabia, bypassing the crowd of monsters.
Wooiiiiing—
The cold wind fiercely slashed at Arna’s skin, making it almost impossible to open her eyes.
“Ugh, what’s all this nonsense? You forced the earplug on me out of the blue… then made me board the spoon!”
Everything was completely incomprehensible. How did he even know that was a variant? Moreover, he pinpointed it as one that used sleep magic.
Even though he said his ancestors told him in a dream… clearly, he was hiding something.
“Ugh, really…!”
But pondering it further wouldn’t just complicate her mind. It was time to not dwell on it now.
Too many lives were at stake.
It was time to discard unnecessary distractions.
Focus solely on the immediate situation.
—AAAAAAAAA!
They were now right before Decarabia, the monster singing again its eerie song.
“Not gonna work this time!”
Thanks to the earplug Shin Yoon-seong provided and the spoon, she could reach this far. Now was the time to repay that sacrifice.
Flash!
Using the spoon as a stepping stone, Arna leapt high, simultaneously gathering all her magical power. All of it was being condensed into this sword.
Sweeeeuuu—
Following Arna’s command, the sword began glowing with light, beautifully decorating the dark night like the stars in the sky.
“Inhale!”
Arna precisely pinpointed the descent location. She then dived down toward Decarabia with all her weight.
“That filthy mouth!”
The target was the red-colored magic stone embedded in the torso. She swung her sword powerfully toward it.
“Shut up already!”
Crack!
The golden sword embedded into the center of the magic stone. The monster’s eyes and mouth emitted a powerful light, then it collapsed, drained of energy, onto the ground.
It was the moment when everything was resolved.
