This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 158

The first to strike was Chae-rim.

The moment she raised her hand, a vibrant blue current enveloped the sky.

And it soon transformed into a storm.

A tempest composed solely of lightning swept through the cavern, devoid of rain or wind.

In an instant, faster than sound itself, death descended upon everything that remained in the cave.

It was literally just a single moment.

Despite the commotion we caused, it was enough for everything left behind in the cavern to turn black and fade away.

Thud…! Boom…!

Only the sickening sound of something heavy collapsing reverberated through the cavern.

If destruction were to be illustrated, it might look something like this.

‘It’ was right in the center of that chaotic scene.

‘It’ appeared to be a giant globe made of flesh clumped together.

Grotesque and malicious in design, it took the place where the girl-turned-monster had just stood.

From the blackened surface, white steam billowed up.

‘…So, did we catch it?’

The moment that thought crossed my mind, ‘a voice’ echoed.

“…It hurts.”

With a squelching and sticky sound, the flesh split apart sideways.

And as the girl re-emerged from the split, the flesh was drawn back into her body.

“I shot it to hurt you, you idiot.”

At that moment, Chae-rim was already behind the girl.

And that was just the beginning.

Given that we were unaware of the opponent’s abilities and fighting style, perhaps she had no intention of giving up the initiative she had gained by striking first.

Chae-rim advanced without hesitation, driving the girl back.

With each light flick of her hand, the air shook.

The ground trembled beneath her steps as she lunged towards the girl.

In stark contrast to the complexity of her earlier movements, this was now infinitely simpler, almost clumsy in appearance, yet—

‘It’s different…’

The level of skill was… different.

With each gesture and footwork, vibrant blue lightning followed her.

In such a situation, all I could do was desperately dodge to avoid being swept away by the aftermath.

And while I was frantically running away like that… I suddenly found it absurd.

Even if the girl were inherently a monster, I couldn’t believe that Chae-rim, who was significantly contributing to creating this situation, was the same kind of ‘human’ as me.

The girl, having been kicked in the gut by Chae-rim, soared into the air.

And at that moment, as a target of vibrant blue lightning appeared above her, blue spears formed in response to Chae-rim’s gesture and rushed towards the target.

“Th-this is…!”

After having endured so many blows, perhaps realizing she couldn’t keep being the victim, the girl made her first attempt to counterattack.

With a voice full of resentment, her outstretched arm quickly ballooned in size and came crashing down toward Chae-rim.

Simultaneously, from the flesh surrounding her, numerous tentacles shot out, aiming for Chae-rim.

There was nowhere to dodge, making this an inevitable strike.

Chae-rim’s impression of that response was—

“Amateur.”

That short phrase was all she needed to say.

Lightning erupted.

The lightning that erupted turned the vast cavern pure white.

And in the instant when the world regained its natural appearance, I couldn’t help but tremble at the scene before my eyes.

Unlike the tentacles that had all turned black, the people embedded in the walls seemed to be unharmed.

‘This is… the current strongest…’

Right in front of me was evidence of the heights one could reach only after honing one’s innate talents to the extreme.

It felt as if someone had forcibly stopped time.

“You… haven’t really fought before, have you?”

And with those words, the moment Chae-rim took a light step, the blackened remnants turned to dust, and time began to flow again.

“Well, that makes sense. There’ve probably been nothing but monsters like you around.”

After that, the battle consistently continued to unfold in Chae-rim’s favor.

For the first time since the fight began, I was able to shift my gaze away from the two of them because of that.

‘Wait…’

What is that…?!

And where my eyes landed, a shimmering object made of what looked like a jewel was precariously rolling across the ground.

The moment I saw it, I instinctively knew.

That the key capable of opening the rift described in Chae-rim’s explanation was exactly that.

Could it have fallen due to the trees shaking from the aftermath of their battle?

I didn’t know the details, but one thing was certain… I wouldn’t regret securing that.

After all, what was the reason we came all the way here to fight that monster?

It was all to secure a means to return to our original world.

Of course, if we could deal with that monster and rescue the people at the same time, that would be a bonus… but even Chae-rim seemed to find that a bit tough.

The state of the people was simply unbearable.

Could it be that the tentacles were there to ensure they wouldn’t run away?

I couldn’t see any of the necessary body parts attached to the people embedded in the walls.

Because of that, I was puzzled.

I simply could not comprehend how those people had managed to stay alive until now.

Could it be the strength of the tentacles occupying where their arms and legs should be?

Regardless…

‘First, I’ll grab it…!’

The position wasn’t bad either.

The place I was hiding and the location where that jewel—or whatever it was—was falling were both just outside the battleground.

So even if I ran over, I wouldn’t disturb Chae-rim who was fiercely pressing the monster, nor would I get caught up in the battle they were having.

With that reasoning, I swiftly emerged from my hiding spot, crouching low, and dashed toward where the jewel lay, thinking that this might be my last chance.

And just as I successfully grasped the jewel in my hand…

Rumble—!

“Ugh…!”

As if it had collided harder than before, the ground I stood on bucked violently.

As I fell sideways against my will, I caught sight of something more grotesque than any creature I’d seen since I arrived here.

It looked exactly as if someone had uprooted someone else’s eyes, then mounted insect wings and a wasp’s stinger onto it.

Such a thing was silently fluttering toward Chae-rim, who was busy assaulting the girl.

Had it been preparing that while constantly being pushed back since the battle began?

If so, the ongoing struggle might have actually been for this.

‘But…’

That wouldn’t work, would it?

And rightly so, considering the incredible level of detection Chae-rim had demonstrated thus far.

So no matter how stealthily it approached, it would inevitably be caught by Chae-rim’s radar.

And moreover, Chae-rim’s body was in a state akin to pure lightning.

So even if it successfully snuck up, there was no way it could have delivered a proper attack.

Just like the tentacles from earlier, they would probably burn to nothing before even reaching her.

Therefore, I suspected that Chae-rim’s intense focus on the girl was actually a ruse to bait for a counterattack.

But as I was slowly retreating to avoid getting involved…

“…?!”

An unexpected turn of events occurred as I was carefully stepping back.

The tentacles that had been holding the people embedded in the fleshy wall suddenly writhed and poured toward Chae-rim, who was fighting the girl.

And at the forefront of that charge were the struggling people.

Using humans as shields, a move that would inevitably make Chae-rim hesitate given her nature.

Though brief, that moment of hesitation was fatal.

“…Ugh?!”

With a panicked voice, the lightning flowing through Chae-rim’s body evaporated without a trace, causing her to revert to her form prior to the battle, and within an instant, she was swamped and buried by the bodies.

Then, from that immobilized Chae-rim, a long-needle insect came darting forward.

As this entire sequence unfolded before my eyes, I had already bolted toward Chae-rim.

‘No, don’t…!’

I was unaware of the identity of the thing.

I didn’t know, but… it was clearly a deadly move.

As soon as that stinger pierced Chae-rim’s body, something terrible was bound to happen.

And if that happened… the way back to our original world would likely be closed forever.

I couldn’t allow that to happen, not when I had endured so much to get here.

I ran to prevent that from happening…

It might already be too late, but clutching tightly what I had picked off the ground earlier, I rushed toward Chae-rim, sliding across the floor.

It felt like time was flowing slowly.

Perhaps that was why, no matter how fast I ran, I felt like I wouldn’t reach her in time.

So… I threw my body forward.

I reached out as far as I could and dove between Chae-rim and the stinger rushing towards her.

And how much time had passed?

I felt a sharp something pierce through my palm and sink in —

“Ugh…?!”

A fierce pain surged through my arm.