NOVEL WEB Chapter 73
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It was like a grand cacophony, blending the cries of a mouse and a whale, as the beast stirred its forelimbs and emerged from the depths of the sea, opening its mouth wide.
As the mouse’s head gaped open like a snake’s jaw, the wolf elegantly swirled in the current and extended its tentacle.
“Thicker than I expected.”
It was supposed to pierce through, but it was tough. The creature, which had been attacked multiple times, seemed to lose its will to fight and turned its body. But its forelimb was already caught by the tentacle. Before it could bite with its fangs, I severed the forelimb with a shadow.
“―――!”
With the leg severed, its balance was thrown off, and its speed noticeably decreased. Before long, I devoured the creature tangled in the tentacle.
[You have consumed Musbelly. Experience and satiety have increased.]
[Experience has reached its maximum. Lv.12 → Lv.13]
I had reached level 13. In the waters near Yeongheung Island, as the moon finally rose, the wolf nodded while submerged in the night sea.
“It’s time.”
Code 3. Gather at Yeongheung. By now, they must have congregated enough, and night was the right time to exploit the cover of darkness. As soon as I stepped onto the island, I noticed the glimmer of flashlight beams. Although there were patrols, detecting my stealth was impossible.
‘…….’
As always, I was the first to sense the presence. There were 61 people across the island—quite a number, making the wait worthwhile.
‘So they’re all gathered.’
Yeongheung Island, as per the map, while an island, is relatively close to the mainland and even connected by a bridge. It seems like a forward base responsible for supplying resources to them.
‘For now.’
In groups of three— I extended a shadow and severed the wrist of the one holding the walkie-talkie. At the same time, I slipped into the shadows.
“What?”
He was startled and reflexively shone his flashlight, but I jumped from his shadow and snapped his neck.
‘…One down.’
His companion didn’t even scream upon dying. I was impressed by his judgment to try picking up the walkie-talkie, but just as he raised it, I twisted his neck with the tentacle.
‘The other one.’
As I was completing the spell chant, suddenly, he moved in front of me. No, he was moved. Though I was baffled, my reflexive shadow extended and pierced his brow.
“Qyu!”
Upon realizing, I found the fairy perched on his shoulder.
‘So this is how it can be used.’
I should have remembered when she had transported me last time. I gently patted her head with a tentacle.
“Qyu~!!”
Still, I asked her not to do that if possible and opened the storage to hand over some meat. If it had been a tail, she might have been hurt.
‘…For now.’
There are still 58 rascals on this island— Before dawn breaks, I’ll eliminate them all.
***
‘It’s later than I thought.’
Could it be they haven’t discovered this place? Plateau or dawn. I was on edge, thinking it might be both, but there was still no news.
“……”
No news is good news, but the tail frowned at an inexplicable sense of unease.
‘Is that the smell of blood?’
A scent that pierced my nose. I suspected it and scrutinized around, but the smell was wafting in from outside. As I hurried upstairs, I saw a flickering shadow.
“……!”
By the time the guards outside realized, they had been brutally slaughtered. If not for my olfactory skill, I would’ve remained oblivious. Approaching the dead guards, I couldn’t help but let out a subtle moan. A sharp object had pierced their throats, causing their demise.
‘An ambush…!’
Realizing that someone had genuinely come, I picked up the walkie-talkie.
“Intruder reported in Area C. Possibly dawn or plateau…?”
For some reason, it was dead. When I checked the walkie-talkie again, I noticed that it had already split into two.
‘When did this happen?’
Just as I was contemplating, I felt something tightly grip my ankle. Something— a slimy, long tentacle.
“……!”
The moment I opened my eyes wide and severed the tentacle with my dagger— shadows from the dead guards began to creep and soon swallowed me whole.
***
‘I heard the voice.’
The tail’s voice. If there are no superiors, then these guys are the leaders. Each of them possessed power equivalent to Class B, but if scattered, it’s meaningless.
‘…I gathered them to Yeongheung, now.’
It’s not that I don’t understand their position. They need to know about an ambush in advance to prepare. But—
[This is Area A. Report on the condition of each zone.]
[Area B. No abnormalities.]
“Area C. No abnormalities.”
—That doesn’t mean anything to me. I imitated the tail’s voice I had just heard to reply, and the response finally came back from Area E. Area E. Which meant at least four more zones aside from this.
‘That means there’s at least four tails left.’
As I examined the underground where they had been, I discovered numerous packs and flasks.
‘Blood samples.’
Every single one contained blood. The blood of various animals. Without a doubt, these were materials to create a counterfeit elixir. Among them, there was even human blood. Above all, seeing the empty iron cage in one corner of the wall left me with clenched teeth.
‘…….’
Countless stains remained, not yet wiped clean. Stains splattered even to the unreachable ceiling, vivid red. Imagining the events that must have unfolded inside that cage, the wolf’s breathing grew ragged.
‘…They must have been moving people from here to the island.’
Anything essential would likely have been kept, used whenever needed.
‘Five areas.’
They all probably served similar roles.
‘—You’ve made a mistake.’
They should have fled Yeongheung. If they had hidden on the mainland, they might have had a chance to survive. But— they didn’t do that. They couldn’t bear to abandon this facility.
‘I don’t know where each area is, but.’
Now— I have no intention of letting a single one escape. After finishing the first ‘task’ I needed to do, I opened the storage to take out the walkie-talkie when transmissions began flowing through.
[Code A. Code A]
The walkie-talkie repeated the same message multiple times.
‘Alright.’
It seems they aren’t fools either; they’ve noticed they’re being ambushed. I wiped out one area, but the individualized attacks stopped here. As I spread my detection, I saw them all converging in one place. Gathering. That’s the content of Code A. The wolf, having closed its eyes, released a deep breath.
‘—It’s time.’
It was time to clean up the trash on this island.
***
The wolf did not hesitate. It did not hide. Finally, as the presence of the entire island converged in one spot, it revealed itself as if waiting. When the wolf, cloaked in shadows, appeared, the rascals showed signs of panic but soon regained their formation.
“The rest keep your guard…?”
Before the order could finish, the head was severed from the body. As the big forelimb crushed the head, blood and brain matter splattered, illuminating the flickering form of the wolf in the shadows.
“……!”
In that moment, a terrible malice spread. The heartbeat thumped heavily, and breaths became ragged. They all unconsciously began to envision death. Imagining ways to die in any form possible, envisioning their own demise in unimaginable ways.
As their faces turned pale, the tail managed to draw on its magic and shouted.
“Snap out of it!”
With the shout infused with magic, the rascals barely managed to hold on to their senses. The fear that they would die without being able to do anything— some swallowed, chanting spells, while others raised their weapons.
While that was happening, the wolf observed all the rascals in the arena. The subordinates numbered 46. The tail counted 4. Shadows extending from the tentacles mercilessly began to claim lives. Even as they swung their weapons to block the tentacles, the shadows flowed along their blades and snatched their lives away.
“―――!”
Unreasonable violence— it was nothing short of a massacre. Blood, flesh, shredded limbs, and brain matter were scattered everywhere.
“It’s using shadows!”
“Fereastra de foc!”
As the blazing spear summoned by the rascal charged towards the wolf— it was shredded to pieces, vanishing.
What in the world is going on? The rascal, perplexed, shook his head. There was no time to be wrapped in doubts. Just as he began to chant again, the wolf vanished once more. The tail was watching. I noticed the wolf had blended into the shadows. While I was guarding the back of the rascal who was in the midst of chanting, the wolf appeared from an entirely unexpected direction.
“――!”
Before the rascal could even scream, he was bitten, and his head was severed. The tail ground its teeth.
‘How on earth…’
How could I possibly deal with the one moving freely through the shadows? The wolf vanished once again, and the tail broke into a cold sweat.
‘Where will it be this time?’
As the shadow flickered while I bit into the neck of one subordinate, it seemed the mages raised their voices in unison as if waiting.
“Fereastra de gheață!”
“Stâncă mare―!”
Countless spells. Spears of fire and ice. Huge rocks and magical orbs surged toward the wolf. With that many spells, there’s no way to easily defend against them. Even if I dodged, a gap would form. While the tail was preparing to seize that gap, I had to doubt my own eyes.
“……!”
As the shadows swayed wide, every spell was utterly shredded to pieces.
‘How?!’
—At the moment a faint breeze brushed my nostrils, a sharp pain shot through. Dazed, I wiped my nose with my index finger, and blood began to ooze out. Meanwhile, the masked tail had positioned itself behind the wolf. It couldn’t detect the C-class stealth he possessed. Maybe it was possible to kill him, I thought, but that thought shattered into pieces a second later.
“――Khuk!”
As if it were a given, both the heart and lung of the masked tail were pierced simultaneously.
‘It was that easy…!’
Clearly, his stealth was remarkable. It was impossible even for the wolf’s detection to sense his stealth. Yet stealth isn’t a skill to hide one’s scent. It couldn’t deceive the wolf’s nose.
“Krrr―”
A low growl, boiling with fury, chilled the tail’s heart. The moment the wolf threw the masked tail away, the tail swung its sword.
‘We’ll all die if we don’t fight!’
Without a moment’s hesitation, it cleaved the body of its former comrade. As the tail leaped toward the wolf with the subordinates, a fierce wind swept through. The subordinates, being mere underlings, had no means to block it, and only the tail, having barely drawn on its magic, managed to escape the gale’s influence.
‘What a monster.’
Only the tail survived alone, while the subordinates who charged alongside were slaughtered. Thinking he couldn’t possibly win this way, he slashed the neck of one of the subordinates beside him.
“…I need you to help me out.”
He would die soon enough at this rate. He smashed the chin of the bewildered subordinate, prying it open, and forced him to drink the potion he had been clutching in his robe. With the immediate threat of death, the rascal couldn’t resist the tail, and ultimately, he drank the liquid from the vial.
“Ugh!?”
In that instant, the wound on his neck healed. The tail nodded slightly and then butchered the subordinate.
‘That should do it.’
As the subordinate began to balloon and swell when his magic dwindled— by a stroke of luck, another tail wearing a robe successfully completed a spell.
“Robia rădăcinii copacilor―!”
A spell of three verses, markedly different from that of the subordinates. As if an earthquake struck, the ground trembled, and countless tree roots emerged, wrapping around the wolf in an instant. Enormous roots. This confinement would gradually eat away at the wolf’s strength.
“Is that…?!
As the tail clenched its fist, believing it had survived, smoke began to rise slowly.
“……?!”
The rising smoke— instantly consumed the tree roots, and black flames began to blaze. In the midst of the pitch-black flames, as everything was incinerated, the tail was rendered stiff with fear.
‘Was that a misperception?’
For a brief moment, the flames seemed to twist into a ghostly figure. As a terrifying aura began to spread, the tail sank into despair.
‘It’s impossible to win…’
When the fierce wind blew away the smoke, the wolf’s figure was nowhere to be found. Instead, the mage who chanted the spell was the one screaming.
“……!”
Suddenly, the wolf was biting into his nape. As the wolf twisted his neck, the mage’s cervical vertebrae broke, and he breathed his last.
‘…I should have fled.’
It was a belated realization. I should have done this from the start. The subordinates had already been slaughtered, leaving only two, including the tail. But— gazing at the ‘incomplete product’ that had now swollen, the tail twisted its lips.
‘If it’s this…’
I didn’t think I could defeat the wolf anew. But it might buy me time to flee. —That calculation went awry. What he saw was not an illusion. The black flames ignited from the wolf shimmered and formed the figure of a specter. Riding atop the enormous mass, the wolf turned its head.
‘Damn it.’
The tail fled without looking back. As the wolf swiftly incinerated the mass it had just consumed, it tilted its head.
‘The underlings have all been dealt with.’
Only the tail remained. As though it had been agreeing to flee, the two dashed away. Watching the tail run toward the place with legs, the wolf turned its head.
‘…That’s fine.’
The distance which had narrowed in an instant. I confirmed through insight that its agility was 374. Quite agile, but I soon caught up. As I anticipated, it tore open a scroll.
‘Short-distance Teleportation Scroll?’
No, it could be a teleport scroll after all.
‘I must kill here.’
The moment I sprang forward to gain momentum, it swung a dagger. I twisted my head to bite down, and the tail swallowed the dagger whole. At the moment it was left with just the hilt, before it could panic, a shadow shot out and pierced its neck.
As it vanished in a flash of light, it wore a look of disbelief.
‘Teleport scroll.’
At this rate, reviving was impossible. The only way to survive would be to consume the incomplete product, but even if I lived like that, it wouldn’t matter. Then.
‘Only one remains.’
The wolf’s red eyes still glimmered with bloodlust.
***
Just a little further. Just a little longer, I could survive, and that hope made the tail move its legs. Finally, as I reached the legs, I sank to the ground, collapsing.
“…Ah.”
Hope shattered, despair flooded in. In disbelief, I stared blankly at the broken legs.
The Yeongheung Bridge was severed. There was no way to escape. Black flames flickered on the perilous bridge, which appeared as if it could collapse at any moment.
‘When did this happen…?’
Pulling out the walkie-talkie from my pocket with heavy breaths, a shadow flickered before my eyes. The moment the wolf revealed itself, the tail realized all of this had played out in the palm of its hand.
“What are you…?”
The wolf looked down, as though the response was not worth it— the gaze filled with malice and madness overwhelmed the tail, who, in despair, gripped the sword tightly.
Gathering the tattered breaths, it infused the residual magic left in its toes. The ground shattered with the recoil, and the speed never felt before sparked a glimmer in my eyes. In a miraculous moment, the tail gained the skill to dash.
When hope began to swell again, the wolf leaned.
“……?”
Then it dawned on me. The one who had lost energy was not the wolf, but my world. Looking at the distant headless body running alone, the tail let out a last, empty laugh.
***
The wolf stomped down and crushed the severed head. No more presences detected. The islands of the West Sea were thoroughly cleaned up.
A transmission flowed from the walkie-talkie that the rascal had pulled out. The last contact he made. Who was the ruler of the West Sea? The wolf replied in a chilling voice to the one who had still not ‘returned.’
“—Wait.”
“Until I come to claim your life.”
Thus, the wolf cleaned up the entire island of the West Sea.
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