My Demons

Ellen’s face turned pale as she gazed at the speckled egg, and her voice trembled with urgency.

“…Phoenix, we have to run.”

“Let’s go.”

No time was wasted questioning her; the gravity of the situation was evident in her expression, and I had a sinking feeling as well.

We swiftly retraced our steps, the water rising up to our ankles as we ran as fast as our legs would carry us.

Had it been a minute since we started running?

Splash!

The sound of water echoed from behind us.

It wasn’t far off. The reverberating noise suggested a considerable volume and mass moving through the water.

“Ellen, faster!”

“Huuk, huk-“

Ellen’s breaths grew labored; exhaustion prevented her from picking up speed.

Kim Seung-soo, you idiot!

You thought about the escape route but neglected to consider Ellen’s stamina! This predicament should have been anticipated!

I wanted to help by carrying her crossbow, but I had my hands full with a lantern and a round shield, making it impossible.

Splash! Splash!

The sound of water grew ever closer, rapidly closing the distance between us.

I couldn’t ascertain what it was, but there were few creatures, be it animals or monsters, that laid eggs the size of a human fist and inhabited a place with both water and soil.

In fact, I had a suspicion. The creature wasn’t from the underground passage but rather the tunnel.

Rooooar!

At the monster’s roar, I swiftly directed the lantern’s light behind me.

A massive tail created a splashing commotion at both ends of the ditch, a rugged back covered in scales, and the vertically slit eyes of a predator.

At a glance, it resembled a colossal crocodile, easily exceeding six meters in length.

Though it might be considered an earthly creature, its size and threat level warranted the classification of a monster.

Even upon hearing the monster’s roar, Ellen couldn’t gather enough momentum. The water at her ankles relentlessly impeded her progress.

“…Phew.”

I haphazardly tossed the lantern to the ground and drew my falchion.

As soon as I halted, Ellen stopped a few steps later.

“Why are you stopping? Go!”

She shouted at me between gasps for air, “Hey! Haak What… What are… Huuk, you doing!”

“Go! I can escape on my own!”

“Huup, no way!”

Damn it, stubborn brat!

But there was no time to argue with her.

Splash.

Water splashed onto my face as if it had been flung from a bucket, carrying with it a putrid stench.

The crocodile, propelling itself through the ditch with ferocious speed, was already within arm’s reach, jaws opening and closing as it charged.

Its gaping maw seemed large enough to swallow half of my body whole in a single bite.

“Uh…”

Without a moment to spare for fear, instinct guided my actions.

I gritted my teeth and thrust my sword into the darkness of its mouth.

But just before the blade made contact with the roof of its mouth…

Whoong.

Incredible, it dodged?

In mid-leap, the crocodile swiftly twisted its body to evade my sword—a nimble maneuver unexpected for its size.

Immediately after, its jaws shut diagonally with relentless force.

Crunch!

“Ghhuk-“

With my waist bent and my shield extended, I narrowly avoided being devoured.

My circular shield was wedged inside its mouth, preventing its upper jaw from reaching my neck.

For a fleeting moment, it felt as if time stood still.

The putrid breath that countless lives must have faced before their demise hung around my neck, while its teeth, sharp as a reaper’s scythe, glinted in the darkness.

The reptile’s eyes emitted an eerie glow, as if forming a sinister grin of death.

“Urgh!”

In this slowed-down world, I delivered a powerful strike to its head.

A surge of superhuman strength emerged from the brink of death, leaving a deep, gaping wound.

Crack!

I hoped it would recoil in surprise, but the giant crocodile only stared at me with fury in its fist-sized eyes.

The seething rage twisted my arm. I clenched my teeth and endured for a moment, but “Argh!”

In an instant, the world flipped upside down. I crashed into the water, my scream the only sound.

The crocodile initiated a death roll, utilizing its massive weight of over a ton.

Whoosh, splash!

“Ugh, Urgh,”

The spinning continued. The crocodile, with my shield trapped in its jaws, spun me around two, three times, its body thrashing wildly before flinging me onto the ground.

Bam!

Uh, I couldn’t even discern what I had collided with. My shoulder seared with pain.

If only the shield couldn’t withstand its grip and shattered.

Or if the strap connecting the shield to my shoulder was slightly weaker and snapped.

I could have discarded the shield and freed myself.

“Gruh, Huff…”

But the shield proved sturdier than expected, and the giant crocodile’s spin swept me away, spinning incessantly.

Tossed aimlessly, my head throbbed, my shoulder throbbed, and my breath was choked by gastric fluids infiltrating my nose and mouth.

Even in such disarray, I mustered the strength to swing my weapon, but lacking a stable center, my flailing arm failed to inflict significant damage on the massive crocodile.

Bang!

Uh, suddenly my vision blurred.

Through the haze, I spotted Ellen trembling in fear.

That fool, why is she still standing there when I explicitly told her to run…

As this thought crossed my mind, Ellen screamed at the top of her lungs.

“Phoenix, close your eyes!”

“Huh- What?”

Before I could respond to the faintly heard yell, a familiar sound reached my ears.

Thump!

Instinctively, I shut my eyes, and a resounding ‘clang!’ reverberated behind my head.

Screech!

What, what was happening?

The giant crocodile contorted its body, flinging me to the side, before thrashing wildly in the water.

Witnessing me lying limp on the ground, Ellen screamed like a siren.

“Get up! You have to kill it now!”

With that, a pungent scent assaulted my nostrils.

It was a strong, almost painful odor, reminiscent of chili powder or something similar.

Oops, now is not the time to be concerned with smells!

I swiftly rose, shaking off the remnants of my shield, and struggled to my feet.

And then, I focused—

Undoubtedly, my body was battered and bleeding profusely. The blood mingled with the gastric fluids, answering my call, and converged into my weapon as I slammed it into the ground.

Screech.

The giant crocodile writhed, emitting a scream incongruous with its size. Each convulsion unleashed a putrid spray of water, thrashing violently.

I propelled myself at it, akin to a goalkeeper lunging for a ball.

And so, I aimed for the fleeting opening and thrust my weapon into its belly.

Poof.

Its abdominal skin proved incredibly thick and resilient.

Yet, the falchion, emanating a ghastly crimson glow, contorted under an otherworldly strength.

Sizzle.

It tore through the thick hide, rending it into a thousand fragments.

Trapped in the sewer, I exerted all my strength to twist my body and brought the falchion down.

A long crimson gash etched itself onto the pale belly skin, soon bursting open, releasing its contents.

Thud!

Leaving behind that unsettling sound, I quickly propelled myself out of the sewer.

“Phoenix!”

“Uh, it hurts, damn it!”

Suddenly, Ellen ran towards me and clung to my shoulder.

Uh, I didn’t feel much weight, but the throbbing pain throughout my body made it difficult to bear.

But for a moment, the giant crocodile continued to thrash behind me.

“Uh, Ellen, we need to move away first…”

The stench of the foul sewer wafted around, yet she seemed reluctant to release her grip on me.

I had no choice but to lift Ellen around her waist and only put her down when we were approximately twenty meters away from the crocodile.

Screech…

From a distance, the giant crocodile writhing on its own entrails finally drew its last breath.

Only then did I lean against the wall and sink down. My rear end was soaked, but… ha, it didn’t matter. I was drenched in gastric fluid because of that damn crocodile.

“Phew, hehe… Wow, I really, really almost died.”

“……”

“Hey, what was that? Chili powder?”

I inquired as I caught my breath, but Ellen just stood there blankly without responding.

Uh, I couldn’t see anything since I had lost my lantern. But briefly, it seemed like her fists were trembling.

“Hey, you, idiot, hey.”

“…Uh, what?”

“You, you really—”

Ellen scolded me in a quavering voice, as if struggling to speak.

“Do you really want to die?”

“What the… what’s gotten into you all of a sudden?” Before I could finish my words, she kicked my shin so hard that it made a loud smack sound.

“Ah! Hey!”

Insane! I got kicked in the shin; it hurts like hell!

As I was about to berate her,

“You, I’m warning you,”

Ellen spoke in a tearful voice. Her words were garbled, making it hard to understand what she was saying.

“Just one more time… go ahead, run away, or say something like that…”

She took a deep, shaky breath, paused for a moment, then continued.

“I’ll really kill you. Do you understand?”

“Listen, hey. When have I done that before—”

“You did it last time, didn’t you, dummy!”

Bang!

Damn, she hit the spot that was already hurting.

I should have worn shin guards!

A little while later, on the stairs leading to the second basement floor.

I sat on the stone steps, applying a bandage to the back of my head where blood was dripping. Thanks to my passive skill ‘Flowing Blood,’ the bleeding would stop simply by applying pressure.

Then, Ellen, who was releasing my crumpled shoulder armor, brushed against my swollen shoulder.

“Ouch! Hey, be careful! I think it’s broken!” I exclaimed, and Ellen frowned, scolding me.

“You’re such a baby, making a fuss over a little touch. Your thighs are even more swollen.”

I wanted to retort, but I held my tongue.

It pained me to see her eyelids swollen like caterpillars.

Sigh.

I sighed deeply, and the girl, hesitatingly gripping her tunic, suddenly grew irritated.

“Damn it—can you, can you unbutton this?”

“Ah, you do it. Can’t you see I don’t have hands?”

“…Damn it, so annoying…”

Although she grumbled softly, she carefully unbuttoned the tunic, poured water to clean the wound.

“Eh, it’s cold.”

As Ellen wrapped the bandage, I lifted my arm and asked abruptly.

“Hey, you had that glass bottle you shot earlier, right?”

“…Huh, what?”

The girl, engrossed in bandaging, seemed lost in thought and startled when I spoke.

“What’s the matter? Why are you like that?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine, ugh, don’t turn your head. The bandage is getting tangled.”

Despite her words, her touch on my collarbone trembled with strength.

When I stole a glance at her, her neck was flushed, as if she had a fever.

Is she exhausted? Could she be unwell?

Well, it has been over ten hours since we descended into the sewer. It’s unlikely for her not to be tired. And even the healthiest person can fall ill in such a filthy environment.

We need to clean up and get out of here swiftly.

“So, about that thing you shot earlier.”

What Ellen shot with the crossbow was some kind of… Molotov cocktail, right? It was a glass bottle filled with something like that.

“It was some kind of molotov cocktail, right? What did you make it with?”

“…Hoo, well. I gathered some cat tails from behind the inn. I mixed it with tarajin that I bought from a street vendor. I also added a bit of fine sand because I didn’t have enough.”

Ah, I know ‘tarajin’. It’s a kind of spice. If I were to compare it to something from Earth, it would be like black pepperoncini.

“Wow, when did you make that?”

“…When you were fooling around with that old maid, I got bored and made a few things. Why?”

“Ah, hey! It hurts, be gentle-“

“I need to tie it properly, don’t I? Just stay still.”

But hold on, what did she just say? I was fooling around with an old maid? … I don’t remember having such luck with Phoenix’s body.

“Hold on. Are you talking about Grania?”

“Yes. Why?”

Typical of her to nonchalantly call someone an old maid.

Ha, Grania is in her mid-twenties at most, and she’s considered an old maid? Then what does that make me, a middle-aged bachelor? That’s annoying.

Setting that aside, I addressed Ellen with a hint of surprise.

“Huh, while you were meditating and wandering around, you were preparing something quite interesting?”

Suddenly, my gaze fell upon the crossbow leaning against the stone wall.

Wait a minute, could it be…

“Hey, so… did you buy that to shoot a molotov cocktail?”

In response to my question, Ellen furrowed her brow as if it were obvious.

“Of course. I’m a wizard. Did you think I spent six silver coins just to shoot rocks?”

I’m not sure what being a wizard has to do with molotov cocktails.

“…Really? Did you plan ahead?”

“Yes. I even adjusted the weight of the bottle to match the iron bullets.”

Oh, this brat. Am I starting to see her in a new light?

I thought she was just a bookish nerd incapable of using magic, but she had been thoroughly prepared.

“But why didn’t you tell me?”

“…I wasn’t sure if it would be useful or not. Shooting this at zombies or bugs wouldn’t have meant much.”

“Ah, I see. But you should have told me. It’s very useful.”

At my reprimand, the corners of her mouth twitched.

“…Useful?”

“Of course! Are you kidding? If it weren’t for that, I would have been dead by now.”

She closed her mouth tightly, but a smile that couldn’t be concealed spread across her face.

Oh dear, what an adorable brat.

“Let me know in advance if there’s anything else like this. I need to coordinate with you. Do you have anything else you’ve made?”

“Hmm. I did make a few poison bottles and fire bottles.”

“…What?”

I might be imagining it, but it seemed like her nose lifted a bit higher. Her shoulders were held with a certain air of pride, which was quite amusing, but I couldn’t resist asking.

“How did you make those?”

“It’s not too complicated. For the poison bottle, I dried and ground glow mushrooms and magnets, and added sap from the silver bell flower. It’s a simple but effective paralyzing poison. As for the fire bottle, Sister Olga was going to the old junk shop, so I asked her to buy some flame flower essence. But the essence alone wasn’t viscous enough, so I added something as a binding agent…”

Watching Ellen explain like that, I couldn’t help but laugh. Whether she had forgotten her fatigue or not, her hands no longer trembled.

Her self-important demeanor was quite amusing, but yes… it’s far better than seeing her cry and sniffle.