"Wake up, Beatrice! You have to run away from here!"
Irel quickly pulled Beatrice's hand. Exiting the hat shop, they can go to the main street, where there are many people passing by. Go there to call for help and the security team will come, and then there will be a request for assistance from nearby Masaka...
‘Ah.’
Irel unconsciously frowned at the thought of one of the 'Masaka nearby'. The man's face was like a brilliant venomous snake, seemingly blurring her vision.
But this is not the time to be picky. At least, being a nutritious dish that Masaka treasured was ten times better than being torn to pieces and eaten alive by the crazy Keytan behind that iron door.
"Let's run, Beatrice! Hurry!!"
For the second time, Irel grabbed Beatrice's hand and pulled her, who was standing stunned. But after taking a few steps, Beatrice seemed to lose all strength in her knees, and she collapsed to the floor. She muttered incomprehensible things with a blank face.
"N-no way. It's obviously just a threat..."
"What threat? What do you mean?"
Irel frowned and asked again sharply. She had the feeling that she couldn't ignore what Beatrice had just said.
“Kiiik!! Kyaak!!!”
Boom, Boom—!!!
Meanwhile, Keytan continued to pound on the warehouse door with terrible force. The hinge came off, the door was distorted, creating a small gap. From that gap, a pale hand like a claw suddenly emerged, digging open the door.
Creak, Creak—
The door opened wide with a dangerous sound of metal clashing. Through that gap, for the first time Irel directly witnessed the great disaster of humanity, Keytan.
At first glance, it looked like a naked and skinny middle-aged man. But even if it sat hunched over on all fours, its height would have been over three meters. The bloated belly dragged on the ground, but the limbs were extremely spindly and long, looking monstrous like a giant spider.
However, those skinny arms and legs were as strong as if they were forged from iron, and the claws at the end were sharper and longer than any dagger. Surely just the slightest touch can tear a person's stomach like tofu.
“Kruc.”
Keytan's head and eyes are oddly small compared to its body. But the mouth underneath was ripped open to the ears, revealing sharp teeth and dripping drool.
Irel accidentally looked down at the puddle of saliva dripping onto the floor and suddenly frowned. She accidentally discovered a strange mark left on Keytan's neck.
‘Iron chain mark?’
Keytan's skin was so tough that a regular knife could hardly pierce it, but there was a deep chain mark on its neck. It was as if someone very strong had tied it tightly.
But this was not the time to leisurely observe the marks on Keytan's body. She raised her head and saw small, red eyes staring at her right in front of her. Those eyes, seemingly devoid of any intelligence, smiled fearfully when they made eye contact with Irel.
“Kieek!!!”
Escape! The body acts before the mind. But as soon as Irel tried to run away with heavy legs, Keytan broke the rotten warehouse door and rushed straight out.
“Kyaak!!”
She only ran a few steps, but she knew. It caught up right behind her.
“Rel!!!”
Beatrice, who had been standing still, shouted in a low voice. Irel tried to run as fast as she could without daring to turn back, but the reality she saw through the long shadow cast on the wall was hopeless.
Keytan chased right behind her, raising its sharp claws to aim at her. A distance too close, impossible to avoid. The moment the shadow of its arm swung like a whip, Irel closed his eyes tightly, anticipating the upcoming impact.
‘Am I going to die like this?’
Before her eyes appeared the Irel family. Maybe she had feelings for them. It was ironic and sad that the last thing she thought about was not her biological family, but the family of a character in the game.
However, the game
Salvation
It seems like he still doesn't want her to die. Fortunately, before Keytan's claws could tear her apart, from somewhere, a young and deep male voice rang out.
"Stop."
Irel, who had been cowering from the premonition of death, felt extremely puzzled. She waited forever but the pain still did not come.
Carefully opening her eyes and turning around, she saw a terrifying claw stop right in front of her. Panicked, Irel unconsciously stepped back, almost falling. Immediately, a gentle hand from behind supported her waist.
“Are you okay?”
The hand touched unexpectedly, startling Irel. She was already in an extremely sensitive state after being chased by Keytan.
Crap—!!
She unconsciously pushed away the hand that was touching her waist and turned around, facing an unfamiliar face. It was a young man with black hair, cold and beautiful like a crescent moon.
"Oh. You seem very scared?"
He looked down at the hand that Irel had just hit hard and smirked. Then, he boldly approached Keytan, lightly kicking it with his foot.
Keytan, who had been growling ferociously and furiously, was now as motionless as a frozen block of plaster. Chỉ có đôi mắt đỏ ngầu, trợn trừng và đảo điên mới thể hiện rõ sát ý của nó.
‘Is this man also Masaka?’
Irel stared blankly at the magical scene before her eyes, then turned to look at the young man who had just appeared suddenly. A face as fresh as summer's first love smiled at her.
"Don't worry. You're safe now."
…Did he just call me sister? Irel felt strange with her intimate attitude as if he had known her for a long time. When she looked more closely at his face, she froze as if she had been electrocuted.
“Mirdal?”
His name fell out of her mouth like a sneeze from sheer surprise. But he didn't find it strange at all, on the contrary he smiled happily.
"You remember me? Your memory is better than I thought."
Of course I remember. His name is Mirdal Ha Mash, one of the characters in the game
Salvation
that Raeyeon (her name as a player) conquered as a normal player.
She never thought she would encounter Mirdal here. Irel stared at him, feeling like she saw a famous person only seen on TV right in front of her door. And she discovered a slight difference from her memory.
‘He looks much younger than I remember.’
That's right. Although Mirdal is not Raeyeon's favorite character, it is still a character she is quite impressed with. However, the reason she didn't recognize him right away was simple. That's because of the age difference.
The Mirdal Ha Mash that Raeyeon knew was a grown man, at least in his late twenties. And he is also a gentle person but carries a dark wound, completely suitable for Raeyeon's preferences.
But what about the Mirdal before her eyes? Maybe he just turned twenty years old? His young face, as if he had just reached adulthood, did not show any sadness. In particular, the naive innocence that flashed through those cold eyes was extremely strange, as if she was looking at a completely different person.
Eye contact alone can create such a different feeling. No wonder people say the eyes are the windows to the soul.
“Long time no see, Irel.”
At this time, Mirdal spoke to Irel who was still surprised. He of course didn't know about Raeyeon's existence, but at least he knew 'Irel Elorance'.
Unfortunately.
“Luckily I arrived in time.”
Mirdal boldly leaned his elbow comfortably on Keytan's strangely twisted knee joint as if it were a table. In that position, he leisurely took off his felt hat and adjusted his messy hair. That almost naive calmness showed that he did not think that Keytan would move or attack him.
But Irel knows. Mirdal's almost naive ease was only possible thanks to his belief in his own strength.
‘Shadow Master.’
Irel recalled his nickname in his mind. Just as Varkan freely uses the power of Fire, Mirdal can control the shadows of others at will. More precisely, the whole body is bound in that shadow.
Just as she thought of that, Mirdal leisurely stepped back. He created a safe distance from Keytan, then looked at Irel with his bright purple eyes and whispered.
“Close your eyes, Irel.”
If it were someone else, they would probably think this was an off-topic statement. But Irel clearly understood Mirdal's power and quickly closed his eyes. At the same time, Mirdal snapped his fingers.
Immediately afterwards, a terrifying sound rang out, as if a sharp knife was cutting open the tough leather-wrapped drum. Then the ground shook strongly
Boom!
, as if a heavy shelf had toppled over.
Startled by that loud noise, Irel reflexively opened her eyes, and she regretted it immediately. That's because she witnessed with her own eyes the horrible corpse of Keytan, who had cut his own throat with his claws to the point of almost falling apart.
“Kyaaaak!!!”
At this moment, a scream like a convulsion rang out next to me. Irel then remembered the presence of Beatrice, whom she had temporarily forgotten.
While Irel was being chased by Keytan, Beatrice knelt down in a corner because she had run out of strength. And the moment Irel was about to be captured, she fainted. No matter how arrogant Beatrice is, she cannot be normal when she sees her friend about to be torn apart right before her eyes.
Beatrice woke up after a brief coma. But times were not good. She opened her eyes dimly, and unfortunately witnessed a horrifying scene: Keytan used his claws to cut his own throat under Mirdal's control.
Its pale, tough skin split open on both sides, revealing the pulsing blood vessels underneath. The foul smell of blood and the stench of the corpses it had eaten filled his nose.
“Ugh, vomit…!!!”
Beatrice, a noble lady, was deeply shocked. She immediately sobbed, bent down and vomited everything she had eaten.
"Beatrice! Are you okay?"
Irel was surprised, quickly held her long hair and continuously rubbed her back. Beatrice vomited for a moment and then raised her head. Her purple eyes filled with physiological tears turned towards Mirdal unexpectedly.
“You, you… you cursed devil!!!”