Chapter 10

Chapter 10. Dancing with the Wolves

“That must be a wolf that walks through the fog.”

Hepha, the novice guide who guided people through the Maze Forest, had learned how to quickly adapt to the peculiar forest where the surroundings changed every time she blinked.

But she had never learned how to adapt to a person who was difficult to understand.

For example, the man in front of her would charge straight at monsters without even looking back and rampage like a madman whenever one appeared.

And whenever he died, he would swim all the way back from the distant sea.

“Damn! I almost killed it! Pai! Is that bastard dead? It isn't dead, right? Please tell me it is! I have to burn it to death!”

The fact that this man was her lifesaver was the only thing barely holding onto her understanding of him.

Even though he had shortened her already short three-syllable name into just two syllables because he thought it was too long, he was usually a perfectly normal person.

So she simply tried to accept it.

“I don't know. I ran away as soon as you died.”

“Good! That's what you should do! Forget about checking whether I'm alive or dead! If you think you're going to die, run away!”

Hepha couldn't tell whether he was saying that because he actually cared about her, or whether he was simply saying it out of basic courtesy.

She quietly sighed behind him.

Once, she had thought that the way he faced an enemy he could never defeat was truly warrior-like.

But now she knew.

That was nothing more than madness.

When he was dying while covered in blood, the smile that appeared on his face without him realizing it because he had been consumed by madness.

And the hearty smile he was showing her now.

She was slightly worried about whether those two smiles really meant different things.

“Tch, so you still only killed about three of them?”

“Yeah. I haven't even seen the boss's tail yet, so it'll probably take at least another month.”

“A month… By then, you'll already be dead, so it'll probably take longer than a month.”

“...”

“Come on, cheer up! I'm not confident, but I'll somehow make it work! Trust me!”

What exactly was he going to do?

At least, Hepha wanted him to put some confidence into his expression when saying such things.

But from what she had learned about him so far, he was a shy person who could barely even make eye contact.

He simply wasn't capable of doing that.

“It's fine. I'm only alive right now because of you.”

“I didn't buy you time because I was thinking about you, so don't thank me!”

Whenever she tried to create a serious atmosphere, he would casually destroy it with some ridiculous remark.

Hepha always felt as if there was a tall wall between them.

Whenever she tried to get closer by saying nice things, he would snort and push her away, taking another step back.

Whenever she spoke seriously, he would respond lightly as if he didn't care at all.

So if she wanted to become closer to him, she would have to push forward just as forcefully as he did.

And the result of that approach was the slight friendliness he was showing her now.

“Isn't there any other way?”

“Hmm, this is just my guess, but I think the wolves will come looking for me soon.”

“You know how they say even a mouse will bite a cat when it's cornered?”

“For now, they're afraid of me and keep running away because I've died fighting them several times.”

“But now that they've seen me repeatedly, they'll probably think they have a chance and attack me.”

“...Wait, did you deliberately die?”

“Of course not! I died while trying to win by a hair! I have a penalty for dying too, so why would I deliberately die?”

“...Phew... Still, I'm glad you have a plan.”

“I always have a plan!”

For Hepha, who had thought that he couldn't be relied upon in battle because of his crazed expression and emotional tone whenever he became excited, this was actually good news.

His usual serious face and calm manner were completely different from the crazed expression and emotional speech he showed when he became excited.

Crack.

Grrrrr.

But his plan being brought forward so quickly was definitely bad news.

“Pai! Behind me!”

“Y-Yeah!”

Her level was higher than his, and her current stats were also better.

However, she had lived a life completely unrelated to combat.

So whenever a battle started, she had to quickly hide behind him.

“One, two... Oh?”

“Looks like they're all here.”

“Just as you said.”

“See? What did I tell you?”

“Grrrrr!”

“What?! What's with the growling?! What do you want?!”

He seemed to have regained his composure for a moment.

But she could clearly see him becoming consumed by madness again, accompanied by a smile.

He had only just revived and swum all the way here from the sea, so he must have used a tremendous amount of stamina.

Yet he didn't retreat.

Instead, he took another step forward.

“I can't forget the days when you bastards tore me apart while I was sleeping and eating.”

He tightened his grip on the crude iron club Hepha had hastily made for fighting the wolves.

Then he took another step forward.

The wolves, who had surely come prepared to fight, hesitated at the sight of him and slowly stepped backward.

“Starting with you guys, everything except the goblins started destroying everything I made.”

“You guys are the source of this whole epidemic.”

Hiss!

As soon as he finished speaking, the man lit the oil bottle hanging from his waist and threw it behind the wolves, as if blocking their escape route.

“Don't run away! Play with me! Do you know how long I've been waiting for this moment?!”

Boom!

The wolves panicked when their escape route was suddenly blocked.

Unlike them, he charged forward in a single step.

With a smile that made the wolves shrink back, he raised the club he was gripping tightly with both hands.

He clenched his teeth and swung it toward a wolf's head with all the weight of his body behind it.

Crack!

A short scream rang out along with the sound of a skull being crushed.

Before the wolf could do anything, he lit an oil bottle and shoved it into the mouth of the fallen wolf.

Then he struck its lower jaw upward, smashing the bottle.

Whoosh!

There was fire behind them.

In front of them was a seemingly insane human counting the oil bottles hanging from his waist.

And one of their companions was writhing in agony as flames spread from its head.

The wolves could barely remain sane.

“You'd be really surprised if you knew how many goblins I've killed just to beat all of you!”

After saying that, he stopped talking and charged at the wolves.

Even though the wolves were frightened, and even though In-gwang had become quite skilled at fighting through dying over and over again, there were simply too many wolves.

Each wolf also had stats comparable to his own.

So even if they were terrified, the wolves were in a situation where they couldn't lose even if they deliberately tried to.

However—

[You recall the Unyielding Heart!]

The skill called Unyielding Heart, which he had unexpectedly obtained during his battle against the Uman Beast warrior, created a variable in the fight.

The wolf had clearly bitten into his arm.

It had clearly scratched his eye.

It had clearly sunk its teeth deep into his leg.

Yet In-gwang did not fall.

The leader, One-Eyed, watched his companions die one by one while writhing in the pain of the flames.

The sight of In-gwang looking as if he could die at any moment was enough to make One-Eyed desperately search for a god he had never believed in.

“Haa... haa... haha!”

“Hey, how is it? Doesn't this feel like a campfire? Don't you feel like holding hands and doing some ridiculous dance together?”

“If you don't like dancing, how about singing? Singing sounds nice.”

Before he knew it, only two wolves remained beside One-Eyed.

Even then, they weren't escaping.

They were simply too afraid of the flames burning behind them.

They were cowards who would run away the moment they saw an opportunity.

In-gwang slowly approached them with a creepy smile on his face, illuminated by the growing flames.

He was limping as he walked.

One-Eyed gathered the last of his courage and charged at him.

But because fear had narrowed his field of vision, he failed to notice the club swinging toward his lower jaw.

It struck him directly.

Just as he thought he was finally going to die, In-gwang pushed One-Eyed aside.

His crazed eyes flashed.

Then he approached the terrified wolves whose legs had lost their strength, leaving them unable to run away.

All they could do was scream.

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

The monotonous sounds and screams rang directly in One-Eyed's ears.

Then, suddenly, all the noise stopped.

“...Were you waiting?”

Standing before the madness-consumed In-gwang, surrounded by an unknown black aura, One-Eyed gave up on his desire to live.

“I'm the type who saves the tastiest thing for last.”

“But I'm a little disappointed. Aren't you the leader? Isn't it a bit of a problem for the boss to sit in the back while sending his subordinates forward?”

In-gwang lifted the head of One-Eyed, whose lower jaw was broken and hanging loosely.

Then he held the final oil bottle in his hand.

He moved his hand as if he were about to light it, just as he had done before.

One-Eyed quietly closed his eyes.

But even after some time passed, he felt no heat from the flames.

Still, it was over.

He no longer needed to be afraid.

He no longer needed to run from the madman who kept finding them and attacking without caring about his own life.

For the wolf facing death, the peace that death would bring was warmer and more welcome than the fear of dying.

After the last few days, this was probably the most peaceful moment of his life.

“What?”

But In-gwang couldn't accept that expression.

“What's with that face? If I'm seeing this correctly, you look pretty comfortable.”

“What, do you look like a dog that just heard someone say we're going for a walk? Why are you the only one who looks comfortable?”

In-gwang, whose body and face were a complete mess, was covered in blood and a black aura.

He grabbed the wolf and laughed as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Then—

His laughter suddenly stopped.

When he spoke again, his voice was filled with irritation and dissatisfaction.

“No. This isn't right. That's not how this is supposed to go.”

“You're rude, my wolf friend. You don't have enough respect for me.”

“If I've suffered this much, you should at least give me an ending worthy of it. Right? Right?!”

Crash!

With the blazing red flames behind him, In-gwang's face had been nothing but black.

A creepy smile appeared on it.

He struck the wolf's head with the oil bottle in his hand, pouring the oil all over the wolf.

“I have a great idea! That's right! Let's go! To Modak!”

“Modak has to avenge his older brother too. Even if they never had a single conversation, an older brother is still an older brother, right?”

His leg was limping.

He could barely see properly.

There was no strength left in his body.

And because the battle had ended, the effect of Unyielding Heart was beginning to fade.

The wolf struggled desperately to escape as its fear was reignited.

But the more it struggled, the louder In-gwang laughed in satisfaction.

Slowly.

Very slowly.

But without ever stopping, he walked forward.

Eventually, the wolf was thrown into the campfire that had never once gone out since it had been lit.

The wolf was engulfed in flames.

Despite the pain of burning alive, One-Eyed actually felt peaceful because it was finally ending.

And eventually, he died.

“He died way too peacefully. I don't like it.”

“Creepy.”

Hepha had turned her eyes away from the battle halfway through.

Now, as she looked at In-gwang, whose entire body was covered in wounds, she muttered in disbelief.

Seeing Hepha's reaction, In-gwang finally realized that he had done something completely insane.

He hesitantly opened his mouth.

“Uh... It might have looked a little bad from your perspective, but if you look at it from a distance, it kind of looks like dancing...”

“No, wait.”

“Um, I don't really have much skill at—”

He trailed off.

After realizing that his excuse wasn't convincing at all, In-gwang quietly turned his head away.

“Who doesn't know that?”

“That isn't what I mean.”

“Look at your arm.”

“Hm?”

A pale, dark-red aura different from ordinary blood began to seep through the wounds where he had been bitten and torn.

It slowly wrapped around his arm.

“...Huh?”

“...That.”

Hepha hesitated for a moment.

She seemed reluctant to say it.

Then she finally opened her mouth with difficulty.

“It's the power of a demon.”

[Revenge by Fire against the Wolves! Complete!]

[Reward — Your affinity with fire has greatly increased by burning all the wolves to death!]

[Mount — You can summon the ‘Burning Wolf’!]

[From your madness-filled actions and heart, a dark energy called ‘Madness’ has been born. It will remain within your body and attempt to devour you.]

[Become friends with something that doesn't exist! 1/10]