To My Beloved, I Present My Exquisite Nightmare - Chapter 30

‘What the hell……!’

Eustar’s brow furrowed. The speed of the magic creature was incredibly fast. He knew it, but seeing it with his own eyes and actually confronting it was on a different level.

With that size and that level of speed. Eustar thought. But he was at ease.

As he pulled the sword lodged in the creature’s hard palate with all his might, the shiny metallic teeth broke off with a crack! sound. Thick and dark blood splattered.

“Sir Eustar! Be careful!”

The magic creature roared and shook its head. With a thunderous tremor of the ground, the huge body quickly retreated. While it let out a painful roar, Eustar also flicked the blood off his sword and distanced himself.

There was a low growling sound. An ominous sound that was different from any beast, one that could only be made by a creature not of this world.

Eustar saw the spikes embedded in a line along the creature’s back stand up even more stiffly. At the same time, it lowered its body and pressed its belly flat against the ground.

“Be careful! It will suddenly charge. If you get stabbed by the spikes, you’ll be poisoned!”

The team members kept their positions with swords and bows raised, fully tense. Eustar also widened his field of vision as much as possible and tensed his whole body. He could feel every nerve sensitively on edge and goosebumps on the back of his neck.

—Kaaak—!

With an ear-piercing scream, the magic creature charged. It was clear that even the arrow shot by the best archer or the fastest machine gun could not match this speed.

Eustar jumped up in an instant, and at the same time, the rock behind him shattered into powder and scattered.

—Kik, kaaak!

“You have to get away from the river!”

Eustar listened to the team member’s voice and checked where he was standing. Carefully taking a step back, a crisp sound was clearly heard. It was because his senses were on edge…… Cold sweat ran down his spine. It was cold.

“Sir Eustar! Don’t go near the riverbank!”

Then there was a scream. He saw the body of a team member who failed to avoid the creature’s long swinging tail flying far away.

It’s excited. Eustar maintained a confrontational stance with the creature in a calm manner.

As soon as he got closer to the river, it suddenly went berserk and began to shake its body, preparing to move like lightning again. However, it seemed to be acutely aware that it had been hit by Eustar’s single sword swing.

‘The sink is nearby…..’

Eustar thought as he looked towards the river. He felt an ominous energy that could only be felt from the sink, an energy that seemed to suck away life.

But the sink must be in a deep part of the water. He was in a place where the waves didn’t even reach his ankles….. He could feel the sink. It was not just powerful.

“Eustar, watch out!”

At the sudden sound of Laila’s voice, he was startled and almost lost his balance. Only then did the ring on his finger catch his eye.

‘Oops, I forgot about the communication device. It was still only connected to Laila. No wonder……’

Olga must have been screaming at Eustar’s dead communication device. Theoretically, there was no limit to the number of people who could be connected to the communication device, but when he gave the device to Laila, he had set it to only connect with her.

Well, it doesn’t matter. Eustar moved his head slightly, moistening his dry lips with his tongue. The magic creature was still only growling without approaching him.

“Laila. Can you hear me?”

“Yes, I can hear you. Be careful. Right now……””

“How’s the premium seat? Can you see well?”

Laila was silent for a moment. Eustar could vividly imagine her dumbfounded expression as if he was seeing it right in front of him. Even in this situation where he had to be fully tense, thinking of her round, wide-open red eyes made him want to laugh.

“…..Yes, I can see very well. Now is not the time to…….”

“Then, listen carefully to what I say. I’m going to drive the creature far away from the river. Where would be good? It will be much better to watch from a high place.”

Laila quickly looked around. The wind blew, and her body swayed. There was a fishy smell……

If it’s far from the river, there’s only the forest. But even if it goes into the forest, will the speed of that magic creature decrease? Rather, it was obvious that with many obstacles, Eustar and the team would be in danger.

Laila said,

“Eustar, why don’t you lure it towards the river instead?”

Then there was a brief static from the communication device, and Eustar’s voice was heard.

“That’s out of the question. The creature is much faster in the river. If we get caught up, it’s over.”

Laila nodded as if Eustar was right in front of her and said,

“I know! I know that too. But….. its movements are strange. Every time it heads towards the river, its balance is slightly off. Even now….. I don’t know how it looks from there, but from above, it’s clearly visible. Its body is leaning towards the river.”

“Is it injured?”

“I don’t think it’s that. Rather, it seems to be…… preparing to jump into the river at any moment.”

Eustar glared at the roaring creature approaching and grasped the hilt of his sword. Towards the river….. No, it’s too dangerous. But if what Laila said is true?

He first moved away from the water. The sound of gravel crunching was heard. In an instant, the creature’s body swayed slightly in the opposite direction. It was a very subtle change, but it was clearly visible to Eustar’s eyes.

It leans like when making a sharp turn. Eustar said. When running straight fast and suddenly encountering a winding path, the body naturally leans.

Even if the curve is so subtle that it cannot be seen with the eye…… If so, it meant that the magic creature was constantly on edge, heading towards the river.

‘Is it true that it’s obsessed with the sink? They said it seems to be trying to protect it. But why……’

Then a team member guarding the defense line shouted.

“Sir Eustar! A communication from the director! He says we need to drive it in quickly!”

That’s probably not all he said. Eustar smirked. Olga must have directly cursed at him.

Eustar said,

“Laila, you need to watch for the moment when the creature’s balance leans the most. It’s hard to detect the difference from here. Can you do it?”

A strong wind blew. Laila, who was crouching low, spoke into the ring on her right hand.

“I’ll give it a try.”

“You need to watch carefully with your eyes wide open. My life depends on you.”

Did those words put pressure on Laila? It probably did. But he had no intention of apologizing. Laila would surely continue to feel burdened in the future. She had to endure it. Continuously.

Eustar shouted,

“All survivors! Pull the defense line to the right and retreat! I’ll lure it, so don’t move until I give the order!”

At the same time, the creature twisted its body and let out a long roar. Eustar raised his sword to draw its attention. Then he suddenly started moving away from the team at a speed that could not be called human.

“Sir Eustar!”

Laila, who was watching, knew he had used a magic tool. The one he had used while holding her in Rigeus…… It was the very thing that allowed him to run as if his feet were floating in the air.

Eustar, seen from above, was like a smooth pebble sliding on ice. He quickly moved away without any wobble.

—Kaaak—!!

The roar closely followed the back of his head. The thunderous tremor of the ground, the eerie sound every time the huge head swayed from side to side.

Eustar ran forward, focusing only on the sound of the wind grazing his ears like a blade, and at one point, he abruptly turned his body towards the river.

“Sir Eustar!”

“Oh my god, no!”

The watching team members screamed. But Eustar was already too far away to hear their voices. As he threw his body over the river, the surface of the water surged up, creating ripples from his toes.

The moment Eustar, who was running quickly along the shallow river, turned his head upward, Laila’s scream-like voice was heard from the communication device.

“Eustar, now! Now!”

Eustar slid into the middle of the river as if throwing his body back. The river water spread like a fan and enveloped his body. The moment the cold water slapped his cheeks, the creature charged with its huge head swaying.

Sharp teeth flashed, and a rotting smell was about to engulf Eustar.

He kicked the surface of the water with his heel and changed direction. The moment the creature moved its body to chase after him, its balance was lost and its body leaned, unable to withstand the weight.

The instant the huge body of the creature staggered, Eustar gritted his molars and spun his body like a top. Then he swung his giant sword like a club and struck the creature.

—Kraak—!

A huge sound rang out. It was loud enough to echo through the river, the rocks, and the entire ravine. Amidst the dazzling impact, Eustar saw the trees lean over all at once. He saw the creature fly up to an unbelievable height.

At the same time, a dark purple smoke exploded from the direction of the 2nd branch.

“It’s falling, catch it!”

Olga, standing on the precarious and narrow railing, shouted.

She vaporized a large amount of the paralysis tincture Laila had made and instantly sprayed it on the creature. The writhing body stiffened, and with a roar, a cloud of sand dust rose from below the branch.

Laila watched this entire scene from the rock. When Eustar struck the creature with a single sword, she couldn’t close her mouth in pure amazement.

And she was even more surprised to see Olga vaporize and explode that many tinctures at once, while she herself remained unharmed and standing without a scratch.

She saw the team members rushing towards the fallen creature below. The moment Laila gasped with her eyes wide open, Eustar’s voice was heard from the communication device.

“Are you okay, Laila?”

Laila looked down at the communication device. At that moment, the sword fell from Eustar’s hand as he stood with his shoulders drooping.

“Eustar! What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

Laila shouted urgently.

After a moment of panting, Eustar’s gaze moved. Even from a distance, Laila could tell exactly that he was looking at her. She even felt like their eyes met.

Eustar said with a smirk,

“I’m fine. I think my shoulder is dislocated. From sending something so huge flying.”