System (1)

The creature who was once a man in silver armor towered over Seon and Yunnie.

Its body slowly turned into something grotesque, and its skin flesh slowly hardened like a stone. Violet crystals began to pop up with black veins sucking his neck up to his eyeballs.

'Clang! Click... Clang!'

Each time Seon struck against it, it landed with no effect. Her blade simply glanced off the hardened surface.

Even if she managed to slice it apart, it wasn't so long before the oozing black slime within its wound would seal it shut.

"Ha… this is a mess"

"There must be a way, right?!"

Yunnie asked frantically from behind her as he called out panic.

"There is…"

"Thank god! What is it?"

Seon shot him a sideways glance, before replying.

"Accept and die."

"aaaaaaaaaaa"

Yunnie's face twisted in horror as he let out a strangled scream. He stumbled back, hands over his ears, his body already halfway behind a wall. 

He simply doesn't want to hear her answer at this point.

The creature, unimpressed by their exchange, let out an annoying screech and lunged as its massive fist hurtling toward Seon.

Seon immediately brought up her sword, bracing herself to defend the attack.

But the sheer force shattered her blade into shards, sending her skidding back as she crashed into the wall of a nearby house.

The wooden planks ended up splintering and caving in around her.

Pain flared as she hit the ground, seeing broken boards and dust. Her limbs trembled as she forced herself upright, clutching at the wall, with a vision of the world in a spinning haze.

"Damn..." she spat through her lips, with blood trickling down her cheeks. "It hurts you little shit..."

From his spot hearing that loud noise, Yunnie peeked out and his eyes turned in terror as he saw Seon bleeding.

Panic started threatening him. Mustering up his courage he tried to stand up from his position. However no matter what he did, his legs simply trembled, unable to move an inch.

'Move, me...'

Knowing his incapability of standing up on his own. He instead raised his hand, focusing his energy, on attempting to atleast mend her injuries.

But the monster noticed.

"Hi...gh..Kriek...p...ries...tess..."

It let out a growl and shifted its attention to Yunnie instead, it charged faster than it should have been able to.

Upon seeing this, Yunnie quickly snapped out with a single thought in his mind.

'He must not get hit. If he did, he would die.'

The monster raised its own arms as it attempted to slash through the said priest.

'CRASH!'

Yunnie barely dodged when quickly slumped his body forward.

The monster's arm hit the wall instead, causing a part of its body incapable of pulling right away.

However, it's not that Yunnie remained unhurt when its claws slightly wounded his arms. He ended up staggered, rolling away in desperation to escape the creature's relentless pursuit. 

"YUNNIE!" Seon's voice echoed, as she struggled to move.

She pushed herself up but her body screamed in protest.

She could see the creature once again chasing over Yunnie, with its arm raised ready to strike anytime.

Time seemed to slow down for Yunnie as he looked back.

He stared at the beast over him. He could see every detail—every bulging muscle ready could crush him to death.

The world around him seemed to blur into a tunnel, with the monster's claws at the center, coming down toward him.

Like the blade of a guillotine.

"Ah..." 

"..."

Just as the creature's claws were about to tear into Yunnie, a flash of steel cut through the air.

Slash!

Blood splattered right in his eyesight.

But there wasn't any pain. 

It was then realization dawned on him, it wasn't his blood... but...

It was Seon's.

Seon hurled herself between him and the beast. The force of the impact rattled through her entire body, sending shockwaves down her spine.

There was a sharp, searing pain flared in her chest as her dress buckled, and she could feel the bite of the claws tearing through her flesh.

She dropped to her knees, the metallic taste of blood filling her mouth as thick, dark blood seeped from the wound, spilling in a rivulets down her chest.

"Guk—!" Seon gasped, feeling her body wracked with shudders. Then slowly a strange dark, miasmic slime oozed from her wounds.

"Madam Prophet!" Yunnie's voice cracks, as his face contorted in shock.

"Aren't you… a healer?" she hissed. "Do your damn job."

"Y-yes!"

Yunnie's hands trembled as he tried to heal her wounds.

But his skill simply fizzled against her skin. Her wounds refused to close.

He felt his stomach twisted.

"C-Corruption…" 

Seon glanced at him, wiping blood from her mouth, catching up on his terrified gaze.

"What in hell are you talking about?"

His hands shook, and his spell slowly faded.

He couldn't heal her.

"So… you're useless," she muttered as she forced herself to stand up. Her chest heaved with effort, her sword just a broken hilt in her hand, blood trailing down to the ground.

Yunnie's lips parted, shame and helplessness cast across his face. "I… I'm—"

"Run." Seon briefly turned her gaze back to him.

"If you're only dead weight here, get out of my sight." 

He looked at her, as though wanting to argue, to prove her wrong, but his mouth stayed shut.

His shoulders sagged, and he gave a shallow nod before bolting, his figure vanished into the nearby alley as he fled.

As his footsteps faded, Seon watched him disappear with a low chuckle, half-bitter, half-resigned.

Alone again, just as she'd wanted, she turned back to face the creature.

"I can't even fight alone, huh?" she whispered to herself bitterly. "No healer, no backup. What am I even doing here?"

The creature had regained its footing, and slowly approached over her with its twisted, crystal-covered body. Its gaze bore down on her as it took a heavy, shuddering step, forward. 

'If I had any sense, I'd run, she thought, an odd calm settling over her. But then why didn't I?'

The creature's massive fist came crashing down.

She raised her broken sword, deflecting the blow just in time, the impact rattling her bones.

Blood surged from her chest, staining the ground dark. She barely had the strength to hold her stance.

'Am I going to die again?' she wondered, almost detached as if watching someone else.

Maybe this is it. A straight path to the end.

The creature's next attack came crashing down. For a moment, Seon stood frozen, eyes locked on the deadly arc of its talons.

She could run away and move in advance, the monster's attack isn't that fast.

Yet she didn't bother to move.

As if... she wanted to accept it.

'Let's just die...'

She could almost feel the cold bite of death closing in—

SLASH!

But at the last second, instinct kicked in.

She threw herself to the side, landing hard as her shoulder hit the ground, a sharp pain shooting through her body.

Her vision blurred, and fresh blood oozed from her wounds. She gasped, trying to steady her breath.

'Why did I avoid it? I was ready to let it end... wasn't I?'

'No.'

The truth clawed at her as the words slips inside her head.

'I don't want to die.'

'I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die,'

'Not until I killed that damn God'

Just then a flash of light seared her vision. A system message unfurled before her.

[ The system can't allow you to do that. ]