System (1)

The creature who was once a man in silver armor towered over Seon and Yunnie. It's body was seen as a grotesque creature, as violet crystals, and veins appears beneath the sickly sheen.

'Clang! Click... Clang!'

Each swing Seon struck against it, landed with no effect. Her blade only glanced off the hardened surface or slicing through a wound that oozed a thick, bubbling sludge like a black slime, before sealing itself shut.

"Ha… this is a mess," Seon muttered, panting heavily, her sword sagging in her grip.

"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, unmoved by their exchange, let out an annoying screech and lunged, its massive fist hurtling toward Seon.

She brought up her sword, bracing herself, but the sheer force shattered her blade into shards, sending her skidding back as she crashed into the wall of a nearby house, ending up making the wooden planks 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.

"Goddammit!" she spat.

Peeking from his hiding place, Yunnie saw her struggling and stepped forward, heart pounding.

He raised his hand, focusing his energy, trying to heal her. But the monster noticed.

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

Raising its own arms as it attempts to slash through the said priest.

'CRASH!'

Yunnie barely dodged, having the monster hit the wall instead.

However, it's not that Yunnie remained unhurt, as its claws slightly wounded his arms. Staggering, he rolled away, desperate to escape the creature's relentless pursuit. 

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

She pushed herself up, her body screaming in protest.

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

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.

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

"Guk—!" Seon gasped, feeling her body wracked with shudders, as a dark, miasmic liquid oozed from her wounds.

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

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

"Y-yes!" he stammered, hands trembling as he tried to heal her wounds. But the magic fizzled against her skin. Her wounds refused to close.

He felt his stomach twist.

"C-Corruption…" Yunnie whispered in horror.

Seon glanced at him, wiping blood from her mouth, catching his terrified gaze. "What in hell are you talking about?"

His hands shook, and his spell slowly faded.

Realization dawned on her—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 to him sideways. "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, her heart pounding in her chest, a whisper of anger lacing her breath.

"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 can 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. ]