Memorize - Episode 15
15 Split in Half
The Deadmen were approaching us leisurely, constantly sniffing with their noses. Their skin was torn and flapping in various places, and their faces showed exposed rotten bones, giving a grotesque impression.
Fear gripped the eyes of those watching the creatures. Certainly, these were people who had been living ordinary lives just yesterday. It was unrealistic to expect nimble actions from them when faced with Deadmen in less than a day.
Growl. Growl.
The Deadman at the front let out a low growl. Judging by its slow pace, it didn't seem to have detected us yet. However, as one at the back changed direction along with the growling, I frowned. At this point, dealing with all three simultaneously was practically impossible.
Growl. Growl.
With each growl from the Deadman, the tree seemed to tremble. Glancing sideways, I saw the culprit was Ahn Sol. She was leaning against the tree, shaking violently.
Rustle, rustle.
With the sound of grass being dragged, two Deadmen finally reached right in front of the tree. They paused for a moment, tilting their heads, before slowly advancing again. As the tree we were leaning against had a considerable circumference, I quietly signaled to the others. For each step the Deadmen took, we would move sideways by the same amount. There was a high chance of being caught if a Deadman suddenly turned to the side, but given their tendency to move straight, there was also a possibility we wouldn't be detected.
One step closer. We move one step sideways.
One step closer. We move one step sideways.
One step closer. We move one step sideways.
After repeating this three or four times, we had moved more than halfway around the tree's circumference, and the Deadmen had advanced to where they could see our previous position.
Everyone was quiet, trying to suppress their breathing as much as possible. The Deadmen, shaking their heads and looking around, let out a dissatisfied growl before slowly starting to walk forward again. Just as a sense of relief began to show on everyone's faces, thinking we only needed to hold out a little longer in this state...
Snap! Crack!
"Ah!"
Ahn Sol, who had been trembling with her eyes tightly shut, finally misstepped and made a sound. Looking down, I saw a small twig she had stepped on and broken. To make matters worse, she couldn't suppress her scream, making a sound loud enough for the Deadmen to hear clearly. The situation had finally escalated.
Growl! Growl! Growl!
The Deadmen's growls intensified. Hearing this, our group froze in place. The creatures' footsteps quickened, and soon their horrifying faces poked around the tree where we were hiding. We were caught.
"Graaaaaaah!"
"Mmph! Mmmmmmmph!"
The Deadman lunged at us, its mouth wide open, revealing bright red teeth. Ahn Sol finally let out a scream. Although Ahn Hyun covered her mouth with one hand, muffling the sound somewhat, it was still loud enough for the three nearby Deadmen to hear clearly.
In this critical moment, as I aimed my crossbow, Ahn Hyun raised his shield with his left hand, protecting himself and Ahn Sol. The Deadman, lunging forward with its face thrust out, collided loudly with Ahn Hyun's shield.
Bang!
The collision sound rang out, and Ahn Hyun's body staggered. Fortunately, the defense was successful, but the Deadman only stepped back once. Ahn Hyun's attention was divided, trying to protect Sol with his right hand. As I saw another Deadman charging, I quickly tried to pull the crossbow's string. At that moment, a thought flashed through my mind, and I lowered the crossbow slightly from its aim at the head before releasing the arrow.
'Once or twice won't be enough.'
With a ping, the arrow pierced the chest of the second charging Deadman. As the Deadman staggered, I immediately drew the long sword from my waist.
"Ahn Hyun! Send your sister this way! And use this sword!"
Ahn Hyun gritted his teeth as he saw the Deadman fiercely charging at him again. He pushed Ahn Sol towards me while stretching out his right hand.
"Then I'll leave her to you!"
As Ahn Hyun finished speaking, the Deadmen's impact on his shield pushed him back several steps, but he managed to push Ahn Sol towards me. She slid towards me, falling into my arms, and I threw the sword in a direction easy for Ahn Hyun to catch. The long sword and Ahn Sol crossed paths midway. As I safely embraced Ahn Sol, who was almost falling as she ran, I could hear Lee Yoo-jung and Kim Han-byeol's urgent voices from behind.
"Oppa, behind you!"
"Watch out behind!"
'I know.'
Glancing back, I saw the Deadman that had changed direction earlier now running towards me. What might be a split second for an ordinary person was already beyond my perception. In just 2 seconds, I loaded the crossbow and aimed at its forehead. Then, I fired.
Thud!
This time, aiming precisely at the forehead, the arrow easily penetrated the Deadman's head.
"Huh... Waaah... Waaaah..."
When just observing from the side, I had dismissed Ahn Sol's convulsive behavior. But now, holding her, I saw she was crying profusely, sobbing so hard it made me feel sorry for her. Without realizing it, I stroked her head and whispered "It's okay" in her ear, feeling her trembling subside slightly.
Ahn Hyun's eyes, now equipped with sword and shield, were filled with fear. However, he didn't back down. He faced his fear head-on, his legs planted firmly on the ground. This was exactly the attitude I had hoped to see from Ahn Hyun and the others. Ahn Hyun's mental awakening had begun, if only slightly.
Ahn Hyun raised his shield to the upper part of his chest. It was a good choice, as the saying goes, "The best defense is a good offense." Instead of swinging the sword first, he charged at full force with his shield raised towards the creatures.
Bang! Crack!
This charge was quite powerful, as evidenced by the sound of something breaking. Looking closely, I could see that the Deadman's chest hit by the shield was caved in, indicating that Ahn Hyun had put his full strength into the charge. As I saw him raising his sword for a quick counter-attack, I offered a helpful piece of advice.
"Aim for the head. Their weakness is the head."
Ahn Hyun, who was about to swing his sword anywhere, seemed to hear my words and brought the sword down on the Deadman's head. Although his form was clumsy, there was considerable strength behind it, as the Deadman in front had its skull split without much resistance.
The fate of the Deadman that charged in next wasn't much different. Using the same method as before, Ahn Hyun defended with his shield or stunned it with an impact, then quickly aimed for the head while it was disoriented. With a sound of something soft being pierced, the Deadman twitched a couple of times before collapsing, still impaled on Ahn Hyun's sword. Ahn Hyun, whose arm was pulled down by the weight, quickly pulled out the sword and turned his head with a dazed expression.
Rough breathing dominated the surroundings. Everyone had been extremely tense, and after successfully killing the Deadmen, they all exhaled their held breath at once. Blocking with the shield and stabbing with the sword - Ahn Hyun's actions were simple, but not something just anyone could do. What if the Deadmen had gone for the others? Even if they weren't frozen like Ahn Sol, it would have been difficult to execute such clean consecutive attacks when faced with a Deadman.
Ahn Hyun let his arms drop and breathed heavily.
"Huff... Huff... When I was hitting them with rocks from above, I didn't realize, but fighting them up close is tough."
Of course. In a life-or-death situation, maintaining composure and controlling your body as you wish is remarkable. Feeling something small wriggling inside, I loosely released my arms. Ahn Sol then rushed to check on Ahn Hyun's condition.
"Brother... Are you okay?"
"I don't think I've been bitten anywhere. I seem to be fine."
"Waaah... Waaaah... I'm sorry..."
"Don't cry. Stop it."
Realizing that her brother had been in danger because of her, Ahn Sol shed tears. Although Ahn Hyun said he was fine, Ahn Sol's tears showed no signs of stopping. Lee Yoo-jung walked over with a face that seemed to have aged ten years, patting Ahn Hyun's back as she spoke.
"Thanks to you, we survived. Not bad, huh?"
"It's nothing. If Su-hyun hyung hadn't given me this, I would have struggled quite a bit. Ah, hyung. I'll return this to you."
Seeing him reluctantly offer the long sword back, I shook my head. Ahn Hyun's face brightened at this.
"I think it's better for you to keep the long sword."
"Is it really okay?"
"Sure~. Anyway, oppa has a crossbow. But hey, have you done fencing somewhere before?"
As Lee Yoo-jung chimed in, Ahn Hyun bowed his head to me while securing the long sword. Watching Ahn Hyun and Lee Yoo-jung chattering away, I smiled inwardly with satisfaction. Just before, I had aimed for the Deadman's forehead but intentionally shot the arrow at its chest.
'It seems to be working out well...'
"Wait a moment."
It was then. Kim Han-byeol, who had successfully distracted the Deadman by throwing rocks, looked at us with a slightly anxious face. Given that she usually kept quiet and rarely spoke up, I was quite curious about what she was going to say.
"In the clearing too... after killing one of these, didn't they suddenly swarm in?"
"Th... That's right, wasn't it?"
As Lee Yoo-jung agreed with a grim face, everyone's expression changed. Ahn Sol, in particular, looked like she was about to have a fit. Sensing his sister's impending breakdown, Ahn Hyun patted her back and spoke urgently.
"Then shouldn't we get out of here quickly?"
"Y-Yeah, let's do that. How about we run in the opposite direction from where this one came?"
"Hmm... No. Let's keep going in the direction we were heading. If we change direction now, we might end up spending the night in this forest."
Admirably, Ahn Hyun was thinking about getting out of here today. If we were in a teacher-student relationship, I might have patted his head, but for now, I was satisfied with just nodding in agreement. Although I sensed a few Deadmen ahead, Ahn Hyun's suggestion was correct.
Eventually, after briefly regrouping, we began to quickly evacuate from our current location.