* * *

Fear overwhelmed me, and I shivered, preparing to follow Daniel’s orders when I noticed something small moving toward him.

Daniel, so focused on the large figure, hadn’t noticed the smaller creatures lurking, preparing to ambush him.

Should I shout a warning?

I hesitated, knowing that making a sound would reveal my location to Morhan.

But if I stayed silent, Daniel would be left defenseless against the smaller monsters.

The instant the spawn lunged at Daniel, I pushed away my hesitation and shouted.

“Daniel, behind you!”

“Guh!”

At my warning, Daniel immediately moved aside.

Thanks to his quick response, the small monsters tangled with each other, stumbling over themselves.

But as he dodged, Daniel appeared to have twisted his ankle, struggling to get back up.

“Aah.”

Seeing Morhan disappear from view, I hurried to Daniel.

I had to check on him before Morhan reappeared.

On my way to him, I nudged the small spawn with my foot.

They were fragile, almost like newborns, and my simple push left them trembling before they went limp.

There was no time for guilt over their deaths.

Reaching Daniel, I shook his shoulder urgently.

“Daniel! Can you hear me?”

“…Yes.”

His voice was hoarse.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes… I’m alright…”

As I continued to question him, Daniel motioned with his hand, indicating that I should stop.

Just then, a loud thud resounded from behind, followed by Morhan’s piercing cry.

The sound made me stand bolt upright.

Forcing my stiff neck to turn, I looked back.

My movements were jerky, like a broken doll, as I shifted to face him.

At that moment, I realized firsthand that extreme fear can render someone completely speechless.

There was no time to faint or cry; all that mattered was whether the scene unfolding before my eyes was real.

Only a few steps away, Morhan’s glaring, bright yellow eyes were fixed on me.

Morhan looked just like the tiger often described in books, the one customers in the dining hall had mentioned.

Like Ruen had said, he had six tails that seemed to move independently, as though each one had a mind of its own.

They looked like ordinary tails, but his claws, almost as long as an arm, were impossible to ignore.

He seemed almost unreal.

I looked him up and down in a daze, and then, something I hadn’t noticed before became clear: Morhan’s mouth, which had been closed, began to open, revealing sharp fangs as menacing as his claws.

Why am I seeing this?

My stupid question was quickly replaced by terror.

“D-Daniel, do you think Morhan’s trying to eat me?”

“Hurry, run!”

“If I go, what about you? You twisted your ankle!”

“I’ll manage. Just get away quickly, Isa. Right now, you’re in more danger than I am.”

Daniel gave me a push.

Stumbling from the force, I glanced between him and Morhan before breaking into a run.

Each breath felt like I was spitting fire, my stomach cramping, but I pressed on, terrified that slowing down even a bit would leave me vulnerable to his long claws.

Behind me, something sliced through the air.

Was it Morhan?

Fear consumed me entirely.

I’d never run for my life like this before; my legs were trembling.

After sprinting for a while, I hesitated and glanced back, wondering if Morhan was still chasing me.

I caught sight of a tail speeding after me with terrifying speed.

…A tail?

Just as I slowed down, one of the tails shot toward me like an arrow.

Barely dodging it, I blinked in confusion.

Where was Morhan, and why was his tail chasing me alone?

Following the tail with my gaze, I saw Morhan back where he’d been, letting out small whines as his tail twitched.

When it struck a rock and recoiled, he whimpered again but quickly resumed baring his fangs.

I dodged the advancing tail by ducking into a gap between some stones, pretending to hide there but actually slipping behind a boulder.

As planned, the tail fell for the ruse, striking the rock and breaking it to pieces.

The pile of rubble pressed down on it, pinning the tail in place.

Morhan bit at the air, curling his body repeatedly, seeming affected.

Seeing his reaction, a thought began to form in my mind.

“Daniel!”

“I’m here.”

His response came from somewhere nearby.

Watching the tail struggle to free itself from the stones, I continued, “It seems like Morhan loses his sense of direction when his tails get tangled, almost as if they’re his sensory organs!”

I fixed my gaze on the tail finally freeing itself from the rubble.

Slowly, I retreated, keeping my distance from the other five tails targeting me.

“So, if I act as a decoy, do you think you can strike that tail?”

One tail stayed perfectly still, unlike the others darting toward me.

It must be the one Ruen had mentioned—the core tail.

Understanding my intentions, Daniel finally broke the silence.

“…I’ll give it a try.”

Hearing his answer, I took off running again.

My stamina was waning, but I didn’t stop.

My throat burned as if parched, but I kept going.

If only there were larger obstacles like trees around, but this was a plateau.

None of the rocks here were big enough to hinder the tails, so all I could do was keep running.

Sometimes, I deliberately veered to throw off the tails’ tracking ability.

These high-ranking monsters—are they really tireless?

I let out a bitter laugh as the relentless tails, still full of vigor, tracked me unerringly.

It felt like I’d been running forever, with no end in sight.

I wished Daniel could destroy the core soon, but it didn’t matter if he couldn’t.

From the start, defeating Morhan wasn’t feasible for the two of us.

Even just inflicting a wound on him and buying ourselves time to escape would be a win.

“Hah… hah…”

Ragged breaths forced their way through my lips.

My lungs expanded painfully, and a stitch jabbed my left side.

Trying to steady my breathing, I took cover behind a large rock.

If I kept going like this, it felt like my heart would explode.

I pressed one ear to the frantic beat of my heart, its pulse like a war drum.

After calming down a bit, I carefully peeked out to check the tails’ position.

“What?”

I had expected the tails to be right behind me, but they were nowhere in sight.

Just moments ago, they’d been there; now, they’d vanished, as if they’d evaporated.

Where did they go?

An eerie feeling crept over me as a tail suddenly pierced down from above, slashing my arm.

It looked blunt but was sharp enough to tear through fabric and slice into flesh.

“Ah!”

A reflexive cry escaped.

Clutching my injured arm, I crouched down.

Pain shot through me, overwhelming.

I don’t know how long I stayed like that, but soon, my palm felt warm and damp.

Hot liquid trickled between my fingers.

It didn’t take long to realize it was blood.

I stared blankly at the blood running down my arm.

…Well, at least it’s not poison.

As I grew accustomed to the searing pain, the thought suddenly crossed my mind.

Luckily, unlike the Mother, Morhan didn’t seem to be a poisonous monster.

Since I hadn’t developed a fever or stomach pain after being pricked by the tail, I felt certain of it.

The claws might be dangerous, but maybe the tail isn’t so bad.

As I watched the wound bleed more heavily over time, a tail flew at me once again, only to be sliced by an airborne dagger.

I turned, confirming that the tip of the tail was barely hanging on.

As expected, the dagger thrower was Daniel.

Our eyes met, and he limped over, sitting beside me after cutting the retreating tail again.

I waited until he kneeled beside me before speaking.

“The core?”

“I aimed as you suggested but failed. Out of the six, that tail alone is as tough as steel.”

“I see. I expected as much, but it’s troublesome.”

As I thought, there was no miraculous reversal.

“Is it impossible to pierce with the dagger?”

“It could be pierced, but it would take time.”

“That’s not ideal, then.”

It was a serious setback.

* * *