Chapter 74
The Ghost Groom had, before anyone noticed, swallowed several members of the company whole, and the soldiers nearby began attacking it like mad.
“Spread out!”
“Attack its legs!”
The soldiers of the 16th Company, who had been under attack, barely managed to retreat and create some distance, and bullets rained down on the Ghost Groom’s front.
The 17th Company and our 18th Company, standing on either side of its legs, had soldiers with swords approaching and attacking the legs.
“Gunners, hold your position.”
“Yes.”
El, standing beside me, grabbed my arm and spoke. The gunners—including El, myself, and members of another squad—stayed back, waiting. We couldn’t risk accidentally shooting our own soldiers.
So, I could only watch the battle anxiously.
For now, it seemed I was safe…
The soldiers took turns rushing at the Ghost Groom, while it continued trying to swallow the members of the 16th Company in front of it. They tried to cut its legs, but being a first-class monster, the swords barely made a dent.
Aquila’s sword, wreathed in flames, illuminated the darkness, and finally succeeded in severing one of the Ghost Groom’s legs.
“That’s it!”
Emboldened, Winter also managed to cut off a leg, and the soldiers of the 17th Company attacked its tail in groups, chopping it off after it had been lashing them repeatedly.
Though many soldiers had to be sacrificed, for the time being, it seemed we held the upper hand.
Yes, for now.
Then, the injured Ghost Groom let out a painful, wide-mouthed howl.
“Uuuuuuh—!”
It was a truly strange and eerie sound.
If a dragon’s roar is what one might expect from a ferocious beast, the Ghost Groom’s cry was ghostly, sinister, and morose.
“Ugh…”
Jason, who had just rotated out and stepped back, shivered. The Ghost Groom’s wail had a demoralizing effect on the soldiers.
“No!”
With the howl, it seemed the Ghost Groom swallowed someone else, as a scream rose from the 16th Company.
“Persistent bastard…”
El muttered, biting her lip.
Despite its legs and tail being severed and still under attack, the Ghost Groom’s vitality was incredibly tough.
“Be careful! Its tail regenerates!”
Winter, swinging his sword at the front, shouted.
But in the chaos of battle, following orders quickly was easier said than done.
“Watch out!”
“Ahh!”
A newly grown tail lashed violently, and soldiers caught by it were thrown to the ground.
Bang—bang—!
From the 16th Company, their relentless gunfire into its mouth finally paid off, and blood began to spill from the Ghost Groom’s mouth.
It seemed to have taken a potentially fatal injury at last!
“Uuuuuh…”
The Ghost Groom roared mournfully once more, swinging its massive tail several times in the air.
“…What?”
“Dodge, dodge!”
The Ghost Groom flipped its body…?
‘What the—?’
Using its remaining tail and legs, it rolled itself over. More than flipping, it was more like it was rolling down.
The Ghost Groom rolled its massive body down the slope!
“Ahhh!”
“Grab my hand!”
It rolled toward where we were. Soldiers, panicked at the looming mass, scrambled to get out of the way. Given its size, even a partial crush could have killed them instantly.
“Dammit!”
Its colossal size made rolling more threatening than moving normally on its legs.
Soldiers caught in the middle of its body, unable to dodge sideways, had no choice but to run forward to avoid being crushed by the rolling monster.
Seeing them run, I hesitated briefly—should I run too? But El shouted.
“Run for now!”
Without hesitation, I followed. Following the orders of a senior was vital for survival.
We ran, almost tumbling down the steep slope, with the Ghost Groom’s massive body rolling after us. Trees crashed to the ground with thuds, adding to the terror.
“Stop at the flat ground!”
As Winter had said, there seemed to be flat ground ahead where both we and the Ghost Groom could stop, and we ran toward it frantically. I stumbled several times but managed to get up and keep running.
Finally reaching the flat ground, I stopped abruptly, tripping once but recovering quickly.
Being at the front, El and I were the first to arrive, quickly regaining our stance and looking back.
Our company’s soldiers ran with terrified faces from the rolling Ghost Groom, while soldiers from other companies pursued it from behind.
“Do we shoot now?!”
“Not yet. Other soldiers might get hit.”
Thud—!
The Ghost Groom finally slowed its rotation on the flat ground with a thunderous noise, making me instinctively frown.
“We finish it on the flat ground!”
Winter shouted, and our soldiers immediately charged the Ghost Groom.
“Salvia, we’re over here!”
“Yes!”
We got into position and started firing at the Ghost Groom.
Reload, shoot rapidly, reload again.
‘Damn, this is probably as good as it gets in this era.’
Repeatedly reloading after just a few shots left us dizzy.
While we fired frantically and soldiers attacked its rear body, it suddenly moved.
The Ghost Groom charged forward at a speed we had never seen.
It was heading straight toward El and me.
“Damn it!”
We ran backward wildly, only to realize—
The rear was a cliff.
…And right in front of us was the Ghost Groom’s gaping maw.
In the brief instant of blinking, I took in everything around me with surprising clarity.
“Eh? Eh?”
El staggered, almost falling backward over the cliff.
The massive throat of the Ghost Groom loomed before us.
“Save him! Hurry!”
Winter, losing control, tried desperately to strike the Ghost Groom’s head.
“Ah…”
As I was about to fall off the cliff, I realized—
This was the moment to make a decisive move.
If we fell, there was virtually no chance of survival.
Avoiding being eaten by the Ghost Groom had already failed.
My last resort: survive even if eaten.
…I grabbed El’s arm and jumped straight into the Ghost Groom’s massive mouth!
Into total darkness where not even an inch ahead was visible.
“What… what?!”
El, pulled along by me, let out a panicked voice immediately.
Thwack—!
The Ghost Groom’s mouth closed, and the light that had been coming in vanished.
Trapped in pitch darkness, it would have been natural to panic—but I acted quickly.
“El!”
The lid of the spice I had at my waist opened.
The one I had stolen from the kitchen. Blair and Topio had thoroughly searched me for sneaking suspiciously in the kitchen, but I had managed to take this ingredient.
‘Lizard Tail Powder!’
The ingredient Patty had accidentally spilled in the soup! The very ingredient monsters hate! And Ghost Groom was no exception!
I shook the spice furiously inside the Ghost Groom’s mouth.
The powder rattled around, even smearing my face, but I didn’t stop.
Finally, the Ghost Groom reacted.
Instead of swallowing us, it recoiled, trying to spit us out.
“Sa… Salvia?”
El’s panicked voice came from somewhere nearby, though I couldn’t see him.
When the spice container emptied, the Ghost Groom’s inner walls moved unpleasantly.
‘It wants to spit us out.’
But that was impossible. The Ghost Groom’s throat has a barrier preventing anything inside from leaving.
It’s a mechanism to slowly digest live prey, but if it swallows indigestible things, it could harm itself.
It didn’t want to swallow us due to the disgusting spice, and it couldn’t spit us out either.
We were in its throat…
“El!”
“Eh?!”
“We have to exit through the Ghost Groom’s nose!”
“What, nose?! …Ah!”
Having experience, El seemed to understand.
If we went further down the throat, we’d die.
The mouth route was blocked…
Our only option was the nostrils, which were large enough for humans to pass through.
It wouldn’t be pleasant, but inside the Ghost Groom, attacking its inner walls wouldn’t pierce its skin. This was our only way.
‘And all we have are guns.’
Its skin is tough enough that only a blast of aura could injure it. While stopping bullets with aura was easy, enhancing bullets with aura for damage was extremely difficult.
‘Outside, everyone probably thinks we’re dead and is in despair.’
The Ghost Groom’s thick skin blocked all outside sound.
…No time for that. Act fast.
“El!”
“Yes! Wait!”
Though my eyes hadn’t adjusted to the dark, I heard El swinging his gun in the air, apparently finding direction.
“Salvia! Climb along this inner wall!”
“Yes!”
I quickly moved to where El was and reached for the Ghost Groom’s inner wall. The squishy texture was disgustingly unpleasant.
‘…Hold on. We have to get out fast.’
Before the Ghost Groom could overcome the taste of the spice and try to swallow us, we had to escape.
At that moment, as El and I prepared to climb, we felt a shift in the airflow.
“What… what?!”
I froze, then looked up and realized what was happening.
“Salvia!”
“Ah…”
A bright light shone above.
“Salvia! El! Are you okay?”
…Voices came through the split Ghost Groom’s skin.
