Chapter 69
“On the Brink”
No, I can’t lose him…!
Just then, strong arms wrapped tightly around me from behind.
It was Cute. I was still gripping Roitz’s arm firmly, and my precarious body was now secured by Cute.
We can pull him up.
With two people, it was possible. Cute reached one hand out toward Roitz.
But in that moment, a monster appeared from behind and charged toward us.
“…!”
Its sharp claws came for me.
Even so, I couldn’t let go of Roitz. I squeezed my eyes shut.
With a clang, Cute blocked the monster’s claws with his sword. I saw his shoulder’s collar get nicked and slightly torn.
Holding back the claws, he shouted,
“Hurry and move, noona!”
While Cute bought me time, I tightened my grip and pulled Roitz up harder.
Yes, I can do this. I can—
But just then—
I hadn’t expected the monster’s heavy step to crumble the dirt at the cliff’s edge.
“…!”
Roitz and I tilted downward along with the falling earth.
“…!”
Cute’s wide eyes grew smaller as he got farther away in my sight.
The cliff edge above grew more distant under the open sky.
Even the crumbling earth falling away seemed slow, even though we were dropping fast.
Is this it? If I fall like this, what comes next?
For a moment, it felt like I heard nothing.
But right after that thought, the sound of wind and rushing water roared in my ears painfully.
I saw a rock jutting out from the cliff’s side. My body was about to slam into it.
But just before the collision, Roitz wrapped his body around mine.
“…!”
The rock struck Roitz, not me.
Before I could ask if he was okay or scream, our bodies bounced away.
In that instant, I sensed something strange coming from him.
Roitz?
His eyes changed—
Completely devoid of fear, inhuman.
Suddenly, our bodies stopped with a jolt as if caught on something.
Roitz had grabbed a cliff branch with a strength no normal human could have.
“…!”
Still gripping his arm, I hung on with all my strength, instinctively knowing I couldn’t let go.
Roitz swung his body toward the cliff wall, planting a foot on the ledge.
He climbed up in bursts, the dirt crumbling under his feet as he pushed upward again and again.
This is…
Clinging desperately to his arm, I finally came over the edge and collapsed onto the ground.
We were alive.
But the one who had just saved us…
I looked at Roitz. His eyes were strange—black, emotionless, unlike his usual self.
That’s not Roitz.
It was Necroquad.
Necroquad had taken control of Roitz’s body.
The moment my eyes met the creature possessing him, my whole body froze.
He lunged at me instantly.
“…”
I stood there like stone, barely flinching.
The beast was using its host’s body as if it were its own, even pulling the sword free from the monster at the cliff.
This was a beast’s rampage.
No matter how much I had prepared, facing it in reality moved faster than I could react.
The tip of the sword aimed straight at me—
The face was Roitz’s, but the expression was utterly empty as he tried to kill me.
I need to move…
But my body wouldn’t obey.
As long as my eyes were locked with Necroquad’s, I was nothing more than a frozen statue, an easy target.
“Roi—”
Suddenly, someone yanked me hard.
“Noona!”
It was Cute. Yes—Necroquad’s powers didn’t work on him.
He pulled me back and threw me behind him, charging straight for Necroquad.
“There’s no other choice.”
His voice had lost its usual humor.
White energy flared on his blade as he aimed for Necroquad.
From his other shoulder—the one struck earlier—blood dripped steadily.
“Cute!”
“No other choice” meant he planned to kill Roitz along with Necroquad.
“No!”
I rushed forward to stop him.
“Noona, you’ll die like this!”
“There has to be another way! We can’t just—”
I didn’t know what that way was, but I shouted desperately to block his sword.
Cute shook me off and aimed at Roitz again.
At this rate, that sword would pierce Roitz.
Even if I stopped him once, he’d try again.
So I changed direction—throwing myself at Roitz instead.
Wrapping my arms around him, I leapt with him into the fast river below the cliff.
Splash! The water’s heavy impact rang in my ears, followed by muffled, distant voices.
The current pulled at me, my thoughts blurring, until the one I clung to pulled me toward shore.
I must have blacked out for a few seconds, because when I opened my eyes again, I was lying on the ground, coughing up water.
Am I alive? Did Necroquad save me? If so…
I lifted my head with a flicker of hope—only to hear a sliding sound.
Something sharp pressed against my neck.
“…”
So much for hope.
Dripping water from heavy clothes, the one holding the sword to me was Roitz—no, clearly Necroquad controlling him.
He raised the sword high. I rolled away just in time.
I need to separate Necroquad from Roitz’s body.
I bolted upright and ran.
Thankfully, the Choro incense bottle was still in my clothes—and the Light Dagger too.
Even while fleeing for my life, I was grateful. I lit the incense with my sword’s energy. The sharp scent filled the air.
Roitz’s body froze mid-charge—the beast had smelled the Choro incense.
Roitz… Roitz…
I repeated his name in my head, clinging to consciousness.
Necroquad shuddered at the scent.
This incense was designed to lure a beast away from its host, making the scent its new target and allowing separation of the core.
Please…!
Still moving in Roitz’s body, Necroquad charged toward me. I threw the burning incense bottle away.
Flames flared as my sword’s energy ignited it, the scent growing stronger. Necroquad turned toward it.
Once it separated from Roitz, I’d stab the core with the Light Dagger.
Stay calm, Serdin. You can do this.
I approached from behind, dagger ready.
Roitz’s body faced only the burning incense.
Just a bit more…
He lifted his head—mist gathered at his back. The wolf-shaped Necroquad appeared faintly.
Like fog caught in the wind, it drifted toward the incense.
This is it—
But it lasted only a moment.
The mist vanished instantly.
Even though the incense was still burning.
Then, at a speed like the wind, Necroquad turned toward me.
Why…
Before I could move, my body froze as if bound by chains.
Why isn’t the incense working?
Had it been in Roitz’s body too long?
The longer something stays in a vessel, the harder it is to separate.
From its earlier reaction, the incense itself wasn’t faulty—but Roitz’s body had been its host too long, making separation impossible with incense alone.
Necroquad charged, swinging the sword violently.
The man I knew better than anyone now looked at me with a stranger’s eyes.
Everything was Roitz—messy black hair, familiar features—except for the gaze.
Beneath the torn shirt, his arms were threateningly strong.
Could I overcome that strength? That speed?
I had to. I promised I wouldn’t die here.
But the sword was already at my throat.
“…Ro… itz.”
I called his name with all my desperation.
Just before the blade touched my neck—
“…”
Necroquad stopped.
My frozen body moved again.
I didn’t waste the moment—stepping back to avoid the cut.
Our eyes stayed locked. And then—
“…Serdin.”
It wasn’t Necroquad speaking.
It was Roitz—his consciousness had returned.
“Senior!”
I called him, my voice full of every emotion at once.
It felt like seeing him again after years, even though it had only been minutes.
Breathing heavily from running and rolling, I smiled in relief.
Now that he was back, we could find a way together—
But Roitz, face tense and breathing hard, erased my relief with one sentence.
“Stab me. Here.”
With a trembling hand, he pointed urgently to the spot beside his heart.
