Necromancer Survival

“…Unbelievable.” Choi Kyung-sik stepped towards the cage that had once trapped Dawon with a shocked expression on his face. As soon as he did, though, a spark popped and flew towards the Alchemist’s outstretched hand like a firework; he retreated.

It was as if an invisible barrier was pushing us away. My mouth fell wide open as I looked at his fingertips, “This…”

“It seems there’s still some divine power left in this space. We should retreat,” Choi Kyung-sik said, finally returning to his senses. I slowly stepped back as well. Afterwards, Choi Kyung-sik threw two bottles forward.

Clank–! Crash–!

Surprisingly, the potion bottles shattered midair, spraying their contents around. Streaks of blue liquid hovered in the empty space.

From the moment I heard, ‘divine power,’ I couldn’t help but mutter the name that crossed my mind, “…Moon Issak?”

“……” Choi Kyung-sik stiffened–he must have shared my thoughts.

Even so, I was more concerned about Koo Hui-seo, who was all alone in his fight against the Investigator, than Moon Issak himself. If this barrier belonged to Moon Issak, then Koo Hui-seo would…

“Retreat!” Choi Kyung-sik shouted, surprised. A huge figure suddenly popped up in front of me.

How foolish of me to worry about Koo Hui-seo’s safety–I was like a mere candlelight in the face of a squall in this situation.

Meanwhile, the unidentified assailant that rose from the ground reached out as if to grab me, and I stepped back a beat too late. At that moment, Choi Kyung-sik threw a bomb. However, the being easily dodged the bomb.

Boom–!

When the bright light caused by the explosive subsided, I realized that someone had caught and was tightly gripping my arm. Simultaneously, I smelled the faint iron-like scent of blood from within the dissipating smoke of the bomb.

“Choi Lee-kyung,” When I lifted my head, yellow-tinged eyes looked down at mine.

Moon Issak.

As soon as I confirmed his presence, I swung [Sylph’s Fall] in my hand. Despite my almost instinctive movement, Moon Issak merely raised his eyebrow; he didn’t shy away from the dagger I wielded.

However, when the dagger reached his vicinity, he punched me in the stomach.

“Cough…” Though I didn’t drop the weapon, a serious wave of nausea washed over me. Eventually, I collapsed in place, palms against the ground.

After subduing me with a single blow, he approached slowly. I wanted to vomit when I saw his wolf-like thick feet in front of my lowered gaze. However, my body instinctively tensed; since my neck muscles tightened, I couldn’t do as I pleased.

Meanwhile, Choi Kyung-sik tried to attack Moon Issak, but the investigator grabbed and lifted me by my neck first. Both my feet lifted off the ground, and I began to suffocate. Choi Kyung-sik stopped in his approach and stood still, as if his feet had been nailed to the ground.

“Those Red Lotus bastards are near, right? Since a potion burst in front of me… It’s probably Choi Kyung-sik.”

“……”

Since Choi Kyung-sik wasn’t currently summoned, Moon Issak wasn’t able to see him. However, the investigator continued nonchalantly, as if that didn’t matter. “Hey–listen carefully. The moment I notice any funny business, I’ll break Choi Lee-kyung’s neck.”

“……”

“Don’t think I won’t do it.” Moon Issak calmly threatened Choi Kyung-sik as he reached his other hand into the air.

As he did so, the scar on his palm opened up, and blood began to drip as if it were a fresh wound. Despite his pale complexion, Moon Isaak let the blood flow freely along his forearm without stopping it.

Soon after, the ground where the fallen blood had touched began to glow faintly. The strange smell that permeated the air since a little while ago seemed to grow a bit thicker. Keeping his stance, Moon Issak slowly retreated; I couldn’t hear if Choi Kyung-sik followed.

Moon Issak approached the smashed cage where Seo Dawon was once trapped. And then he began to walk towards the stairs down to the basement–something that Choi Kyung-sik and I hadn’t seen in our earlier investigation.

As soon as he stepped down the stairs, he released his grip on my neck. After closing the passage between the underground and the surface, he approached me, who was sprawled on the ground near the stairs.

I gritted my teeth–past memories of his cellar resurfaced. As he looked at my face, Moon Issak took out handcuffs from his inventory and lifted them up.

Clink–!

He placed them around my wrists. The handcuffs were beautiful, adorned with embedded jewels, but from the moment they touched my skin, my senses dulled and I could no longer sense the presence of the servants around me. I knew Choi Kyung-sik was following behind, but it felt like I had been isolated from the world.

I immediately realized that these handcuffs weren’t just limiting my movements physically; this item had other abilities.

Just in time, the system manifested warning notices as if it were excited for my desolate situation.

[Werewolf’s Bracelet and Chain

Type: Bracelet

Grade: Rare

Durability: 200

Equipment Level Restriction: None (But only the designated person may wear this item)

Designated Wearer: Choi Lee-kyung

Special Skills:

Location (GPS Tracking)

Magic Limiter (Suppresses the wearer’s magic by at least 90%)

Description:

A cursed item created by the pure-blooded werewolf ‘Moon Isaak’ which targets specific individuals. It is invisible to anyone other than the designated wearer.

*’Moon Issak’ may locate the wearer at any time.

*If the wearer attempts to remove the item, ‘Moon Issak’ will be alerted.

*You cannot remove the item without ‘Moon Issak’s’ permission. However, if the creator, ‘Moon Issak’ dies, the item will be removed.]

Moon Issak saw my expression change dynamically–as I read the system messages–and began to threaten me with his tranquil voice, “If you’ve understood, then don’t do anything foolish.”

“Revolting bastard.”

“……”

Even though I cursed openly, Moon Issak didn’t even lift an eyebrow. He finally took away [Sylph’s Fall], checking the weapon’s history and skills. He even tried to see if it had any grudge or emotion-based skills.

“Is this all that Seo Dawon lent you? How dreadful.”

“……”

“Well, that’s to be expected. The deceased don’t have much money, hm?”

His insulting words didn’t really register in my mind. I could only lament that the dagger the Mage had given me was taken away.

Moon Issak continued to speak poorly of Seo Dawon. I tried not to respond.

“Lim Jisoo’s hobby is to make alcohol with the heads of those she’s killed. So, she had a drink with me…”

“……”

“Don’t you want to know what liquor made from Seo Dawon would taste like?”

“Piss off!” I couldn’t endure his last statement. I knew it was a bluff–whether it was Lim Jisoo or Bae Jaemin, they would never leave a piece of Dawon’s corpse behind.

However, even though I knew those words were a lie, the emotional damage was large. The terrible imagery that came to mind and the chilling sense of despair that accompanied those thoughts…

I glared at Moon Issak with bloodshot eyes; he stared back silently. But, soon, he approached me and lowered to his knees to make eye contact with my prone self.

Then, wearing an abominable smile, he said, “Choi Lee-kyung. You don’t really believe that you can resurrect Seo Dawon, do you?”

“……”

“With your ability…You can’t even do anything to me.”

“……”

“You’re nothing more than a useless bag of flesh shaped like a human body.” Moon Issak stroked my neck. Just the feel of his touch–hotter than most human body temperatures, made me want to vomit.

Moon Issak gradually lowered his hand from my neck. The thought of his hand reaching my chest induced even more nauseous.

However, I didn’t shy away from his hand. Whatever he might do to me here, that wasn’t what I feared. “No matter how lacking I may be, you’re the one all busy lapping after me like a stray dog.”

Moon Issak’s hand paused.

I didn’t stop and continued my obnoxious, sarcastic retorts, “And I don’t reek like you do either.”

At those words, Moon Issak’s yellow eyes began to stare at me.

To be frank, since I ran into Moon Issak here, I’d been thinking about the difference between his public facade and his true face.

When we first met, Moon Issak had neatly combed hair, wore a spotless suit, and spoke in honorifics. He looked arrogant yet appeared cold and composed. He even wore a cologne so strong it made my nose tingle.

Nowhere in his demeanor was the hint of this wild wolf within him. So, when Moon Issak’s true identity was revealed, I was shocked. I couldn’t help but think…

…The ‘him’ that I had known so far… Perhaps….

“No matter how hard you struggle, you’re nothing but a beast.”

“……”

“Even if I become a cripple, I’m still a human being.”

….Perhaps he has an inferiority complex?

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TL: Pop off Lee-kyung! Drag him. Drag him to hell too, but that’s a bit harder.