By Zephyria 
Tae-muk looked back at the Devouring Ghouls swarming toward him like a cloud of bees. Perhaps excited that the land was finally within their reach, they were charging at a faster pace than before.
Splash, splash. Splash, splash.
Kieeeeeek!
Kirrrr-rk!
The sound of them sprinting across the shallowing waters echoed loudly. Thump-thump-thump, thump-thump, the ground trembled. Behind and beside them, cannons continued to explode and rains of arrows poured down, but it wasn’t enough to stop them all.
Tae-muk slowly curled his fingers, gripping his sword tightly. Beside him, a soldier also raised his sword, preparing for battle. He was the soldier who had been attending to Tae-muk and following his orders throughout this battle in place of the absent Byeonguk.
Tae-muk looked at him as if he were absurd.
“Hey.”
“Yes, Captain.”
The soldier answered with a face full of discipline. On his underdeveloped face, solemnity flickered more deeply than fear. Tae-muk tapped the soldier’s forearm with the back of his blade and spoke.
“Stop hovering around me and getting in the way. Go back and shoot some arrows.”
“……Captain.”
The soldier’s eyebrows drooped as if asking how he could say such a thing. His pupils trembled. However, in a voice that was beyond indifferent—bordering on bored—Tae-muk gestured with his chin toward the soldiers still standing on the plain.
“Take those guys with you.”
“But…….”
“Are you not listening?”
“…….”
The soldier shut his mouth. He seemed to be debating whether to obey or disobey Tae-muk’s order. But when Tae-muk glared at him with one eyebrow cocked, the soldier soon lowered his gaze and nodded.
Even so, the soldier hesitated, unable to easily move his feet. Only after being struck once more by Tae-muk’s blazing gaze did he reluctantly turn around. Then, Tae-muk called out to him.
“The guys who use spears.”
“Yes.”
“Only send them.”
“……Yes!”
The soldier ran toward the mountain, his face noticeably brighter. It seemed he felt more at ease knowing he wasn’t leaving Tae-muk entirely alone. Once the soldier departed, Tae-muk, now alone, stared at the Devouring Ghouls that had reached the immediate vicinity.
In their desperate haste, the creatures tangled and tripped over one another, collided and bounced off, or piled up two layers deep. It was a grotesquely repulsive sight.
“Whew…….”
Taking a deep breath, Tae-muk gripped his sword even tighter. He scanned the river to his left and right to see which side of the ghouls would arrive first.
Suddenly, something pink flickered in his vision. Tae-muk narrowed his eyes.
A handful of flowers had bloomed in a corner of the riverbank. Thin pink petals fluttering in the wind. They were azaleas. Amidst such chaos, with the corpses and blood of Devouring Ghouls filling every direction, the sight of a flower blooming so elegantly alone felt surreal.
“…….”
Tae-muk stared at it blankly, forgetting the situation for a moment. As he did, a beautiful face naturally came to mind. A faint smile began to seep into the corners of his lips.
Kieeeeeek!
A Devouring Ghoul that had finally reached the land leaped toward Tae-muk.
Drenched in blood, Tae-muk swung his sword in a wide arc. Each time he did, a whoosh, whirr sound echoed from the tip of the blade. It felt less like swinging a sword and more like swinging a club.
The ghouls struck by the blade were sliced clean in half one after another. Heads severed from their bodies fell here and there with a thud, thud.
Karek, kak, kak!
Grrrr…….
Their bodies sliced in an instant, the Devouring Ghouls didn’t even realize they had been cut, gaping their mouths and screaming. Tae-muk continued to swing his sword, stepping on or kicking them aside.
His blade targeted only the necks and waists of the ghouls. He knew that to kill them, he had to crush their heads, but he didn’t have the luxury. The enemy was countless, and his forces were lacking.
For now, simply rendering them immobile was enough. That way, at least they wouldn’t be able to charge at the soldiers. That was why he had taken up a sword, unlike his usual habit of fighting bare-handed.
“…….”
With an expressionless face and wide eyes, Tae-muk cleaved through the ghouls. Every time the sword pierced a ghoul, he could feel the hide splitting, the flesh tearing, and the bone snapping. The crunching sound was skin-crawling yet exhilarating.
Blood sprayed out in a torrent from the severed necks. When he tore off a head, the blood was viscous and clumpy due to the brain matter, but the blood spurting from the neck was merely hot and wet, which was quite bearable.
“Whew…….”
Tae-muk shook his head. Droplets of blood clinging to his hair and eyelashes flew off in a spray. He then sliced through the neck of another charging ghoul in a single stroke.
Karrrr-rk!
One Devouring Ghoul lunged, aiming for the forearm holding the sword. Noticing this, Tae-muk tried to pivot and dodge. Having an arm bitten wasn’t a problem, but having the ‘arm holding the sword’ bitten was. He wouldn’t be able to swing his blade.
But the moment Tae-muk stepped back.
With a sharp whiz, an arrow flew through the air and pierced the side of the ghoul’s head.
Kie…….
The ghoul collapsed face-first, its tongue lolling out.
“…….”
Tae-muk glanced back. He saw the Crimson Rain Brigade soldiers standing behind the defensive line, firing arrows relentlessly. A significant number of ghouls were killed by the unending rain of arrows.
In the river, shells were still exploding—Boom! Rumble, Boom! Rumble! The river water had turned from crimson to a murky black due to the dead ghouls, yet they continued to cross the river.
“Yaaaaah!”
Behind Tae-muk, the spearmen were thrusting their spears into the heads of the ghouls he had sliced. Following Tae-muk’s orders, they hid in his shadow and finished off the halved creatures.
Though they were all drenched in blood, none were injured. It wasn’t particularly difficult to pierce the crowns of creatures whose heads were lying solitary on the ground.
However, since Tae-muk was slicing two heads in one strike—and occasionally three—it was hard for them to keep up with his speed.
Occasionally, ghouls tried to lunge at them, but Tae-muk noticed with supernatural precision and sliced their necks, allowing the spearmen to focus entirely on crushing the heads.
Tae-muk and the spearmen on the riverbank continued to move without rest for a long time. Piles of ghoul corpses accumulated around them. It looked as if a dune made of Devouring Ghouls had formed in front of the river.
Thanks to this, the ghouls could not easily reach the plain even after crossing the river. They had to climb over the mountain of their own kin’s corpses. Some tumbled over while crawling on all fours, and others slipped on the thick blood. Then, those following behind would tangle and fall with them.
“Ptooey…….”
Having just beheaded two ghouls, Tae-muk spat with an irritated expression. Their blood had flowed into his mouth, inducing nausea. It was sour and astringent, as foul as chewing on spoiled meat.
Wiping his lower face with his palm, he swung his sword again. Under his heavy blade, the ghoul’s neck bone snapped and severed with a crack.
“…….”
Tae-muk scanned the corpses of the ghouls strewn across the river and the plain. Some were killed by cannons, some by arrows, and some were severed at the neck or waist; their states varied. The corpses were most numerous in the river and decreased as one moved past the plain toward the mountain.
Fortunately, it seemed no ghouls had reached the defensive line yet. It meant the Crimson Rain Brigade was holding out well. At this rate, they might pass the crisis without significant casualties.
Just like this. Just like this.
Gritting his teeth, Tae-muk sliced through the waist of a lunging ghoul.
Kieeee…….
The screams of the ghouls echoed here and there like a round song.
“Kh…….”
Tae-muk, who had been swinging his sword without pause, let out a suppressed groan. The moment he sliced through a ghoul’s bone, a sharp sting resonated through the inside of his wrist. His fingers grew stiff, and he could no longer tell if he was gripping a sword or a tree branch.
Having sliced through hundreds, perhaps a thousand ghouls, his bones and muscles had reached their limit, signaling a tingling pain. Perhaps unseen muscles had torn or bones had fractured. The sword he had swung countless times was so chipped that it looked like a saw.
But there was no time to rest. Tae-muk immediately swung his sword again. However, just as the blade had halfway cut through a ghoul’s waist.
Clang!
With a sharp sound, the blade snapped effortlessly.
Karrrr-rk!
The ghoul, its waist only half-severed, lunged at Tae-muk with its mouth wide open.
“Ah, fuck…….”
Cursing irritably, Tae-muk shoved his hand into the nostril of the ghoul that had reached his face and ripped out the Helmet Bone with a crunch. The brain exploded, and brain matter splattered viscously.
“Damn it……,” Tae-muk cursed again as the clumps fell on his head, then threw the ripped-out Helmet Bone toward the creatures crossing the river. Imbued with his full strength, it embedded itself in the abdomens of two ghouls, sending them rolling backward.
“Haa…….”
Tae-muk looked up at the sky and caught his breath. He thought his blurring vision was due to the blood, but the sun was disappearing. The sky was dark, like burnt ash. Night had arrived.
He clenched and released his molars, frowning. It was dangerous if the visibility was low. He could manage since his hearing was keen, but the soldiers could not.
“You guys, get back behind the defensive line.”
Tae-muk, having ripped out another ghoul’s Helmet Bone, spoke to the spearmen standing behind him. At that, the spearmen insolently protested.
“But, Captain. There are too many of them for you to handle alone.”
“We will fight alongside you.”
At this, Tae-muk looked back at them, scowling.
“Why the hell is everyone not listening to me? You want to die?”
[4] Sand dunes formed by wind-borne transport and deposition on coasts or in deserts