There’s a Monster Inside Me Chapter 8

There’s a Monster Inside Me

Chapter  8

I looked at the gaping hole in the ceiling.

Despite the thick dust swirling and soil continuously falling, not even a speck of dirt touched its white, smooth body.

The glossy, porcelain-like white surface was, upon closer inspection, covered with peculiar bumpy patterns.

Time seemed to stand still.

Everyone, from the three-headed serpent to the sorcerer, stood frozen staring at one place.

Even Senior Pureum Usol was rooted to the spot, glaring at the roof.

GROOOWL!…

In the moonless night sky, something whiter and clearer than a bright full moon appeared.

I knew.

That this white, elegant, milk-colored beast was not just an ordinary white snake.

The two barely visible pointed horns standing on its head showed this, as did the eyelids that blinked whenever it moved its eyes.

The snake of snakes destined to become a noble dragon! The king of kings! This was the true form of the Imugi!

Its white jade-like mouth opened.

Its blood-red tongue flicked in and out.

“Who dares disturb my deep slumber?!”

A thunderous voice pierced my eardrums.

“I-Imugi…!”

The sorcerer who controlled snakes immediately recognized the white snake’s identity. The sorcerer rolled his eyes, watching the Imugi’s reaction.

“O King of Snakes, I am…”

The great and divine Imugi’s eyes were like glossy obsidian, glass-like.

Those perfect jewels became slightly distorted.

The moment the Imugi raised its eyelids in displeasure, the sorcerer fell from the head of the three-headed serpent to the ground with a shriek.

“How pathetic. Truly this was not a question about reasons but a reprimand!”

“KUGH…”

The sorcerer sprawled on the ground crushed his forehead.

His hands were forming a seal.

That, could it be…?

“HAAAK!”

The three-headed serpent bared its venomous fangs toward the Imugi.

While its tail tried to retreat and escape, its head, unable to resist the sorcerer’s compulsion, was threatening a being of a different class.

“Three-headed serpent, bring the Imugi to me right now… gack!”

The sorcerer’s words didn’t continue to the end.

As the black obsidian eyes looked down, the sorcerer’s body floated into the air.

The massive Imugi caught him in one bite.

The sorcerer pinned at the waist writhed in agony.

Even that was momentary. The sorcerer’s limbs hung limp and motionless.

“PTOOEY!”

The Imugi spat him out.

I knew well that this noble being was extremely picky about its taste.

This great divine beast wouldn’t even glance at fresh meat dripping with blood. So how could it swallow such a blasphemous human?

The sorcerer lay motionless on the ground. He was dead instantly.

With the sorcerer’s death, the three-headed serpent prostrated itself before the great divine beast.

It must have instinctively known it wasn’t a match.

Nevertheless, the Imugi’s eyes were fiercely cold.

WHOOSH!

The giant Imugi wrapped tightly around the three-headed serpent’s body.

CRACK!

With the sound of breaking bones, the three-headed serpent’s body twisted.

Whether that was its original size or not, the trunk that had been as large as a huge tree shrunk to about the thickness of a human arm.

The snake fled without looking back. There was terrible fear on the tail of the snake as it staggered away.

Fear was no different for me either.

Although I had diligently fed it, there was no way to know what this terrifying spiritual creature thought of me.

Sharp tension stretched between Senior Usol, me, and the Imugi.

The black obsidian eyes looked at me.

After a long while, the spiritual being’s voice brushed my ear.

“…That thing I ate earlier today. Give me one more…”

It was then I realized.

The Imugi had a taste for wild bird eggs!

***

Senior Usol and I boarded a small boat and crossed the lake. Red peach blossom petals fell all around.

This was the final gateway to the Thousand-Year School.

Though early summer was the peak season for peach blossoms, here they bloomed year-round. The sight of peach blossoms blooming everywhere and scattering silently was spectacular no matter when you saw it.

The saying that peach blossoms flourish where immortals live was spread by people who accidentally entered and left this place.

Only a small boat with room for just two passengers could traverse this place called ‘Clear Sky Lake’.

This was a mechanism designed to prevent evil entities from rushing in all at once.

CREAK!… CREEAAK!…

Rowing the boat was Senior Usol’s duty. Although I offered to row, she wasn’t the type to entrust tasks to her weak junior.

With nothing to do, I lifted my head to look at the sky. Between the peach blossoms scattering in all directions, there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky.

Somehow my eyes felt strained, so I squeezed them shut.

Beyond my closed eyes, last night’s events flashed by.

Last night, Senior Usol and I scoured the forest. Before long, we were able to gather quite a few bird eggs.

It was for the Imugi who had become our life-saving benefactor.

“It’s because of me. I’m sorry.”

I was a bit taken aback that the first words from the senior, who had been silently collecting bird eggs, were an apology.

“It’s not your fault, Senior.”

My answer was firm.

Senior Usol’s noble status had always been a cumbersome burden during her time at the Thousand-Year School.

Sometimes it damaged the fairness she pursued and harmed both her and those around her.

This time was no different. However…

“It’s the fault of those trying to kill you, definitely not your fault, Senior!”

Senior Usol wanted to stand tall on her own efforts and abilities, abandoning her privileges, but many people couldn’t see past her bloodline.

But that wasn’t something for Senior Usol to apologize for!

If someone should apologize to me for this matter, it should be the person who put both the senior and me in danger.

“…Are you a seer?”

“Pardon?”

I stood frozen in surprise. Not just a fortune teller but a prophet… I was a bit flustered.

Among those with divine power, people who foresee the future fall into two categories,fortune tellers and seers.

Fortune tellers, as the name suggests, use divination to predict the future. Following the words of gods and conveying messages follows the same principle.

Seers are on a completely different level from fortune tellers.

Seers directly see the future and experience it. They can discover even uncomfortable truths that the gods try to hide.

Because of this, seers leave what they’ve seen and heard only in cryptic symbols or fables filled with symbolism. They know their actions could provoke the wrath of the gods.

For this reason, royal families and noble houses strive to have great prophets in their service.

Masters who employ seers try in every way to discover the secrets of the future.

In the end, most prophets die after revealing secrets that shouldn’t be spoken, receiving divine punishment.

“A seer? That’s impossible!”

“But… you knew in advance, didn’t you? That the three-headed serpent would come. I saw you sprinkle tobacco leaves earlier today.”

“…!”

Oh dear, how do I get out of this?

“That was… because I was worried my snake might escape outside, so I sprinkled them as a precaution. I had no idea a snake monster would appear, I swear!”

I put on quite a show, trembling my shoulders, but Senior Usol’s eyes remained sharp.

“Then how did you know the three-headed serpent was poisonous?”

“Ah, I just thought it might have poison in its fangs… I was in such a panic that I just shouted whatever came to mind. I don’t even remember what I was babbling about.”

Senior Usol closed her lips at my vague explanation.

“But… it was an imugi, your snake, right?”

“…Ah, yes.”

I had no choice but to admit this. She clearly saw it happen right before her eyes.

“I didn’t know it was an imugi either. I thought it was some special kind of snake… but I never imagined it would transform into something so terrifying!”

Senior Usol’s eyes were sharp, as if trying to read my thoughts.

I raised both hands in surrender.

“It’s true! I swear! I saw it for the first time today too!”

Since this was definitely the truth, I could look Senior Usol straight in the eye.

The green eyes that seemed to see right through me finally left me.

I tried hard to dispel her suspicions with my clumsy behavior and speech, but I didn’t know how effective it was.

I hurriedly bowed and entered my room, which was in complete disarray.

Stars twinkled through the completely open roof.

“SIGH…”

I opened the lid of the straw basket sitting quietly in the corner of the room.

The white, elegant snake had shrunk back to the same small size as before.

But one thing had changed.

Its black eyes were blinking… looking at me.

I carefully placed colorful wild bird eggs in the basket. As I knelt and waited, the imugi’s eyes narrowed again.

“What… what’s wrong?”

As I stood there not knowing what to do, a cold voice penetrated through my skin.

It was literally transmitted through my ‘skin’,not my ears.

“Close the lid.”

“Ah, yes!”

My whole body broke out in goosebumps.

Like a frog leaping, I quickly covered the basket with its lid.

“Open it.”

After a moment, the imugi’s cold words were again transmitted through my skin. It was an eerily unfamiliar sensation.

When I carefully opened it, the white snake in the basket was looking at me. The wild bird eggs had completely disappeared.

“…Baek Eun-ok.”

I trembled again at the voice traveling through my flesh and blood.

Huh? But, just now… what did it say?

“That is my name.”

“Ah…!”

For a moment my mind went blank.

Name, a name!

I couldn’t believe it.

The imugi was telling me its true name!

In the training of the Earth Beast Arts, the most important thing was discovering the true name of the divine beast you wished to command.

Revealing one’s true name meant acknowledging that person as its master!

To discover a divine beast’s true name, a sorcerer had to build trust over months or even years with patience.

Even then, with high-ranking divine beasts, it was uncertain whether one could obtain their name.

And yet this great and divine imugi was so easily telling me its name! And I hadn’t even asked…

It was unbelievable.

“Th-thank… thank you!”

I pressed my forehead to the ground and bowed. Some might find it strange to bow to a beast that one commands, but I didn’t think it was odd at all.

I couldn’t help but feel humble in the presence of Baek Eun-ok’s age and depth, so even if our roles seemed reversed, I had nothing to say about it.

“Didn’t you tell me? That I owed you my life…”

“EEP!”

I turned pale.

It seemed to remember the words I had blurted out mindlessly when the fearless mouse I had given as food turned over the imugi’s basket.

Seeing the corner of its mouth curling up crookedly, the imugi was definitely mocking me.

“I’m, I’m sorry. I spoke out of place…”

The imugi’s black eyes stared blankly at me.

“My, my name is Bada…”

“Enough. I already know your name.”

Before I could finish speaking, Baek Eun-ok twisted its neck primly.

Though its eyes were closed, it seems it had been listening to everything happening around the basket.

Then it must have seen the curved knife as well. Oh my goodness, my life really was hanging by a thread.

I groaned and held my head.

Just then, Baek Eun-ok stretched its body and instantly wrapped around my left wrist.

The cool, smooth sensation made goosebumps rise all over my body.

It was hard to believe that this thin, slender white snake had broken through the massive ceiling above.

“I no longer need a nest. I can just stay here.”

I held my left arm with the wrapped imugi far away, not knowing what to do.

The imugi coiled around my wrist looked like a white jade bracelet. A priceless, top-quality jade bracelet…

“From now on, place eggs inside your sleeve. I’ll eat them on my own.”

With those final words, Baek Eun-ok closed its eyes. With its eyelids shut, the imugi didn’t look alive.

Like an inappropriately precious item hanging on my wrist, I felt afraid and honored, not knowing what to do.

I gently unfolded my rolled-up sleeve and pulled it down to cover the back of my hand.

Only when this divine beast disappeared from my sight could I finally exhale.

I lay down and looked at the wide open ceiling. The river of stars adorning the night sky was dazzlingly beautiful.

It was a long night that was hard to believe had lasted just one evening.

***

“We’ve arrived.”

Senior Usol’s voice woke me from last night’s reverie.

Senior Usol, wearing a red hat, was stowing away the wet oar.

I stared blankly at her.

The senior hadn’t lost her arm, and I had gained an imugi. What else would change at the Thousand-Year School?

Inside my long sleeve, I clenched my small fist.

I will never lose hopelessly again. And I will become stronger, Strong enough to protect the people I care about.

The blood in my heart rose tightly.

The boat reached a green island after passing through a waterway full of tiny green duckweed.

Senior Usol, having stowed the oar, jumped onto the island. I did the same, rolling my feet to land on the island.

The young blue barley that hadn’t fully grown yet was as soft as a plush carpet. The sensation was surprisingly pleasant.

Was it always this soft?

It was a newly noticed feeling.

“This place is called the Baraji Gate.”

On the small island in the middle of the lake was a tiny thatched cottage no bigger than a palm. That cottage’s name was the Baraji Gate.

“Yes, the Baraji Gate…”

I repeated after the senior.

The reason this place is called the ‘Baraji Gate’ is because it’s the only passage connecting the Thousand-Year School to the world.

“Let’s go in.”

Senior Usol went into the cottage first.

The small thatched cottage consisted only of a roof, four walls, and two open doors.

She entered through one door and passed through the opposite door. I followed behind the senior.

The moment I passed through the door and came outside, the abundant peach blossom scent disappeared, replaced by the scents of pine, bamboo leaves, and yellow plum blossoms.

As I opened my eyes wide, I had arrived.

The clear lake was gone, replaced by a towering rocky mountain.

A massive white fortress that seemed to pierce the sky stood tall.

Ah, my second homeland…

My alma mater, which had burned down, was looking down at me.

I’ve finally arrived at the Thousand-Year School.