Salvation Through Delusion C7

Chapter 7

I was gasping for breath as I ran toward the pond.

With this miserable stamina, no matter how favorable the terrain was, I’d be devoured in seconds if the monster caught me.

Still, I had to try—at least until the very end.

I forced more strength into my legs, widening my gaze to take in as much of my surroundings as possible. Humans can’t consciously process their entire field of vision, but Mo could—analyzing every piece of visual data and feeding me only what mattered.

Like now.

[Warning, warning! Possible monster detected at three o’clock.]

A red, siren-like light flashed across my vision, heightening my awareness. I didn’t stop running toward the pond, but I glanced in that direction.

The retreat’s main building.

And clinging to its third-floor outer wall—was a familiar black shape.

That grotesque silhouette I’d come to know all too well.

So we meet again, you bastard.

I swallowed my fury and quickly scanned the area.

But wait—

There was only one.

That was odd. They always moved in swarms. Always.

‘Mo, are there others nearby?’

[No other monster sounds detected.]

Mo’s sensors could pick up frequencies far beyond human hearing—especially the telltale signals monsters made.

But nothing. Just that one.

Only one monster? Strange. But for now, I was grateful for the luck.

If it was just one, I could handle that.

The creature was clinging to the wall, its many legs gouging through windows and stone as it forced its bulk inside. The nodules on its head writhed grotesquely.

‘Mo, don’t filter my view of the monster.’

I gritted my teeth as I stepped into the pond, the cool water rippling around my calves. The monster was likely sensing the humans hiding underground. Without a barrier, those people in the shelter were nothing more than prepackaged meals.

Marvin had said help would come when the bell rang. So, somewhere, someone had been notified. That meant I only needed to buy time—keep the monster distracted until then.

Fortunately, I knew exactly how to do that. Monsters couldn’t resist the smell of blood. Human blood.

Splash.

I waded in deeper until the water reached my waist, then drew the kitchen knife I’d taken and slashed the inside of my arm without hesitation.

A thin line of red unfurled, dripping into the pond—one drop, two… and before the third even fell, the monster stopped moving.

There it is.

The creature’s head slowly emerged from the shattered window, turning precisely toward me.

It couldn’t see, not really—but all those nodules were pointed straight in my direction. It was smelling me.

Yes, they were obsessed with it—human scent.

Animal blood never worked as bait. Only human blood could drive them mad.

Because to them, humans tasted the best.

I locked eyes with the creature and sneered.

“Over here, you piece of shit.”

The monster lunged, leaping straight from the third floor.

At the same moment, I dove into the pond.

‘Mo, give me direction!’

The water was murky, visibility nearly zero—but Mo marked arrows across my view, guiding me like a living compass.

Even then, the destination felt impossibly far. My lungs burned, screaming for air.

How much of a couch potato was Rue, that his lungs were this pathetic?!

Just when I was about to give in and surface, something brushed against my face—a tangled curtain of thick roots, like underwater vines. Perfect cover.

I pushed through and lifted my head above the surface, taking a silent breath through my nose. The muddy, iron-tainted scent of pond water filled my nostrils. I ignored it. My focus stayed on the surface ahead.

The monster was already at the edge of the pond.

To a human, it would’ve seemed impossibly fast. But for a monster… it was sluggish.

Why so slow?

Instead of fleeing, I watched closely—and noticed it. Two of its legs were missing. Both from the left side.

Someone attacked it?

But I saw no sign of anyone nearby. Well, whatever. I’d never counted on anyone’s help anyway.

‘Mo, you’ve analyzed its movement data, right?’

[Yes.]

Good.

The only thing that worked against monsters was raw physical force. In my world, we’d built industrial-grade exosuits to fight them—machines that turned human punches into weaponized impact.

But there had never been enough of them. So people fought with whatever they could find—axes, swords, clubs.

And we died by the millions.

But we’d developed technology to predict their movement patterns—a desperate edge in an unwinnable war.

[Type confirmed. Variables applied. Beginning behavior prediction.]

A 3D model of the monster appeared before my eyes. With its missing legs, its movements were slower, easier to anticipate.

Still, my body was too weak to overpower it directly. What I needed was its weak point.

Every monster had one—a black stone the size of a child’s fist buried somewhere in its body.

Destroy it, and the creature would go still, like a machine switched off.

The problem: the stone’s location varied from one monster to another.

‘Where’s the switch?’

[Three possible locations identified.]

Red X marks appeared on the holographic model.

Underbelly. Left flank where the legs were torn off. Right foreleg.

The left side glowed brightest—the most likely spot. Perfect.

Splash!

The monster plunged into the pond, sending up a wave of filthy water. I used the sound to mask my movement as I crawled out the other side, scooping up a handful of mud and smearing it over my bleeding arm.

Monsters relied on sound and scent—but underwater, both were dulled.

Now it would waste precious time tearing up the pond bed looking for me.

I sprinted toward the massive tree and boulder I’d marked earlier.

Without even asking, Mo displayed a countdown timer in the corner of my vision.

8… 7… 6…

I ran flat-out, lungs burning.

At 0, I deliberately slowed, letting part of my body show between the trees.

Sure enough—

Scrreeee!

The ear-splitting shriek pierced the air. The monster had seen me.

It charged, water splashing violently behind it.

I ducked deeper into the brush, turning sharply ninety degrees toward a hidden slope—perfect for an ambush or cover. But to make it work, I’d need a bit of trickery.

In my hand was a makeshift rope trap I’d tied instinctively while running.

‘Mark the drop point for the snare.’

A faint outline appeared by my right foot. Perfect.

Thunk.

I tossed the loop forward and rolled down the slope, hiding behind a fallen log. I didn’t need to check if the trap had landed correctly. I’d thrown so many in my life, I could feel it in my bones.

No time to verify anyway.

The monster’s pointed leg stabbed into the ground nearby, inches from my head.

‘Mo.’

At my call, red numbers blinked in front of my eyes.

[3, 2, 1…]

When it hit zero, I yanked the rope with everything I had.

Rue’s body couldn’t overpower a monster—but it didn’t have to.

I just had to use its own momentum.

BOOM!

The ground trembled as dirt and dust exploded upward.

The monster’s leg caught in the snare, wrenching its massive body sideways. It struggled, flailing wildly, before sliding down the slope—right toward me.

Its underside, exposed and vulnerable, was exactly what I’d been waiting for.

Mo marked the weak spot with a bright red dot.

I didn’t waste the moment.

Skreek—!

“Come on, please be it!”

I drove the kitchen knife into the fine seam of its armor—right where the plates met.

…Damn it.

The blade didn’t go through.

Was it my lack of strength? Or just a pathetic weapon?

Either way, even with everything I had, the knife refused to pierce the shell.