The Espers Who Regretted Losing Me – Chapter 125

Author: Asternkm

If looks could kill, that glare could have killed someone dozens—no, hundreds—of times over.

Of course, it wasn’t actually going to kill me, so I could have ignored it. But that wasn’t the problem.

It spoke.

I had heard it clearly. The words cut in and out like a signal full of static, but there was no difficulty understanding what it meant.

The moment that realization truly sank in, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, and my entire body went cold, as though every drop of blood had drained away.

Even if Giant Garden had only been connected twice before, the previous expeditions had stayed inside the Gate for long periods of time, and both teams had been made up of Espers.

That meant they had had more than enough time to gather information about the dungeon boss.

If even the slightest conversation had taken place between the tree known as the Guardian Tree and those Espers, it would have been recorded without fail.

I could understand the guidebook omitting certain details on purpose, but not something as important as the dungeon boss.

Yet according to the strategy guide, the Guardian Tree never reacted, no matter how close anyone approached or whether they spoke to it.

And now…

Before I had done anything at all, it was expressing its fury toward me in a language I could understand.

Besides… the way it’s talking makes it sound like it knows time repeats inside the Gate.

It had clearly said, again.

If that was the case, then the “disaster” it spoke of must have referred to burning down the village.

That part itself wasn’t especially strange.

The Giants looked simple-minded enough, but the Guardian Tree was obviously no ordinary being.

When Giant Garden reset after being cleared for the first time, it might have dismissed everything as a dream or an illusion.

But after it happened a second time, that explanation no longer worked.

Then, just as a third suspicious lifeform appeared…

From its perspective, it was only natural to be furious.

Especially when the previous Espers hadn’t come peacefully—they had burned the entire village to the ground before leaving.

…First, I need to get out of here.

I hadn’t actually done anything yet, but judging from the overwhelming hostility pouring off it, I was about to take the blame for everything.

To make matters worse, I was literally holding a bag of oil in my hand.

I looked guilty on sight.

[You wicked—cruel and vile—demonspawn—]

Even as I thought that, the Guardian Tree continued to bellow.

The only fortunate thing was that its voice didn’t seem to summon the Giants.

It was hard to explain.

Its mouth was definitely moving, yet the sound wasn’t actually coming out.

Instead, the voice echoed directly inside my head.

Almost like telepathy.

Still, after the completely unexpected revelation that the Guardian Tree could speak, I had no choice but to abandon the idea of leisurely carrying the oil over.

Even if the Giants couldn’t hear its voice, seeing it this enraged would surely put them on guard, no matter how gentle or innocent they normally were.

Looks like I’ll have to think of another way to clear this.

No matter what, all I had to do was eliminate the Guardian Tree.

Han Yeon-woo seemed quick-witted enough. If I discussed it with him, maybe we’d come up with another plan.

The moment I reached that conclusion, I turned around.

Something grabbed my ankle just as I took my first step.

“…!”

I barely swallowed the scream that almost escaped and looked down.

Wrapped around my leg was a brown vine.

Not just any vine—it had extended from one of the Guardian Tree’s roots.

If it had been an ordinary tree, the vine would have been as thin as a cat’s whisker.

But because the Guardian Tree was enormous, the vine had wrapped around my ankle twice.

I immediately threw away the oil pouch, pulled out my knife, and slashed downward.

The instant the crushing grip loosened, I jerked my leg free and kicked the vine away.

A faint mark remained on my skin, but it hadn’t broken.

The moment I confirmed that, I let out a relieved sigh.

Cha Eun-hwi’s warning flashed through my mind.

Plant-type monsters and insect-type monsters inject poison or lay eggs through close-range attacks. Always keep your distance.

My body had reacted before my brain could think.

But—

[SKREEEEEEE! SKREEEEEEEE!]

The vine I had cut was, to the Guardian Tree, no more than a single strand of hair.

Or perhaps one eyelash.

I was certain it wasn’t screaming because it hurt.

Every time the Guardian Tree writhed, countless vines snapped off from its own roots and scattered everywhere.

Compared to that, my knife had barely done more than scratch it.

If anything, it should have hurt itself more.

It had to be exaggerating.

Even so, hearing it shriek and thrash around like that instinctively made me shrink back.

[SKREEE! SKREEEE! SKREEEEE!]

…Yeah.

I’d better get out of here.

Cold sweat rolled down my back as I darted toward the exit.

But the Guardian Tree had no intention of letting me leave peacefully.

The stone tiles bulged upward.

Long vines burst through the cracks in every direction.

“Ugh…!”

This time I almost screamed for real.

I bit down hard on my tongue to keep quiet and sprinted from opening to opening, dodging every root lunging at me.

It wasn’t holding back in the slightest.

Every time I barely escaped, the vines struck the ground a heartbeat later, punching holes straight through the stone floor.

If one of those hit me…

I’d end up exactly like the floor.

This is so unfair!

Seriously unfair!

Sure, I came carrying oil.

But I hadn’t actually done anything yet!

Why did I have to clean up the mess left behind by the Espers who came before me?

[Wicked… wicked… this… disaster… dis… as… ter…]

It wasn’t even hurling outright insults.

It just kept repeating wicked, cruel, disaster, over and over like a cursed chant.

The endless repetition made my head throb.

The Guardian Tree couldn’t move.

The obvious solution was for me to leave.

But every time I tried to reach the exit, it blocked my path with uncanny precision.

For the moment, forcing my way through wasn’t an option.

As time dragged on, anxiety began to build.

Never mind the fact that no Giants had shown up despite all this commotion.

If I didn’t get out soon, Park Min-seok, Han Yeon-woo, and Nam Woo-jin were bound to come looking for me.

If it were just me, I could keep dodging until I eventually found an opening.

But those three…

No matter how good their stamina and reflexes were, the moment they saw the Guardian Tree’s twisted face, they’d lose the mental battle before anything else.

And the second they let their guard down… they’d be skewered.

This wouldn’t be a scrape or a broken bone.

An injury like that would kill them.

I knew it with absolute certainty.

There was no more time to think.

I pulled a grenade from my pocket.

Before throwing it, I dodged another vine and shouted toward the Guardian Tree, hoping against hope.

“Gra— I mean, Guardian Tree! I swear I’m not here to do anything ba—!”

[SKREEEEEEEEE!]

“…”

Whether it couldn’t understand me or was simply ignoring me, I had no idea.

But seeing that face—like something out of The Scream—twisted in pure rage while it shrieked at the top of its lungs…

I gave up on talking.

Without another moment’s hesitation, I hurled both a grenade and a flashbang straight at its face before retreating.

A few seconds later, the now-familiar explosion rang out.

The Guardian Tree’s scream became even sharper.

It was obvious I had made it absolutely furious.

On the other hand, the vines weakened slightly.

Now!

I snapped my collapsible baton open with a swing and smashed through the vines blocking my path, barely forcing my way back onto the passage leading outside.

Although the Guardian Tree itself couldn’t move, its roots spread throughout the entire village, relentlessly pursuing me.

Fortunately, it seemed unable to pinpoint my location unless it could see me directly.

The roots hesitated and struck empty space as though blindly groping for me.

Still, I’d better get the others out of the village as fast as possible.

The situation had changed completely.

There was no such thing as being too careful now.

The entire village was the Guardian Tree’s domain.

Before long, I caught sight of the sky and the staircase.

But before I could relax, a frantic voice reached my ears.

“Han Yeon-woo, stay with me! Hey, don’t close your eyes!”

“W-What… do we… do…? The bleeding won’t stop…”

The hushed, panicked voices made me sprint forward.