Chapter 28
When I pretended not to understand, he scoffed irritably and snorted.
“Don’t you remember the barrier I put on that kid last time?”
“Uh… ah, that one?”
“Yeah. That barrier is directly anchored to the kid’s heart. So demonic energy won’t leak out anymore—and it can’t be nullified.”
I blinked a few times at his confident tone.
“I even tested it. I’m sure.”
When did he test that on Aksion?
Seeing my doubtful expression, Dazhar let out a small sigh and continued.
“The barrier covering this place makes monsters completely unable to even recognize ordinary humans.”
“Hm.”
“And the moment they come out of the Crack, they all rush straight at me.”
Huh? At Dazhar?
When I tilted my head in confusion, he sighed again, clearly annoyed, and went on.
“So there’s no way any monster would head toward the annex where you are. And even if you crossed paths with one, it wouldn’t recognize you at all. Need more explanation?”
“No. I get it. Still… you never know.”
At that, Dazhar ruffled his hair and tossed out casually,
“If anything dangerous happens to you or that kid, I’ll be a dog.”
I already thought that was true, but it wasn’t something I could say out loud.
‘Hmm.’
After he went that far, insisting on leaving felt difficult.
It would be the same as denying his ability.
And he was a Transcendent, saying all this so confidently.
“…Alright then.”
After thinking it over for a while, I shrugged and nodded.
Crack Day from the original story—would I wake up to monster hunting?
I even felt a strange excitement, like Christmas Eve as a kid, waiting for Santa.
That feeling only existed because I believed I was safe.
* * *
“YOU DOG BASTARD! No—DOG! Where’s the dog?!”
And that was why, on Crack Day, I officially decided to call Dazhar a dog from now on.
“Gah!”
The moment I turned a corner while sprinting down the corridor, a grotesque monster appeared—and I screeched to a halt.
AAAAH! What’s wrong with its eyes?!
I gasped at the monster’s bulging, bloodshot eyes that looked ready to pop.
It let out a strange, rasping sound as it stared at me.
—Giiiiih……
I immediately spun around and ran again.
Monsters were something you only saw in comics!
Even Cillia had never seen one before!
“Huff… huff…”
My lungs burned, and my mouth tasted sweet from overexertion, but I clenched my toes and ran like mad.
I had decided to call Dazhar a dog about thirty minutes earlier.
I’d woken up from sleep to a strange presence—and opened my eyes to something utterly unreal.
Rows of massive, vicious teeth packed together like a shark’s.
A gaping mouth that looked ready to swallow me whole.
The monster was sitting on my bed, mouth wide open.
“Gah!”
My body froze at the surreal sight.
What snapped me out of it was Aksion, sleeping in his crib.
“Waa… waaah…”
Aksion started crying.
I instantly regained my senses, rolled sideways, and fell to the floor.
‘Aksion!’
I crawled frantically toward him.
I didn’t even have time to wonder why a monster was in the annex or why it was targeting me.
There was only one thought in my head.
‘I have to protect Aksion!’
Just as I reached him, I saw white energy flickering around his chest.
It looked similar to the barrier Dazhar had placed before.
“…Ah?”
The energy surged and recoiled, as if fighting something unseen.
Aksion’s half-open eyes briefly turned purple, then returned to their original color—over and over.
“Ma… ma…”
Huh?
Did Aksion just…?
Before I could think further, he went completely still.
His eyes closed, and he fell back asleep.
A few minutes later, I realized something.
“Huff… huff… the monster was only coming after me…”
The monster showed no interest in Aksion at all.
It acted as if he didn’t exist—like he was blocked off, sealed away.
As I dodged and ran, I reached a conclusion.
Just as Dazhar said, Aksion had a barrier that monsters couldn’t perceive.
‘The problem is me.’
I understood it instinctively.
And the moment I did, I ran out of the room in my pajamas.
If I stayed here, I might actually endanger Aksion.
That was why I ran from monster to monster for thirty minutes straight—until I finally reached the main building just now.
My head was in chaos.
‘Why? Aksion didn’t touch me or anything. Why doesn’t the barrier work on me?’
No matter how hard I thought, I couldn’t find an answer.
“Huff… huff… I’m going to die…”
My white pajamas were torn and filthy from falling and crashing into things.
I’d assumed Dazhar would be in the main building fighting monsters—
So where the hell was he?
As I leaned against the wall, trying to catch my breath—
THUD!
Something huge and black dropped down in front of me.
“Gah!”
This monster looked far more vicious than any I’d seen so far.
‘Damn it.’
I tried to dodge, but the flailing mass of flesh wrapped around me, pinning me in place.
I struggled to free my wrist, but the monster was far stronger.
I was dragged toward it.
“Ugh… you damn… damn dog bastard… where are you…!”
As I was pulled closer, the monster opened its mouth wide.
“Dazhar, you piece of shit!”
I was about to be crushed by those horrifying teeth.
This was going to hurt. A lot.
I didn’t want to die here!
I flailed desperately—
And then, a low voice spoke from behind.
“Wow, you’re good at swearing. I was wondering where you went… how did you even get all the way here?”
“Gah—Da, Dazhar!”
“And now you’re just calling me by name.”
At the same time, a white circle shot from his hand and struck the monster.
The moment it hit, the monster exploded with a BOOM, scattering into ash.
I staggered, losing my balance.
A solid body caught me from behind, holding me steady.
Unlike his sharp words earlier, his heart was pounding wildly against my back.
His breathing was rough, as if he’d been running nonstop.
Sweat dripped from his chin onto my shoulder.
“…You’re here, dog.”
“Ugh… what the hell was that?! You said I’d be fine!”
“I did. You should have been… but something was wrong. I felt a strange wave—and saw that the barrier wasn’t working on you. Only you.”
He hugged me tightly and let out a long breath.
The moment I felt his warmth, all the tension drained from my body.
I leaned fully into him, my strength giving out.
We slid down and collapsed onto the floor together.
My clenched hands trembled violently.
“I thought I was going to die.”
“Yeah.”
“You said nothing would happen.”
“I know.”
“You dog bastard.”
“Yeah. I’m a dog. So…”
He hesitated, then continued.
“So… stop crying.”
Only then did I realize the droplets falling onto the floor were my tears.
Once I noticed, my emotions burst.
I almost died because of this idiot.
“Waaah—waaah! I almost died! I really thought I was going to die! You bastard! That’s why I said I’d leave! Waaah!”
I should’ve listened to smart Cedric!
As I sobbed loudly, Dazhar, still holding me from behind, groaned softly and whispered,
“Alright. I said what I said… I’ll take responsibility. Ask for anything.”
“Sniff… really?”
He looked genuinely flustered—like he hadn’t expected me to cry this much.
I wiped my tears roughly and grabbed his collar tightly so he couldn’t escape.
“Then bark. Right now.”
“…What?”
“You said you’d be a dog if I was in danger! Take responsibility!”
When I shouted, he let out a strangled groan.
“That’s a bit—”
“A bit what?! You didn’t see me almost die?!”
Finally, truly, absolutely unwillingly, he spoke.
“M—no, damn it…”
He scrubbed his face with his hands, then muttered,
“Later. I’ll… prepare myself mentally and do it later…”
He was cowardly postponing it.
But seeing his utterly humiliated expression—his red cheeks, like he’d already barked—I sniffed smugly.
Only then did my anger fade a little.
You jerk.
“Fine. Later. But you must do it. Now explain.”
I muttered, my voice still thick with tears.
