Reborn as a Prophet in a Horror Movie

#024Reader Mode

T/N: Trigger Warning Graphic Violence: May contain scenes of violence that are graphically depicted, which may upset sensitive viewers.

#024

Her face, initially radiant with the thought of joy, quickly shifted to disbelief as she looked at Johan. Scouring his face for any sign of a joke, she found none; his response was somber and serious. Christina’s face clouded over, a storm of emotions brewing as a heavy silence hung in the air.

Just when things couldn’t get any worse, the soldier, with a steady stride, approached from behind Johan, extinguishing their last glimmer of hope. Christina’s brows furrowed, and she muttered to herself in a low voice,

“Oh my God, Seojun too….”

“Ugh.”

Seojun, caught in the soldier’s grip, struggled to breathe, let alone greet Christina. The soldier, unlike his rambling speech, was quick and efficient in his actions. He threatened Seojun’s life, forcing Johan to surrender his weapon. The soldier then nonchalantly picked up the skewer that had rolled onto the ground. Thankfully, he didn’t go as far as turning Seojun or Johan into barbecue.

When did they capture Christina? Seojun wondered, forcing his sluggish mind to work. He was completely confused. Was there ever a soldier in “The Murderer of the Bloody Lake”? He couldn’t recall such a scene.

Of course, his memory of the movie’s events was spotty at best. However, a deranged soldier was a completely unfamiliar and unsettling element. Despite the soldier’s swift actions, it was clear that he was not in a stable state of mind.

Seojun even considered a possible connection to Gas Mask, but the soldier didn’t mention anything about the Hamon Production Workshop or the serial killer wearing a gas mask. Instead…

The corpse thrown by the monster was also in a military uniform. And this soldier mentioned something about cargo being transported.

It almost sounded like he was referring to the man-eating monster of the lake. But could that really be the case? Piecing together the information from Brass and the soldier’s words, it seemed like the military was transporting the monster, but it accidentally ended up in the lake at the Hamon campsite.

This just doesn’t add up. In “The Murderer of the Bloody Lake”, the monster was already living in the lake. Since when did the military get involved, and how in the hell did they manage to lose a monster that eats people?

This whole situation sounded like something straight out of Bobby’s wild conspiracy theories. To Seojun, it felt like he’d been promised top-quality domestic Hanwoo beef, only to discover it was actually imported American beef. A bit of a letdown, to say the least. As he listened to the soldier barking orders at Johan to tie his own hands, Seojun’s mind was racing. He decided to push aside the complex whirlwind of thoughts for a moment and focus. And that’s when it hit him.

There was a sliver of a chance here.

Despite the dire situation, Seojun surprisingly found a glimmer of hope. First off, he took note of the soldier’s gear.

He doesn’t have any proper weapons except for a gun.

Even something as simple as cable ties would have made restraining Christina and the others more efficient. Yet, the soldier was using clothes, which were far from the most effective choice for binding someone.

Plus, whether it was due to overconfidence or simply a lack of resources, he’d left their legs untied. That was a huge opportunity right there.

The soldier was just one man, and they had numbers on their side. Excluding William, who was out cold, there were four of them. And it seemed like the soldier wasn’t planning on killing them immediately, at least not yet. Seojun licked his lips and swallowed, his mind racing.

Bullets aren’t infinite. There would definitely come a time when the soldier would need to reload. If they could just seize that moment, they might actually have a shot at turning things around. Seojun could feel his blood pumping, hope and confidence surging through him. It was only when the excitement became too much, almost suffocating him, that he managed to calm himself down.

Next, Seojun considered the soldier’s physical state. Sure, he looked intimidating, but the oozing pus and blood from his exposed skin were real. The soldier seemed to be in pain, even if he was doing his best to hide it. Seojun could tell from the faint moans, the irregular breathing, and the slight tremble in his hands. The soldier was skilled, of course, but he was also wounded.

And most importantly, Christina was here.

Seojun was convinced. The mysterious forces of the universe would surely protect her until the very end. Bullets would miraculously miss her vital organs, leaving her in a bloody, but alive, state. Though, he couldn’t shake off the nagging feeling that he might not be so lucky himself…

All they needed was a single moment, and Seojun was fervently hoping for just that. If sheer willpower could make wishes come true, life would be a breeze. Despite knowing this, he couldn’t help but send his prayers in every direction possible—up towards the sky, down to the ground, deep into the underground, and maybe even out into the vast universe.

And the sky, the ground, the underground, or perhaps even the universe beyond, granted Seojun’s wish.

“AAAAAH!”

Out of nowhere, the door to the old dormitory swung open with a loud bang, revealing a man screaming at the top of his lungs as he charged into the room like a bull, his voice echoing off the peeling walls, filled with a mix of rage and desperation. Instantly, all eyes were on him. Christina, Airi, William—who had just opened his eyes—and the soldier, who was in the midst of restraining Seojun, all turned their attention to the man making a dramatic entrance.

The man’s golden locks were impossible to miss in the dimly lit room, shining brilliantly as they caught the moonlight streaming in through the shattered windows. It was Golden.

However, Johan was the only one who didn’t let his attention waver towards Golden’s sudden appearance. His eyes remained fixed on Seojun, without missing a moment. Johan then launched himself off the ground, his large frame colliding with the soldier. Amidst the chaos, a gunshot rang out in the old dormitory as the soldier’s firearm discharged.

As Johan and the soldier fell in a jumbled heap, Seojun was inadvertently caught in the mess. Luckily, he came out unharmed, the stray bullet missing his face, with the old dormitory bearing the brunt of the damage.

The rotten floorboards, weakened from years of neglect, couldn’t stop the bullet. With a dull thud, the bullet buried itself in the ceiling, leaving behind a small hole. At the end of the soldier’s recklessly outstretched arm, the dangerous gun was still in his grasp. Without a second thought, Seojun sank his teeth into the soldier’s wrist.

“Aaaaaah!”

A cry of agony erupted from the soldier. Seojun’s bite wasn’t particularly powerful, but the soldier’s exposed skin was clearly in a state of decay.

As Seojun had suspected, the weakened flesh easily tore under his bite, similar to how cooked meat falls apart when prodded with a fork. The wound’s pus, blood, and bits of flesh instantly covered his tongue. Seojun tried to block out the horrific taste, focusing on the task at hand.

“Ugh!”

“Johan! Go for the gun first, block the gun!”

“Willy, come on, snap out of it! Willy!”

“Ugh, aaaaah!”

The scene was absolute pandemonium. The soldier’s eyes were practically popping out of his head in shock, while Christina and Airi, tied up and unable to move, hurled curses. Seojun, unable to speak, was starting to worry about his gums as they took a beating, and Golden, in a frenzy, charged towards them, arms flailing. His eyes, wild and bewildered, mirrored the chaos around him. The place was a picture of total mayhem.

Crunch. Seojun’s back teeth finally found their mark, biting down on something that felt more like bone than flesh, causing slight tears at the corners of his mouth. However, Seojun was too caught up in the moment to notice the scent of his own blood. Expecting his nose to function properly in this chaos was asking too much.

“Argh!”

At last, the gun fell from the soldier’s hand. Johan seized the moment and kicked the gun away with his foot. The metal piece, which had been dangerously close to Seojun’s head, slid towards Christina’s feet.

In that critical moment, the soldier’s eyes, clouded by agony, gleamed with a savage, wild intensity. As Johan’s attention briefly shifted to the gun, the soldier’s left thumb lunged for Seojun’s right eye. Seojun, reacting just a beat too slow, attempted to jerk his head away, but his teeth, firmly lodged in the soldier’s flesh, clung on stubbornly.

With his mouth packed with flesh and muscle, Seojun couldn’t even scream as time seemed to crawl to a stop…

The soldier’s sharp, hardened fingernail was dangerously close to Seojun’s eye. Ah, I see. It struck Seojun like a flash of insight. The soldier was nothing more than a dying man; he was a fusion of life and impending death, his body decaying, his sanity slipping away.

Seojun’s brain was in overdrive, thoughts scattering as the soldier’s finger crept alarmingly close to his eye, a direct link to his brain. Time seemed to stretch, each dreadful moment captured like stills in a fast-paced slideshow. The finger was set to thrust through the tender, moist area of his cornea, squeezed between his wide-open eyelids, ready to burst it open!

“…Ah!”

With great effort, Seojun managed to pry his mouth open and lift his head, but he was just a moment too slow. He was unable to close his eyes in time and could only witness in horror as the finger inched dangerously close.

“Argh!”

But just when it seemed that violence was inescapable, it was suddenly interrupted by a gruesome sound.

“Get your hands off him!”

Johan, quick to react, grabbed the skewer from the soldier’s waistband. Without hesitation, he drove it into the soldier. The uniform was ripped open, and the skewer pierced through skin, muscle, and organs, coming out the other side, now dripping with blood and bits of pinkish intestines.

Huuu…

Seojun wasn’t sure if the deflating sound came from the soldier’s stomach or his mouth. Golden, having at last arrived, delivered a fierce blow to the back of the soldier’s head, who was now impaled by the skewer.

The soldier couldn’t hold on anymore and collapsed face down. A brief hush fell over the scene. He didn’t rise again. The slight trembling of his body suggested he might have been knocked out.

Realizing that the soldier was now unconscious, Golden, his face red with fury, took deep breaths to steady himself and then moved rigidly towards Seojun.

“Hey, you! Fortune teller! Are you okay?”

He grabbed Seojun’s shoulders excitedly and gave him a vigorous shake. As a result, Seojun’s shoulder, which was just starting to heal, turned red again. It seemed like Golden’s hair dye was on the cheaper side, as his sweat made his forehead shimmer golden.

At that moment, Seojun really felt like passing out. He envied the unconscious soldier, if only for a brief moment. Seeing Seojun’s head sway uncontrollably, Johan stepped in and stopped Golden, grabbing his wrist.

“Ow—Hey!”

“Golden, that’s enough.”

Johan shoved him away, almost throwing him off. The intense grip left Golden’s wrist pale, later showing a blue bruise as the blood returned. It made sense for Golden to feel enraged. He might have been somewhat shorter than the slender Seojun, but his physique was notably strong, with muscular forearms and a wide chest, a result of his love for boxing.

But as always, Johan wasn’t really paying attention to Golden’s strong appearance.

“Now’s not the time, Golden.”

He gently rubbed Seojun’s torn lip with his thumb, making Seojun wince in pain. This made Johan visibly restless.

“Jun, does it hurt? I’m really sorry.”

Johan pulled a long face, looking genuinely upset that he didn’t have any ointment on hand. Seojun was still hurting all over, but somehow, Johan’s concerned expression helped him relax a bit, and a faint smile appeared on his face. However, catching sight of Golden scowling behind Johan, Seojun’s smile slowly disappeared.

Wait, I haven’t used up all my good luck on Golden, have I?

A cold sweat broke out on his back. He quickly shook off the dreadful thought. Just then, he heard a soft kicking sound on the ground.

Wondering if the soldier had miraculously come to, Seojun tensed up and turned around, only to find Christina and Airi looking at them, completely dumbfounded. The gun was still rolling around near Christina’s feet.

“Can you untie us?”

“Yeah, please untie us.”

Johan awkwardly scratched the back of his head and went over to them. The soldier had tied them up so tightly that their skin was bruised.

“Ugh…”

While Christina was rubbing her sore wrists, Airi limped over to William. She sat down on the dirty ground and gently turned William’s body over.

The soldier, while bringing Christina and the others here, had slammed William’s head on the ground, saying he needed to make an example for those who resisted. He kept it up until William passed out. He claimed he didn’t enjoy inflicting pain on others, but he was quick-tempered and brutal when it came to violence. Watching him, Airi felt her heart ache.

“Oh, Willy!”

“Hmm… Airi?”

Thankfully, William was in relatively good shape, with just a cut on his forehead and some bleeding. Sure, he had a gunshot wound in his leg and a collarbone injury, but at least he was alive. Compared to Bobby, whose fate was still unknown, William was doing okay. Seojun nodded, impressed by William’s toughness.

Johan, noticing Seojun’s slight movement, casually put his hand on Seojun’s forehead.

“What? Get off.”

“You don’t have a fever…”

“What is this weirdly uncomfortable feeling?”

But even though Seojun was verbally expressing his discomfort, he had gotten used to Johan’s touch by now and didn’t make a big deal out of it. Now that everyone was free, they exchanged glances. It was the soldier’s turn to be tied up.