Reborn as a Prophet in a Horror Movie

#037Reader Mode

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

#037

The tentacles felt deceptively soft as they began wrapping Gas Mask’s leg in their unyielding grip. Each suction cup clung and tightened with slow, mounting force, morphing from gentle caresses to implements of agony.

Gas Mask trembled visibly, his strong leg crushed within its grasp. This hardened serial killer, a figure of fear himself, now faced a terror that transcended his own cruel existence. His screams, different from the ones when Johan mangled his thigh, revealed a deeper, primal fear of the unknown, the otherworldly.

Seojun, watching from above, felt a shiver of recognition ripple through him. Unfortunately, he understood that fear all too well—the inescapable terror of being ensnared by an entity beyond comprehension, the sharp bite of physical pain, the looming shadow of being devoured.

Yet at the same time, a cowardly sense of relief bubbled up in his heart, grateful for his narrow escape from such a fate.

“Ugh…”

With painstaking caution, Seojun opened his mouth wide. He felt the slick, slithering presence of the tentacle as it withdrew from his throat, careful not to clench his teeth. A trail of saliva clung to his lips, glistening in the dim light as he observed the scene below.

Below him, the monster’s insatiable appetite shifted focus to Gas Mask, yet it hadn’t fully relinquished its hold on Seojun. The once firm grip on him eased a bit, and the invasive tentacle finally retreated from the depths of his insides.

“Get away!”

Gas Mask’s struggle was in vain. Muted groans escalated to desperate curses as his body writhed, seeking any means of escape. Frantically, he searched his pockets, fingers fumbling. A lighter and cigarettes fell to the ground, a small clatter amid mounting tension. With several fingers missing, his grip was feeble, but in a moment of sheer desperation, he flung the lighter with all the might his injured hand could muster.

Despite his injured fingers shortening the throw, the lighter still reached its target thanks to the close distance. The tiny flame briefly brushed against the monster’s ghostly flesh.

A soft thunk reached Seojun’s ears.

A low gurgle rumbled from the monster’s core as it shifted. The lighter, momentarily stuck on the tentacle’s slimy suckers, harmlessly bounced off the alien, leaving no trace on its slick surface.

Despite its feebleness, this attempt had succeeded in drawing more of the monster’s attention to Gas Mask.

“Ugh!”

Suddenly released, Seojun hit the ground hard. He rolled instinctively away, grateful for the small mercy of not biting his tongue.

As the tentacle withdrew from Seojun, it slithered towards Gas Mask with renewed interest. Seizing this moment, Johan rushed to his side, wrapping Seojun in a tight embrace that reeked of blood.

“Jo…han?”

Seojun’s voice was barely more than a hoarse whisper, strained from exhaustion. He leaned heavily against Johan, resting his head on Johan’s shoulder, too spent for anything else.

“Jun, Jun, Seojun!”

Johan behaved as if they were long-separated lovers now reunited. He affectionately ruffled Seojun’s hair, his fingers tenderly stroking the back of his head, their faces coming close enough for their breaths to mingle. Where they touched, fiery warmth met icy coolness.

Leaning in, Johan kissed Seojun’s cheek softly, whispering words that brushed warmly over Seojun’s pale face.

“I’m thankful to God for this moment, to hold you again. I really am.”

“You always make things sound so grand.”

Seojun’s slumped shoulders trembled with a weak chuckle. Funnily enough, Johan’s words mirrored his own thoughts. A moment of calm, shared smiles passed between them.

“Let go, monster! Ah, ah!”

Of course, their current backdrop was far from a calm neighborhood, a cozy room packed with games and comics, or a fun dating spot in an amusement park. Instead, the ambient sounds were dominated by the horrific, wet noises of Gas Mask being murdered.

Drawn to the awful screams, Seojun and Johan turned to look at a scene ripped from nightmares. Gas Mask, caught by the monster, hung dangling in the grip of its writhing tentacles. The part resembling the monster’s abdomen split open, revealing row upon row of jagged, shark-like teeth. The thin line on Monster X’s body that Seojun had mistaken for a crack was actually its gaping maw – a dark and ravenous abyss.

Seeing that gaping chasm of a mouth, it became clear to Seojun how the monster had dealt the soldiers in the truck so quickly. The soldiers… they had been devoured whole, swallowed into its gaping depths.

The monster’s indulgence in its prey was methodical, almost leisurely. Its colossal mouth gnawed on Gas Mask’s legs with a terrible deliberateness. Each bite was unhurried as Gas Mask’s legs endured a relentless, sawing ordeal under those razor-like teeth.

“No, no, I don’t want to die!”

For a serial killer who indiscriminately murdered people, Gas Mask showed a surprisingly cowardly attitude towards facing death. As he struggled violently, his gas mask finally came off completely. Seojun, seeing his face for the first time, was sure of it. It was a middle-aged man with pockmarked skin…

It was the first and last time Seojun saw his face. As the tentacle’s grip slackened around his neck, Gas Mask’s unmasked face was filled with raw, primal fear.

“Save, me, plea-ase…”

Panic swelled in Gas Mask’s eyes as they bulged wide with dread. His lips shook uncontrollably, his plea fading into silence as the monster’s gaping maw drew him closer. The sickening crunch of bone and the tearing of flesh echoed gruesomely, hanging thick in the air.

But Seojun and his companions couldn’t afford to be paralyzed by the horror of the scene. Based on the information they had gathered so far, the monster’s feeding habits were unpredictable, sometimes even regurgitating its prey.

Taking advantage of the brief moment while the monster was preoccupied with its meal, Seojun and Johan cautiously crept along. Airi had just climbed down from the dorm roof and limped over to join them. Her voice, raspy from exertion, barely rose above a whisper.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe how many times I’ve said ‘oh my God’ today. Turns out the chef was the serial killer. The day has finally come when Bobby’s intuition is right. Oh my God!”

Her face winced in pain as she spoke. Still, it was better than not being able to move at all, so Airi forced herself to slowly stretch out her legs.

“Ah, Bobby, I’ll make sure Mrs. Thompson knows about your brave end. It’s going to be tough, but please rest in peace now.”

Only someone who hadn’t witnessed Bobby’s end could say such a thing. Without pausing, she went on.

“I don’t want to keep saying ‘oh my god’. There’s no time for that. Let’s get out of here while the monster is busy eating the chef.”

“That’s a good idea.”

They moved quietly, sticking to the shadows next to the dorm. Monster X was devouring Gas Mask in a disturbingly graphic manner.

It chewed on his lower half with its numerous teeth, savoring the blood and flesh before raising him back out of its mouth again, as if inspecting its next bite. This unique dining method was repeated, gradually moving up to try new areas. Gas Mask’s legs, now a mangled mess, sent him spiraling into a frenzy of pain and terror, erupting in wild, unhinged laughter. The harrowing sound of his bones snapping intermingled with his crazed cackling.

The nameless serial killer’s face left a haunting impression on the ordinary students. Despite feeling the bone-deep urgency to leave this place immediately, his twisted face seemed to have a magnetic pull, attracting their gaze.

Every orifice on his face was oozing blood, and his mouth was twisted into a nightmarish grin. In comparison to his terrible appearance, the pockmarks were hardly noteworthy.

Focusing on this sight was dangerous. A cold sweat broke out, sending shivers across their skin already chilled by fear.

Death has a way of stirring deep, intense emotions in people. For most, it’s usually revulsion, but sometimes a morbid fascination. Seojun had never found it pleasant. With a determined effort, he shut his eyes, turning away from the scene that seemed to hold a dark charm.

But the darkness behind his eyelids wasn’t empty. Instead, a vision took shape – a man in the black mask, nonchalantly shrugging as he had outside the convenience store.

A trickle of saliva slid uncomfortably down his throat. Was this a hallucination brought on by his own abilities? It was in these moments, eyes clenched shut and vulnerable, that these visions would sneak in, unwelcome. They never brought peace, only distressing images he wished he could unsee. How many nights had he wrestled with the fear of losing his mind?

When Seojun finally dared to open his eyes, his dark, nearly black irises met Johan’s striking blue ones. Fascination takes many forms and isn’t limited to death alone.

Johan’s features, soaked in blood, held a strange allure. His pale skin bathed in moonlight, distinctly smeared with red, made the normally gentle Johan look inhuman.

Subconsciously, Seojun licked his lips, tasting iron. He wondered briefly if Johan’s cheek would taste the same. A scoff bubbled up at the absurd thought. He quickly reined in the corners of his mouth, which had curled upwards.

As his subtle smile faded, Johan furrowed his brows. Christina, mistaking his expression for discomfort, asked anxiously.

“Johan, can you move your hand?”

“Of course. Aside from the missing fingernails, it’s pretty much fine.”

Christina seemed doubtful about whether a hand without fingernails could be considered ‘fine.’ But since she couldn’t magically reattach Johan’s lost nails right now, she shifted the focus to a more urgent matter.

“The real question is where to escape to. Is there anywhere safe from that monster?”

“The forest… that gluttonous monster will probably follow us there.” muttered Airi, chewing her lip nervously. William, putting an arm around her shoulder for comfort, turned to Johan.

“Johan, you managed to cut off the monster’s tentacle before. Can’t we arm ourselves and try stabbing it like you did?”

“It won’t work without lemons,” Seojun replied to William’s question. He brought his less injured hand up to rub his weary eyes.

“I’m not sure why, but that monster has a weakness to lemon juice.”

“Lemon juice… Seojun.”

Christina looked at Seojun with a complicated expression.