Chapter 387

I gritted my teeth against the throbbing pain coursing through my entire body and attempted to swing [Sylph's Fall] again.

However, Garam soon kicked it away. Seeing the weapon fly, spinning, to an unreachable distance away, I couldn't help but feel like my soul was leaving my body.

"Don't rebel, hm?" Garam-ie murmured.

"......"

Jung Garam seized my wrists. My shoulders became rigid, worried that he would apply a strong force to my wrists. However, Garam-ie just used his weight to press against my arms; afterwards, the young Assassin fell silent for a while.

I slowly looked up when the pain I expected didn't arrive. When our eyes met, Garam-ie closed his open, gasping lips and gritted his teeth. Somehow, it felt as if the last dregs of his rationality were struggling for dominance.

I tried to remain calm during the tense tug-of-war between Garam's last remaining reason and his bloodlust.

'...Should I summon Choi Kyung-sik?'

There was a huge difference between summoned and stand-by states for servants; maybe Choi Kyung-sik could keep Jung Garam in check with his Alchemy skills.

However, the double-summon penalty-the bleeding-was an issue. When I summoned Woo Ragi earlier, I was unable to swallow the surging blood and vomited it out. The pain wasn't what I was scared of.

It's...

'If he sees blood in this state...'

Garam-ie wouldn't be able to stop himself.

It was the same as grilling meat in front of someone who had been starving for several days. My throat would probably be ripped out immediately. Moreover, I doubted whether or not Choi Kyung-sik, a noncombatant, could suppress Jung Garam, even if the Alchemist was summoned.

'How long does the stun last?'

I rolled my eyes to the side to look at Choi Kyung-sik; I could see his thumb move slightly. Looking at his fingertips, it seemed as if the stun penalty duration was coming to an end. I guess that he would be able to move in five minutes, at most.

"...Garam-ah."

"Haah..."

I needed to waste time. I called out Jung Garam's name in a quiet voice. As soon as his name left my lips, he leaned in sharply.

His mouth drew dangerously close, as if he were trying to inhale a sweet scent. Garam's shadowed face looked both mesmerized and agonized.

"...Ngh." Then, Garam-ie suddenly 'chewed' at my cheek. To be frank, he was aiming for my lips, but I turned my head and avoided him. His lips then touched my cheek.

It wasn't particularly painful, but I couldn't help feeling uneasy about Garam's blunt bite. His mouth was full of saliva, as if he had been rolling some candy around in his mouth.

'No matter how you look at this situation...He wants to eat me.'

I tried to push Garam away slowly, but the more force I placed behind my push the stronger he pressed down on me. So, I stayed still.

Soon afterwards, Garam slid his head towards the nape of my neck. "...Too sweet," he mumbled.

I broke out into cold sweat when he placed his lips on my neck.

However, I needed to continue to waste time. Very cautiously, I raised the hand that Garam wasn't pressing down.

As Garam-ie chewed the skin right above my collarbones, he noticed my movement and raised his head slightly. I reached over Garam's head, preparing for him to bite me.

Catch-!

"What are you doing, hm?" He drawled.

"......"

Immediately, Garam grabbed my hand, but thankfully, he didn't break or twist it. Instead of replying, I slowly moved my fingers in front of Garam's eyes, as if he were a cat and I was trying to grab his attention.

Garam-ie placed his lips against the palm of my hand. He squinted his eyes and sniffed; he placed my index finger in his mouth and began to suck.

I was afraid that my finger would be bitten off, and the sticky sensation of his tongue winding around my finger made me slightly nauseated. However, I endured and did not remove that finger.

"...You're staying still?" Garam said, in a fascinated tone, as he pulled my trembling fingers out of his mouth. It seemed as if he was asking, 'How far are you going to let me go?'

"Ack!"

"Pffthahaha!"

When I didn't answer, Garam-ie chewed my fingertip. It didn't hurt, but I couldn't help but yelp in surprise.

Garam-ie smiled when he saw my face pale. However, his gaze was still hazy, and he stopped smiling after that brief moment of levity. "Choi Lee-kyung, so frustrating..."

"......."

"You only ever let Dawon-hyung eat..."

"......"

"So biased." Jung Garam made a sour expression before touching my lips with his fingers. Then, he continued to fiddle with my lips with longing yet regretful strokes.

Garam, who had been idly poking at the corners of my lips, suddenly grabbed my chin with one hand and squeezed my cheeks, kneading them back and forth. He let out a heavy sigh, "Haah..."

Jung Garam's forehead pressed firmly against mine. He took slow breaths and muttered to himself, "Don't stab, don't stab..."

"......"

Garam still held the point of his dagger to my abdomen.

However, his tense shoulders started to droop; he started to lick at the tears I'd shed out of fear. It was as if my tears were the blood he had been craving so much.

Of course, I was even more scared when he tentatively groped and flicked his tongue at the area around my eyes....

"I can't hurt him..."

When I heard his intermittent murmurs, I realized that he hadn't gone completely feral.

Thud-!

At that moment, Garam stabbed through one of his hands with the dagger held in his other hand. He struck with enough force to drive the handle of the dagger close to the skin on the back of his hand. Like hammering a nail.

My eyes opened wide in surprise at the sudden change in situation. After adopting a more tranquil expression, Garam-ie let go of the dagger handle and stroked my cheek. "...I'm getting dizzy..."

"......"

"Can't you hear my stomach growling?"

The whining voice certainly sounded like the Garam-ie I knew. Trembling, I put on a brave face and slowly raised my hand to the back of his head. Then, I slowly stroked his hair.

Jung Garam looked at me for a moment, but soon he closed his eyes and docilely burrowed into my arms like a cat. "I'm so hungry... I keep drooling."

"......"

"I want to eat..." Garam, completely hanging onto me, sighed and then slowly relaxed his body.

Just in time, Choi Kyung-sik woke himself from his stunned state, took the dagger out of his neck, and quietly flicked his finger.

Garam-ie opened his eyes wide at the resulting popping noise, but by then numerous hands had already popped out of the ground, pinning the young Assassin to the floor.

Garam was dragged onto the magic circle that Choi Kyung-sik had summoned. His previously softened demeanor reverted to that of a murderous fiend; Garam writhed on the magic circle, immobilized by the pulsating energy. "Choi Kyung-sk!!! Let me go-you dare hold me down?! Choi Lee-kyung!!!!"

"I think we need a muzzle." Without batting an eyelid at the ferocious snarls, Choi Kyung-sik stabbed a dagger through Garam-ie's neck just as he had experienced earlier. Unlike Choi Kyung-sik who had immediately fallen to the ground stunned, Garam-ie kept struggling and trying to break free the magic circle with his monstrous force.

However, when Choi Kyung-sik flicked his finger once more, his skill strengthened and surrounded Garam's body. After a few spasms, Garam eventually ceased struggling when he was completely enveloped by the powerful skill.

Choi Kyung-sik approached me and handed me [Sylph's Fall] that had been knocked a little ways away, "Do you want to poke [him] a little with this?" 1

"Huh? My palm?"

"No. I'm talking about Garam-ie."

Eyes wide open, I stared at Choi Kyung-sik. The Alchemist adopted a grave expression and said, "If you don't give him blood, he'll keep running wild."

"But..." I recalled Garam, who had stabbed himself with a dagger so as to not hurt me.

However, Choi Kyung-sik, who must have known the direction of my thoughts, firmly insisted, "You must never give him blood in a situation like this. That 'blood' will become a reward for him losing his sanity."

"......"

"Next time, he won't hesitate like he's doing now."

In other words, Choi Kyung-sik was speaking about the 'right way' to train a servant. I knew Cho Kyung-sik's words were right, but I despaired at having to stab Garam-ie with my own hands.

'Ah.'

At that time, another method came to mind. I looked up at the ceiling where Garam-ie had fallen through.

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TL: Ngl... I'm a sucker for people hurting themselves to break themselves out of berserk states (to stop themselves from hurting others).