Kyle, who was staring at the massive beast coming toward them at high speed, felt an unfamiliar coldness run down his spine. The beast was like a tangible nightmare: a giant boar's head with twisted tusks gleaming under the shattered lights of the hall, a massive body encased in skin resembling iron. The sound of its footsteps alone was enough to make the ground tremble beneath them, as if the building itself feared this creature.
"This... this isn't real, right?" Kyle muttered under his breath, trying to convince himself that what he was seeing was just an optical illusion. "This is just a dream... or maybe I'm in some prank show. Yeah, that makes sense. Where are the cameras?!"
He turned to the man beside him, broad-shouldered and wearing armor that looked like it was made for heroes from legends. But the man, instead of stepping forward to face the beast, was slowly backing away, his face pale as if he had seen a ghost.
"Well... big muscular man!" Kyle shouted nervously, waving his hands. "Isn't this the perfect time for you to pull out your magical sword? Or maybe do something useful?!"
The giant man, who was starting to sweat under his armor, took another step back, trying to move away from both Kyle and the beast. "It's... a bit more complicated!" he said, his voice hesitant.
"Complicated?!" Kyle repeated, trying to hide behind one of the nearby tables. "What part of this situation isn't complicated? There's a giant boar-headed monster coming to eat us, and you're telling me it's complicated?!"
The beast let out a deafening roar, enough to stop any rational thought. Kyle, struggling to keep his composure, shouted once more, "Tell me now, what did you do to bring this thing here? I at least want a good story before I die!"
The man, who could barely stand still, swallowed with difficulty. "It's... Small mistake... Unfortunately, I have only acquired one letter in my entire life."
"Code?!" shouted Kyle, desperately hiding behind a table that began to shake with each step of the beast.
The man, who seemed to regret all his life decisions, raised his hands in resignation. "I've been trying to call a hero. However... There was a bug in the code. Instead of just summoning you, you also released this monster!"
Kyle wasn't sure what he was hearing. "Code? Letters? Me? Am I a hero? This is something where Marvel mixes with a lousy fantasy novel!" Then he paused, pointing with his trembling hand at the monster. "And what letter were you talking about?"
The man looked away, as if trying to avoid the question. "The only trades I've been able to get so far is... Letter H."
Kyle gaped for a long moment, then burst. "The letter H?! What does the letter H mean?! Are you supposed to fight a monster with a letter?! Why don't you carry a sword? Or at least a working shield?!"
"It doesn't work that way!" shouted the man
"Great, so this is the great hero?" Kyle said, waving his hands toward the man. "You wear fancy armor, have a face that looks like a shampoo ad, and carry a sword big enough to cut down a tree, but you hide behind a pillar at the first sign of danger? My grandfather would've fought the monster with a broomstick before hiding like you!"
The man tried to justify himself. "It's... it's stronger than it looks!"
"Oh, really?" Kyle said sarcastically. "Because it looks like a huge pig escaped from a genetic research farm. Is this hall used for experiments on creatures the size of trucks?"
At that moment, the beast's roar cut off any chance for more sarcasm. The ground shook violently as the beast neared, effortlessly smashing the surrounding columns with terrifying ease.
Kyle tried to crawl away from the collapsing table he was hiding behind. "Great, so the hall is empty, there are no guards, no cheering crowds calling my name as the great hero. All we have is a giant monster and a muscular man who can't use the letter H. This is the worst moment of my life!"
The man raised his hand to point at the dilapidated hall. "This isn't an ordinary hall... It's an ancient ritual hall. This place has been abandoned for centuries. The last time this hall was used, everyone here... was slaughtered."
Kyle stared at him, not believing it. "Wait... what?!"
"It's true," the man said, looking around cautiously. "This place is meant for crafters and for assembling letters. But anyone who tried to use it... died somehow. I'm a fool for thinking I'd be the exception."
"Well, congratulations!" Kyle said sarcastically. "You've proven that everyone was right. This place is cursed!"
The beast, as if tired of waiting, lunged at the man with incredible speed, letting out a roar that shook the hall. The massive sword the man carried barely managed to block the attack, but it pushed him back, sending him crashing into a wall with enough force to stir up a thick cloud of dust.
Kyle stood there, frozen for a few seconds. Should he run? Fight? Film a video and wait for it to go viral? Maybe the last option wasn't practical right now.
"Okay, Kyle, think. You're in a world that looks like a video game, which means..." He paused for a moment, trying to remember all the tips he learned from video games. "Oh, right, the first option is always to run!"
Kyle turned quickly and ran as fast as he could. The beast didn't seem interested in him yet; it was too busy with the giant man, who could barely lift himself off the ground.
Kyle ran with all his energy, ignoring the man's angry voice behind him. "Coward! I sacrificed everything for this moment. And what I get is a hero running away!"
But Kyle didn't look back. His mind was screaming at him, "Stay alive, no time for heroics!"
Suddenly, the roar of the beast behind him made him stop running for a moment. He slowly turned around and found the nightmare right in front of him. The massive boar's head was approaching, its tusks gleaming like execution tools.
Kyle, stepping backward in front of the massive beast, nervously laughed, "Oh, you're fast for your size, huh? Great, you're like sports trucks... only way more terrifying!"
The beast bent down and prepared to pounce. Kyle shut his eyes, whispering to himself, "Well, maybe death won't be that bad. My life wasn't really anything to be proud of..."
Suddenly, amidst the noise and the roar filling the room, something swooped through the air at incredible speed. Kyle couldn't identify its source. All he felt was a sharp shadow plunging into the boar-headed monster that was about to devour him. It received an unexpected blow.
A sharp stab, right in its head. The sound was terrifying, like iron piercing rock. The beast screamed in pain, its eyes wide as if life was draining from it. But the stab wasn't ordinary. It was precise and targeted, as though it had been sharpened specifically to kill this creature.
In an instant, the beast's head exploded into pieces, and blood filled the air like heavy rain. Then, from the shadows, a girl appeared, standing gracefully. Her dagger still gleamed, blood splattering on it as if she had done nothing but move her hand.
Kyle, still in shock, muttered, "I think... I just fell for you."
After the stunning moment passed, the girl stopped moving and opened her cold eyes, turning to the man who was crawling away from the wall. Her gaze was lethal, as if there was no mercy in her eyes. Her face showed no expression except a cold, harsh demeanor, as if she didn't care about the complexities of the situation.
Kyle, starting to realize the situation was even more dangerous than he thought, looked at the girl, then at the man, his eyes widening in sudden realization.
"You two know each other, don't you? Because this story between you is bigger than just a stab in the head of a monster."