“What?
That’s nonsense!”
“Well, it’s just a rumor, but think about it.
The Pope died in an empty chapel, the temple refuses to release the body, and the guards all resigned at the same time.
Isn’t that suspicious?
They should’ve stayed by the Pope’s side until the funeral was over.”
The men began discussing the matter seriously among themselves.
Meanwhile, the one groping Heesoo seemed utterly uninterested in the conversation.
He leaned in close and whispered in her ear, his breath reeking.
“How could anyone send a beauty like you to the mines? Every man there would try to get a piece of you.”
The sensation of his words crawling into her ear made her shudder violently.
Goosebumps raced down her spine.
“What’s that? Did you hear something just now?”
Suddenly, one of the men behind him grew tense, glancing around.
“Hear what?”
“Something moving.
Didn’t you hear it?”
“Nope.
Sounds like it’s just you.”
“Maybe, but it’s creeping me out.”
“What’s there to be creeped out about?”
“…The knight said to burn the Outsider’s body.”
“That guy from earlier?
If they burn bodies in the forest, the fire would spread.
That’s just stupid.”
“Still, what if…
What if the knight said it because of the Maenok?”
“Shut your damn mouth!
Don’t jinx us!”
Not understanding their language was almost a relief to Heesoo.
Heesoo stared up at the night sky.
It wasn’t pitch dark, so while the stars didn’t shine brightly, but she could still see them faintly scattered across the sky.
This wasn’t Earth.
It might be another planet.
Perhaps even in another dimension.
But to Heesoo, it felt like hell. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Not the afterlife kind—she hadn’t died yet.
She wished she had, but no.
This was a living hell, unique to her.
“This damned piece of fabric! I’m just going to cut it off. Don’t move, okay? This blade is sharp.”
The man drew a long sword and began slicing her jeans from the ankle up.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I need to see all of you.”
The sound of fabric tearing filled the air, and Heesoo thought blankly.
‘I’d rather die.’
As the man’s disgusting hands continued their exploration, she could think of nothing but death.
‘It can’t get worse than this.’
But she was wrong.
“Your skin feels amazing, like it’s clinging to my hands. And your scent… it’s intoxicating.”
Her vacant gaze shifted slightly, and she noticed movement in the bushes behind the man.
“All the Outsider women should just be sent to brothels, but why on earth are they insisting on sending them to the mines instead? I just don’t get it.”
The vacant look in Heesoo’s eyes suddenly sharpened, a flicker of light returning to her gaze.
There, standing silently, was a woman.
Upon closer inspection, she was dressed in what appeared to be a flight attendant’s uniform.
The reason it required a closer look was that her clothes were completely soaked in blood.
Her neck twisted grotesquely, her body covered in gaping wounds.
That woman was not alive.
No doubt about it.
“Isn’t it because they’d get blamed if they slept with them, so they’re sending them to the mines?”
Heesoo’s heart pounded in her chest as she stared at the flight attendant.
Their eyes met—or so she thought.
But then she realized the woman’s eyes were rolled back, showing only the whites.
Her teeth began chattering uncontrollably.
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
“What’s wrong with you?”
The man muttered, noticing her frozen expression.
When he turned to look, the other three men immediately shouted in alarm.
“M-maenok!”
“Shit!”
“Run!”
The three men bolted without hesitation, and even the one assaulting Heesoo quickly scrambled to his feet.
As they fled, the behavior of the flight attendant suddenly changed.
Like a predator pouncing on its prey, she darted toward him in an instant.
Though she was dead, her movements carried an eerie sense of purpose as she swiftly grabbed him.
And then, she began to eat him—starting with his ear.
“Aaaaaah!”
The man thrashed and screamed, but he couldn’t shake her off.
“Nooo! Gaaaah!”
Heesoo remembered vividly how helpless she had been under his strength.
She thought the difference in power between the sexes couldn’t be overcome.
Yet now, he was powerless against the undead woman tearing into him.
She found it bitterly ironic how powerless she had been beneath him.
The flight attendant bit off his ear and moved to his nose, chewing relentlessly.
Heesoo’s body trembled uncontrollably.
She wanted to run, but the horrifying sight kept her rooted in place.
Her breath caught in her throat, her legs stiffened, and she felt as though she’d turned to stone.
The sound of an unfamiliar language.
A zombie devouring a man.
A world illuminated by two suns and two moons.
The ordinary world Heesoo once knew shattered completely that day.