Holy Night: My Husband is Definitely a Paladin - Chapter 173

Has that tentacle gone mad?

Or have I?

Irene felt her head go blank at the sight before her, a scene she could never have imagined.

Though she had encountered many tentacle-shaped monsters before, this one was different.

Its body was as thick as the waist of an adult woman, and its outer skin resembled human flesh, lacking the slimy, gelatinous coating typical of other tentacle monsters.

It looked more like a massive, peach-colored earthworm.

The most peculiar thing was that in the dungeon—and now here—its main body was nowhere to be seen. Only the end of its tentacle ever appeared.

‘Now’s not the time to be curious about this.’

While Irene hesitated, the tentacle swayed playfully as if waving at her, then began to slither toward her.

She rubbed her eyes, but the tentacle remained.

Finally convinced it wasn’t a hallucination, Irene took a deep breath.

Then she shouted at the top of her lungs.

“MONSTERRRRR!!!”

Her voice echoed loudly through the building.

“THERE’S A MONSTER! A TENTACLE MONSTER! HELP!!!”

She screamed relentlessly, her voice growing hoarse.

Startled by her cries, the tentacle froze, swaying back and forth as if confused.

It seemed to be silently asking, Why are you yelling at me?

‘Why isn’t it running away?!’

For a monster, it was behaving as though it knew her, like an acquaintance caught off guard by her reaction.

Anyone watching might think Irene and the monster were conspiring together.

Still screaming, Irene reached into her bag and pulled out the dagger.

“Don’t come any closer!”

She knew very well how low the probability was for the dagger’s ability to activate, but the tentacle didn’t know that.

It was the only weapon she had, so Irene swung the dagger with all her might.

The instant she brandished the blade, the tentacle shuddered violently, as if it had encountered the most terrifying thing in the world, and then disappeared in a flash.

“Where? Where did it go?”

“What’s going on?!”

Hearing her shouts, people rushed out into the hallway. Purifiers in the nearby rooms opened their doors to see what was happening.

Seeing others appear, Irene pointed to the corner where the tentacle had vanished and yelled,

“There! A monster appeared!”

At her words, the guards tightened their grips on their weapons and charged toward the corner.

“A monster? Where?!”

But just as they reached the corner, more people emerged from the direction the tentacle had fled.

“…What?”

Irene was bewildered. The tentacle had vanished in that direction, so surely these people must have seen it. Yet they asked, Where is it?

Left in the hallway were the confused onlookers and Irene, still frozen in place.

* * *

Bang!

The door to her room flew open as Michael stormed in.

“Irene!”

He dashed toward her as if ready to tackle her.

Irene immediately raised her hand to calm him.

“There’s nothing to worry about, Michael. Please, calm down.”

At her words, Michael tried to steady his ragged breathing.

Where had he come running from?

The scent of the dungeon’s winds still clung faintly to him.

“Nothing to worry about? I heard there was a monster!”

“Yes. I didn’t expect it to be one I recognized. I don’t know if it’s connected to Wilhelmina, but…”

“Wilhelmina? That former acquaintance of yours? Are you saying she’s involved in this?”

“Oh, right. You’ve been tirelessly clearing dungeons for two days straight, haven’t you? Take a seat for a moment. Catch your breath—I’ll explain what’s happened.”

Irene asked the maids to bring tea and began soothing Michael, recounting everything that had occurred.

“And that’s when I saw the tentacle today. But it… it seemed like it was greeting me.”

“……”

Michael’s expression darkened as he listened.

He looked as though he might tear the tentacle apart with his bare hands if it were in front of him right now.

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