My Strange Savior - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

[He and She]

Kalion narrowly avoided the monster’s attack and rolled on the ground. Even with rain pouring down as if the sky had opened up, Kalion couldn’t close his eyes. 

He immediately stood up to face the incoming monster’s attack, wondering where all these monsters had suddenly come from. 

In this life-threatening situation where he might not survive, Kalion, with an icy determination in his eyes, tightly gripped his sword.

“Keeeek.”

He glared at the repulsive cry of the goblin as he took a step back from the shattered ground. Perhaps today would be his last day. 

The eyes of countless goblins, armed with crude-looking hammers, despite being made of iron, were fixed on him with a fiery determination. 

Seeing their determined gaze, Kalion couldn’t help but wonder.

‘What in the world is this about?’

They were originally fierce creatures, but they hadn’t invaded the villages and killed people before. The monsters, which had suddenly become aggressive, began to gather together, and those that had previously just charged in started using strategies.

The rampage of monsters occurring simultaneously throughout the empire, especially the organized hunting of monsters concentrated in the Hagria Mountains that spanned the continent, filled people with fear. 

When damages caused by monsters occurred, the local lords requested dispatches, and the hesitant emperor finally sent out an extermination team. Leading the charge was Kalion, who had become a knight commander at a young age.

Is this the end? Kalion could only hope that the rest of his team had managed to escape the mountains safely.

As he took in the sight of the grim corpses of his comrades scattered everywhere, he precisely pierced the goblin’s vulnerable point with his sword. Many goblins rushed at him, but Kalion’s swordsmanship was devastating, and with each swing of his sword, goblin heads fell to the ground.

“Shhng. Shek.”

Kalion, who had been closely observing the goblins behind him shouting and yelling, clenched his teeth. It seems they can communicate with each other. Since when did monsters communicate like this? 

It was an unbelievable sight, but he had to believe it now that he had seen it with his own eyes. Once the remaining team members had time to escape the mountains, his job would be done. 

Despite being completely drained of strength, just standing on the broken ground, supporting himself with his legs, was overwhelming, but he had to endure until the end. The rain pouring down was so heavy that it was impossible to see anything clearly. 

Kalion’s movements, with his large build, were slowing down in the rain so heavy that it made his ears feel stuffy.

“Keeeek!”

Finally, as if sensing that Kalion had run out of strength, the goblins, one by one, began to press on him slowly. His breath was on the brink, but he had to send at least one more. Even for the sake of his fallen comrades who had died in vain.

Kalion fueled his fading consciousness with anger and vengeance.

As Kalion summoned every last ounce of his remaining strength to prepare for his final strike, Gia, who had been watching his desperate struggle on a distant high cliff, lowered her binoculars and let out a sigh.

‘Should I save him? Or not?’

As Gia agonized over her decision, she pressed her black hoodie down even harder. Rainwater splashed, obscuring her vision, but it was more important to her to see the man who looked like he might die at any moment.

She couldn’t just ignore him, especially when she had already seen him. Moreover, watching someone die right before her eyes was no longer an option. Eventually, she had to act.

Gia retrieved the sniper rifle she had been carrying on her back and quickly assumed a prone position. She pressed one side of her face against the scope, despite the rain interfering with her view. 

Would this work?

Aiming for the head of the monstrous creature targeting Kalion, Gia aligned her eye with the scope and pulled the trigger.

Bang—

As she squeezed the trigger, a cheerful sound echoed throughout the mountain, reverberating like an echo. Pulling the bolt handle after firing, the spent cartridge ejected.

Bang—

Another single gunshot followed, and the customized semi-automatic sniper rifle’s energy round traced a blue trajectory, striking precisely between the goblin’s brows.

Two goblin heads burst open like ripe watermelons. The expression of the other goblin behind them turned blank.

“Keeeeek!”

Thinking that Kalion might be using some strange trick, the goblins raised their sinister weapons triumphantly and prepared to attack.

“Keeeek!”

“Keeeeat!”

As they made bizarre noises and were about to rush Kalion, Gia, without any safety harness or precautions, threw herself off the cliff below. 

An ordinary human would have likely trembled in fear, but Gia, being an enhanced human, effortlessly kicked off the rocks that were jutting out and landed at the bottom in an instant. She appeared as light as a feather, almost floating.

Thud—

With a cheerful sound, Gia landed gracefully and sprinted away. The spot that had been far away just moments ago was now right before her.

“Kweeeeek!”

The goblins, taken aback by Gia’s sudden appearance, began to get excited. As Gia swiftly drew her semi-automatic pistol from her leg holster, she eliminated the goblin that had surrounded Kalion.

Bang, bang, bang.

Amidst the consecutive deafening noises, Kalion struggled to open his eyes with all his might. 

Where had this person come from? From head to toe, this person was entirely clad in black, and Kalion gazed at them with blurred vision. His knees gave way without resistance.

“Hey! Don’t die!”

She had come all this way to save him, and it was frustrating to see her efforts go to waste. Gia yelled over the noisy rain, but Kalion had already reached his limit, and consciousness slipped away. He collapsed forward.

“Ah… Geez.”

“Keeeeek!”

Gia, looking at the repulsive creatures making noise, let out a deep sigh.

“They’re all dead, seriously.”

She quickly changed the magazine and charged headlong into the goblin horde. Her body soared through the air like a bird as she deftly dodged the brutal-looking clubs. 

The goblins’ voices grew excited as they saw Gia skillfully evade their vicious attacks.

[Kill her! Let’s kill that strange woman quickly!]

[Let’s kill the woman who ruthlessly killed our kind.]

Gia’s expression remained composed as she watched the goblins ranting and screaming.

At the agile end of Gia’s gun, the goblins were being ruthlessly slaughtered as they attempted to attack her with chaotic and wild movements.

“Keeeeek!”

The goblins hesitated and staggered backward, feeling that the threat they faced was stronger than they had initially thought.

“Darn. They won’t give up?”

Gia, still holding her gun, pointed it at the speechless goblins once more.

“I said, give up!”

“K-k… Keeeeek.”

The goblins, who had lost their will to resist, emitted more incomprehensible sounds, realizing they were no match for Gia.

Gazing at the retreating goblins, making as much noise as their appearance suggested, Gia exhaled softly. Perhaps due to the late autumn rain, each breath she exhaled seemed to disperse like white smoke.

“Hey, are you dead?”

Approaching Kalion, who lay motionless, half-buried in the mud, Gia squatted down and lightly tapped his broad back with her fingertips.

“You’re not dead.”

Gia muttered nonchalantly as she avoided Kalion’s battered body. She carefully examined his wounds and began to wrap her arms around them.

“Ugh.”

With ease, the much smaller Gia swiftly encircled Kalion without exerting any noticeable effort.

“I’ll take you with me for now.”

After all, she couldn’t just abandon him when he was still alive, right? She decided to act on common sense and bring him along.

After walking for a while, Gia reached a dead-end cliff. She turned the dial on her electronic wristwatch, and suddenly, an entrance appeared where the cliff wall had previously seemed solid.

Entering the cave, Gia found a warm and inviting atmosphere filled with traces of past human habitation.

“Hah.”

With a thud, Gia dropped Kalion onto the partially cleared floor. She turned around and rummaged through her backpack.

“Even though I brought you, you can’t die now.”

Opening her bag, Gia retrieved an emergency kit and knelt beside the barely conscious Kalion.

“Hey… you can’t die, okay?”

Firmly delivering her plea, Gia opened the kit and took out a syringe. When she opened the cap, the sharp needle glistened in the light emitted by the built-in illumination.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Gia pushed the needle deep into Kalion’s thigh and administered the medication. 

Kalion, who had been in agonizing pain, took a deep breath as the medicine coursed through his veins.

“Ugh.”

With this much treatment, he shouldn’t die. Gia’s hands moved swiftly as she unceremoniously removed his upper garment, revealing the bleeding wounds.

“Oh, no.”

Excessive bleeding could be life-threatening. She generously applied a white powder over the deep lacerations.

“Ugh.”

The highly effective hemostatic agent quickly halted the bleeding. However, Gia’s expression turned concerned as she saw the significant amount of blood he had lost. She expertly wrapped his abdomen with bandages.

“Does it hurt? Just bear with it a little.”

Sweat trickled down the face of the man in agony, and Gia, with a familiar touch, supported his chin with her arm.

“You’re quite good-looking.”

Even with a face covered in blood, it wasn’t easy to hide his handsomeness. Gia dabbed her cloth on his straight nose. She could feel the rising temperature against her skin.

She used the moderately soaked cloth to wipe away the blood on his face. As she revealed his face, Gia couldn’t help but murmur.

“Oh…”

The faces of her fellow soldiers, whose facial features seemed randomly placed and didn’t quite match, briefly flashed through Gia’s mind. That… doesn’t this one look too perfectly formed?

Gia looked at Kalion, who was groaning in pain and enduring his suffering and pursed her lips.

‘The facial features… everyone was so insistent on having their say…’

What’s with this perfectly formed face? It felt like encountering a work of art sculpted with painstaking care, filled with an emotion that flowed through the creation.

“Yeah. Dying with a face like this would be a loss, for sure.”

As Kalion furrowed his brow in agony, Gia gently stroked his forehead with her fingertip. She helped him up.

He probably won’t die immediately. Putting her doubts aside, Gia spread out her jacket on a flat rock.

“Humph. Ugh.”

The moans echoing inside the cave made Gia narrow her eyes. Catching a cold and dying would be ridiculous. After all the trouble she went through to save him, it would be a shame if he succumbed to pneumonia. 

Annoyed by the demanding presence she had brought along, Gia sighed and rubbed her chin at the echoing sounds inside the narrow cave.

She removed his soaked armor, taking off the additional clothing he had worn underneath. With that, the muscular upper body came into view. Unlike those enhanced by drugs, his muscles were purely developed through training.

“I’m not trying to do anything!”

Gia, now facing Kalion, who looked like he had just become an adult, made a loud declaration to someone who couldn’t hear it.

“Should I take off your pants, or should I leave them on…?”

After deep contemplation, Gia’s hand finally left his pants.

“Ugh.”

Is this going too far? She used a dry towel to pat his wet upper body.

“You know, I’m doing all this to save your life. Don’t feel bad.”

It would probably take at least half a day for him to recover. Gia, who had been indecisive, looked at her only sleeping bag.

Should she give in? She doesn’t like sleeping on the floor.

Although it was meant for supply, the sleeping bag was made of advanced materials and was quite comfortable. The two thoughts clashed fiercely in her mind, but eventually, the idea of sacrificing the sleeping bag began to dominate.

“Humph.”

Hearing the coughing sound, Gia’s forehead wrinkled nicely.

“I guess I can’t help it.”

Gia opened the zipper and pulled Kalion into the open sleeping bag. She quickly removed her wet combat uniform. Only a black short-sleeved shirt and tights issued for military use remained, outlining the contours of her body.

Seeing Kalion’s lips stained with blood, Gia moved close to him, her cheek pressed against his side. She zipped up the sleeping bag, and only the tip of his nose peeked out, resembling a pupa escaping its cocoon.

“Rest well. Don’t die on me, okay?”

With a stern farewell, Gia leaned her head against Kalion’s uninjured arm, sharing warmth with his cold body.