My Strange Savior - Chapter 30

Chapter 30

The feeling of being thrown in front of a ferocious beast without any weapons easily shattered the determination spoken in bravado, leaving them powerless. 

The members, barely standing their ground, their bodies trembling, forced strength into their legs to remain in place.

As they stood there, feeling helpless, Gia’s words reached their ears like a lifeline. When she volunteered to take on the troll, a sense of relief washed over them, even more than the bruising of their pride. Afterward, embarrassment surged.

She, petite and delicate, willingly stepped up. On top of that, she had been blatantly disregarded simply because she was a woman. Apologies and gratitude slowly welled up within them.

Their dwindled courage surged fiercely once again. 

“Let’s go.” 

Gia said, and whether it was due to her, the members regained their courage, propelling forward. Gia, leaping high, swung her sword straight at the target.

The troll, nonchalantly wielding its club, was pushed back more forcefully than expected by the substantial strength. Breathing fiercely, Gia swung the club again, this time with added force from her other hand. Finally, the troll dropped its guard, and Gia’s sword fell.

“Krng.”

The troll, seeming angry, glared at Gia. 

“Well, what will you do if you’re so upset?” 

Gia jeered, struggling to hide her throbbing wrist.

With just one exchange of blows, it was clear that the troll possessed considerable strength. How many more rounds could they go? Calculating, Gia glanced at the pistol holstered on her belt.

There was not much ammunition left… Would it be okay to use it now?

They hadn’t even reached the halfway point of the mountain, and a monster like this had already appeared. This meant that even more colossal creatures lurked above. 

They needed to conserve for potential encounters with other monsters, but the situation didn’t seem so accommodating. Nevertheless, they had to endure as long as possible and save as much as they could. 

Recomposing herself, Gia wiped the sweat from her brow with the pistol grip.

The troll, which seemed ready to charge immediately before, cautiously circled Gia. It appeared as if it had judged Gia to be formidable.

“All right… focus on me. Only me.”

Afraid that the troll’s aggression might be directed at the members or Kalion, Gia did not avert the troll’s gaze, muttering provocations as if to taunt.

“Kr, kruk.”

Even in the monster’s voice, there seemed to be a hint of strength, stirring an instinctive fear in people.

“If I got scared of something like this, I’d be a lost cause already.”

Despite wielding the sword clumsily, her eyes blazed with determination.

Click. Creak.

Incomprehensible words made the troll’s head tilt from side to side.

If it were a pet doing this, it would have been considered cute, but from the troll, it felt repulsive. Gia, as if seeing the troll’s vile intentions, pulled her head back.

“Stop acting cute and come at me.”

“Kruk.”

The troll, with its dumbfounded appearance, seemed to understand the command to attack and stopped its strange gestures, charging straight at her.

With every movement of its massive body, the ground seemed to vibrate.

Gia, deftly avoiding the surprisingly agile troll, rolled to the side and raised her longsword.

Gripping the handle tightly, she drove it deep as the troll, leg cut, spun in agony.

Thud, thud.

“Why? Are you angry?”

The troll stared for a moment at the green liquid oozing from its severed thigh, following the path of the blade.

Grrrk, grrrk.

The troll growled fiercely as if it knew Gia was mocking it.

Squelch, squelch.

In an instant, a viscous liquid gathered over the troll’s thigh, and the wounds seemed to start healing, as if to say, ‘When did that happen?’

“Crazy… It’s regenerating.”

The roaring scream was unnerving. Eyes filled with rage scrutinized Gia from head to toe.

It seemed eager to devour Gia in one gulp, chewing and swallowing her without hesitation.

Gia’s eyebrows twitched as she met the eyes of the enemy, burning with intense hatred, not avoiding them.

She didn’t even think she could kill it in one blow, but seeing that it had only caused this level of injury, irritation surged.

How tough is its skin? Frustrated, she gritted her teeth, her palms still tingling slightly but hiding it well in her impatience.

“Damn it.”

Spitting out profanities involuntarily, Gia glanced at the situation of the other members with a sidelong glance.

She could see some struggling members engaging goblins with their swords, and Kalion was in a fierce battle as well. But it didn’t seem like they would easily be defeated, especially if she managed to deal with the troll effectively.

So, she couldn’t afford to collapse.

She had to do her best to protect them. That’s what she had said.

Twisting her body in response to the sense of danger, the ground that had been solid until just now suddenly caved in deeply. If she had blinked, Gia’s head would have been crushed.

“Do you have no manners?”

Gia grumbled at the narrowly avoided danger, still very much alive. She continued to speak softly to provoke the troll.

“Well, your face has no manners. It doesn’t. Seriously.”

Seeing the troll flinch lightly as she twirled her longsword with one arm and taunted, its snarl intensified.

Kill it.

They couldn’t communicate with words, but by looking at the emotions in each other’s eyes, they could understand.

This time, Gia quickly made her move first. Hoping her judgment about the troll’s lack of agility due to its large size was accurate, she twisted her body towards the chest area where the fur was thick and bristly.

Not avoiding the troll’s gaze fixed on the prey leaping toward it, Gia raised her sword briefly and then swiftly brought it down.

Lowering her body, Gia flew through the troll’s armpit, slipping through it like a skid, aiming for the troll’s ankle and swinging her sword.

Even just cutting through the skin caused bruises to form on her palm. The troll seemed incredibly tough and resistant to the blade.

Whether it was reading Gia’s thoughts or not, the troll extended its ankle and in a moment, it swung its fist over the fallen Gia, aiming for her.

“Ugh. Damn it….”

To defend against the sudden attack, Gia lowered her sword to block the fist that came forcefully from below. The pressure of the fist pushing down was immense, befitting the troll’s massive build.

“Ugh… Crazy. Damned…”

There had been many deformed zombies, but Gia, who had never experienced a direct physical confrontation like this, struggled to support her trembling arms against the pressure of the fist coming in.

“Krrrung.”

Following the origin of the crying sound heard nearby, Gia shifted her gaze and saw saliva dripping heavily from the troll’s massive mouth as if it could easily chew and swallow her in one gulp.

“Disgus… Disgusting!”

As the saliva landed on her face, Gia squirmed to escape, and the troll’s huge pupils contracted in an instant.

“Urk.”

As their eyes met, Gia, being human, felt the instinctual fear that first paralyzed her legs.

Crack.

The longsword, barely holding up against the troll’s fist, seemed to cry out as if it would break, signaling its limits.

“Hah.”

Realizing that her opposite hand was moving, Gia let go of the sword and rolled on the ground.

As she tumbled on the floor covered in fallen leaves, Gia quickly realized how helpless she had become. Before she could even brush away the leaves sticking to her hair, the troll was on her again.

Contrary to its sluggish appearance, the troll’s movements were more agile than she had imagined.

Swish.

When the troll extended its claws, the wind blew over Gia’s cheek.

Struggling to avoid it, Gia suppressed her fear and pressed herself closer to the troll, trying to read its simple pattern without falling off.

She might die like this.

Gia’s head, dodging the incoming attacks while biting her molars, was already a chaotic mess.

It seemed futile to expect help from Kalion and the other subordinates. The sound of clashing weapons made it clear. 

Hoping to survive, Gia focused carefully on solving the puzzle that lay before her.

Swish.

Just a scratch from the swiftly attacking claws seemed like it could peel off all her flesh.

With her eyes wide open, Gia’s body, not avoiding the attacks, seemed to sway in all directions, but she didn’t fall cleverly; instead, she turned every effective blow into a miss.

“Kraaah!”

As Gia skillfully maneuvered like a water flea, the troll’s snarl grew louder and fiercer.

‘Yeah. Get excited. Get excited.’

Anticipating that opportunity, she moved dynamically, allowing space for the troll to enter, and when it did, she naturally avoided it by stabbing the troll in that spot.

“So slow.”

She didn’t stop taunting in between. The longsword was already lying on the ground, unheard of as a weapon in Gia’s hand. Yet, seeing the troll becoming more agitated and pushing forward, its forehead heated up with the inability to endure the anger.

Watching the troll charging with its eyes rolling, stumbling, and growling, Gia chuckled.

Lowering her posture as if suddenly unhooking, Gia seized this moment and pulled out the knife from her ankle. She had seemingly been unarmed until now to lull the troll into a false sense of security. 

Gia gripped the knife firmly and applied pressure to her thigh.

The troll, moving its center forward to catch the crouching Gia on the ground, extended its sharp hands as if determined not to miss this time.

As the desire to kill the troll consumed Gia and her face trembled with rage, her cheeks swelled outwards like a bulldog, hair flying to both sides.

In response, Gia’s body, bothered by the saliva splattering in all directions, shot upwards in an instant.

Her body, seemingly defying gravity, agilely evaded the approaching green hands as if she couldn’t believe she leaped in place. The troll, now deprived of its target, stumbled and fell as it lunged forward, its eyes following Gia.

“So slow.”

Yet even in the midst of it all, Gia’s lips twisted almost mockingly as she taunted without stopping.

It was just a bump on the ground, but the ground that had caved in as deep as the troll’s foot size made it seem like it had reached far away for help.

In an instant, Gia’s body, surpassing the troll’s height, effortlessly soared. The troll’s face seemed to distort in surprise, like a slow-motion scene.

Snick.

She raised the corners of her mouth, forming a smile, and with both hands, she held the knife, aiming it downward.

Ensuring not to miss, she extended the blade downwards, firmly holding her hand, the veins pulsating on the back of her hand as the blood vessels protruded.

Thunk.

The eyeless knife pierced through the troll’s skull, crushing it and plunging deep inside.

The trio of body weight, downward force, and the weapon brought from her original world, in perfect harmony, shattered the troll’s sturdy bones and cut through, leaving a trail of destruction.

Thud.

As the dust and dirt rose, Gia, standing before the fallen troll’s massive body, spat on the ground.

“I’ll acknowledge you if you regenerate from this.”

The troll’s pupils lost their light, seemingly not harboring any thoughts of gaining acknowledgment from Gia.