My Strange Savior - Chapter 39

Chapter 39

There are so many different kinds of monsters. Gia pursed her lips at the colorful array of monsters.

The forest was getting closer, and the same went for Jose. 

“I’m right behind you. Be careful” 

Gia stopped walking and pulled Spencer’s sword from its sheath, which was by her side.

“What are you doing? Run, you punk.” 

Gia swore at Spencer, who had stopped suddenly, and turned toward Jose as it approached.

As if pursuing the stragglers, Jose shook his wings made of steel. 

“Hurry!”

Gia, still solidly standing her ground, was probably waiting for the remaining members who hadn’t yet arrived. Spencer ran without hesitation at Gia’s command. There was no point in staying by her side; it was better to disappear quietly.

“Rockt! Back to the resting point earlier.”

“Yes.” 

Rockt, who was panting, nodded his head and stopped, staring at Kalion.

“Everyone, follow me!” 

Reading Kalion’s thoughts, Rockt led the members who had arrived first and continued moving. It wouldn’t be too difficult to face Jose once they entered the densely wooded forest.

Kalion and Gia anxiously waited for the remaining members who had not yet reached the entrance. They approached so close that the drool dripping from Jose’s mouth was about to pierce the back of a member.

“Hurry up!” 

Urged by Kalion, two members moved their legs with all their might.

Already suffocating to the point where it felt like they would choke on their breath and their lungs would burst, they couldn’t stop. Jose, who was sticking close behind, was eyeing their necks intently, flapping its wings.

“Zaffin!” 

Calling out the name of the last member, Kalion grasped a military dagger. Since the length was too short to catch Jose, who was flying, Gia grabbed Spencer’s longsword.

One of them rushed into the forest, leaving only one member named Zaffin called by Kalion.

“Quickly.” 

Gia muttered, staring at Jose, who filled the sky.

She gripped the handle of the sword tightly. Even if she were Gia, it was impossible to defeat this many monsters. If only she had a flamethrower or something. What she was holding in her hand was just an iron sword.

Gia bit down on it tightly, hoping Zaffin would come closer soon.

“Uh, ugh.”

With just ten steps left, Zaffin’s legs gave way, and his body collapsed forward, his legs twisting as he fell. 

“Damn it.” 

Gia didn’t hesitate and leaped forward without delay. She instantly caught Zaffin’s larger body by the neck.

“Gia!” 

Kalion called out Gia’s name in distress, seeing the two of them about to be surrounded by Jose’s horde.

Even with Kalion’s urgent voice, Gia didn’t flinch. Instead, she forcefully planted both her legs into the ground and, with all her might, threw Zaffin in Kalion’s direction.

“Ah, seriously.” 

Gia, who had thrown Zaffin into the distance, was quickly swarmed by Jose’s horde.

“G-Gia!” 

Kalion turned to go to Gia right away, but Zaffin, who had been lying beneath him, grabbed his ankle.

“C-Commander, you must escape.”

“Let go!”

The only thought that dominated Kalion’s mind was that he had to save Gia. 

As if he were the only one left to save her, Kalion struggled against Zaffin, who had risen from his spot and wrapped his arms around Kalion’s thick waist.

“Commander!”

Kalion, who had been struggling to go towards Gia, stopped in his tracks as Zaffin’s voice tore through the air.

“Get a grip! She’s already…”

With Gia’s figure no longer in sight, Zaffin shook his head. The remaining Jose began to change their direction and fly toward Kalion and Zaffin.

“Commander!”

He called out loudly, and Kalion’s body towered over him.

“Let go. That’s an order.’

Kalion said in a voice even colder than the middle of winter, causing Zaffin’s grip to weaken for a moment.

“Co-Commander… Commander!”

In that brief moment of weakness, Kalion pushed Zaffin aside and stepped forward.

“Retreat!” 

After leaving that one word with Zaffin, Kalion charged toward Jose.

With a fierce force, Kalion swung his sword, and the two bisected halves of Jose fell to the ground.

The sharp gray scales were cleanly cut by Kalion’s sword.

Gia, moving so quickly that her speed couldn’t be gauged, entered the scene one after another as Jose rushed in.

Gia couldn’t easily approach, as she was surrounded by wing-flapping Joses in the air. However, Kalion leaped into the midst of them, cutting his way through to Gia.

“Gia!”

“Why did you come?”

Without looking at him, Gia, who had been meticulously cutting down the approaching Joses one by one, expressed her anger towards the approaching Kalion.

Kalion didn’t have the slightest intention of backing down, leaving Gia alone. He focused on Gia, avoiding the sharp spiky tails of the Joses.

“Come this way!”

“Goooo, you fool!”

Woo-woo— Inside, the noise was so loud that it was impossible to hear the voices.

Staring at Kalion, who stood his ground as if he would never leave, Gia sighed briefly.

She had already been hit by the venom multiple times, but for some reason, whether it was due to the zombie virus or something else, she wasn’t paralyzed at all. As long as she was careful of the sharp jaws in its mouth, the paralysis venom didn’t pose any problem to Gia.

Furthermore, the venomous stinger at the tip of the tail was as clumsy as a mosquito, and it didn’t hurt much when it stung. But Kalion was different.

Why was he overflowing with such unnecessary righteousness? He would have to take care of himself.

Gia’s lips were smiling in contrast to the disgruntled thoughts inside her.

Was someone’s concern this heartwarming?

To join Kalion, Gia cleanly cut down the approaching Jose, who seemed confused and hesitant in the face of her immunity to the paralysis venom.

“Slowly. Let’s move towards the forest.”

Just twenty more steps, and they reached the entrance of a dense forest.

“As soon as we get there, we’ll head toward the lake.”

Their goal was now fixed on Gia and Kalion, not the other members, so going to the resting point with them would be risky.

Kalion, recalling the location of the small lake, understood Gia’s thoughts and responded.

“Yes.”

Moving together as one, they turned their direction towards the entrance of the forest. Calmly, they cut down the approaching Joses one by one, and the path they had walked was littered with the corpses of monsters.

Jose’s attacks weren’t very powerful, so there wasn’t much difficulty in dealing with them. The only nuisances were their numbers and the fact that they were flying. Plus, there was the paralyzing venom on their tails.

Even that venom was of no use against Gia. She carefully cut the venomous tails to ensure that Kalion wasn’t hit. They continuously cut down the approaching Joses.

“When it’s three, we’ll run.”

“Understood.”

At the sound of Kalion’s slightly strained voice, Gia became anxious. They needed to get rid of these creatures quickly.

“One.”

Gia took a deep breath and tensed her legs.

“Two.”

Woo-woo-woo.

Jose’s flapping wings became more intense as they noticed their prey trying to escape.

“Three.”

Without hesitation, Gia said the word and, grabbing Kalion’s wrist, jumped into the forest beyond.

The densely forested area wasn’t ideal for Jose to chase them. Some flew upward, while others closely followed through the trees.

Many of them got tangled in the vines and struggled with obstacles, which reduced their numbers significantly.

Gia, holding onto Kalion’s wrist, had run not far from the lake when she suddenly stopped and turned to face the towering Kalion.

“Ar-are you okay?” 

This time, even Gia felt like her breath was catching in her throat. She asked about his condition.

“Fi-fine.” 

Kalion replied, almost out of habit, although his voice indicated otherwise. 

“I’m fine.”

Gia was worried about the voice that seemed like it would cut off any moment, but she couldn’t look at Kalion because the Joses, flying around, were right beside her.

‘Come.’

With her eyes gleaming and a straightened sword, Gia stood as if she would not yield any gaps.

The lake behind the wide square. About ten Joses flew around in a frenzy as if the space between was the boundary.

“What… What’s wrong with them?”

Looking at Joses hesitating without rushing, Gia asked Kalion behind her.

“Well, well… Huh.”

Kalion, before he could finish his sentence, suddenly gasped.

“Why are you like that?”

When Gia shouted and checked Kalion, his pale face seemed like it could collapse at any moment.

“P-P-paralysis…”

Is he paralyzed? Despite Gia’s efforts to pay attention to Kalion, he succumbed to paralysis. But still, it’s not the kind of poison that leads to death. It’ll be okay. It’ll be fine.

Gia tightly grasped the sword in her hand while comforting her trembling body. He won’t die from paralysis. That’s enough.

Buzz.

If she could get rid of those noisy things flying around and join her comrades, Kalion’s condition would improve soon. Her startled heart rose and barely settled down.

Gia, who had been glaring at Jose, clenched her teeth.

Crack.

She hoped her teeth didn’t break. She clenched her teeth so hard. She felt the breath of Kalion, who barely stood with his head against her back and his weight.

As Kalion’s stiffening body didn’t respond to commands, Gia, under the weight of Kalion, slowly extended her empty hand to the back, without taking her eyes off the monster.

She carefully held Kalion’s back and used her weight to sit him on the ground.

“Just sit for a moment. I’ll get rid of them and come back.”

Only the colorful sounds of his labored breathing were heard, making it difficult to respond.

“Come on, you little mosquitoes.”

The name Jose seemed far too grand for the bizarre appearance that made her want to support it with an electric fly swatter. The monsters that seemed ready to charge at any moment were flapping in the air, not coming within a certain distance, as if testing the waters.

“Why are you dawdling?”

As she turned her wrist as if loosening it, the blade gracefully traced a circle.

“You little mosquitoes, I’m over here.”

She had to clear the way. Gia’s face, which had been glaring with determination, relaxed in disappointment.

“What’s going on?”

Uuuuung.

Zzzzzz.

Joses, who hadn’t entered at all, was now backing away from the prey, having left behind what could have been a boundary. Did it get scared?

It probably got scared when it saw that paralysis didn’t work on her. Gia, interpreting it as she pleased, shouted triumphantly.

“Hey, did you see that, Kalion?”

With a nervous heart, Gia looked back at Kalion with an even louder voice, but the spot where he should have been was empty.