My Strange Savior - Chapter 41

Chapter 41

With a deeply embedded sword, Kalion, still trembling alongside Kayler, exerted all the strength in his ankle to raise the dagger stuck in it. 

Calmly, he tried to pull the sword out of Kayler’s neck, but a scream got stuck between the sharp teeth.

“Ugh.”

When Kalion, whose strength was dwindling, attempted to release the sword, Kayler’s body veered towards the edge of the lake.

“Kalion! Let go!”

Gia’s mind returned with the paused scream. Kalion, suspended with the sword stuck in Kayler’s chest, came into view.

He wanted to let go in response to Gia’s voice, but his hand was no longer under his control. The momentary paralysis that had loosened had quickly covered his body again. The fingers that did not move were filled with numbness.

“Kalion!”

He had to respond to the calling voice. He had to say it’s okay. But he couldn’t do anything. 

Kalion struggled incessantly to release the grip in his hand, but it still didn’t move, and Gia rushed at full speed to save him.

“Shieeek!”

With a screech, Kayler’s tail, shining, got caught on the case and backpack strap that happened to be lying on the ground.

“Damn it!”

The situation was getting increasingly twisted. 

Kayler, writhing in pain at a speed faster than Gia’s run, was getting closer to the cliff. If things continued like this, it seemed like Kalion would fall below with Kayler still hanging from him in an instant.

‘Please.’

Desperation filled Gia’s plea. Kalion was not someone to die so pathetically.

Despite the bitter taste in his mouth, Kayler was getting further away. 

Gia ran with all her strength to somehow catch up with Kayler, who was swiftly retreating in an S-shaped pattern like a snake.

‘Oh no!’

As feared by Gia, Kayler, standing on the edge, leaped off, and Gia, swallowing the exploding scream, reached out towards Kalion, who remained frozen with the sword in Kayler’s chest.

‘Please… Please… Please… Please! Just a bit! Please.’

Gia doesn’t know how desperately she wished to be able to catch Kalion in that brief moment.

Chin.

‘I’ve reached.’

A thin sigh scattered across Gia’s throat.

“Hup.”

That fleeting moment felt like an eternity.

“Kalion.”

Gia, gripping Kalion’s slipping wrist as if it might crumble, looked down below. 

She held the large male’s fingertips, hanging on the cliff, relying on Gia’s hand. At the end of that hand, the strap of a sniper rifle case hung precariously.

“Hyuk.”

Still unable to move freely, Kalion, using his last remaining strength, clung to the case with a trembling hand.

“Hoo. Hoo-uk.”

Gia, who had barely held onto Kalion, exhaled heavily. She truly thought she might lose Kalion. Beads of sweat dripped from Gia’s smooth forehead.

Puk.

As Kayler’s body endlessly descended and hit the ground, the sound of a shattering impact echoed. 

Even without looking, one could imagine that his body had been crushed like tofu. It was fortunate that Kalion was not there for that terrible ending.

With a shudder, trying to erase the unpleasant images from her mind, Gia pulled Kalion.

“St-stop….”

Kalion weakly moved his lips, as if the paralysis hadn’t completely worn off yet.

‘Please. Gia.’

The case was dangling just above Kalion’s fingertips, and Gia grabbed his wrist.

If she shook it, the case hanging on his fingertips could easily fall into the endless abyss. Kalion’s stiff lips moved desperately as he begged her to stop.

“St-stop…”

“Why?”

Why would he want to stop? Even now, Kalion’s wrist continued to slip from Gia’s grasp, as if it were coated with oil. At Kalion’s frustrated plea to stop, Gia’s forehead crumpled helplessly.

“Th…”

“What?”

Not understanding the words he spoke with great effort, Gia firmly grasped Kalion’s wrist, afraid he might let go.

Thup.

Inside the grasp, Gia felt the texture of the red bracelet he had given Kalion as a gift.

He had it on him. Not the time to appreciate that. 

Gia quickly grabbed Kalion’s wrist. However, the wrist was slipping away along with Kalion’s bracelet from their sweaty grip.

“Oh no.”

Gia inserted her fingers between the bracelet and Kalion’s wrist, holding it tightly. 

Please, don’t let the bracelet snap. She couldn’t know how many strands of thin thread had been used to make the bracelet that was now bearing Kalion’s weight.

“Th-th-this…”

In a situation where he was about to fall, Kalion’s continuous muttering made no sense to Gia. To confirm what he was trying to say, Gia lowered her head and met Kalion’s gaze.

“Gu-gun…”

“Gun?”

Only then did Gia see the case barely hanging on Kalion’s fingertips. Kalion’s index finger, barely hooked like a hook, was struggling to support the weight of the case, bending and straightening.

“S-slowly, I’ll lift it.”

When Gia reassured Kalion and applied more force to the slipping palm, Kalion’s head moved weakly from side to side.

“Gun… It’s, far…ther.”

Blood rushed to Kalion’s index finger as he clung to the case, making it turn crimson. It seemed like he couldn’t hold on much longer.

“Trust me! I’ll lift it slowly!”

Despite Gia shouting out of frustration, Kalion’s stubbornness remained unyielding.

What did that little gun matter?

Gia looked at Kalion with resentful eyes. If only he had worn gloves, he wouldn’t be slipping like this. Discarding the torn gloves because of the troll had become a terrible mistake.

“Seee…”

Gia gritted her teeth and applied more force to the slipping fingers. Please. She didn’t even know who she was begging to.

She was simply hoping that the bracelet on his wrist would hold out a little longer.

Thud, thud.

The sound of the braided bracelet tearing apart was like thunder.

‘Oh no.’

Even if Gia wanted to reach out for the other hand, it was obvious that if she did so, their center of gravity would shift forward, and both of them would fall.

Gia was holding Kalion, barely, with her hand firmly inserted into the crevice between rocks. No matter how strong Gia was, lifting an adult male without any movement was not an easy task.

Kalion seemed to be aware of that, as he stubbornly shook his head, still not accepting the situation. Frustrated by this, Gia hoped that Kalion would quickly bring up the gun.

Gia didn’t want to keep hearing Kalion’s insistence on choosing the gun.

“Trust me…”

Sweat kept dripping without respite from her chin. Was it sweat? The constant blurriness in her vision might even be tears.

Even when she lost comrades in the harsh world, she had never been this sad. As Kalion faced imminent danger, her heart pounded wildly.

“Ch-ch, choose the gun…”

The lips that kept shouting for the gun were stubborn. Who might be losing their patience right now? But even more painful than that agony was the fact that Kalion seemed to be on the verge of falling below at any moment.

“Kal…I’ll lift you slowly. Okay?”

The voice she put on to try to change Kalion’s stubborn opinion trembled weakly.

“What’s a gun? What if it falls!”

She wanted to pull him up with all her might. The red eyes of Kalion, who was looking up at her with a stoic expression, said more than the words spoken.

‘I’m fine.’

Even without hearing the words directly, Gia could tell what Kalion was trying to say.

“It’s not fine!”

Gia’s eyes kept getting blurred.

“It’s not fine, you idiot. You’re really… an idiot.”

Despite Gia’s scolding, Kalion’s eyes remained calm and unchanged. 

Was he aware of the potentially fatal situation they were in? But why so serene? It seemed like Gia was the only one being consumed by the internal turmoil.

“You foolish bastard. Stubborn as a mule.”

Even as she spat out profanities, her tone remained warm. As if it’s okay if she doesn’t choose him.

His eyes carried the message, still upright and unwavering.

“That… “

If they’re lucky, it might capture Morrison, but if they’re unlucky, it could capture the tamed dragon.

“What’s the gun.”

The scale tipped towards Kalion as soon as it was raised.

“What’s that!”

Seeing the scale so decisively tilt in Kalion’s favor, Gia’s grip tightened. It was so firm that she felt like crying.

She knew that if they let go of the gun, there might be no other chance. But even knowing that, she had only one choice right now.

Perhaps they wouldn’t even catch Morrison and would be turned into dust by the dragon’s fire. She probably didn’t even know that.

Nevertheless, Gia couldn’t let go of this hand. She needed Kalion, not that gun.

If he had begged selfishly for his survival, she might not have agonized this much.

“What makes it so easy… giving up your life? Sacrificing? What makes it so easy?”

She’d rather have a good person. Resentment overflowed.

“Stuck-up asshole!”

In the meantime, Kalion was constantly struggling not to lose the gun. He had a case strap firmly held with one finger, forcing his stiff body to move, and his index finger had turned black from how hard he was enduring.

“Just blame me. It’s not your fault.”

Gia’s expression hardened as if she had made up her mind. Kalion’s pupils dilated as he understood what it meant.

“No, Gia, no. Oh, no.”

Even with an urgent look that tried to stop her, Gia didn’t flinch. Even if this situation repeated itself several times, her choice would remain the same.

When Gia pulled back, Kalion’s body was dragged up over the cliff. At the same time, the case, which held their only hope, fell endlessly below the cliff.

“Oh, no…”

Speechless, Kalion just stared at the receding case as if nothing could be done.

“Watching won’t change the fact that it has already fallen.”

As if to tell Kalion to let go of his regrets, Gia hugged him from behind.

If she didn’t keep holding on, Kalion seemed like he might jump back down. 

If Kalion considered the case more valuable than his own life, it seemed like he would even sacrifice himself.