Victor and Emma pressed themselves tightly against the wall. They were completely surrounded by monsters, cut off from any escape.
Was this the end for them...?
The creatures encircling them came in various forms. Some resembled wild beasts, while others looked like grotesque insects.
Leading the pack was the most terrifying one—an elongated, centipede-like monster with countless legs.
Clicking its claw-like antennae, the creature inched closer to Victor and Emma.
“V-Victor... Hic...”
Emma sobbed, clutching tightly onto Victor. He gently stroked her back and swung his knife. The centipede monster recoiled with a sharp twitch, momentarily retreating.
The heiress of the ruined mansion had done her best to help them, but it seemed their fate had already been sealed.
“Victor, there’s something I never got to say.”
Emma’s trembling voice broke the silence.
Victor immediately knew what she meant. Raising his index finger, he pressed it against her lips, stopping her words.
“I’ll say it first, Emma.”
Victor gazed at her with sorrowful eyes.
“I love you. I’m sorry I never said it before.”
“Victor!”
Emma clung to him, crying.
The monsters hesitated for only a moment before inching closer again. The centipede monster loomed over them, raising its segmented body high into the air.
A massive shadow fell over Victor and Emma, cast by the towering creature.
“I love you, Victor.”
With Emma’s final words, they embraced each other and closed their eyes, bracing for the end.
But the agony never came.
Instead, they heard the sharp sound of something slicing through the air, followed by a heavy crash.
Shraaak—
Thud!
Victor and Emma cautiously opened their eyes.
In their view was a striking figure—draped in a blue uniform cape fluttering in the wind.
The officer who had cut through the monsters with a single stroke of his sword stood before them. Green slime splattered onto the ground as pieces of the creatures fell.
Thud! Thud!
Several monsters collapsed, their bodies severed. Through the gap left in the chaos, a woman with dazzling features strode into view.
The centipede monster froze, momentarily startled by the sudden disturbance. The woman seized the opportunity, raising her axe and slicing the monstrous creature clean in half.
Her strength was staggering.
As Victor and Emma gawked in disbelief, the officer—Ethan Duncan Lancaster—approached them.
“Are you all right?”
Victor and Emma looked up and let out small cries of relief.
“Please, save her! I’m fine—just save Emma!”
Victor, still wearing his chef’s uniform, grabbed Emma’s hand and passed it to Ethan.
But Emma shook her head and pushed Victor’s hand toward Ethan instead.
“I’m fine. I’m weak and useless—I won’t last long anyway. Save Victor instead.”
“Emma, don’t do this! How am I supposed to live without you?!”
“Then what about me?! Do you think I can live without you?! I’d rather we die together!”
“W-what...?”
Victor’s eyes widened in shock at Emma’s outburst.
Watching them argue, Ethan let out an exasperated sigh.
“I’ll save both of you, but from now on, follow my orders. If you disobey, I can’t guarantee your survival.”
Victor and Emma froze, staring blankly at him. Ethan’s expression darkened.
“Answer me.”
“Y-yes! Understood!”
Victor barely managed to stammer a response.
Meanwhile, Cherry Sinclair swung her axe, cutting down two more monsters.
After kicking a charging beast to the ground, she turned to the group.
“Move now!”
Victor and Emma hurried after her, with Ethan covering their rear.
The villagers who had tried to use Victor and Emma as bait were torn apart by the monsters.
Seeing their mangled remains in the distance, Emma swallowed hard and gripped Victor’s hand tightly.
Watching Cherry’s small frame effortlessly cleave through monsters many times her size, Emma couldn’t help but stare in awe.
‘How can someone that tiny...’
Cherry’s power was overwhelming. Even the monsters instinctively hesitated in front of her swinging axe.
‘I wish I had that kind of strength.’
Emma clenched Victor’s hand and silently admired Cherry, who was at least ten years younger than her.
Behind them, Ethan continued cutting down monsters. Victor glanced back briefly while holding Emma’s hand.
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Shink—
The flash of Ethan’s blade sliced a charging fish-like monster in half.
The creature twitched, flailing its severed body, but Ethan drove his sword into its head, finishing it off before looking back at Victor.
“Don’t stop. Keep moving.”
They were nearly at the gates of Happy House.
Bang—!
Suddenly, gunshots rang out.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
It wasn’t Ethan’s gun. He still held his sword, looking just as startled as the others.
What the hell?
While they were still reeling, someone appeared at the mansion gates.
The first thing that caught their eyes was soft brown hair fluttering in the breeze.
The man wore a cracked monocle that gave him an intellectual air, and despite his tattered but elegant suit, he carried himself with dignity.
Finally, he spoke.
“I’ve found you at last.”
Their eyes locked with his vibrant green ones.
Cherry froze, visibly startled.
She knew exactly who he was.
Harrison Howard.
Her only remaining family. He had finally come for her.
*****
Vanilla led the way from Kintene to Brunel. Neither Harrison nor Jose had ever been to the town before.
“This place is a mess.”
Jose grimaced as his boots splashed through puddles of blood staining the dirt road.
They had just entered the outskirts of Brunel.
“The damage looks severe, but the number of monsters isn’t that high,” Jose said after scanning the area.
That in itself was strange. With this level of destruction, there should have been far more monsters roaming around. But there weren’t.
And then it happened.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion rocked the air.
Screeches and roars erupted in a deafening chorus, so loud it was hard to believe they hadn’t noticed it earlier.
The noise came from the outskirts of the town—on top of the hill. Harrison’s group instinctively turned toward the source.
“There’s a reason the village was so quiet,” Harrison murmured.
“They’re all gathered there.”
Jose muttered back, his voice heavy.
“That’s Happy House...”
Vanilla’s troubled whisper caught their attention, and both Harrison and Jose turned to look at her.
That meant their destination was now a den of monsters. And to reach it, they would have to cut through that nightmare.
“P-please! Miss Cherry! Save us!”
“Please! Have mercy! Help us!”
Desperate screams echoed from the hill. Jose shot Harrison a bewildered look.
“Miss Cherry? ...Isn’t that the person we’re looking for?”
Jose’s unsettling realization hit them hard, and they started running.
As he sprinted up the hill, Jose’s thoughts raced.
‘Wait... those people were begging Cherry for help, weren’t they?’
That meant Cherry wasn’t the one in danger—the others were.
When they reached the top of the hill, the scene before them was sheer horror.
People were being devoured by monsters, torn apart piece by piece.
Jose froze, his rifle raised but unable to move forward.
“W-what the hell is this...?”
They had seen countless monsters on their way to Brunel, but they hadn’t found any survivors. Everyone they’d encountered had already turned.
So for eighteen-year-old Jose, the sight before him was like stepping straight into hell.
“AAAAARGH!”
A man whose body was being ripped apart by a monster let out a final, agonized scream before his flesh twisted and deformed into something monstrous.
“F***. What the hell is this? What the f*** is going on...?”
Before he could process what he was seeing, darkness covered Jose’s vision.
A cold hand pressed against his eyes.
“Stay back.”
Harrison’s voice reached his ear.
In one swift motion, Harrison shoved Jose behind him and stepped forward with Vanilla.
Bang!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The two of them fired their rifles, mowing down the creatures charging at them as they advanced.
Jose stumbled after them, dazed, still gripping his rifle. But then he snapped out of it and took in his surroundings.
That’s when he saw them.
People clung desperately to the walls, inching along to avoid the monsters.
Leading the group was a small-framed woman, swinging an axe with terrifying force and cutting down monsters as if they were nothing.
‘What the f*? Who the hell is that woman?’**
Jose couldn’t believe his eyes.
The petite figure smashed through the creatures with such overwhelming strength that even the monsters seemed to hesitate before her.