Chapter 29
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
It was the wrong question. He should have been asking if I’d been bitten.
Despite his disciplined appearance, Eden’s face and clothes were splattered with a terrifying amount of blood.
My eyes met his—eyes as cold as frost. It was a gaze so chilling it felt eerie.
‘Now isn’t the time for this.’
I hurriedly grabbed his hand. Eden’s brows shot up in confusion.
“Come with me. We have to get out of the village.”
“I know this situation is f-ed up, but there might still be survivors left.”
I knew he’d say that. He was a man with an unwavering sense of duty as a police officer.
‘That’s exactly why I came out here.’
Graaaaawr—!
The number of monsters was steadily increasing, and survivors were now nowhere to be seen. The monsters outnumbered the humans several times over.
The growing horde had begun to occupy the village. Most paths were blocked, making it look nearly impossible to escape to the outskirts.
If we didn’t leave now, we’d be trapped.
“I’m sorry.”
Thwack!
I struck the back of Eden’s head with the handle of my axe, knocking him unconscious.
Thump.
I hoisted the collapsed Eden over my shoulder and ran.
I ran and ran, dodging the lunging monsters.
I cleared the edge of the village and sprinted up the hill in a single breath. Just as my lungs felt like they would burst—I arrived at the large gate.
The gate was open.
‘Why is the gate open?!’
Of course, there was no time for deep thought.
Bang!
I rushed inside, slammed the gate shut, and dropped Eden onto the ground as if discarding him. Only after quickly closing the reinforced Stone Gate and sliding the bolt into place did I let out a sigh of relief.
Skreeee! Growl! Rawr!
The air outside the gate was filled with the cries of monsters. I could hear the dull thudding of their bodies repeatedly throwing themselves against the entrance. I peered outside through a crack in the gate.
“Dammit, we can’t go back out.”
The monsters that had chased us were swarming outside, and their numbers were only growing.
Thanks to the sturdy defensive walls I’d built in advance, it seemed impossible for them to break in. The problem, however, was that I couldn’t get out either.
Eden and I were trapped in this house.
Once Eden woke up, he might try to kill me for this absurd situation, but…
‘Whatever. For now, I’ve saved the world.’
To be precise, I had kidnapped the man who would save the world before he could die.
Being isolated in the Happy House I’d built for survival was better than being trapped in a village crawling with those monsters.
I hoisted Eden up again and crossed the garden. First, I needed to get him onto a bed.
But then, I saw the front door of the mansion standing wide open.
‘…Why is the front door open?’
Come to think of it, hadn’t the outer gate been open too? I had constantly reminded Susanna to keep the gate strictly shut.
I froze in place as a sudden sense of dread washed over me.
Crunch—
Thud! Thump, thump!
Unidentified sounds of impact echoed from inside the mansion. The sound of something being destroyed. Or was it the sound of something colliding?
I set Eden down on the ground and gripped my axe. It was late at night, and since no lights were on inside the mansion, it was pitch black.
My palms grew sweaty.
‘Could it be Susanna?’
No. It can’t be Susanna. It shouldn’t be.
Muttering those words, I slowly stepped through the front door.
Creeeak— Crunch.
The sound of something being crushed continued to echo. It was coming from the direction of the first-floor ballroom.
Aside from that noise, the hallway was silent.
Cold sweat trickled down my spine. A tension so heavy it made breathing difficult coiled through my body.
I walked slowly. I didn’t have any Molotov cocktails on me this time, so I had to be even more cautious.
Tap, tap.
Then, from the ballroom area, came the sound of footsteps, like someone treading on coarse sand.
But the strides were too short to be a human’s. What could it be?
It sounded almost like a fast-moving four-legged beast.
Tap, tap—
Tap-tap-tap-tap—
The sound grew faster and closer.
Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!
Stop.
The sound abruptly ceased right at the entrance of the ballroom.
I stopped near the entrance and caught my breath.
I’ll count to three and jump in.
One—
Two—
Th—
ROAR!
Before I could even reach three, something lunged out from the ballroom entrance. Dammit!
A massive maw filled with rows of sharp teeth gaped toward me. There was blood on those teeth.
I rolled across the floor and barely managed to dodge it.
Ugh, I think I twisted my ankle.
Thud.
The creature landed nimbly on the floor. Unlike the bizarre and grotesque monsters I’d seen so far, this one looked like a wolf.
The problem was that if it was a wolf-type monster, it would be fast—and I currently had a sprained ankle.
I simply possessed Super Strength; I wasn’t someone skilled in fighting or combat.
‘So, let’s not waste time.’
With that resolve, I slowly picked up the axe I’d dropped. The beast lunged at me. I swung the axe with all my might.
Whack!
Yelp!
Fortunately, I caught it squarely in the torso, and the creature was sent flying, crashing into the wall. I ran over quickly, raised my axe, and buried it in the creature’s head.
Splatter—
Green fluid erupted like a fountain. The creature’s legs, which had been twitching, went limp. Once I confirmed its breath had completely stopped, the strength left my hands.
Clang—
The sound of the axe blade hitting the marble floor echoed as I slumped to the ground.
My body was shaking uncontrollably. To think I’d have to deal with things like this for two years… it was terrifying.
I had prepared myself, but now that it was reality, I could hardly keep my head straight.
If I didn’t have Super Strength, I would have died instantly. If I hadn’t had it… by now…
Muttering such thoughts blankly, I turned my head.
“Susanna. I have to find Susanna.”
I moved, limping on my bad leg.
However, Susanna was nowhere to be found—not in the ballroom, not in the first-floor rooms, nor anywhere on the second floor.
Returning to the first floor, I stared vacantly at the open front door.
‘Did she go outside?’
Stay calm. You have to stay calm, Cherry.
I scanned my surroundings again, more carefully this time. I noticed the kitchen door at the end of the hallway was open.
The kitchen door was broken. Food supplies were scattered messily across the floor, leading out of the kitchen.
‘No way.’
I limped toward the kitchen. And there, I witnessed a devastating sight.
‘This can’t be. My food…’
That damn monster had made a mess of the pantry. Bags of flour were spilled all over the floor.
The canned goods I’d worked so hard to collect were in shambles, as were the root crops like sweet potatoes and potatoes, along with the vegetables.
The latter were things that needed to be eaten soon anyway, but at a time when even a single grain of rice was precious, the loss of food was a significant blow.
‘…No, there’s still a lot left.’
It was enough to last at least half a year for Eden, Susanna, and me. Since refrigerators weren’t well-developed in this world, food storage had its limits anyway.
‘That’s why I planned to grow crops. It’s okay. It’s okay.’
Until the crops grow, I can go out to the village or gather food from the mountains whenever we run low.
‘As long as I can handle the monsters outside that gate.’
One small mercy was that the water tanks were intact. I had secured water, which was even more important than food.
As I thought of this, I suddenly worried about Knox’s survival.
When I was rescuing Eden from the village, Knox had been nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he was hiding well somewhere.
In fact, it wasn’t just Knox; I was worried about the other people I’d become acquainted with.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen Vanilla in the village lately. She’s alive, right?
‘No. Don’t think about other things.’
Find Susanna first.
There had definitely been blood on that monster’s teeth.
Yet, inside the mansion, there were only signs of the creature destroying objects and property—no human bloodstains.
I decided I should move the monster’s corpse out first before bringing Eden inside.
Drag— drag—
I grabbed the monster by its legs and dragged it toward the front door.
‘It’s heavier than I thought.’
Even with my Super Strength, I just had more power than the average person; there were limits.
With its legs stretched out, it was as tall as I was, and its bulk was enormous.
I dumped the monster’s carcass in a corner of the garden, far from the vegetable patch. It seemed best to burn the body in the morning. Doing it at night would only draw unwanted attention.
Phew. I stood in the dark garden for a moment and wiped the sweat from my forehead.
‘I’m exhausted.’
Too much had happened today. But I had to stay sharp. Eden was still out there.
As I turned back, trying to pull myself together, I suddenly noticed something peculiar about the wolf’s carcass.
Something was hanging from the back of the wolf’s head.
Tying back a portion of the fur on its nape was undeniably a hair tie. A woman’s hair tie.
In an instant, my mind went blank.
Had Susanna been wearing a hair tie?
