Satisfaction. Or Progress -13 "Let me see..."
"Let me see..."
To me, who had fallen into this world, the most threatening—no, more precisely, the most annoying enemy was a gigantic monster like this one.
My power was strong. But no matter how powerful it was, that power was limited to the area of my human-sized body. It could only affect the spots my sword or fist could reach.
"Grraaaaaargh!!!"
With a monstrous roar, it charged at me. It extended its massive hand, slamming its palm down toward me like a human swatting a bug.
"Hm."
I quietly looked up at that palm. I needed time to judge. I could feel the monster's palm right above my head. A horrific scab, like it was made of dried blood, clung to it. And within that, something grotesque and bizarre—liquid or solid, I couldn't tell—writhed.
"Nope, not good."
At the last possible moment, I dodged the palm. A terrifying sound rang out. The ground split again. I glanced back toward the women; they seemed to have felt the impact. Fortunately, the zombies charging at them appeared even more staggered by the shock than my girls were.
"Hm." My judgment was complete. If its hand had been as tough as a Goliath's, I might have just gone for a straight power struggle. No matter how big or strong it was, I wouldn't lose in pure brute force. But that writhing substance in its palm looked dangerous. Even with my strength, I couldn't slug it out against falling slime. Sure, I could spectacularly slice a giant water balloon in half, but the water inside would still drench me.
"First, let's lure it out."
I'd grasped its combat power. It wasn't an enemy I couldn't beat, but if I got careless, something could go wrong. Once more, its palm crashed down where I'd been. I casually dodged, then chopped off its massive fingers with quick slices.
"Hup!"
Because its body was so enormous to begin with, my sword couldn't sever an entire finger joint in one go.
"Annoying..."
But I swung my blade busily, carving off a good chunk of its pinky finger. Then, I sensed something odd.
"Hm?"
Parts of the severed giant's fingers were wriggling. It wasn't some vague postmortem twitch. It was far more horrific—a movement like they were alive.
"What a pain."
The severed finger began to take shape. The protruding muscles and blood scabs melted away, and from within, something like black mud slithered out.
"Not on my watch!"
Fortunately, the parts my sword had directly touched didn't regenerate. I swung a few more times, eliminating the small monsters trying to spawn.
And in that instant, I felt the flow of air shift.
"Tch!"
Instead of turning to see what the giant intended, I leaped high. In that moment, its massive fist swept across the ground. Maybe it had realized slamming its palm was pointless. Surprisingly clever. Of course, no matter what it tried, it couldn't catch me. But my women were fighting far off, and I had to minimize anything that could affect their battle.
Its black mud was weak to aura. But I couldn't use mana unlimited either.
'Gotta fight as efficiently as possible...'
Even if I formed a huge light sword and bisected its body, the halved giant's flesh might move again. Worst case, one of those halves goes after my women to kill or harass them. I needed to lure it first. Calmly, I moved farther from my women.
"Grraaaaaargh!!!"
Its movements weren't particularly fast. But since our sizes differed, even its slight shifts felt huge. Like how a short kid running hard gets caught by a tall person's single step. But it was focused on me now. It saw me as a threat. Hatred poured from its hollow eyes.
"Follow me."
Its speed wasn't slow by any means, but nothing compared to mine.
"Graaaaaargh!!!"
I quickly put distance between me and the Central Park fountain, spotting a remaining facility.
"Hm."
A futsal court. The fence was rusted and broken in places, but solid sections remained.
"This'll do..."
I swiftly tore off a fence panel with my hands, then sliced the end with aura to make a spear.
"Might work."
I hurled it at the eye of the giant crawling toward me.
"Grraaaaaargh!!!"
No aura infused. Just a hollow steel pipe with a sharpened tip. That was enough. The overwhelming physical force drove it deep into the monster's body.
"Nice."
For a Goliath-level monster, a headshot would've been instant death. But not a fatal blow for this giant. Just some accumulated damage and a wound. It closed in again. Having used up the rebar in a flash, I gripped my plastic sword once more.
The fight wasn't over.
"Haaaaah!"
Han Seohee swung her bat with full force. A zombie's head exploded.
"Good, good. Good...!"
This was real combat. One mistake meant death; fail to kill first, and you're done. The thrill you couldn't feel when casually taking down stray zombies alongside him. Back then, she knew even if she lost, Sunwoo would protect her.
"Zombie pack incoming from the left!"
"Got it!"
Seohee shifted stance and swung again. With a satisfying crack, zombie brains splattered. Seohee was grinning. All of this was a gift to her.
Just surviving this long was luck. She'd arrogantly challenged someone stronger, tried to kill Sunwoo. In the world she knew, she should've died right then. Obviously. But she'd survived. Thanks to his kind heart.
"Haaaaah!!!"
Her arms swelled with expanding muscle. Her legs planted firmly, supporting her moves. Another gift. Pure luck. Something she never deserved. Betrayed by her subordinates, beaten brutally—she'd lost her limbs. Things that shouldn't have returned. She was meant to crawl like maggot forever, treated as a mere onahole, discarded the moment his interest waned, fodder for zombies.
Yet she'd survived. Again, by his mercy. All these fights were gifts. Bonus stages. Already dead once, she could die fighting for him with a smile.
"Ah, ha. Hahaha!"
"Calm down! Goliath ahead?"
"Yeah?"
A massive gunshot boomed behind her. Yeowon. Her shots were powerful, aimed precisely at the eyes, but not quite enough to drop the Goliath. It staggered but pressed forward.
"Fall back! Blocking it now is too risky!"
"Move here, and you got another plan?"
They were still swarmed by zombies. Kill and kill, but more kept crawling out endlessly.
"Hey, doc. I go all out, it's fine, right?"
"Of course. I'm right here."
Exchanging a quick glance with Roa, Seohee pulled a syringe from her pocket.
"Urgh..."
The needle plunged into her neck. Suspicious fluid entered her veins.
"Then... let's gooooo!!!"
Hari grimaced, barking orders.
"Fire! Sua, just clear the zombies coming this way. Everyone else, focus the Goliath! Slow it down however you can!"
Seohee flashed a bright, innocent smile.
Berserk
Powerful Batting
Pain Relief
Skills packed with her desires and wishes—purely for smashing enemies in front of her. She'd once used them all to try killing Sunwoo. Now, she unleashed them fully, staking her life to keep from hindering him.
Roa's drug coursed through her blood. Drowning in surging power and euphoria, she charged the Goliath. Reason snapped. The moment Berserk activated, she lost control of her body. If unlucky—if her body was weaker than she thought, or the Goliath stronger—this could be her last memory.
But Seohee didn't doubt. Her victory. Or that even dying now, she'd have no regrets.
"Ha, ha... ha!"
Coming to, Seohee realized she was alive. The Goliath's corpse lay crushed beneath her feet.
Seohee had won.