Chapter 82
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: A New Member of the Happy House
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13. A New Member of the Happy House
Victor and Emma pressed themselves against the wall. They were surrounded by monsters, completely isolated.
Is this how we die…?
The monsters surrounding them came in various forms. Some looked like wild beasts, others like insects.
And the one threatening them from the very front was a creature with a long, centipede-like body and countless limbs.
Flicking its pincer-like antennae, the creature drew closer to Victor and Emma.
“V-Victor… *sob*.”
Emma sobbed as she fell into Victor’s arms. He quietly stroked her back and swung his knife. The centipede-like monster, which had been approaching, flinched and retreated.
The young lady of the abandoned house had done her best to help them, but it seemed their fate ended here.
“Victor, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”
Emma began tentatively.
Victor knew instinctively what she was about to say. He raised his index finger to her lips, silencing her.
“Let me say it first, Emma.”
Victor looked at Emma with a wistful gaze.
“I love you. I’m sorry I couldn’t say it sooner.”
“Victor!”
Emma cried, clinging to him.
Meanwhile, the hesitating monsters crept closer, and the centipede-like one at the front reared its body toward them.
The massive shadow of the centipede monster fell over the wall behind Victor and Emma.
“I love you, Victor.”
With Emma’s final words, they hugged each other and closed their eyes.
But the pain they expected never came. Instead, they heard the sound of something being sliced, followed by a loud thud as something hit the ground.
*Swoosh—*
*Thump!*
Victor and Emma slowly opened their eyes.
A blue uniform cape, fluttering magnificently, entered their field of vision.
A police officer who had cut through the monsters in a single stroke swung his sword, and green slime splattered onto the ground.
*Thud— Thump!*
At the same time, several monsters, their bodies severed, fell to the ground. Through the gap they created, a woman with a striking appearance walked in.
While the centipede monster hesitated at the sudden commotion, the woman swung an axe and effortlessly split the massive creature in two. It was incredible strength.
The police officer, Ethan, approached the stunned Victor and Emma and asked them.
“Are you all right?”
The two looked up and let out small cries of relief.
“Please, help us. I’m fine, but please, you have to save Emma.”
The man in the chef’s uniform, Victor, said as he handed Emma’s hand to Ethan. But Emma shook her head, took Victor’s hand, and gave it to Ethan instead.
“I’m fine. I’m weak and useless, so I’ll die soon anyway. Please, take care of Victor.”
“Emma, don’t do this! Do you think I could live on if you died?”
“Then what about me! Do you think I could?! I’d rather we die together! I can’t live without you either!”
“W-What…?”
At Emma’s cry, Victor’s eyes widened in surprise.
Watching them, Ethan let out a sigh.
“I’ll save you both, so from now on, follow our instructions. If you stray on your own, I can’t guarantee your lives.”
When Emma and Victor just stared at him blankly, Ethan frowned.
“Your answer.”
“Y-Yes. We understand.”
Victor managed to reply. In the meantime, Cherry swung her axe and finished off a couple more monsters.
She kicked away a charging beast and then turned to them.
“Shall we get going?”
Victor and Emma walked behind Cherry. Ethan followed at the very back, covering them.
The villagers who had tried to use Victor and Emma as bait had all been brutally killed by the monsters.
Seeing their fate from a distance, Emma swallowed hard and squeezed Victor’s hand.
Watching Cherry’s back as she relentlessly cut down and kicked away monsters several times her size, Emma was filled with admiration.
*How can she, with that small body…*
It was overwhelming power. Eventually, even the monsters began to flinch instinctively before the axe Cherry wielded.
*I wish I had that kind of strength.*
Clinging tightly to Victor’s hand, Emma secretly developed a sense of admiration for Cherry, who was at least a dozen years younger than her.
Behind them, Ethan was diligently dispatching monsters with his sword. Victor glanced back while holding Emma’s hand.
*Shing—*
With a flash of the sharp blade, a charging monster was sliced in half.
After thrusting his sword into the head of the flailing, bisected fish monster to finish it off, Ethan looked at Victor.
“Don’t stop. Keep moving.”
They had now almost reached the main gate of the Happy House.
*Bang—!*
Just then, a gunshot rang out from somewhere.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
It wasn’t Ethan who had fired. Holding his sword, he also looked surprised.
What was that?
While they were wondering, someone ran toward the main gate.
The first thing they saw was soft brown hair fluttering in the wind.
The monocle over one of the man’s eyes was cracked, but he still exuded an intellectual air. His stylish suit was dirty, yet it retained an air of elegance.
“I’ve finally found you.”
The man spoke. Their eyes met his fresh green ones.
Seeing the man, Cherry’s face showed surprise. She knew who he was.
Harrison Howard.
Cherry’s only family. He had finally come to find her.
* * *
Vanilla led the way from Kintne to Brunel, as both Harrison and Jose were new to the village.
“This place is a mess, too.”
Jose frowned as he stepped into a pool of blood that messily stained the dirt ground.
They had now entered the outskirts of Brunel village.
“The damage looks severe, but there aren’t that many monsters.”
Jose scanned the village and gave his brief assessment.
It was strange. With this level of damage, there should have been a large number of monsters roaming the village, but there weren’t.
And just then.
*KABOOM—!*
A tremendous roar, like an explosion, echoed through the air.
*Graaah! Grwaaaak!*
The roars of a massive number of beasts, so loud it was a wonder they hadn’t heard them until now, filled the air.
The noise was coming from a hill on the outskirts of the village. Harrison’s group all turned their heads in the direction of the sound.
“So that’s why the village was so quiet.”
“They were all gathered over there.”
Jose and Harrison muttered.
“That’s the Happy House…”
When Vanilla then muttered in a troubled tone, Jose and Harrison’s heads snapped toward her.
That meant their destination was that den of monsters, and they would have to fight their way through them.
“H-Help us! Lady Cherry! Please! Save us!”
“Please! Save us! Have mercy!”
Screams erupted from the top of the hill. Jose looked at Harrison with a puzzled expression.
“Lady Cherry? …Isn’t the person we’re looking for a Lady Cherry?”
With Jose’s chilling question hanging in the air, they started running frantically. As he sprinted up the hill, Jose thought.
*But weren’t those people asking Lady Cherry to save them?*
That meant the ones in danger weren’t Cherry, but the others.
Reaching the top of the hill in an instant, they found people being devoured by monsters. Holding his rifle, Jose was so shocked that he hesitated, unable to move forward.
“W-What is this situation…”
He had seen countless monsters on his way to Brunel, but he hadn’t encountered any living people. They had all already turned into monsters.
So, to the eighteen-year-old Jose, the scene before him was like a vision of hell.
*Aaaargh!*
A man whose body was being torn apart by a monster screamed and convulsed, his body soon grotesquely transforming.
“Fuck, what is this? What the…”
Just then, Jose’s vision went black. A cold palm pressed against his eyes.
“You stay back.”
Harrison’s voice reached his ears.
Pushing Jose back in one swift motion, Harrison and Vanilla stepped forward.
*Bang—!*
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
The two of them, each holding a rifle, advanced, taking down the charging monsters.
Jose, rifle in hand, blankly followed them before belatedly coming to his senses and looking around.
Then, he saw a group of people walking along a wall.
At the very front, a small-framed woman was sending monsters flying with incredible strength.
*Holy shit, what the hell is that? Who is that woman?*