Chapter 29
Chapter 29
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: Survivor
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Though filthy, the bob-cut girl with a cuter-than-a-cat appearance was glaring at me—or rather, someone behind me.
It was the woman in the black dress who had knelt and begged me earlier.
At some point, she had shrunk back and stood behind me.
Judging by the bob-cut girl's glare, she seemed to hold a grudge against this woman.
Were they comrades with those guys just now?
"She's the woman who hunted us down with those bastards."
The bob-cut girl said through gritted teeth, anger boiling up.
"Oh, it's a misunderstanding!! I'm not with them!! I swear!"
The woman in the black polo dress desperately pleaded.
"Doesn't seem like any of my business..."
I subtly stepped back.
I hadn't suffered any harm, but the bob-cut girl clearly had some grudge.
I had no intention of meddling clumsily.
I figured it was something for them to sort out.
With the shield that was me gone, the black dress woman knelt before the bob-cut girl, rubbing her palms together in supplication.
"I'm... really sorry, sis! I must've lost my mind. Those guys threatened me!"
'No, she doesn't look old enough to call her sis.'
Now that I looked, my eyes weren't playing tricks.
This woman was dressed quite neatly compared to those two.
A form-fitting knit polo dress in this world...
Even if it didn't match the situation, that clean backside was a sight to behold.
-Slap!
The sharp sound of a slap echoed.
"Sob. Sob. I'm truly sorry. Forgive me just once."
Having been slapped, the woman was now prostrating herself fully, begging.
Her skirt rode up from the prostration, revealing her pretty hips and black underwear.
It became an unexpected treat for my eyes, standing behind her.
Seeing that, I thought it would be a shame to let her die like this.
"You gonna kill her?"
I asked the bob-cut girl offhandedly.
"Eek!! I'm sorry. I wanted to live too. S-Sis! P-Please! Spare me!"
At my words, the black dress woman clung to the bob-cut girl's legs in terror, begging.
The girl seemed conflicted for a moment.
She let out a sigh and said,
"N-No... I wasn't gonna... Get up, it's embarrassing!"
Whether her desperate state softened the girl's heart or she didn't like me eyeing the woman's hips, she yelled at her.
'Huh? No? She really wasn't with those guys?'
"Y-Yes! Sis!"
"Stop calling me sis! You look way older than me."
"Yes! Yes! Thank you! Si— I mean, thank you!"
"...Haa. Fine."
Looking at the bob-cut girl, she didn't seem intent on killing her.
Maybe she'd never killed before, or never faced real hardship.
She seemed young and a bit naive.
The black dress woman, now standing, had a pitiful look that oddly exuded a pure charm.
Did they hear the gunshots from earlier?
"No time to dawdle."
"Huh?"
"Corrupted Beings."
"Corrupted Beings?"
-Arf! Arf!
They looked like the monster dogs from that apartment complex.
Compared to the hulking zombies, they were trickier than expected.
The kids turned pale at the monster dogs' barking.
"M-Mutants!"
Huh? They call them mutants here?
Well, I'm fixed on the system-assigned name.
It wasn't what the people of this world called them.
Those monster dogs weren't a big threat to me now.
I glanced at the kids.
But two women and two kids.
'Can I protect them?'
I'll do what I can, and if it doesn't work, oh well.
"Get in the car."
I shoved the women and kids into the large van and shut the door.
Being inside the car wasn't perfectly safe.
If the monster dogs really went for it, it wouldn't hold.
But it was better than nothing.
The monster dogs were charging madly from the field beside the road.
Five dogs bigger than bulls kicking up dust clouds—it was an impressive sight.
No sense of crisis.
If anything, it was a good chance to test my leveled-up body.
I went out to meet the charging monster dogs.
To draw their attention away from the kids in the car behind me.
Before, maybe not, but my Body Strengthening had advanced a level.
Two up front targeted my head and legs in an instant.
Excellent combo play.
The leg-targeting dog's sharp fangs bared as its jaws opened.
I lifted my leg to dodge the gaping maw and stomped down.
-Thud!
The ground cratered, and the monster dog's head burst like a watermelon—ridiculously easy.
The headbound one got smacked with Mjolnir pulled from Inventory.
-Crunch!
It flew off as a bloody mess.
The brutal sight of the two crushed in seconds made the three trailing ones hesitate.
No intention of waiting.
I kicked off the ground.
-Thud.
My body shot forward.
The hesitating dogs didn't even register my approach.
Mjolnir vanished, replaced by a massive greatsword in my hand.
The greatsword swept a horizontal arc.
-Splurt!!
The three monster dogs were bisected in one strike, instantly.
Unlike my worries, it ended easier than expected.
No, my enhanced body exceeded even my expectations.
Cognition. Reflexes. Speed. Power. Nothing like before.
.
.
.
Ji-ah trembled in extreme terror inside the car.
The survivor group she was with before disbanded because of those mutant dogs.
After escaping, Ji-ah suffered nightmares for a long time.
She hadn't stepped out recklessly without reason.
Soon, that man would be torn apart, and they'd come here.
She sensed death.
-Tremble. Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
"Mom. Dad."
Ji-ah bit her nails, calling for her parents unconsciously.
Then, the mutants charging at the man sprayed blood mist, slaughtered in the blink of an eye.
"Th-That..."
The sisters beside her were speechless too.
Weren't those... mutants?
For a moment, it felt like an illusion—so far beyond expectations, unreal.
Through the blood mist, she saw the massive, sturdy man's back.
As he finished the monsters and approached, a halo seemed to glow behind him.
Ji-ah stared, entranced.
The terror vanished like it was washed away.
In its place, relief and comfort welled in her chest.
"Ah..."
-Thump. Thump.
Her heart raced.
Ji-ah blankly watched the approaching giant man.
.
.
.
The bob-cut girl's face was a bit stiff as she got out of the car.
More wary of me than the Corrupted Beings.
If I had bad intentions, these kids had no way to resist.
The black dress woman had a dazed, screw-loose expression.
Was it that scary?
But she snapped out of it, face flushed, and said,
"O-Oppa. That was... really cool!"
'O-Oppa?'
For some reason, the black dress woman clung to my arm, gazing at me with admiring eyes.
The soft sensation on my arm wasn't bad.
The bob-cut girl softened her stiff face a bit and said,
"Y-You're really amazing. Taking down that many mutants..."
That was the moment.
-Boom!
"Kyaa!!"
A sound like a bomb exploded.
'What the hell kind of dogshit...'
Something had crashed on the van's driver's seat, completely crumpling and smashing it.
On the dented wreck was something huge.
A pigeon the size of a large dog.
A pigeon?
Too big and grotesquely twisted.
Thoroughly repulsive.
I looked up at the sky absentmindedly.
A massive dark cloud loomed.
No, an enormous flock of birds was battling something large.
A spectacular sight.
'What's it fighting?'
I squinted, but the black bird cloud obscured it.
-Thud!
-Thud!
One by one, huge twisted pigeons plummeted to the ground.
I couldn't do anything about the distant sky battle except watch.
But one thing was clear: win or lose, if attention turned here, it wouldn't be good.
I had no confidence protecting these kids against that many pigeons.
The massive pigeon lay beside the pitifully crumpled driver's seat and smoking van.
Didn't look drivable.
'Whew. Nothing goes easy.'
I'd been happy about the car, and now this.
"We're moving."
No point staying here.