章節 17: Chapter 17: Cant catch a Break

Boom!*

"AHHHHHMOTHE-FUUCC-IT HUUUURSSTSSS!"

The sudden, deafening sound of a sonic boom sounded through the air, drawing the attention of both the living and dead nearby. As the dust settled, the sight of Derrick's huge form could be seen rolling back and forth on the ground, clutching his groin area. The amount of blood that spewed showed just how forcibly his blessing was ripped from his body. It continued to gush uncontrollably on himself and the ground, his cries permeating the air, causing discomfort to anyone who heard it.

And for those, specifically males who looked over, it made them feel a subtle pain in 'that' area while they felt a small knot build up in their stomachs.

Derrick was far too preoccupied torturing Noah in the palm of his hands that he left out any room for his body to react. A jumping spider is known to be able to jump 10-50 times its body length, and the spider before it was by no means small. To only have to jump a few yards to reach him happened in less than a second.

All Derrick felt was prickly hairy legs pressing against his body when it collided into him, causing him to stagger while digging his feet into the ground to prevent himself from falling. Just as fast as he felt the impact, he faced something else far worse than he could ever endure. First, there was the initial pain of the spider's enormous fang sinking into his privates before it was ripped off with an absurd amount of force. Not only was it ripped off from the base, but even the surrounding skin on his pelvis followed along with it. It's already a miracle that the shock of the pain alone didn't cause him to go into shock. Or maybe it's more of a miracle that he was still conscious?

"Huff..huff…huff…" Noah struggled to gasp for breath, every heave of air brought about a form of pain from the intense exertion. If it wasn't for his increased constitution, then he would've been a goner. He felt that any longer and his bones would give if Derrick would've been serious from the start.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Noah couldn't help but feel a small amount of amusement at the sight of Derrick's feeble thrashing. The image of the once dominating figure reduced to a delirious, crying mess was almost surreal, and Noah found himself struggling to suppress a chuckle. But when he turned his gaze towards his companion who was happily feeding on a "sausage"… His eyes winced, and he felt a shiver creep down his spine. He quickly shook his head in an attempt to get rid of the disturbing and disgusting image.

He wasn't serious when he told the spider it would be delicious, and yet the spider treated it as if his words were gospel. He felt that he may have created a disturbing fetish within the spider. He prayed for the poor souls out there.

Struggling to pick himself up from the aching pain in his body, especially in his left arm that was completely stiff and uncomfortable, he slowly made his way to retrieve his bag that he left earlier and his two weapons.

He couldn't properly use his other arm, so he was forced to stow the mallet in his bag while relying on his right hand to hold onto the sword. Not only did he need the sword to fend off the zombies and the like in the vicinity, but more importantly, he needed it to tie up some loose ends.

While he was returning to Derrick, he realized two things; one, Derrick didn't appear to be suffering as much anymore, and two, that girl from earlier was by his side with her hands placed over his body.

"Hmm? Is she a healer too?" he questioned as he continued to stagger towards them. He noticed a faint green light originating from her hands and an even fainter light overlaying Derrick's body. He wasn't sure how to feel about the situation or exactly how to address the two. He was feeling cheated… this would be the time to claim his prize, which was currently Derrick. His curiosity was dying to know if humans gave experience and possible loot, not to mention that Derrick had just attempted to kill him not too long ago.

He's already killed god knows how many zombies, so what's the difference between killing a monster and a human? At least to Noah, the only difference would be that they can beg. But he's lived enough of a tragic life to understand that humans are no different than monsters, especially the monsters that are good at playing human. He had encountered humans who were just as "monstrous" as the creatures he faced, some whose cruelty surpassed that of even flesh eating zombies.

He decided to deal with it as it comes; he's already feeling drained, he didn't want to spend extra time overthinking things.

As he drew near, it seemed Isabelle finally became aware of Noah's approach. When she saw him leaving, she sighed in relief before she made her way to Derrick. She assumed everything was finally over, her fragile heart couldn't keep up with the many series of events. However, seeing him approaching, and with a sword for that matter, she realized that he was coming back to finish what they started. Originally, she wanted to see Derrick in pain, either emotionally or physically. She felt he deserved that much for hurting her. But she didn't want him to die!

She was beginning to feel light-headed from healing Derrick, her attempt was desperate as she used every bit of energy she could muster to save him. She wasn't a gamer, nor was she a reader of fantasy stories, so she couldn't relate her drowsiness to her lack of mana. In her emotionally and mentally exhausted state, Noah appeared more sinister in her eyes when she saw him approaching. Covered in dried blood, his disheveled hair partially covering one of his eyes while his other eye gazed into hers, exhibiting nothing but emptiness, leaving her feeling completely vulnerable under his gaze.

The only thought in her mind was to run away, yet her hands never parted from Derrick's still transformed body that was now only slightly moaning in pain due to her desperate efforts. That's when a change occurred to Derrick's figure, causing Noah to halt in his tracks. The transformation appeared to finally deactivate, returning his body back to its original size. However, after the changes finally subsided, Noah could see why the skill was so 'overpowered'.

The side effect was too overbearing. Derrick's breathing drastically became more labored while his skin became extremely pale. Noah could still make out the purple veins in his body that seemed to squirm as if they were alive. Derrick appeared extremely feeble in the state he was in now, and there was no telling how long he would take to even recover from such a state.

Seeing Derrick appearing so vulnerable in front of Isabelle instilled a desire to protect him even more. She doesn't know why he treated her in such a way, but seeing him in that condition brought about all the warm memories she wished to cherish.

"Noo… yo-you… I won't let you hurt him anymore." Finding the strength to persevere, she stood up staggeringly and positioned herself in front of his body to intercede Noah.

The action of defending a loved one when she herself was abandoned by that same person triggered some uneasy feelings within Noah. He was a little envious, perhaps jealous that humans could find solace within each other, yet he was never able to enjoy the same treatment. Staring at her determined posture only proceeded to provoke his hidden feelings; the longer he watched her, the more irritated the situation made him feel.

"A tooth for a tooth, an eye for an eye. He tried to kill me, and yet because you said no, I'm supposed to just let it go? Wake up, actions now come with consequences decided by the ones with the strength to dish out the punishments, and you two are looking pretty weak right now."

His words, alongside his appearance and the gigantic spider by his side caused Isabelle to falter as she took a step back. Her mind has yet come to terms with the new reality, there's no laws and no system to protect the weak. Tears dropped down her cheek while she held back her desire to cry. She just couldn't believe that someone could kill another human being so unjustly, no, she didn't want to believe it.

"B-but Derrick isn't like that…r-right! We could give you money! Annn-And, ohh! I can heal wounds! I can heal you and your spi-spider if you leave him alone…please…"

She was beginning to become desperate. When she spoke about money, she could see the amount of disinterest in his expression. Then she noticed his arm that laid on his side and the spider, who not only received cuts and wounds, but also had a leg or two that was badly damaged. She felt this was a really tempting offer. A glimmer of hope reached her eyes when it seemed as if Noah was contemplating on the matter.

'Urgh…why can't everything just be simple…wait! What if I just kill him and then force her to heal me? Hmmm…no then I'll have to get her to calm down over his death, I don't think I can do that.' In the middle of his thoughts, Noah looked back between Derrick and his spider who seemed to have finished with its meal and yet! It was bent over another body nearby. He could already guess what it was doing but let it be for now.

'Fuck it…I'm sure I'll just find someone else who deserves to die. With everything that's happening humans will finally start to show their true colors. Besides, I'd rather hunt all the monsters I can sooner and keep getting stronger. That goal would be a whole lot easier after we're both healed up and we-cough! At least 'I' get some food in my belly since someone ate without me.'

He eyed his spider once more for a few seconds, a sense of betrayal directed towards his spider before returning to Isabelle. He could now easily make out the sweat flowing down her face from her nervousness, her body quivered uncontrollably awaiting his answer.

"Ok, I'll accept your deal but not here. For now I'm heading there.' He pointed towards the direction of the cafeteria that was only a little of half a mile away from them.

He knew his limits and knew that his stamina was running low, he needed to rest.

Knowing that they would be heading to shelter relieved Isabelle, even more so that he actually accepted her plea to not harm Derrick even further.

Her mouth drew a small smile before it wavered when she looked again at the distance towards the cafeteria. She didn't know how she would get there carrying Derrick. She wasn't exactly strong nor did she put any of her stats into strength. She looked towards Noah with a pleading gaze before her eyes opened up in horror, fear so strong that it put her previous emotions to shame.

"What's that look for?" He asked vigilantly. He thought she would be happy to not have to stay out here with zombies crawling around them. But then she looked towards him with fear clearly evident in her eyes. It reminded him of the cliche scene where a person gets killed because instead of warning the person, their companions would just look in their direction and point.

He quickly turned around, prepared to take on whatever could be behind him, but….

"Th-that's cheating! It's cheatinnng!" Noah yelled hysterically when he witnessed what caused so much fear in the woman.

Approximately 50 yards away from them he could make out a gigantic figure shrouded in the distant darkness. The massive silhouette stood at least 8 feet tall as it stood facing away from them, standing over the corpses of zombies and the other creatures in the area. It was most likely the reason why he hadn't heard anyone nearby or why zombies didn't approach yet. Whatever the entity was, it seemed to contain a presence that kept the surrounded mutated creatures at bay.

Still, he didn't know what it was until it stretched out its sides that were almost twice as long as its body. The sight was mesmerizing…until he figured out what it was.

"It's a goddamn bird! We gotta go, hey! Stop eating dummy!"

Noah didn't know what kind of bird it was, but that didn't matter. All he needed to know was the bird was a carnivore and it was HUGE. He wasn't determined to try his luck with it at all. He wanted to quickly get away, but his companion was preoccupied. It only further irritated him because spiders are supposed to always be vigilant right? How could the spider he tamed be such a foodie?

"W-WAIT! I…I can't carry him on my own…"