The cold wind chilled Rolls's heart. At the brink of life and death, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.
This is way too sudden.
Luffy... Norda, I still haven't...
The forest serpent's vicious maw drew closer and closer to his face, its fangs already within reach.
Then, it split apart.
In midair, before Rolls's horrified and regretful eyes, it shattered in an instant into more than a dozen pieces, scattered before his face like scraps tossed into a kitchen garbage bin, in a manner that left no doubt it was dead.
At the same time, he felt a gust of wind brush past the side of his face.
A lingering streak of light flashed through the air.
The forest serpent's corpse sprayed hot blood across his face. Only then did waves of shocked cries spread through the surroundings like a tide.
Rolls had no time to respond to everyone's concerned calls. He turned to look at the figure who seemed to have abruptly squeezed out of thin air beside him.
"Are you all right?!"
He had heard that voice almost every few days over the past half year.
The wind just now had not come from anywhere in the snow-covered mountain forest.
It had merely been carried here by someone.
"Dad!!"
Sylphy's panicked cry drew closer. Rolls looked at the utterly dead forest serpent on the ground, then raised his head to look at the anxious Allen before him. He stood dazed for a long while before finally coming back to his senses.
"Thank you. You really saved me."
As the rush of adrenaline faded, Rolls felt a lingering fear wash over him. His legs gave out and he nearly fell, but Allen caught him at once.
Allen checked Rolls over from every angle. Only after confirming that nothing was