Barbarus, northern mountains, frontier wasteland.
Now.
.
The setting sun cast its afterglow over the murky world.
A dead tree stood alone in the wasteland.
The Pus Hounds raced forward, kicking up clouds of dust. Fog danced with the dirt, muddying heaven and earth until the four wilds were indistinguishable.
Herrela's vision was a sea of crimson. Her flowing blood stimulated the predators in the distance.
She raised her gun and fired again.
The targeted hound suddenly hunched and sprang forward, its lean body compressing into an unimaginable shape in an instant—
—its heavy claws viciously flung aside the earth, scattering soil everywhere—
It dodged it!!!
Herrela drew a deep breath and swiftly reloaded, the bullets slick and difficult to handle from her own blood.
Fire again!
Two shots rang out.
That hound used the same trick, leaping twice in succession and nimbly evading the shots again. But its companion beside it collapsed straight to the ground, twitching—
The first bullet fired at it had merely been a feint. The second bullet, aimed at its companion, had been Herrela's true objective.
The grotesque Pus Hound seemed enraged. It let out a low growl, and its already incredible speed continued to increase!
Herrela took aim again and fired three times in succession, but the hound cleverly avoided every shot.
Damn it!
With no other choice, Herrela temporarily gave up on that hound and turned her gun toward the two behind it.
The bullets howled through the fog, one after another, faithfully charging toward the rapidly running hounds.
They tore through flesh and burst out the other side, spraying blood everywhere! Machinery was merciless; flesh was frail!
Two more hounds whined and fell. Their sudden stop at such high speed sent them flying with their own momentum!
Two more down.
Only one hound remained, yet Herrela did not relax in the slightest—
That exceptionally agile hound had already closed in on the tree where Herrela was hiding. It had reached an extremely dangerous distance!!!
Herrela quickly opened fire. Bullets surged densely toward it, and in an instant, the hound sprang upward—
Straight at Herrela in the tree!
Herrela's pupils constricted sharply, but her hands did not slow in the slightest.
After rapidly emptying the magazine, Herrela held the gun in one hand and drew her dagger from her waist with the other.
The Pus Hound bared its fangs. Thick, foul-smelling crimson saliva dripped between them as it lunged at Herrela—
Herrela took a defensive stance. One hand gripped the middle of the firearm, holding it crosswise against that gaping maw, while the other drove her dagger viciously toward the hound that had leapt at her!
The tremendous impact knocked Herrela off the branch—
Human and hound abruptly fell from the towering branch, plummeting toward the open, solid ground below.
"Rustle, rustle."
The branches creaked, and the dead tree trembled.
"Bang!"
Dust flew everywhere. Herrela felt a burning pain in her back, while agony spread through her chest until it went numb.
The Pus Hound, over two meters long, pressed its entire weight down on Herrela. Its gaping maw lunged straight for her throat on the force of its momentum!
"Crack."
The enormous difference in strength snapped the firearm Herrela had used to block the hound!!!
Herrela gripped the broken remains of the gun and rammed them straight into the Pus Hound's throat—
Her entire forearm went in! The broken firearm was wedged deep in the Pus Hound's throat. With its throat pinned, the hound could not bite and could only struggle desperately.
Its limbs thrashed wildly, and its long, sharp claws stabbed directly into Herrela's lower abdomen. An entire hind paw sank deeply into her flesh.
"Cough!"
Herrela drove the hand holding her dagger deep into the Pus Hound's abdominal cavity. Relying on sheer willpower, she began twisting the dagger, and the hound's pale, pus-colored lungs slipped out through the wound.
Human and hound desperately grappled, their flesh and blood spraying as both struggled with all their might! Herrela felt her consciousness gradually blurring, her eyes bloodshot.
No! She couldn't die!
She had to deliver these documents!
With her last breath, Herrela violently thrust the hand inside the hound's mouth deeper!
The deadlock broke. The Pus Hound's blood, mixed with corrosive, foul-smelling stomach acid, spewed from its mouth.
Herrela maintained her strength, desperately bracing with both hands.
The vast earth was a murky yellow as deep black slowly crept across the land—
Evening was approaching.
On the empty ground, a dead tree stood blankly in the mist.
The two figures beneath it gradually ceased moving.
Who knew how much time passed before the hound's body began to sway—
"Thud."
The enormous Pus Hound corpse toppled onto its side.
Covered in blood, Herrela breathed weakly, her eyes wide open as she stared at the fog filling the sky.
No, she had to complete the mission.
Until she completed the mission, she could not die!
The Death Guard were famed for their tenacity.
Herrela caught her breath and slowly forced her mind to clear.
—Her ribs were broken. Her right hand, having gone deep into the hound's throat, had long since been corroded down to exposed bone. Her abdomen had been pierced, and her left leg was fractured.
Thankfully, her abdominal organs had not been injured, though her intestines had spilled out.
She only needed to reach headquarters before she bled dry.
Herrela felt for the documents in her clothes—thankfully, they were intact.
Herrela stuffed her intestines back in, wrapped her abdomen haphazardly with bandages, then picked up a branch beneath the tree to use as a crutch. She painfully pushed herself upright and began to move.
A trail of crimson blood flowed behind her.
Her consciousness began to blur. The scenery before her turned black and white, large patches of static filling her vision.
Almost there. Almost there.
No, why was it so far?
Why was it so far?
Herrela, keep going. You can do this.
You swore that you would defend this place.
Herrela could no longer feel pain. Great swathes of darkness engulfed her vision.
It was too dark, she thought. So Herrela removed her gas mask and tossed it by the roadside.
It was still so dark. How could this be?
Herrela suddenly became afraid. What if she failed to complete the mission?
She... she suddenly became that helpless child again, burying her head and crying.
She was too weak. She could do nothing.
No, no, no, Herrela, you can do it, you can do it, you can do it!
A scarecrow stood alone in the field.
Herrela recognized it. It was the scarecrow erected in the outermost field. Seeing it meant the human settlement was close.
She smiled. Herrela felt her face barely twitch.
Even if she collapsed here, someone would find her.
Even so, Herrela's numb body continued walking mechanically.
She had to complete the mission. She had sworn to protect everyone.
Huh?
It felt like someone was ahead?
Herrela was not sure. Her vision was blurred, filled with large blocks of black and white.
She was not sure.
"Herrela!!!"
"Herrela!!!"
"Herrela, hold on!!! Don't die!!!"
Ah.
That was Hades's voice.
Herrela felt herself smiling. Her cheeks were warm—were those tears?
At last, I fulfilled my oath.
Hades, look, I did it.
I'm a powerful Death Guard too.
Herrela can protect everyone too.
And we finally met again.
Herrela could no longer hold on. She fell.
Put a Barbarus girl who was about to die here.
Before you continue