The Huntsman did not have many options here. If he stayed to fight, then death was certain. His left arm was on the brink of losing its strength due to his blackened blood.
But if he left, then Snow would undoubtedly be turned into that creature that had tricked Red. He clenched his teeth and rearmed his crossbow, feeding it another steel bolt as he took aim once again.
“SNOW GET MOVING BEFORE WE BOTH ARE KILLED!”
“But –!”
“MOVE!”
Snow wanted to refuse.
She was not captured like the rest of the beautiful women present. Not did she have it in her head to just abandon them. But there was nothing she could do. A Healer had no power, nor any say in these circumstances.
She was no more than sheep in a field of wolves.
The Huntsman channeled his inner rage and hurled multiple shots at the infected Rock Bug. He trudged around the marsh that the beast had called home. Mud clung to his boots like glue, but even at this speed he was still faster than the infected Rock Bug.
Eventually, the creature turned its attention to him when one of its bramble-like legs was severed by a well-placed shot.
“KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” It screeched.
Immediately, distant shuffling echoed throughout the dark woodlands. It had alerted the forest of their presence.
“RUN SNOW! I WILL CATCH UP TO YOU!”
“Don’t… Don’t die!” Snow cried and immediately threw herself across the marsh, tumbling, tripping and falling face first. She swallowed a mouthful of mud and was already panting after just twenty meters.
The Rock Bug reared its head towards Snow, but a bolt clinked off its head, returning its attention to him.
“THIS WAY, YOU WALKING STONE! I’M WHAT YOU WANT!”
It had finally considered him a legitimate threat. Otherwise, it would have continued to ignore him. The advantage was overwhelmingly in the favor of the Rock Bug. The moment it closed the distance was the moment he’d perish.
Thankfully, Rock Bugs were extremely heavy. In a terrain as debilitating to movement as a marsh – it was the perfect place to fight a lumbering foe. But he did not have many bolts. By now he had fired over 20. Neither did it help that his blade was effectively useless against a Rock Bug’s outer armor.
“Gagh! Keep running Snow!”
What he did have, however, was bottles of oil and a fire maker. After completing a revolution around the creature’s territory, he followed the same path that Snow had run into.
“This ought to slow you. Those brambles are bound to lead straight into the cracks of your shell!”
He stopped for a moment and threw several bottles of oil, creating a large line. Then, he ignited it and ran for his life. The terrain and the sheer weight of his equipment would have worn down an ordinary person. But the Hunstsman was trained to operate in these rugged conditions.
Still, his left hand was still worse for wear. He had not noticed it yet, but he couldn’t feel it anymore. He didn’t remember why or when this had occurred.
All he knew was that it was getting worse.
“It’s infected… but with what? If it was the disease of this Corrupted, then I should have already transformed.”
He peered down at his left glove as the screeches of the Rock Bug caused the withered vegetation to shudder. It was mangled. The only reason why it still appeared like a hand was because of his leather glove.
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Now that he had a closer look, her realized that his gloves were far more worn than they were supposed to be. Not only that, but hairs began to grow along his cleanly shaven chin.
“A temporal phenomenon on top of another? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
It was normal for time to operate on a different timescale within a Corrupted Zone. But he had never heard of the change in time having a physical effect on one’s body. If this was the case, then days would have likely transpired in just hours, which would explain why his left hand was oozing black blood.
“No. It can’t be. It’s not… It’s not rotting yet.” He begged.
Eventually, he saw a hand wave him down from the entrance of small cave. It was just hidden out of sight. Quickly, he grabbed nearby ferns and covered the entrance before joining Snow in their new abode.
“You made it –!”
“Shhhh!”
He clasped her mouth shut, pinning her to the wall as the ground shook. His eyes drilled into hers, screaming: “Don’t speak or we’re dead!”
Snow’s eyes flicked up and down to acknowledge his order. He could see the back of the cave wall. If the Rock Bug entered, then they would have no way to escape it. In a way, this was the worst place to hide.
But it miraculously worked. The Rock Bug eventually passed by. And with it, it dragged a row of over 20 captured women. Their bodies were scrapped across the forest floor, leaving behind a trail of blood and entrails.
Ironically, it was the better fate than what would have awaited them.
“Mr. Huntsman… Are we safe now?” Snow meekly asked.
Her voice caused him to calm down. He stumbled backwards and dropped onto the ground.
“Sir –!”
“Your voice. Don’t raise it. We are not out of the clear yet. It’s good that you’re concerned, but… hasn’t anyone taught you how to survive?”
The Huntsman knew he did. He thought Snow’s irrational behavior was due to fear. But he did not see fear in her eyes. Rather, she was eerily calm the same way an experienced knight was able to handle the sight of death.
Indeed, those innocent blue eyes held a degree of experience to this level of horror.
“Forget I asked.” He apologized. “Are you able to take a look at my hand?”
“I’m on it. Here. Don’t touch anything. Just lay down. Here, you can lay down on my coat.”
Snow removed her outer garbs and stood in a nondescript, white-buttoned shirt. She rolled her coat into a pillow and slipped it beneath his head before leaving over him to assess his condition.
“Multiple fractures. Your left arm. It’s bent in a weird shape. Hold on. I’m going to take off your glove.”
“Ugh… Ah… Ghk…”
The glove peeled off his left hand like a layer of skin. Strands of liquified flesh attached his skinless left hand to the glove. The stench nearly caused Snow to gag. It was putrid.
“It’s rotting? Already? How can that…”
What she saw could only be described as wound that came from grating one’s hand against a board of fishhooks. It was mangled to such an extent that it no longer resembled a hand.
“Gangrene? This bad? In just hours?” Snow was confused by this.
While it was not rare for gangrene to appear hours after a site lost a supply of blood, the strange thing was that he was getting plenty of blood in the area. Thankfully, Snow was a Healer. Gangrene could be fixed but not outrightly Healed with her current proficiency in Healing Magic.
“[Minor Healing], [Cure Disease], [Cleanse].” She uttered the names of her Skills. Immediately, beautiful particles of light rose from his wounds. They healed after an hour of continuous healing, which required Snow to chug on at least two Mana potions to keep her magic up.
“Hah… Hah…” She was exhausted by the end of it. “Done… You’re Healed. Completely… Healed…”
The Huntsman wanted to say something as he clenched his fist, but smiled instead and uttered:
“It’s perfect. Good as new. Urgh…!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing… just a pain in my chest. My exhaustion must be catching up to me. Get some rest, Snow. I’ll keep an eye out.”
“I don’t think that’s wise. You need to rest the most. I can always warn you if something comes our way.” Snow insisted.
In truth, they both needed to rest. But sleeping at the same time was far too risky. As much as the Huntsman did not wish to leave Snow awake on her own, he would not be able to help her should something arrive.
And so, he made the choice to rest.
“Very well. Wake me up immediately if you notice anything suspicious.”
“Absolutely. We’ll… get through this together, right?”
Snow was worried about him.
The man clasped at his pendant and smiled.
“Of course. I’ve made a vow… to fulfill my mission to protect you.”
* * *
“But you… are going to die soon.”
Snow lamented as she sat beside his body, wiping away stray tears. The droplets fell onto the pages of her diary. It was opened to a seemingly random page. This page was seven hundred and nine (709) out of nine hundred and ninety-nine (999) of her diary.
She placed a hand on his and closed her eyes. Suddenly, black blood sputtered from her mouth. It dribbled over the pages of the diary as she clung on for dear life. Her veins blackened as she experienced the same agony as Mr. Huntsman once did.
Her sky blue eyes flashed to a shade of red every few seconds.
It went on for hours. Those hours felt like days. Eventually, when the pain subsided, the blackened blood was absorbed into the pages of her diary.
“Entry 709… A Bramble… of Envy… Method on how to defeat the Brambles…”
Her vision wavered right as she saw the silhouette of a red-haired figure.
“… pending…”
“Huh? Well, what. Do. We. Have. Here~! Hey friends –!”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” A distant scream shook the world.
“I mean.” Red readjusted her tone to a whisper. “Hello friends~”