Episode 20

Noah blinked in disbelief at what he was seeing. Just as he relaxed his guard, another wolf lunged at him, but he was saved by yet another arrow. Watching the wounded wolf whimper at his feet, Noah spotted someone running toward them. He muttered in astonishment, almost to himself.

“Jason…?”

“Commander! Sir Noah!”

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The familiar voice confirmed Noah’s suspicions. Calyps, still wary of the wolves, froze as he recognized Jason’s bright voice calling out to them.

“Jason… and Dennis?”

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Calyp’s eyes widened as he took in the sight of his two subordinates approaching. Behind them, he noticed Peter as well. With the reinforcements and their horses, the wolves finally abandoned their hunt and retreated. Derek let out a deep sigh of relief as the wolf pack scattered.

“You’re safe after all!” Jason called out, his voice thick with relief.

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“Commander!”

Calyps, equally surprised to see his subordinates in such a place, smiled as Jason approached. But when his gaze landed on Dennis, his expression turned grim.

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“…Your arm, Dennis.”

Dennis was missing one of his arms. He had been fine the last time they’d seen each other, but now one of his arms was conspicuously absent. Noah followed Calyp’s gaze to Dennis and felt his stomach sink as he took in the sight.

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“What happened to your arm, Dennis?” Calyps asked, a note of urgency in his voice.

“Ah, well…” Dennis looked away, staring at the space where his arm had once been, reluctant to share the details. A heavy silence settled over the group until Jason, sensing the tension, stepped forward.

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“Commander, perhaps we should relocate somewhere safer first?”

Even though the wolves had fled, there was always the chance that zombies, drawn by the noise, would make their way toward them. Agreeing, the group quickly gathered their things and moved on. With three horses now at their disposal, they made swift progress in putting distance between themselves and the encounter. The entire way, Calyps and Noah couldn’t stop glancing at Dennis’s missing arm, their expressions reflecting the weight of his loss.

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—

Although their pace had increased, the distance to the next village meant they had to search for a place to rest as night fell. Fortunately, they found a small cave just before dusk.

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“It’s truly a relief that you’re both safe,” Jason said earnestly.

“We’re lucky you’re safe too,” Calyps replied. “But Dennis, what happened to your arm?”

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Dennis hesitated again, but seeing Jason’s reluctance, he finally stepped forward and offered an explanation. After escaping the zombie horde, the group had managed to navigate safely through the forest.

“While scavenging in a town, we had a run-in with zombies.”

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During the scuffle, Dennis had been scratched on the back of his hand by a zombie’s claw. He recalled that terrifying moment, and everyone’s expressions grew tense at the memory.

“When it happened, I thought about what to do if it were a snake bite.”

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Dennis explained that, like dealing with venom, he had immediately tied off his arm to prevent the infection from spreading.

“But unlike snake bites, we can’t exactly suck out the infection,” he added.

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So, Dennis had made a drastic decision—to amputate his own arm. It was a terrifying choice, but one he felt he had to make. Everyone around him listened in horrified silence as he recounted his experience. The infection hadn’t seemed to take hold immediately, possibly because it was only a scratch, but then his skin began to change color.

“It didn’t look like just a lack of blood flow,” he continued. “The discoloration kept spreading.”

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Realizing the infection was progressing, Dennis made up his mind.

“I decided… that it was time to cut it off.”

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Performing an amputation without proper medical tools, especially while fully conscious, was likely to result in shock or death. Dennis and Jason were well aware of that, having seen fellow soldiers die from amputations during the war. But in that moment, Dennis felt he had no other choice.

“Whether I died from shock or not, I refused to go down that way. It was a gamble, but I took it,” he said quietly.

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Jason admitted that in the end, he had no choice but to follow Dennis’s wishes. No one present could disagree with Dennis’s decision, though all of them felt a chill at the thought. Yet Calyps, glancing at him, looked as if he might have made the same choice if he were in Dennis’s position.

“…And if you had succumbed to infection or shock?” Derek asked, shaking his head in disbelief. “It’s reckless, to put it mildly.”

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Derek, as a doctor, was clearly rattled by the audacity of Dennis’s tale. Muttering under his breath, he shook his head, bewildered by the sheer audacity of what he’d just heard. When Dennis explained how he’d used fire to cauterize the wound, even Derek—and Noah—stared at him in shock, wide-eyed with horror.

“You’re insane,” Noah whispered, feeling a mix of awe and incredulity.

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At the very moment Noah was anxiously wondering, Calyps was making his way to the far edge of the village. Having explored much of the area and eliminated some zombies along the way, he’d grown familiar with the layout, allowing him to move swiftly.

‘Still nothing of value, huh?’

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As he exited another empty building, he suddenly froze, sensing something amiss. Quickly pressing himself against the wall, Calyps cautiously peeked outside. He saw a few zombies shambling around as usual, but one shadow stood out.

Had he sensed wrong?

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Just then, a bizarre figure caught his eye. Although about 120 meters away, the creature’s grotesque features were impossible to miss. It towered over three meters, with abnormally long arms that dragged along the ground and a distended belly. It wasn’t identical to the one he had encountered outside Valencia Castle, but the gaping mouth and horrific appearance confirmed it was another mutant.

‘It wasn’t here yesterday. Are they mobile like active zombies?’

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The creature hadn’t yet noticed him, its lumbering movements slow and heavy. It dragged its arms across the ground as it ambled forward, producing an eerie scraping sound. Calyps took his compound bow off his back, securing his pistol in his grip instead. But he wasn’t planning to use it on the mutant. His goal was to avoid detection at all costs.

As the mutant lumbered closer to the direction of the hideout, Calyps narrowed his gaze, realizing the creature was steadily heading toward the cabin.

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Back at the hideout, unaware of the impending danger, Noah and Derek grew increasingly uneasy as dusk fell with no sign of Calyps’s return.

“He did say he’d be back early, but…” Derek muttered, pacing the cabin. Usually, he would avoid bringing up anything that might alarm Noah, but the recent broadcast about mutant zombies had left him feeling just as on edge. His restless pacing reflected the anxiety he tried to keep at bay.

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‘What’s the point of searching that empty town? Why keep going out there?’

Noah tried to soothe his own nerves with complaints. He understood why Calyps was so keen on gathering supplies in a situation like this—they still had a long, dangerous road ahead, and they needed to be prepared. But his worries outweighed any rational thinking.

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‘Maybe we should have just pushed forward and left that place.’

Just as their anxiety reached a peak, they heard a knock at the door: one knock, then two, followed by a final single knock. Following their agreed signal, Derek opened the door, revealing Calyps standing there, looking more serious than usual. Seeing him, Noah felt a wave of relief, though he clenched his fists to contain his lingering unease.

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“You’re safe. We were getting worried—”

“We need to leave. Now.”

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Calyps cut Derek off, already moving to gather their supplies.

“Right now?” Derek asked, stunned.

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“Yes, right now,” Calyps replied, glancing out the window with a tense expression. “One of those… things, like the one we saw outside Valencia Castle, is heading this way.”

Both Noah and Derek gasped, the memory of that monstrous creature surfacing vividly.

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“It didn’t look exactly the same, but it was similar enough that I’m certain it’s the same type.”

Derek swallowed, remembering the government’s warnings about mutants. “So, it’s one of the mutant zombies?”

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“Yes,” Calyps confirmed with a nod. “We need to leave before it realizes we’re here.”

“It’s really that dangerous?”

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Derek had only heard about the mutants from the radio and Noah’s descriptions. Not fully understanding the severity, he was still reluctant to leave in such a hurry. His gaze shifted toward Dante and Noah. Although Noah’s leg had improved, it wasn’t entirely healed, and Dante, traumatized and fragile, was hardly in the condition for a grueling escape. Sensing his hesitation, Calyps shook his head firmly.

“If we can avoid it, we should.”

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“If it spots us, can’t we… fight it?”

Calyp’s face grew grim. “No, not without heavy losses. It’s best to evade it entirely.”

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Even if there was a chance the creature might veer off in a different direction, Calyps didn’t want to gamble on it. He’d seen the mutant’s strength and speed and knew they couldn’t afford to risk remaining in the cabin, which would be demolished in seconds should it reach them.

“Should we leave right away?”

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