Chereads / Paladin of the Gods / Chapter 7 - TRAGIC RECOLLECTION  

Chapter 7 - TRAGIC RECOLLECTION  

The half an hour travel made Freida feel as though she had been traveling for an eternity during the thirty minutes it took to reach her home. If only it were possible, she would definitely make the bus fly off the road as quickly as possible and make it travel as quickly as possible directly to her house.

She was unable to shake the worry that she had about her grandmother, who had been left all by herself, as well as the possibility that the storm would surge through the entire area within the next six hours. While she was in the middle of her travels, it wasn't even impossible to avoid the thought of recalling a tragic event from her past that had a connection with the storm.

It was also a massive storm that was responsible for taking her parents' lives during this tragic event. Since that day, her life had become monotonous and miserable. If Freida hadn't been able to count on the support of her grandmother, she never would have had the will to carry on living after experiencing such a terrible loss.

Freida was unable to even consider how she would survive if something happened to her grandmother. Then, with her head bowed in silent prayer, she clenched her hands together and pressed them tightly against her chest. She prayed with all of her heart that her grandmother would be safe and sound.

Upon her arrival at the terminal, the intense winds and sporadic rain showers increased in frequency and intensity as the bus traveled dropped her off to the town of Biringan. As Frieda fought against the strong winds that pushed her in the opposite direction of her home, her movements became increasingly difficult to push through.

Local rescuers eventually came across Freida and tried to dissuade her from continuing on her plan to rescue her grandmother, but she ignored all of their advice and continued on regardless. She made a lot of effort to get away from them and even struggled to run through the blustery winds that were rubbing against her skin, and with that, they were unable to stop her.

Freida gave the watch on her wrist a quick glance and discovered that she still has approximately four and a half hours before she needs to rescue her grandmother. She had no idea that the unexpected storm would eventually bring about such unusual traffic.

Since she met the blind man, Freida had been wondering about a lot of things. From the eerie things he mentioned, to passing out in the middle of the road, to eventually waking up in a nightmare that Frieda assumed was also caused by the blind man, and then to this sudden change in the weather, everything about this encounter was unsettling. Freida couldn't stop herself from considering the possibility that the blind man was still responsible for all of these.

Freida had been having a wonderful day, basking in the warmth of the sun as it penetrated her skin, when all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a super typhoon struck their town and city, of all places?

She has reached the point where she can no longer accept the idea that everything was merely a coincidence. There has got to be a reason for everything that has been going on, and perhaps the blind man is the only one who could possibly answer all of these questions. Unfortunately, locating the blind man would be impossible for her since she doesn't even know who that man was in the first place.

Freida's anxiety was causing her to feel stressed out, and at the same time, it was zapping her energy. However, she is aware that giving up now would not only cause her to miss the opportunity to save her grandmother, but it would also put her own life in danger. She cannot afford to give up now.

Because of this, Freida fought hard with the sole determination of getting her grandmother evacuated from the area to be safe from the super typhoon that would go on a deadly rampage in the next four hours. Despite the fact that it was difficult for her to walk the main road to the remote village where she lived, Freida was adamant about accomplishing this goal.

After a brief period of time, Freida was able to reach her home, only to discover that the entire hut was completely dark. She thought that perhaps her grandmother had forgotten to turn on the light. In her haste to locate her grandmother, Freida hurriedly switched on the lights.

"Grandmother? Where are you?"

She called out for her grandmother quite a few times. She went as far as making her way into the dirty kitchen to see if her grandmother was in there doing any cooking, but she wasn't there. Freida instinctively decided to climb up into the room next to where they both sleep, and when she did, horror instantly appeared on her face as she saw her grandmother lying unconscious beneath a hideous monster that was eyeing to devour her.

Frieda let out a piercing scream as soon as she noticed the monster had turned its attention back in her direction. It has two terrifying eyes that are a frightening shade of reddish, its skin was entirely a dark lavender color, and it doesn't even have any hair to be considered a human, but some of its features might still be a close resemblance to human characteristics. It has a long tongue that is dark in color and hangs out of the side of its mouth. Additionally, some of its teeth have a hint of a dark color to them. It had sharp nails that it extended toward Freida's feet in an attempt to grab hold of her feet as it continued to chase after Freida.

Because of the rush of adrenaline, she was able to deliver a powerful kick to the monster's face just as it was about to sink its teeth into Freida's leg. This caused the monster to be thrown backward and caused it to fall off the wooden stairs.

When Freida realized that she hadn't been bitten, she took a few deep breaths and let out a sigh of relief. Although she knew that the battle wasn't over yet, as the monster reared back up from the ground once more, appearing to have been completely unaffected by the impact of its fall.

Freida's sleeve began to tremble as the cold crept up her body. She was unable to believe that this was actually happening. She briefly attempted to pinch some skin to see if she was simply having another nightmare, but sure enough, the pinch hurt her. This can only be taken to mean that she wasn't actually having a nightmare. That the monster threateningly posing in front of her was actually planning to attack her once more.

Even though Freida was experiencing a great deal of fear, she knew that she had to devise a strategy in order to keep her grandmother safe from the monster. So, she took her grandmother's wooden baston and used it to attack the monster.

At first, the monster was brazening enough that it did not display any fear when confronted by Freida's weapon. It tried to hiss its long dark tongue in front of Freida, making it appear as though it was some kind of poisonous king cobra that was just waiting for the right moment to pounce on its prey. It was indeed a vicious creature.

"I am not into fighting, sure enough, but I won't let you get anywhere near my grandmother again!"

Freida screamed a warning at the monster with all the courage she could muster. She wasn't sure if the monster understood what she was saying, but she was determined to defend her grandmother at all costs–even if it meant living on the brink of death.

Before the monster could even jump over Freida, she took a large step backwards to avoid the monster's attempt. At the same time, Freida clenched her fists around the wooden baston and smashed it against the top of the monster's head.

Unfortunately, the monster was quick to avoid her attack as well. Freida, however, was adamant about using the baston to continue attacking the monster. She succeeded in striking its left and right shoulders. Even though she could hear little groans of pain, it sounded as if Freida had just triggered the monster to be even angrier than it had been before.

The monster's anger was evident from the low growl that it let out, which showed how much Freida had provoked it. What she failed to account for was the subsequent assault launched by the monster. Frieda had the mistaken impression that it would jump on her once more, but what it actually did was the opposite as the leap it made was to adjust its movement so that it could move closer to Frieda's feet at a faster pace.

The monster had both of her feet in his grasp in the blink of an eye. Freida made an effort to scream, but it was in vain because the monster was able to pull her in so quickly that it caused her to lose her balance and fall backward. Freida had been knocked back by the monster's attack. Her head hit the cemented flooring and it instantly gave her a dizzy visual as the monster leapt again on top of her. Her head slammed into the concrete floor, causing her to feel dizzy as the monster jumped on top of her again.

This time, the monster shrieked and its sounds were too irritating to hear that Freida's dizziness had been triggered even more. Frieda's vision was hazy, and she couldn't bring herself to look straight into the monster's eyes as its figure dwindled in front of her. Because of this, Freida's arms were pinned against the floor and it seemed impossible for her to reach for the baston that had slipped out of her grasp.

As it dug into her arm, she felt the sting of its razor-sharp claws. Freida was forced to cry out in pain as the sore from the penetration felt like her arms were about to be severed.

"Somebody! Help me!" Freida screamed for help, but it was futile. At this rate, the noise of the wind howling outside was so loud that it would be impossible for their neighbors to hear her. "Please, somebody! Help us! Help my grandmother!" She even went on to say so. It appeared as though Freida was powerless in her current state, and her cries were the only option she had at least. She clung to the hope that someone in their neighborhood would at long last hear her screams.

The hideous creature drew nearer to Freida and growled in her face. It was just as loud as the wind outside, which was trying its hardest to tear off their roof with its incredible strength.

Her stomach began to churn when she caught a whiff of the creature. It smelled like rotten meat, no—a decayed organism, or more accurately, a decayed corpse. This scene resembled her recent nightmare quite closely. The monsters could have had different shapes, but they both smell like a dead body. The smell of a decaying corpse fills the air around the monsters, regardless of their appearance.

Freida's current emotional state was a jumble of conflicting feelings. emotions like fear, anxiety, anger, and nervousness, but above all of these feelings, what she really wanted to concentrate on at this moment was slaying the monster looming over her and securing her grandmother's safety from the area.

However, it appeared that hope would ultimately be in vain given her current situation. Particularly now that the monster had opened its mouth wide in its laborious attempt to swallow Freida's head. However, just as it was about to do so, someone hit the monster aside with a heavy piece of wood, causing the monster to fly aside and strike the dining room table.

When Freida eyed on who did it, she was relieved to find that it was Boran who came to her rescue. When Freida looked to see who had done it, she was relieved to see that Boran had stepped in to save her.

"Freida, are you alright? What kind of creature is this?" Boran, who was also shocked to see the unconscious creature, said.

"Boran, my grandmother. I need to secure my grandmother away from here." Freida quickly told Boran. She was still experiencing pain from the bleeding wounds that had been caused by the sharp claws of the monster that had been on her arms.

"What happened to your arms?" Boran maneuvered himself close to Freida in order to check on her wound.

"Don't worry about me, Boran. Right now, I am begging you. Please help me rescue my grandmother from this creature and the storm that's about to hit this area in a few hours from now."

"Right. The winds outside are too strong but I'll help carry your grandma until we reach the nearest evacuation center."

"Thank you." Freida uttered these words as she actively encouraged her body to get off the ground in spite of the discomfort it was experiencing at the moment. To her, nothing was more important than ensuring the safety of her grandmother more than anything else.

But just as the two were about to leave, they were astounded to see that the monster that they believed they had successfully vanquished was now standing in its full erect form once more. This time, it looked more monstrous than before, that the way it looks at them were like meals it would certain won't allow to get away from its sight. This time, it appeared even more monstrous than before, as if it were viewing them as meals that it absolutely would not allow to escape its sight.

For safety's sake, Boran quickly placed the elderly woman who was on his back on the wooden step. After that, Boran grabbed the mono block and ran straight at the monster.

Both of them yelled at one another as they charged forward, but the monster seemed to have doubled its ability since before, because it was quick to dodge away from Boran. It was so quick that it was able to steal the monoblock that Boran was holding, leaving him with nothing but his bare hands. This showed that it was able to turn the tide of the battle in its favor. The monster didn't waste any time and immediately grabbed Boran's shirt with its strong bare hands. After that, it hurled Boran out the window and outside of the house.

Unbeknownst to the monster, Freida had already managed to retrieve her grandmothers' baston. She was quick enough to thrust the other end of the baston at the center of the monster's forehead at almost the exact moment the monster turned around to attack Freida. As her attempt succeeded in penetrating its head, Freida's jaw dropped.

She rammed the baston even further into its head by putting more pressure on it. The impact of the thrust was so strong that its flesh made a cracking sound. When Freida pulled it out, an odd bead flew out from the wound she had caused. It was so quick that Freida wasn't able to anticipate it dropping inside her mouth, which is how she accidentally swallowed the bead.

The bead gave off a sour and bitter taste inside her mouth, to the point where she could feel the back of her throat getting a bit sore as it moved through her mouth. As Freida watched the monster fall to the ground, she couldn't help but hack up a lung, and it seemed like it would never stop.

"My Lord..."

As Freida attempted to alleviate the pain in her throat, she eventually heard the monster make its effort to talk for the first time. Frieda drew closer so that she could get a better understanding of what was being said because it was muffled and nearly inaudible. Despite the fact that he sounded even more terrifying than when it was attacking her previously, Freida mustered up the courage to listen to the monster as it uttered its final few words, which were, "—My lord, the chosen has successfully eaten the cursed bead," before it passed away.

What Freida had just listened to left her completely dumbfounded at the moment. She then wondered what this hideous monster meant when it said that the chosen had successfully eaten the cursed bead. But more disturbingly, why on earth did this monster, at the verge of its death, just call her the chosen?