He screamed in pain as the creature's teeth tore into his skin, causing blood to gush out and stain his blue pants red.
However, within seconds, Neizan reacted, bringing his sword to the attacker's neck.
With a swift motion, he slid the blade across, slashing the creature's throat, and its blood splattered onto Neizan's face.
As the beast fell, another one bit Neizan's ankle from behind.
Just then, Nana leapt in to attack the creature, protecting her master. In the violent exchange, the beast turned on Nana, managing to bite her leg, but Nana quickly retaliated by biting its neck.
Although the creature managed to free itself, it retreated, wounded...
As soon as he started to scream, along with Nana who was also barking, the two remaining beasts, one of them injured, retreated and turned around, disappearing into the dark vegetation of the forest.
Neizan, without a second thought, began to run toward his house, leaving everything he had brought with him behind, except for his sword.
Nana followed him, limping, but noticing her condition, Neizan decided to carry her in his arms.
With great difficulty, he reached his home, dragging his wounded leg, which was nearly incapacitated from the bite.
Before entering, he made sure they weren't being followed.
Then he opened the door and, after closing it, his legs could no longer support him, and he collapsed onto the floor, exhausted.
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『Lina: Neizan! What happened to you?』
Neizan's appearance was terrible. He was covered in blood, stained from head to toe, and was carrying Nana in his arms.
『Neizan: Ah! They just bit me a little... haha... ah!』
『Lina: I'll quickly get bandages and water! Stay here and don't move.』
『Neizan: Okay...』
After Lina left, Neizan's vision began to blur until he suddenly lost consciousness, collapsing to the ground. Nana, worried, stayed by his side, vigilant.
When Lina returned, she found a horrifying scene: Neizan was lying face down, unconscious, with foam at his mouth and blood still spreading across the floor.
『Lina: No, no! Neizan!』
Lina looked at Neizan with anguish, realizing she had to act quickly or he could die.
Desperate, she shook him and spoke to him, trying to wake him, but he didn't respond.
She had brought what she needed to treat his wounds, so with effort, she turned his body over and placed a pillow under his head.
She washed his face with water and put a damp cloth on his forehead to try to reduce his fever.
Then she proceeded to remove his clothing, leaving only his underwear exposed, to better examine his wounds.
There was a deep bite on his right leg and another lighter one on his left ankle.
She knew that the most urgent task was to clean the wounds and stop the bleeding.
Right after finishing, she carefully stitched his deepest wound with a needle and a piece of fabric thread.
Then, she began to finish bandaging his wounds and carefully took him to his room.
There, she tucked Neizan in and took his vital signs.
His pulse was weaker, so she could only watch the boy's face in that dark night, while praying for his well-being.
They were completely alone: there was no doctor, no one, no way to ask for help.
In that room, no one but her could help the boy fighting for his life. Lina shed a few tears and thought:
『Lina: «Please, let him get better.» 』
She clasped her hands to pray for him. She waited, waited, and kept waiting for the boy to open his eyes.
Several hours passed, but he still didn't wake up.
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『???: Huh? 』
The light slowly returned. With blurred vision, he found himself in a room illuminated by sunlight streaming through the curtains.
He felt an immense heaviness in his body, preventing him from moving, except for his head.
The pain and numbness from his wounds were still there; he could barely feel his legs, and his hands burned.
His head ached, but the pain, though intense, was slowly starting to fade.
Looking around, he realized he was in his room.
He turned his head to the left and saw her: a beautiful girl with black hair was peacefully sleeping beside him, holding one of his arms as if it were a pillow. It was Lina, and she seemed to be enjoying a good sleep.
『Neizan: «Lina?» 』
『Lina: Mm…』
The girl made a small gesture with her eyes and let out a faint sound in response to Neizan calling her, but she was still deeply asleep.
『Neizan: «She's still fast asleep.» 』
He thought as he watched her beautiful figure, so close that he could catch the scent of her hair.
Looking at her more closely, he noticed her cheeks were slightly flushed and damp, showing signs that she had likely shed tears.
Neizan decided not to wake her, assuming she had spent most of the night worried and caring for him.
He felt deeply grateful to her, so much so that he now saw her in a different light.
The warmth of the blankets, the sound of birds chirping—all these sensations surrounded him as he began to think.
『Neizan: «What happened yesterday?» 』
It was hard for him to clearly recall the events of the previous day.
『Neizan: «I know I was working all day, but then… did they attack me? They bit me on the leg and foot. I ended up running until I made it home, and I think I lost consciousness there.» 』
『Neizan: «I also had a very strange dream, though I can't remember anything about it. I only saw someone standing there, staring at me. What a strange feeling… maybe it was déjà vu.» 』
The boy spent several hours remembering and reflecting on what had happened.
During this process, he realized that his wounds had been treated and bandaged, as well as noticing that he was wearing different clothes from before.
After thinking it through, he began to regain feeling and mobility throughout his body.
『Neizan: «The numbness is fading... Could I have been poisoned?» 』
The reason Neizan ended up unconscious, foaming at the mouth, and woke up in that state the next day, was due to a venom from the bite.
This venom can be deadly, similar to the bacteria found in what we know today as the Komodo dragon.
Neizan survived only because Lina helped disinfect and clean his wounds. Additionally, the jeans he was wearing cushioned the attack, preventing all the teeth from piercing deeply and releasing more venom into his leg.
The bite on his foot was mild and superficial, as it only grazed him for a brief moment, protected by the thick layer of his shoes. At that moment, Nana intervened, causing the attacker to stop biting.
Had Nana not helped him, the predator might have bitten him again, this time higher up, leaving both legs completely incapacitated.
If that had happened, Neizan would have died...