A kobold sprang towards my fallen self.
It looked the same as an upright dog. And that upright dog rushed at me, jaws wide open. At that moment, my vision was only filled with one thing—kobold flesh.
At this rate, I would be ripped apart and eaten, dying a horrible death.
But, I had been drowned in life-and-death experiences. I was not some kid that could only shiver in fright and die.
For my survival, I dodged.
With my left foot, I kicked off the ground, and I punched at the forest soil with my left hand.
At the same time, the right half of my body went under the kobold and escaped the entrapment—or that’s what should’ve happened.
Crack, and my arm lost its force.
Slip, and my leg slid across the ground, doing nothing.
The attack I should have dodged hit me right in the face.
Given the situation, my stamina would get used up much faster than I expected.
And because of my limbs slipping, the kobold landed the attack on me.
The kobold’s gaping jaws, jaws much larger than mine, could easily snap off my neck in one bite.
Thanks to me slipping, I just barely missed receiving a fatal wound, but that maw still took a huge bite out of my left shoulder.
That kobold ate into my shoulder.
Moist, disgusting eating sounds came from my flesh as it was being chewed up, all the way until the beast hit bone. And then, my bone begun emitting a horrible grinding noise as it was slowly being chiseled apart.
That noise, that feeling, that pain—it eroded me.
“AAAAAAAAAGAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!”
In my previous life, I had felt this pain many times.
With something like a kobold’s bite, I used to be able to continue the fight, ignoring the bite.
Even so, this body could notendure such pain.
My child body seemed to not have any resistance to it.
Even though my knife was my sole weapon, I let go and struggled wildly, limbs flailing all over the place.
Nevertheless, my bitten left arm could not move.
“AAAAAAAA UWAAAAAAAaaaaaAaaaaa!”
I cried, I fought… Yet, the kobold would not let go.
The sound of wet, warm blood flowed from my arm. No, it gushed out.
An artery was obviously punctured. My time left was short.
As I accepted my incoming death, a rock was thrown to the kobold’s back.
It did not damage the beast at all.
However, a second, a third rock was thrown. Yes, the children, huddling in the treetops were throwing these.
“W-Whyyyyy”
“Let Nicole goooooooo!”
While screaming and yelling, they were throwing rocks with all their might.
Of course, to the kobold, all these voices meant were new prey.
And to the animals in the vicinity, these voices attracted their attention.
“Gururuaaaaaaa!”
“Kyaaaaaa!”
A girl was attacked by the kobold. She managed to not have her head chewed off by blocking the kobold with her arm like me. Whether it was a good idea or not, at least she avoided any fatal injuries.
Even so, being pressured like that, her voice was soon stifled.
Does this mean that she’s dead? …No, I will not allow that.
In order to keep her life, I had to hang on to mine.
And yet, are my efforts futile?
No, am I just going to watch this girl die?
“That… is… unforgivableeee! GaAAaaaaa!!”
She might die at any time now. Therefore, I must save her now.
If I can’t even do that… who am I for trying to become a hero?
With my only movable arm, I pierced the kobold’s right eye with my fingers.
“Gyap!?”
My fingers inside its eye socket, I pulled the kobold’s head back.
And I smashed my head into the beast’s.
“UAAAAaaaaa!”
“GyaAARUURUUAAAAAaaaaaa!?”
My head was still swimming in the dizziness of the crash, but I had no time to worry about that.
Fortunately, I could still move my legs. I could still save her.
“Let her go!”
One of the rocks that the girl threw to help me rolled over, so I picked it up and did the obvious. I used the stone in the same way the girl did, so I could help her.
And again, it did the same amount of damage that it did when it was first thrown.
I clung on the back of the beast attacking me and continued to aim at its eyes.
Eyes are a soft spot in most living creatures, and the kobold is not an exception. A person attacking it from behind in such a vital area would be difficult to ignore.
I ripped its mouth off my left arm and scratched at the kobold with my right.
And in that moment of confusion, I rolled under it.
That opened up a chance, and I took it. I swept at its legs, and it started to fall.
Even with my meager strength, I was able to push the kobold off me as it fell.
I looked over to the girl some ways apart from me.
She was heavily bleeding and unconscious, but that was it.
There were no apparent fatal wounds.
However, this did not mean that we were all fine.
The kobold is still very much alive. And carrying the girl to safety was impossible for this body.
I had to wait this out.
This situation is honestly hopeless.
It’d be easy to escape alone.
Naturally, that would mean leaving the girl behind.
“Well isn’t this f*cked up.”
I cannot move my left arm.
I have no weapons.
I am greatly wounded.
Even so, I cannot leave. Until help comes, I must protect the girl.
“…Fighting is harder than dying, huh.”
I can’t just fight. I can’t just run. I have to hold my ground and keep fighting.
Like the last battle I had before I died in my previous self.
“Come, you b*tch f.u.c.ker!”
I yelled to steel my resolve.