Chapter 12: A Deadly War of Attrition

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, that was the only thing filling my vision. At this rate, I would be ripped apart and eaten, dying a horrible death.

But, I had experienced many life-and-death situations. 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 ground 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, my arm lost its force. Slip, then 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 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 bit into my shoulder. Moist, disgusting gnawing sounds came from my flesh as it was being chewed up, all the way until the beast hit the bone. And then, my bone has 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 a mere kobold’s bite, I used to be able to continue fighting while ignoring the pain. Even so, this body could not endure such pain. My childish 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, that girl was the one throwing these.

“W-Why…” “Let Nicole goooooooo!”

While screaming and yelling, she threw the rocks with all her might. Of course, to the kobold, that only meant a new prey for them. Her voice attracted the attention of all the kobolds within the vicinity.

“Gururuaaaaaaa!” “Kyaaaaaa!”

The 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 that mean she’s dead? …No, I will not allow that.

In order to keep her alive, 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. If I can’t even do that… how can I become a hero?

With my only movable arm, I pierced the kobold’s right eye with my fingers.

“Gyap!?”

With 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 spinning in the dizziness due to 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.

When the kobold opened its mouth to try and bite my left arm, I immediately retaliated to shake it off. During that moment of confusion, I rolled under it. That opened up an opportunity, which I took advantage of. I swept at its legs and caused it to fall. Even with my meager strength, I was able to make the kobold lose its balance.

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.

“Looks like my only choice is to keep fighting.”

However, I cannot move my left arm. I have no weapons. I am gravely wounded.

Even so, I cannot leave. Until help comes, I must protect the girl.

“…Fighting is harder than dying, huh.”

Fighting head-on is no good. Running away is also no good. What I need to do right now is to by my best in distracting and delaying them as I fight. It reminded me of that last battle I had before I died in my previous life.

“Come at me, you stupid dogs!”

I yelled to steel my resolve.