The Male Leads Are Trapped in My House-Chapter 147

At first, I didn’t fully understand what they were saying and tilted my head in confusion. Surrounded?

Glancing around, I soon grasped the meaning of their words.

Between the bushes surrounding us, I could see gleaming eyes. A variety of monsters in all shapes and sizes were converging on our location.

Nox sighed deeply, his face tinged with sorrow as he ruffled his hair.

“Miss Cherry, why did you come to save someone like me? Now we’re all going to die together.”

I pulled the axe from my back.

“Who says we’re going to die?”

Dying here wasn’t an option. But no matter how strong I was, protecting everyone while fending off so many monsters at once would be impossible.

Think, Cherry. These aren’t mutated monsters; they’re regular ones, I reminded myself.

I ran through the characteristics of ordinary virus monsters in my mind, recalling that they were particularly weak to fire.

“It’d be great if we could make torches.”

“Torches? Oh, right, those things are weak to fire,” Nox replied, quickly catching on as I nodded. He immediately began gathering fallen branches from nearby, collecting enough for everyone, and tore strips of cloth to wrap around the ends.

“Miss Cherry, you have a lighter on you, right? Or maybe matches?”

Nox’s calm tone contrasted with the situation. I quickly pulled out a lighter and some matches from the belt pouch at my waist and handed them to him.

After dismantling the lighter, he soaked the cloth-wrapped branches with its fuel and lit them with the matches.

Kellyan, watching the process, muttered to himself, “Why is everyone so competent?”

His expression was one of genuine astonishment.

Honestly, Nox is starting to remind me of myself, I thought, noting how skillfully he created the torches. It seemed he had a knack for making things with his hands.

I distributed the torches Nox had made to the group.

“They’re weak to fire. Wave these around if they get close,” I instructed.

The group nodded grimly, their faces set as they turned their attention to the approaching monsters.

Fortunately, the mutated monster hadn’t returned yet.

Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Gunfire echoed in the distance, and some of the monsters turned their heads toward the source of the noise. A few moved in that direction, but the rest remained.

With prey right in front of them, a few gunshots weren’t enough to distract them entirely.

I gripped my axe and torch tightly, addressing the group again.

“Does anyone else have weapons? Guns, knives, anything sharp? Even kitchen knives will work.”

A girl about my age hesitantly raised a butter knife.

“I... I have this,” she said, her face turning red as everyone stared at the dull blade.

Embarrassed, she quickly added, “I got dragged out of the restaurant by a mutated monster. This was all I had.”

“A mutated monster at the restaurant?”

When I tilted my head in confusion, Nox explained briefly. The mutated monster had apparently been her boss, the restaurant’s owner, who transformed after taking a strange medicine.

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Now that’s interesting, I thought. But there wasn’t time to delve into the details. I told Nox we’d discuss it back at Happy House and turned back to the group.

“Whatever you have, grab it. We need to fight our way through.”

I pointed to the path leading to Happy House, urging them to move. Those without torches picked up rocks and sharp branches from the ground.

From the holster on my thigh, I pulled out a spare dagger and handed it to Nox.

“Thanks, Miss Cherry,” he said calmly, accepting the weapon.

Kellyan, leaning on a villager for support, pulled a dagger from his jacket pocket.

“I’ve got a dagger too. Ah, but I dropped my revolver back there,” he said with a sigh, gesturing toward the bushes.

It must’ve fallen when he was being beaten by the mutated monster earlier. But now the area was crawling with regular monsters.

We formed a tight circle, backs to each other, waving torches to keep the monsters at bay as we moved forward.

Nox, walking close beside me, asked quietly, “Where do you think the mutated monster went?”

“Ethan’s probably dealing with it. The best way to help him is to get back to the village quickly,” I replied confidently.

The whistle I’d heard earlier had to be Ethan’s. I was certain he was still alive.

He’ll be fine.

Ethan was immune to the virus, giving him an edge over the rest of us. But he still doubted his immunity. If he got bitten while fighting that thing...

He’s probably digging trenches again, I thought wryly. I needed to get these people to safety and find Ethan.

“Aaaah!”

A scream erupted from the rear of the group.

I turned around to see a snake-like monster baring its sharp fangs at a man trailing behind us.

Thunk!

Before I could react, Kellyan, leaning on another man for support, stabbed the monster’s head cleanly with his dagger.

Though he was impersonating a royal guard, Kellyan’s strength suggested he was a genuine knight. Leaning on another man for support, he plunged his dagger into the snake-like monster with precision, killing it instantly. He then set the creature ablaze, the flames rising high and forcing nearby monsters to retreat.

I watched the scene with mild admiration when Nox, glancing at me, furrowed his brow. He alternated his gaze between Kellyan’s dagger and his own, sighed, and then swung his torch, keeping the monsters at bay as if nothing had happened.

We managed to move forward a bit, but the path ahead was still long, and the commotion was drawing more monsters.

Kyaak!

A creature burst from the bushes with a loud screech. It was a centipede-like monster, one I’d encountered before, with its massive body and countless legs.

I swung my axe without hesitation, slicing the creature’s body in two and embedding the blade into its head.

Crunch!

The head burst open.

“Ugh...”

A man behind me, having witnessed the scene, doubled over and vomited.

Monsters usually avoided the forest, preferring roads or areas with human activity. But according to the novel, over time, they began appearing in forests too. As food became scarce in villages and on roads, the monsters expanded their hunting grounds.

Given how much time had passed since the world’s collapse, it wasn’t surprising that the monsters were now venturing deeper into the forest.

We’ll have to be more cautious when gathering herbs in the hills behind the house from now on.

It wasn’t good news for us.

By now, Nox and Ethan should have been safely protected at Theodore’s camp in Benton, the capital. Instead, they were here, suffering in my mansion.

...No, they chose to stay. I didn’t ask them to.

Shaking my head, I swung my axe again, splitting the head of a grotesque monster that lunged at me.

Swoosh!

From the left, a snake darted toward the group, its fangs bared. I quickly turned, moved sideways, and cleaved the snake in half mid-leap before driving the axe into its head.

Crunch!

Green blood splattered across my face.

Ignoring the shocked stares of the people behind me, I continued cutting down the monsters blocking our path.

The sheer number of creatures made sweat drip down my back. Despite my efforts, progress was slow. The sky turned shades of orange as the sun began to set.

I bit my lower lip hard. Darkness would be a problem. Without visibility, the situation would only worsen. We had to keep moving, no matter the cost.

We need to hurry.

The group did their best, wielding their torches and weapons with determination. But the situation was growing dire.

From the right, a long tentacle-like appendage shot out from the bushes. Alarmed, I turned with my axe, but it was faster.

The damn thing grabbed a woman from the middle of the group and dragged her away into the bushes.

“Ahhhhhh!”

Her screams echoed as the monsters turned and charged toward the sound.

While it thinned the horde around us, the horrific sight crushed the group’s morale. Fear was evident on their pale faces, and their spirits plummeted.

Cold sweat dripped down my forehead as I debated fiercely in my mind.

Should I abandon the others and escape with Nox and the impersonator?

Carrying one in each arm, I could probably outrun the monsters and make it back to Happy House.

I wasn’t a saint or a hero from a storybook. I was Cherry Sinclair—selfish, reckless, and far from extraordinary.

There’s no way I can save everyone.

Even as I walked forward, my mind burned with tension, my rationality wearing thin.

...Yeah. Just take Nox and Kellyan and run. That’s the smart move.

The moment I reached that decision, someone grabbed my arm.

I turned my head to find Nox staring at me intently.

“Mr. Ludfisher? What’s wrong?”

Quickly scanning our surroundings, I met his gaze. Nox smiled faintly when our eyes met.

“If things go south, leave me behind first,” he said softly.

“What?”

“This situation is my fault, isn’t it? You came here because of me, Miss Cherry. I’m the biggest burden to you right now.”

“What are you talking about? After coming this far, how could I leave you behind? Don’t say things like that.”

Nox chuckled quietly, almost bitterly.

“I don’t want to survive at the cost of your sacrifice. If I die, I want it to be with dignity, as a noble, as a human. So, if it comes to it, leave me first.”