Chapter 58

Chapter 58: Chapter 58

"I DID IT! I KILLED A GIANT ZOMBIE!"

Freya suddenly screamed, throwing both arms into the air before bouncing up and down like an excited child. The four bells on her weapon jingled wildly as she jumped, and her scarred mouth stretched into an even wider grin.

"Did you see that, Dart? Did you see how I smashed its head? That was amazing! I’ve killed plenty of zombies before, but this is my first giant one, and I killed it all by myself!" She spun around to face Jowe, practically vibrating with excitement. "I’m definitely telling everyone at the guild about this!"

"Freya, for the love of God, behave yourself!" Jowe snapped, lowering his rifle as he glanced toward the people watching them. "You’re in public, not in your bedroom jumping on your bed. Can you act like a normal person for five minutes? You’re supposed to be a Level Four Zombie Hunter, so at least try to look like one!"

Freya stopped bouncing and stared at him in hurt. For a moment, Ingrid thought she might actually listen, but the next second, Freya sprang forward and practically jumped onto Jowe’s back.

She wrapped both arms around his neck, rested her chin on his shoulder, and laughed loudly when he staggered under her weight.

"Dart, why are you yelling at me? You’re going to hurt my feelings! I just accomplished something amazing, and instead of praising me, you’re scolding me like I’m a naughty child!" She tightened her arms around him and gave him an exaggerated pout. "You’re so mean to me! How can you treat the person who just saved your life so cruelly?"

Jowe closed his eyes for a moment, looking as if he were silently asking the heavens for patience to deal with Freya. "Get off my back, Freya. You weigh more than your personality suggests, and if you keep moving around like that, you’re going to make me fall over."

Despite his complaints, he didn’t attempt to throw her off, instead adjusting his stance so he could support her weight. With Freya still clinging to him, he walked toward the dead Evolved One and began examining its body, his earlier excitement-free expression returning as he focused on the task.

Ingrid watched them with a strange look on her face. ’Those two are definitely something else,’ she thought, wondering how Jowe could tolerate someone who behaved like a particularly troublesome child. Freya had just killed a monster that could have wiped out their entire group, yet she was now hanging off Jowe’s back as though they were out on a casual stroll. Jowe, meanwhile, seemed to have accepted his fate, even though he continued muttering complaints under his breath.

Ingrid couldn’t decide whether their relationship was amusing or simply exhausting.

After scanning the giant zombie’s body, Jowe finally turned toward Ingrid and Lysander. His gaze moved over their torn clothes, visible injuries, and the exhausted foxes gathered behind them before settling on Ingrid.

"You said you encountered another one before this giant appeared, correct? Was it the same size, or was there something different about it?"

Ingrid shook her head. "It was smaller than this one, but it was much stronger. I can’t tell you exactly how much stronger, but the difference was obvious. The one we encountered earlier didn’t move like this creature, either, and I wouldn’t recommend treating them as the same kind of opponent."

She paused, wondering if she should give a more detailed explanation. But if she did, wouldn’t they treat her like an enemy? She didn’t want that, so she just warned them on the surface level. It was up to them to take heed of her warning or not.

"If you think this one was dangerous, then you should be careful with the other one. I don’t know what happened to it after we escaped, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it were still alive."

Jowe studied her for a moment before looking back at the corpse. "I’ll be the judge of that. People tend to exaggerate what they’ve seen when they’re frightened, so I’ll need to examine the facts before deciding whether your description is accurate or not." He shifted the rifle in his hands, his expression growing colder as he looked at her again.

"Now, there’s something else I want to know." Ingrid blinked. Before she could answer, Jowe abruptly raised his rifle and pointed it straight at her and Lysander. The sudden movement made the foxes recoil, while Lysander immediately tightened his arm around Ingrid and stepped in front of her as much as his injuries allowed. Jowe’s expression had changed completely, and the suspicion in his eyes was so unmistakable that Ingrid felt the remaining warmth drain from her face.

"How did you know there were hunters waiting in this direction?"

At the same moment, four more people emerged from between the trees, appearing out of nowhere. They carried guns as well and immediately aimed them at Ingrid’s group, surrounding them before anyone had the chance to react. Soren moved protectively in front of the smaller foxes, while the mute fox bared her teeth at the armed strangers. Even Freya, who was still perched on Jowe’s back, stopped smiling quite so brightly as she glanced between her companion and the newcomers.

Ingrid stared at the guns pointed in their direction, genuinely surprised by how quickly the situation had changed. A moment ago, these people had rescued them from a monster that would have killed them all, and now they were treating them like criminals.

She slowly raised her eyes to Jowe, "What exactly are you trying to do?" Ingrid asked, her voice quieter than before but noticeably colder. "You just helped us kill that monster, and now you’re pointing guns at us. Have we done something to offend you, or is this how your guild welcomes people who were almost killed?"

Jowe didn’t lower his weapon. "Do you think we’re fools? You claim to have escaped from a place that our guild was ordered to destroy, and then you conveniently lead a giant Evolved One straight to our position. You even knew where the hunters were waiting before you arrived here, despite having no reason to know about our operation." His eyes narrowed as he looked from Ingrid to Lysander, then toward the foxes standing behind them. "So tell me, how did you escape that place? How did you know where to find us?"