Chapter 1177 Pouch
Chapter 1177: Chapter 1177 Pouch
The zombie girl began to approach their downed forms, lips parting as hunger gleamed in her dead eyes.
Just as she was about to reach them and claim her meal—
"Whoosh!"
A violent rush of wind tore through the area.
In the next instant, someone appeared out of nowhere, scooping up Bella and Sebastian’s bodies with blinding speed.
By the time the dust settled, the spot where they had been lying was completely empty.
"Nooooooo! Fuck you whoever you are! I’m going to get you no matter where you hide on this earth!" The child screamed in anger and then her body disappeared to search for the scent of her prey.
As for Bella and Sebastian, they were already far away from the battlefield—transported to an entirely different location in the blink of an eye.
A cave.
Or at least, something that closely resembled one.
The air inside was cold and heavy with the scent of damp earth.
Jagged stone walls curved unevenly around them, and faint droplets of water echoed somewhere in the darkness.
The only light came from a pale glow seeping in through narrow cracks in the ceiling, casting long, distorted shadows across the ground.
Bella lay sprawled against the rough stone floor, her body screaming in protest the moment she tried to move.
Pain radiated from her shoulder in violent waves, and every breath felt heavier than the last.
Still, she hadn’t been completely knocked out.
Her vision blurred—then slowly steadied.
That was when she saw him.
A man stood a short distance away, clad entirely in black.
A hood concealed most of his face, and a long cape draped down his back, blending seamlessly with the shadows of the cave.
His presence felt strangely unreal, as if he didn’t fully belong in this place.
Even after bringing them here, he did not stop.
He vanished.
Then reappeared several steps away.
Blink.
Gone again.
Each time he returned, he carried something in his hands—packages of dried food, flasks of water, clean bandages, small vials Bella didn’t immediately recognize. He placed them carefully beside her and Sebastian before disappearing once more.
It didn’t take a genius to understand what kind of ability this was.
Teleportation.
Bella forced herself to lift her head slightly, wincing as pain flared through her body.
She tried to catch a glimpse of his face, but the hood cast deep shadows, and his constant blinking in and out made it impossible to focus on his features.
All she could make out was the sharp outline of his jaw and a pair of eyes that briefly glinted in the dim light.
Sebastian stirred weakly beside her, still unconscious.
Relief washed over her chest.
She swallowed hard and gathered what little strength she had left, preparing to thank him—
But the man spoke before she could.
"You’re safe here for at least an hour," he said calmly, his voice low and steady, devoid of emotion. "The creature won’t find this place easily."
He gestured slightly toward the supplies. "I brought food and bandages. Use them."
Bella’s fingers twitched.
"If you can contact your friends," he continued, already turning away, "do it quickly."
His form began to blur, the air around him warping as space itself seemed to fold.
"Farewell."
He took a single step forward, ready to teleport out of the cave.
"Wait!" Bella shouted.
The word tore painfully from her throat, and she immediately regretted it as her shoulder throbbed violently.
But the man froze mid-step, his figure half-faded, as if caught between two places.
The cave fell silent.
Bella clenched her teeth and pushed herself up just enough to meet him with determined eyes.
"Please," Bella said, her voice hoarse and trembling. "Don’t leave us."
The words escaped her before she could stop them, raw and unfiltered. Pride no longer mattered.
Dignity no longer mattered. All that mattered was survival.
Deep in her gut, an instinct screamed at her—sharp and absolute—that if this man vanished now, they were as good as dead.
That zombie girl would never stop hunting them. Distance meant nothing to a monster like that.
Hiding meant nothing. It would chase them until it found them, until it tore them apart piece by piece.
Going back to base wasn’t an option either.
If Bella led that thing back, she wouldn’t just be risking her own life or Sebastian’s—she would be condemning everyone she cared about.
Her friends. Her squad. People who trusted her with their lives.
That creature wasn’t something they could face head-on.
It was horror given flesh.
"I have no reason to stay here," the man said calmly, shaking his head beneath the shadow of his hood.
His voice held no malice, no cruelty—only detachment.
The words hit her like a blow.
Panic surged through Bella’s chest, tightening until it hurt to breathe.
Her gaze dropped to Sebastian’s motionless form.
His face was pale, his lips faintly parted, each shallow breath a fragile promise that he was still alive.
Her husband.
She clenched her fists so hard her hands trembled.
She could not let him die like this.
Memories flooded her mind without warning.
She remembered the first time she’d seen him during Ranger selection—mud-soaked, exhausted, yet still offering her a crooked grin as if the world wasn’t trying to break them.
Missions followed. Firefights. Long nights where survival depended on absolute trust.
Somewhere along the way, that trust had turned into something deeper.
Then the world ended.
When the zombie apocalypse erupted, they had been among the first responders sent into the chaos.
While others fled, they ran toward the screams.
When the Heart Stones appeared, they were also among the first to awaken abilities from them—power born from desperation and bloodshed.
That power had kept them alive for a year of pure hell.
A year of fighting through endless hordes. A year of watching cities burn and comrades fall.
A year of constantly honing their abilities and gaining more strength.
A year of learning that monsters didn’t always look like monsters.
They had survived all of it—together.
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