The Male Leads Are Trapped in My House

However, after a moment’s hesitation, I decided to go through with the operation while holding Nox’s hand.
If Nox ended up hanging from the octopus’s tentacle alone, he might get thrown around and fall to the ground.

If I stayed with him, I could protect him.
And more importantly, we had just made our plan. The plan for Nox to lift me onto the monster’s head.
“Mr. Ludfisher, are you really okay?”

I looked up at Nox, who was firmly gripping my hand and bracing himself.
His forearms were flushed red, his veins bulging from exertion. But his expression remained calm, as if he was holding himself together with sheer willpower.
“Why? Do I look like I can’t handle it? I’m a man too, Miss Cherry. At least trust me with this much.”

Looking at his calm face, I felt like he could hold on just fine. But still, we needed to switch places.
Nox was a brains guy, not a physical one.
But instead of wasting time debating it, I should be climbing up and figuring out how to crush that octopus monster’s head.

“Its head must be massive. Can I just stab my axe into it?”
I calculated how long it would take to climb from the tentacle to its head.
“Mr. Ludfisher, can you lift me up?”

“I’ll do it now. But are you sure about this? I don’t know if you can attack its head alone. It just feels too dangerous.”
“There’s no other way. And I can do it. I’m really strong, you know!”
I raised my fist confidently, and Nox’s expression changed into something indescribable as he watched me.

From a nearby position, Kellyan, apparently eavesdropping, chimed in.
“Lady! While you’re at it, cut off the tentacle that’s grabbing my leg too, will you?”
“That’s not possible. It’ll mess up my path. Hold on a little longer.”

“...Oh, woe is me.”
Kellyan sighed dramatically, looking completely unconcerned about the crisis.
If his face weren’t flushed red like a cherry from the blood rushing to it, his laid-back demeanor might have fooled me into thinking he was entirely fine.
I shot Kellyan a glare.

If I succeeded in crushing the octopus’s head, its tentacles would lose strength, and the two of them would drop to the ground.
I had to protect Nox, so I might as well make use of Kellyan.
“Think of our doctor’s life as your own. If he dies, I’ll kill you when I get back.”

“What? Why would I—”
“Hold steady. I’m about to throw her.”
Nox interrupted Kellyan and turned to me.

Kellyan looked utterly bewildered as he stared at us. I raised two fingers to my eyes and then pointed them at him, silently saying, “I’m watching you.”
Nox gripped my hand tightly and started swinging my body back and forth, gaining momentum.
“Hold on tight!”

With his final warning, I soared through the air in a wide arc.
Thud.
I landed successfully on the octopus’s tentacle.

Drawing my axe from my back, I sprinted along the length of the tentacle.
“Miss Cherry! The octopus’s weak point is between its eyes!”
Nox’s shout echoed from behind me.

I had been planning to just hack at its head with my axe, but if not for Nox, I might have wasted precious time.
In the distance, the octopus’s head emerged from behind the trees. Its massive bulk was grotesque, its eyes enormous and disgusting.
But the size made them an easy target. And as I had suspected, its sheer size made it slow.

Its tentacles flailed with sharp, whip-like movements, but its body lagged behind, sluggish and cumbersome.
It noticed me running along its tentacle and began attacking with a sharp, spear-like appendage.
Thwack!

I hacked at it with my axe as I ran, chopping it into pieces. Meanwhile, the octopus continued to drag the woman from Hondorf closer to its mouth.
No!
I was almost there! Almost!

I had to reach its head before it devoured her. Gritting my teeth, I forced myself to run faster.
Huff. Huff.
My breath burned in my throat.

“Aaaah!”
The woman’s scream rang out.
Beneath the octopus’s eyes, its massive mouth opened wide, revealing rows of razor-sharp, shark-like teeth.

Damn it. That thing wasn’t just an octopus—it was a virus mutant.
“Hold on!”
I was almost there. Bending low, I slid forward, using the momentum to close the distance.

The octopus’s enormous, jet-black pupil locked onto me as I approached.
At the same moment, I swung my axe.
Crack!

The blade embedded itself perfectly in its eye. Black, ink-like blood sprayed everywhere.
The octopus’s tentacles convulsed violently. Its gaping mouth snapped shut, and the woman, who had been moments away from being swallowed, was thrown to the ground.
A quick glance showed that Nox and Kellyan had also fallen.

Just as Nox had said, its eyes were the weak point.
Screeeeeeech!
 

At the same time, the sharp sound of a whistle echoed from somewhere nearby.
I glanced back to see the monsters shifting toward the direction of the sound, their movements dispersing.
Thanks to that, it seemed that Nox and Kellyan, who had disappeared into the underbrush, were safe.

Guooooo—
The octopus monster let out a roar that resonated deeply, reverberating through the air like a heavy, ominous bell.
"Damn it, that’s way too loud!"

The monsters in the vicinity, who had scattered at the sound of the whistle, were now starting to gather again.
"But I can’t stop here!"
I slammed my axe repeatedly into the monster’s massive head, leaving deep gashes.

"Phew, this is exhausting."
Wiping the cold sweat from my brow with the back of my hand, I continued swinging the axe like a lumberjack determined to split firewood.
Guooooo—

The octopus monster turned its enormous head toward me, glaring as I stood perched on its shoulder, furiously hacking away at its head.
Its other eye, still intact, glinted menacingly. Without hesitation, I swung my axe again, striking the opposite eye.
Thanks to its sluggish head movements, the axe struck true, and the eye burst apart without mercy.

Guooooo—
Another deafening roar echoed through the sky, shaking the ground beneath me.
"Ugh, so noisy. Such a drama queen after all the people it’s killed."

The monster’s head was now almost split open, revealing the raw flesh inside. With all my strength, I drove the axe down into the cracked opening for the final blow.
Kwoooooo—!
The monster’s body convulsed violently, and I was thrown off its shoulder by the force.

“Ahhh!”
I was falling!
Below me, the dense underbrush loomed. I didn’t think I’d be seriously hurt, but a bad landing could easily break a leg. I shut my eyes tightly.

But the impact I expected never came. Instead, I landed on something solid yet soft.
Someone had caught me.
Before I even opened my eyes, I knew who it was.

“Miss Cherry, are you alright? Open your eyes.”
The familiar voice rang in my ears.
We’d only been apart for a short while, but it felt like I hadn’t seen him in eons. That’s how relieved I was to see him again.

Slowly opening my eyes, the first thing I noticed was blond hair smeared with green slime.
Then came the sight of pale white skin speckled with dark red blood.
His police uniform was shredded, a mess of rags soaked in gore.

“Sir Ethan!”
“I’ve been looking for you everywhere, Miss Cherry. I thought I was going to lose my mind.”
His sharp eyes examined me thoroughly, as if ensuring I was still intact.

“Every time I take my eyes off you, you’re doing something reckless. You’re driving me insane.”
As he spoke, he truly looked like someone on the verge of losing it—a little unhinged, to put it mildly.
Lost for words, I stared at him while still cradled in his arms.

“Y-you were worried about me.”
“Worried? I wasn’t worried.”
He let out a laugh, as if the notion were absurd. But just as quickly, his expression darkened.

With a chillingly blank face, he said, “I already knew you’d end up back in my hands anyway.”
I didn’t understand what he meant, but the intensity of his words made me feel like I’d need his permission just to go to the bathroom in the future.
As I squirmed to get out of his arms, I noticed something.

His arms were covered in ragged, torn wounds.
It wasn’t just his arms. His shoulders and legs, visible through the tattered remains of his uniform, were all similarly mangled. Some of the wounds bore clear signs of being bitten by a beast.
My God.

Ethan set me down gently. Noticing my gaze fixed on his injuries, he scratched his cheek awkwardly.
“Well, it wasn’t intentional, but I guess we’ll find out for sure now. Whether or not I’m immune to the virus.”