Chapter 107: [ON HIS LEGS]

Zaira’s grin faltered, her eyes narrowing sharply as she barked, “Mel, don’t joke like that.” Her voice carried through the cave, too loud against the heavy drip-drip of water echoing from the stone ceiling. “I know you’re still pissy, but we’re with Eli right now.”

But Mel didn’t laugh. He didn’t smirk. He didn’t say a word.

’I don’t think he’s joking.’

Eli’s pulse spiked, thudding in his ears. His gaze snapped instinctively toward Kairo—just as the S-Class hunter moved forward, each deliberate step sending ripples coursing across the black water.

Kairo stopped right beside him, his presence grounding and suffocating all at once, as if the air itself had shifted to make room for him.

Eli swallowed hard, his throat dry. His feet moved before he realized, splashing forward into the shallow pool. “Mel…?” His voice cracked, soft but trembling. “What do you feel? Tell me.”

Mio’s sharp tone sliced through the thick tension, dismissive. “Don’t mind him, Eli. He’s probably just getting back at Zaira for earlier—scaring us into thinking something’s wrong.”

Eli spun halfway toward him, ready to protest, but Kairo’s low rumble cut in, quiet yet absolute.

“Let him do his thing.”

The words weren’t a suggestion. They were a decree.

Zaira stiffened, her confusion flashing in her eyes, and even Mio faltered, his jaw tightening.

Eli’s chest loosened just enough to breathe—Kairo was backing him up. And if Kairo was taking this seriously, then it wasn’t just in his head.

Mel shifted. Slowly.

Each step dragged like the water clung to his boots, holding him back. He stopped just a pace away, face pale and clammy under the flickering drone light.

“…I feel… dizzy.” His words came sluggish, like they had to crawl out of his lungs. His pupils were unfocused, his lips trembling. “…And… I…”

He never finished.

His knees buckled. His body pitched forward, crashing into the water with a splash that echoed like a gunshot.

“Mel!” Zaira’s voice cracked in horror.

“MEL!” Mio roared, the alarm sharp and furious.

Eli’s heart clenched. His body moved before thought—boots pounding, water spraying as he dropped hard to his knees beside Mel.

His hands fumbled at Mel’s shoulders, flipping him halfway to check his face. “Mel, hey—hey! What happened?!” His words tumbled out, frantic, his throat burning.

Zaira and Mio rushed in, beams of their flashlights scattering against the cave walls, voices clashing in panic.

“What the hell—what happened to him?!”

“Is he breathing?!”

“I don’t know—!” Eli’s own voice broke as his eyes dragged downward—and froze.

His lungs locked. His body went cold.

’What… the hell?’

Clinging to the side of Mel’s nape was something alive. A glistening, black mass, swollen and wet. Its translucent skin pulsed faintly, veins writhing beneath its surface as it latched on like a parasite.

It wasn’t just a slug. It wasn’t just a worm.

It was a leech.

But not like any normal leech—this one was grotesquely large, thick as Eli’s hand, its body rippling with a sick rhythm as if feeding.

’How did he not feel this?!’

A strangled scream tore from Eli’s throat. He scrambled back so violently that he slipped, crashing into something unyielding. Kairo.

The man hadn’t moved—he had been standing there the whole time, immovable, a wall of calm.

Zaira’s flashlight beam caught the parasite, its surface gleaming grotesquely. Her bravado crumbled, replaced with raw horror. Mio’s jaw clenched, his stance coiling like a predator ready to strike—

But then Kairo spoke, voice steady, iron-strong:

“Stay away.”

The command froze them all.

Because on Mel’s nape, the leech pulsed again—thicker, heavier—and this time, the sound it made wasn’t just a wet squelch.

It hissed.

“Get it off!” Zaira snapped, her voice cracking between command and pure panic as her wide eyes locked on Kairo. “Captain, get the damn thing off of him!”

Eli’s breath seized. His chest tightened, his instincts roaring in his skull before thought could catch up.

“Wait!”

The word tore from his throat, raw, almost desperate.

Zaira’s head whipped toward him, her face twisted in disbelief. “Wait?! He’s hurt, Eli! Why the hell should we—”

“Check yourselves!” Eli’s voice shredded itself into the cave, nearly a scream. His hand trembled as he jabbed a finger toward Mel’s body. “Look—look at his legs!”

The cave froze.

Eli’s flashlight beam jerked downward, its unsteady glow dragging across Mel’s calves—

And horror bloomed.

Multiple leeches, fat and engorged, clung to him. Their slimy bodies writhed and pulsed with each twitch of Mel’s limbs, skin gleaming black and wet beneath the drone lights.

Veins rippled under their translucent hides, swelling grotesquely as they fed.

Zaira’s smirk was gone, her face draining pale. Mio’s sharp, composed mask fractured into something grim. Their lights dipped almost unwillingly toward their own bodies—

And then they saw.

At least two. No—three of the swollen things clung to each of them as well. Heavy, wet shapes pressed to their skin, bulging with stolen blood, squirming with every movement.

“Oh, fuck—” Zaira’s voice splintered, pitched too high. She stumbled back, splashing through the shallow water. Her hand shot to her thigh, nails digging into her own skin. “They’re on me—they’re on me—!”

“Holy shit…” Mio hissed, his knuckles whitening around his weapon as his muscles coiled to strike.

But Eli’s head throbbed. A sharp, stabbing ache tore through his skull—his ability flaring red in warning.

Danger.

It screamed through him like fire.

“Don’t touch them!” he shouted, his chest heaving, breath ragged. His vision swam with the burning red spark that told him something terrible would happen. “If you pull them off, they’ll—”

He didn’t finish.

Because Zaira didn’t listen.

Her fingers clamped around the bloated parasite latched to her thigh, and with a furious snarl she ripped it upward.

The cave erupted.

The leech shrieked, an ear-splitting, inhuman cry that bounced through the cave walls like metal scraping glass. Its slimy body writhed violently, lashing like a whip before launching upward with impossible speed.

Straight to her neck.

“NO—NO, GET IT OFF ME!” Zaira’s scream was raw, unfiltered terror. She clawed at her own throat, her nails raking at both flesh and slime, but the thing was faster.

It latched deep, its body flattening and pulsing as its veins thickened, black fluid twisting under its translucent skin.

Her bravado shattered in an instant. She jerked and stumbled in the water, her face contorted in pure fear. “Kairo! Mio! Get it off—please, GET IT OFF!”

“Zaira, calm down!” Mio’s voice cracked like a whip, but it was useless against the shrill, agonized sound tearing from her.

Her screams ricocheted across the cave, drilling into their ears.

“No! Please, get it off me!”

Eli’s lungs locked. His entire body trembled, every instinct fighting between run and fight, but his limbs refused to obey.

’I have… I have to help her—!’

And then—

Strong arms wrapped around him.

In an instant, Eli’s feet left the ground, his body hauled up with frightening ease.

The world spun—water splashing below, his flashlight clattering out of his grip. Its beam spun wildly, carving frantic streaks of light across wet stone.

“K-Kairo—?!” Eli’s voice cracked, panic swelling sharp in his chest. His wide eyes darted upward, finding the hunter’s face carved in shadow. “What are you—?!”

“Quiet.”

The single word fell like a blade through the chaos—cold, sharp, absolute. It silenced even Zaira’s panicked screams for half a heartbeat.

Eli barely had time to blink before his stomach lurched violently—Kairo had hoisted him higher, slinging him over one broad shoulder like he weighed nothing more than a sack of grain.

“W-Wait—!” Eli’s palms slapped weakly against the hunter’s back, his voice drowned by the splash of water under Kairo’s long strides.

His legs dangled, helpless, every movement jarring as if the world had tilted without warning.

’H-He’s just carrying me like I’m a sack of potatoes!’

The thought shattered when Kairo’s head dipped, his jaw tightening—then he bit down, hard, on his own thumb.

The snap of flesh tearing echoed far too loud in the tense cavern.

Blood spilled freely, dark and rich, running down his hand in rivulets.

Eli’s eyes went wide, breath seizing in his chest. ’He—he just… tore into his own hand?!’

But Kairo didn’t so much as twitch in pain. His expression was carved from stone, his movements precise. He lifted the bleeding thumb, crimson dripping thick into the air.

And then the blood moved.

Thin rivulets curled and twisted unnaturally, like serpents dancing to his will. T

hey wove together in an instant, glistening threads stretching into the shape of blades—long, needle-like projectiles, each one gleaming with a wicked, metallic sheen under the drone light.

The air itself seemed to hum with pressure.

With a flick of his wrist, Kairo unleashed them.

The needles shot forward, cutting the air with a faint whistle before slamming into the bloated leeches that clung to Mio’s legs.

SHNK—

The impact burst through the parasites. Their bodies convulsed, bloated forms thrashing violently as a piercing screech erupted from them.

Hiiiisss—!

The sound rattled the cavern walls. Their skins bulged, black veins ballooning before splitting apart with wet, cracking pops.

The crimson needles didn’t just pierce—they drank. The leeches shriveled mid-scream, their grotesque forms collapsing inward as though their life was being sucked straight out of them.

Within seconds, their swollen bodies fell slack, peeling away from Mio’s legs with a sickening squelch. They hit the water as nothing more than black sludge, dissolving into a tar-like ooze that rippled outward.

Mio’s eyes widened, his composure breaking for the first time. His jaw was clenched, fists flexing tight, but he didn’t move—didn’t breathe wrong.

He knew what that power meant.

Kairo’s voice followed, low and steady, rumbling with authority that allowed no hesitation.

“Mio. Hold Zaira. Stop her flailing.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep