Must Defend Him

Chapter Nine

It has been a week since Theo had run away from Zelphar. The human tried his best to distract himself, but the giant haunted his thoughts.

Even his friends grew worried for him, letting him know he can open up to them. For some reason, Theo always refused their help.

Throughout the week, Theo was depressed, refusing to leave his room. He had considered going back to the giant, but what if Zelphar hates him now and would eat him if they ever saw each other again!

Today, Theo was lying in his bed, fidgeting with a dagger until the ground began shaking. Right after, he felt that screams were heard from all around Yairenth.

Theo jumped out of bed and ran out of his room. His father was already rushing out of the house. They both ran outside to see what was going on.

A giantess, Zelphar's mother, was attacking buildings and eating humans. There was blood surrounding her mouth from every human she ate. Crowds of people ran around, trying to get away from the evil giantess.

Meanwhile, Zelphar was quietly eating some fruit before hearing screams coming from the human village. At first, he shrugged it off, thinking it was some festival.

What confused him was that there wasn't any music or anything like that. Instead, it sounded like houses were falling apart. The giant put down the tree was eating from and stood up. His eyes widened when he saw Alavara attacking the human village.

Almost immediately, Zelphar rushed to the human village as fast as he could. Thankfully, it didn't take long to get there.

Without thinking, Zelphar tackled his mother, knocking her down. He landed on top of her, but she didn't get up or even open her eyes.

"M-Mother..?" The giant squeaked before he got off of her and held his hands over his mouth in shock. In a blink of an eye, she jumped up and punched him.

This time, he had fallen onto the ground, smashing some buildings. Alavara's wicked laugh rattled the ground, sending shivers up his spine. "Is that all you got?"

"N-No..." Zelphar shakily tried to stand, but his mother kicked him, pushing him back down. He groaned in pain as tears began forming in his eyes.

"Aw, is baby Zelly going to cry?" She cooed at her son, leaning her hands on her knees. Zelphar wiped away a few stray tears before glaring up at her.

"I'm not a kid anymore, so stop treating me like I am!" In a fit of rage, he punched her face, making her stumble back but not enough to fall over. Alavara growled as she held her hand over her eye.

They both ran at each other at full speed, rage in their eyes. At the last second, Zelphar dodged her attack and swung his foot at her legs. Alavara yelped in surprise as she fell face-first into the ground.

She rolled over to look up at the sky. Her son jumped on her, baring his teeth. A weak smirk formed on her lips, inraging Zelphar even more. He wrapped his hands around her neck, beginning to squeeze it.

"Kill me." At her words, Zelphar snapped out of his blinding rage, staring down at her in shock.

"W-What?" His grip around her neck loosened, making her growl. Immediately, she grabbed his wrist and held his hand so he couldn't let go of her neck.

"Do it. Kill me."

"N-No, I-I can't!"

Tears were streaming down his cheeks, dripping onto his mother's face. Her face relaxed and let go of him. She cupped his face with her right hand and used her thumb to wipe away his tears.

A sad smile appeared on her face, looking up at her son. "You think you're ready to do everything, but you're not. You're not ready to kill someone, no matter how much you hate them."

Suddenly, she used her hand that was on his face and shoved him to the side. They both rolled over, now Alavara sitting on top of his abdomen. Alavara punched him again and again and again and again...

Eventually, her arms grew tired, and she stopped beating him. "Your efforts to be the good guy have been so cute, but it's time to face reality. You were born to be bad. You'll never be the hero." Then she got off of him and continued attacking Yairenth.

"She is right, I'm weak, and I can't save them," Zelphar whispered to himself before closing his eyes, ultimately giving up.

For some reason, the giant could hear the sounds of pitter-patter. Zelphar was too weak to move, uncaring of whoever was there.

"Wake up!" A loud voice shouted in his ear, startling the giant. He wanted to move, but every bone in his body was sore by all of the bruises. "Don't go... Please... I can't lose you."

"Theo?!" Forgetting the vulnerable state he was in, Zelphar sat up but groaned in pain from doing so. It took a moment for his swollen eyes to focus on the human.

"What were you thinking?!"

"Wha-?"

"You could have been killed! I could have lost you! Look at yourself! You're covered in blood and bruises! And you can barely move! Are you crazy or something?!"

As Theo was lecturing him, Zelphar stared down at him with wide eyes filled with disbelief and confusion. Then the ground trembled beneath them, shutting Theo up.

Alavara was sauntering to them, the same sinister smirk on her lips. She crouched down, never breaking eye contact with her son. From the corner of his eyes, her hand was gradually moving toward Theo.

Immediately, the giant grabbed onto her wrist and yanked her arm to the side. Not expecting it, she fell over. Zelphar jumped and quickly pinned her down, holding her arm behind her back.

"Don't fucking touch him." Without a second thought, he grabbed the nearest thing and hit her with it. A broken wooden pole stabbed into her back, causing her to cry out in pain.

Blood was seeping out of her wound, affecting Zelphar to freeze in shock. Not knowing what to do, he pulled out the pole, tears pouring out of his eyes.

Every movement the pole made caused Alavara to scream in pain. "M-Mom, I-I am so s-sorry." He whimpered as he watched the blood stream out of her back.

Zelphar carefully flipped her over to be able to see her face. When he did, her eyes were closed, and her face was deathly pale. "Please... I am begging you, just open your eyes. Please. You can't die."

The giant used his left hand to hold up her head as he used his right to hold her upper body. He clutched a handful of hair and cried on her shoulder, holding her close.

The humans began cheering, grateful that the giantess had finally been killed. Without a word, Zelphar stood, carrying his mother's corpse in his arms, bridal style.

Then the giant began walking to the forest, never looking away from Alavara's lifeless face. His tears never stopped running down his cheeks and dripping onto her face.

Zelphar walked all the way home, where his mother and himself had lived. When he got there, he had considered leaving her body in her cave but instead kept walking.

Eventually, he went to his safe space, the cliffside that looked down at the ocean. He stood at the very edge, staring down at the waves crashing against piercing sharp rocks.

"Mother, I'm sorry for not being the child you wanted. I know I am a disappointment to you. I know you regret having me. I want you to know that... I love you, mom."

Just like that, Zelphar dropped her into the ocean, allowing the sea to do what it wants to her. When she landed in the water, she tainted the blue ocean to a crimson red.

He fell to his knees and sobbed into his hands, grieving his mother—an endless cycle of tears that never ceased.

After what felt like hours, Zelphar weakly stood and limped to her cave. He went to the very back and curled in a ball into a dreamless sleep.