Leveling Up Wives In The Apocalypse

***

For all those confused - we are going back nearly 100 chapters to the small foreshadow of the last free chapter :D

***

"Who are you?!" Kaya hissed, showing her fangs as she lowered herself down.

She placed her right hand on the ground, burying her tiny claws into the ground.

Even a failure like her could use the bestial jump, an ability that saved her life and dignity many times in the past.

"You need not fear me," a calm, deep voice appeared in front of the girl, but also from all the direction's around her. "You need to fear what will happen if you do not listen to me, though."

"Is this a threat?" Kaya uttered through her teeth, tensing up the muscles in her things and burying her right hand into the ground even deeper.

For her bestial jump to work its magic, she required not only a stable foothold but also good support for her hands. Ultimately, her prized skill wasn't even a skill but an evolutional advantage that her race developed.

"A threat?" the voice appeared to be amused. Whoever was behind it, clearly didn't take Kaya's stance seriously. "Not at all," it added, this time nearly causing the girl to jump up when it appeared to come from right behind her. "I'm just your only hope at getting out of your current encirclement alive."

There wasn't any hesitation, doubt, or even a hint of malice in the voice. It somehow appeared soothing, while at the same time still somehow sounding strange.

'It's as if...' Kaya thought, only to then swallow a gulp of her saliva. 'As if wasn't a real voice.'

Kaya's ears, just like most of her senses, were better than those of a normal human. And yet, at this exact moment, she could tell even a normal human could easily notice the uncanniness of this voice.

"And why should I trust you?" Kaya asked, still barring her fangs.

Her stance reached its peak. Her muscles reached the maximum tension.

And yet, the girl didn't jump.

Something at the very depth of her soul told her not to. And if anything, Kaya knew better than not to listen to her instincts.

"What do you want me to do?" she barked, ignoring the teachings of her mother never to do it.

Her mother was long dead, after all, so Kaya didn't need to worry about anyone bashing her for it.

"For now, you need to run," the voice informed.

"Run where?"

There was no face for Kaya to look at. Even after all the exchanges, there still wasn't a character that she could see.

And yet, she could somehow tell the owner of the voice has smiled.

"Straight ahead."

'Are you fucking serious?' Kaya kept her curse in her thoughts. Not sure what she was interacting with, she dared not to utter words that could anger her one potential ally.

"Isn't that where most of the human hunters are?" Kaya asked while gritting her teeth.

The direction that the voice pointed her in was exactly the direction she could hear the rustling of the hunters coming from.

"That's where most of the hunters are, indeed," the voice admitted without any shame. "But that's also your only way out."

Once again, Kaya could somehow tell the owner of the voice has smiled.

"And you are quickly running out of time."

Kaya clenched both her jaws and her buttocks.

'Is this some sort of mental magic?' she asked herself, only to grit her teeth. 'But I've never heard about something like this,' she thought.

And then, another thought appeared in her head.

'Wait, if the hunters were using mental magic on me, would I even be able to think of it as a possibility?'

Kaya had a lot of close encounters with death in her young life. And if she learned anything in all of those situations, it was to trust her instincts.

'Even if only for a second, I felt like following his advice,' she thought. The girl then gritted her teeth once again.

And then, without any further hesitation, Kaya released all the tension from her muscles at once, launching herself forward.

The bestial leap. The one skill that her kin could use solely because of the physical superiority her race had over the humans. Yet, at its core, it boiled down to simply abusing her superior physicality.

The girl leaped forward with all of herself.

A wave of condensed wind struck her right in the face, instantly bringing her momentum down. In just a few seconds she had to bring her hands to the sides, clawing at the trees to push herself off them.

BOOM!

It was only a short moment since Kaya left the place where the strange voice caught her. And now, a huge shroom of smoke raised from the place she left barely a moment ago.

'He was right,' Kaya noticed, her eyes opening wide.

And then, the fiery-hot shockwave of the explosion hit her right in the back.

"Agh!" Kaya cried out in pain, feeling the delicate skin on her back stinging as if a thousand lashes struck it.

"Keep going!'

The voice changed. This time, instead of soothing her, the voice somehow compelled her to move.

With no other choice, Kaya ignored the pain and rushed forward again.

'That was close,' she thought when she once again started to claw at the trees to keep her momentum.

If not for the compulsion of the voice, the shockwave's hit would stagger her, killing the momentum of her leap. And thanks to the girl moving along with the voice's wishes, she actually managed to ride on the momentum of the shockwave instead!

She jumped two more times...

And there they were.

A group of at least forty men moved around the place, clearly making as much noise as they could without making it too obvious. And while no one was screaming or clashing swords, they were all moving through the thickest parts of the forest, crushing twigs, rustling leaves, and even going as far as to shake the trunks of the smaller trees!

'It was bait,' Kaya finally realized why the voice pushed her right in the direction of the danger. While the explosion going off where she was a moment earlier already made the girl aware the voice clearly didn't want her to die, she now slowly started to accept that it was actually on her side.

"What?"

The girl was soo shocked both by what she saw and the realization behind it that she actually stopped in her tracks. And she did so for long enough for one of the soldiers to actually notice her.

'Yep, that was a bait,' the girl thought, gritting her teeth.

"She is here!" the man, contrary to the girl, didn't waste any time.

'But don't they look fairly... weak?' Kaya thought.

Her lips moved up, showcasing her fangs as the girl grinned.

'And that means...'

Kaya didn't even finish forming her thoughts. Instead, she pushed herself off the tree, jumping right towards the nearest opponent.

Contrary to the man who spotted her, others were too immersed in their ploy to pay much attention.

Kaya dropped down directly on the back of the nearest man. As she bore no weapon, she dug her canines into the side of the man's throat, ripping out a huge chunk of his flesh when she swung her head away.

'Blood...' Kaya's mind turned cloudy when the sweet, metallic taste filled her mouth.

Her eyes opened up wide as human blood slid down her throat. Her senses peaked.

"It's her!"

This time, people reacted to the shout of another soldier. But it was already too late.

"BLOOD!" Kaya screamed out, using the shoulders of the dead man below her as a foothold. She sprung up, using the moment when her upwards momentum died to look around for the next target.

'THINK!' Kaya screamed out in her thoughts, right as her body dropped down.

'WAKE UP!' she attempted to wrestle control over her own body right as her claws slit the throat of another man.

"Run!"

The calm, soothing voice returned. Yet, even though its tone was the same as when it first appeared, it retained its compelling power.

And just like before, Kaya could do nothing to resist the order.

"Turn right."

Kaya's body slammed into a tree, losing its momentum.

"Straight ahead."

The girl rushed forward as if stopping for even a second would spell her demise.

"Just a little bit more," the voice said, this time free of its compelling power. Instead, it was filled with encouragement.

'Just a little bit more, huh?' Kaya thought, rushing through the ancient forest as if there was no tomorrow.

"You are almost there," the voice informed.

And for the third time, Kaya could somehow tell its owner smiled.

"This is going to kill you a little, so just bear with it."

'Huh?'

Kaya failed to stop her momentum in time, even when considering the shock caused by the words of the voice.

And then, the ground below her feet ceased to be, causing the girl to fall right into a deep ravine.

The time appeared to slow down. Falling down, Kaya could somehow see a tiny sliver of blue, indicating that at least there was some water all the way at the bottom of the ravine.

"You did well," the voice praised the girl.

'At least they didn't catch me,' Kaya thought, closing her eyes as she accepted her fate. Between death and enslavement, she didn't need to hesitate.

For a prideful beastfolk like her, becoming a cumdupster of some fat noble was a fate far worse than death.

"You did well," the voice repeated right as the roaring of the wind became unbearable. For the fourth and last time, the girl could somehow tell the being behind the voice smiled. "I guess I could lend you a hand, couldn't I?"