The Devil's Crow

The race continued with Herro leading the race. Herro just slashed through the wall in the buildings that were obstructing his way. It was easier and faster than Kira when she slams her body towards the walls to destroy it.

Although Kira could easily pass through the walls using her acquired ability, she was reluctant to use it since this race was not all about speed but also about endurance.

Using her skill frequently will drain her vitality faster, and she will be placed at a disadvantage in the latter part of the race.

She was confident that Herro would never be able to pass through her even though she cleared the path for him.

But she didn't expect that Herro will use such a shameless way to make her stop midway on their race. That momentary stop that Kira had made due to Herro's probation is really a big thing in their race.

That short pause in her tracks was able to let Herro pass her and take the first spot in their race.

It was true that Herro had cheated, or it couldn't even be considered cheating since he was just provoking him, and this kind of situation is not rare at all, but Kira had clearly the one who cheated.

If starting the race while her opponent is not prepared isn't called cheating, then what else do you call this?

Kira felt anger towards Herro, but at the same time, she also felt guilty. Maybe if she started the race fairly, then she might still be the one leading his race.

Kira could only shake her head in regret as she tries her best to catch up to Herro.

The gap between Herro and her is slowly getting shorter as they continued to run.

They jumped like a grasshopper while avoiding different obstacles and run like a cheetah along the road to reach their goal first.

Herro and Kira were now halfway towards the forest, which is their goal. Both of them are already sweating profusely, and both of them can already feel the exhaustion in their bodies build up.

Their speed is around 80/kph, so they were expected to reach the forest within an hour. But they already felt tired, and it affects their speed.

But even though the drop in their speed is obvious, the two of them continued to persist and run towards the forest.

'What Kira had said is really true. Our stamina is really incompatible with our speed and strength.'

Herro realized that other than speed and strength, stamina is the most important thing in this world.

Let's say you are strong or your speed is above average, but if your stamina or endurance is low, how can you last long if you are forced to battle nonstop for hours? How can you continue to escape from a large flock of killer crows? Wait... Crows?!

Herro was in the middle of realizing the importance of stamina and endurance in this world where nature is your enemy when he saw a flock of crows rushing towards him and Kira's direction.

He panicked a little bit but decided to ignore it. It was just a flock of crows, so what is bad about it. Then he decided to focus his attention on running and completely ignored the flock of crows coming in their ways.

But then, he heard Kira shouted towards him. "COME BACK!"

Herro suddenly looked back and wanted to ask Kira why, but he was shocked to see that Kira is already running in the opposite direction.

Herro couldn't process the thought of why Kira suddenly run in the opposite direction. All he can see that change in the scenery here is a flock of crows rushing towards them.

"What's about with the crows? They were cute and intelligent creatures, and there is nothing terrifying about them. Well, the crows are used in movies to represent death... Death? SHIT!" Herro was still trying to crack the reason why Kira is fleeing.

It even entered his mind that Kira was just trying to bluff him in order for her to pass through him but what Herro seeing is now, it's not the case.

These crows were different than ordinary crows. Their feathers are totally black, but these crows are different.

The crows that were casing him and Kira have white semiplumes feathers or the feathers that are common along with the head, neck, and upper back of the birds.

Herro noticed this but ignored it since a color mutation is not common in this world, where almost everything mutates or evolved.

But with Kira's reaction, he concluded that there is something dangerous in these flock of crows, so he decided to run away, trying to catch up with Kira.

Kira is already so far ahead of him, but he soon realized where Kira is planning to hide. And that place is in the underground Military Base. That place is indeed a nice place to hide since a flock of crows won't enter such a deep hole.

If these crows enter the Underground Military Base, they will be placed in a disadvantageous position since they can't fly freely because of their large number.\

Herro didn't stop for a single bit and just kept on following Kira. Herro focused all of his attention on escaping towards the Military base and ignoring the exhaustion in his body as adrenaline hit him hard.

The speed of the crows that were chasing them is around 80 kph. It was on par with their speed, but there are no obstacles obstructing the flight of the crows allowing them to fly at full speed.

The crows are faster than Kira and Herro, who needed to break from time to time to avoid buildings.

Kira was now using her skill to avoid the buildings and other obstacles in her way. She was escaping so hard that she was not acting normal.

Kira was a calculative type of person. She plans everything ahead of time, and when in a battle, she will think with rationality.

Just like what she did back then when they prepared the ambush for the Mutants and when she was forced to battle them, she planned everything in advance, and she battled her mutant Parents carefully with every single move of her is precise.

But the image of Kira that Herro sees now is totally different from the Kira that was engraved on his mind. Kira was now reckless and thought irrationally.

She was terrified, and it seems she is being chased by Death from how panicked and hurriedly she escaped. By this time, Herro realized how fucked up their situation is.

The flock of crows must be really terrifying because it was able to change Kira's mentality. Kira's mentality turned 360 degrees from a calculative person, and now she acts and thinks irrationally with a volatile mind.

Herro was really worried about Kira's condition. He wanted to catch up to her and help her to calm down. Kira was exhausting all of her strength and energy by what she is doing right now. If things continue like this, she won't be able to escape towards the Underground Military Base.

Herro and Kira are clearly exhausted at this point. Their race ended when the flock of crows appeared while they were still at the midpoint of their race. And now, they were escaping frantically.

By this time, the crows were just two kilometers away from them, while he and Kira were still a few kilometers away from the Military Base.

Their current situation really stressed Herro. If they continue the actions they're doing now, the crow will be able to catch up to them, and he did not know what's going to happen to the both of them.

And then, a thought suddenly came into his mind. But just by having the thought of it, it was able to let him feel fear.

But for him, it was the only solution that he would be able to come up with. It is a solution where he sacrifices his life in order for Kira to escape.

He gritted his teeth and forcefully trying to suppress the fear he was feeling inside. He needed to strengthen his resolve in order for the both of them to survive.

Then Herro starts to speed up in order for him to reach Kira and execute his plan. Kira was getting slower as time passed by. Luckily, Herro was able to find zombies wandering around in his path and used them to replenish his vitality.

After a couple of minutes of chasing, Herro was now behind Kira. Herro clearly saw how ragged Kira is breathing due to exhaustion. He suddenly pounced on her and was able to stop her.

Kira's eyes were blood red, and it was evident that she was crying until she used up all of her tears.

Kira struggled so much, but she could not muster any strength to push Herro away from pinning her down.

She realized that she could not escape from Herro's grasp, so she shouted while hitting Herro's body.

Herro felt pity while looking at how crazed Kira is. Herro concluded that Kira suffered mental trauma because of these crows.

Kira continued to hit Herro's body while shouting crazily.

*Slap*

Herro was forced to slap Kira in her face in order for her to wake up and regain her mind.