I Will Save You!

Before I could even fully process what I had just seen, my body had already begun to move.

"LET GO OF HER, YOU F*CKER!"

With an angry roar, I rushed to where the tongue started and swung my sword. However, as if noticing the danger, the chameleon-man quickly pulled back its tongue before vanishing somewhere.

I felt pissed, as I was unable to find its figure anywhere. Instead of wasting time on finding it, I quickly turned to Garuda, who fell backward on the floor, and picked her up in my arms.

"Garuda, stay with me! Don't close your eyes!"

As fast as I could, I tried to assess her injury. Probably due to her sudden movement before the tongue hit, the hole missed her heart by a bit. However, there's still a large gaping hole in her left chest. Blood drained out of it like a faucet, painting the floor a deep red-orange.

Her eyes were filled with fear, gazing at me. To reassure her, I gently embraced her body before whispering, "You'll be fine," as gently as I could.

Her wound isn't fatal instantly. She would have about a few minutes left before she lost too much blood, but the problem was that she was having difficulty breathing since there was a hole in her lungs.

At most, she has ten minutes, give or take!

"I promise to take you to safety by then!"

I picked her up, wrapping her hand around my neck as I used my left hand to support the back of her knees. It was half-princess-carry since I needed my right hand to wield my sword.

As soon as I made sure she was not going to fall off, I quickly turned to the burning path and ran. My steps contained zero hesitation as I ran through. The chameleon was somewhere inside the storage room, after all, so it was dangerous to linger there for much longer.

As I approached the exit, despite the flames burning the corners of my clothes, I quickly saw the wolves preparing to pounce at me.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!" With a fierce shout, I waved the sword in my hand, injuring a few that were within range.

However, there were just too many of them, so I couldn't push them back alone. If we get surrounded, we're doomed!

*FWOOOSH!*

Just as I was thinking of how to break past the wall of wolves, a wave of white flames swept the entire field before us.

"Garuda!"

I turned to her, who had one hand raised forward, shaking from a combination of pain and fatigue. After making sure that she burned all the wolves nearby, she turned her gaze to me and smiled. Resignation was visible in her gentle eyes, a kind that I'd never seen in her before.

No, it's not too late! Don't give up so fast!

With the coast clear, I quickly ran to my bike, which was parked in the exact middle of the underground parking lot. The keys were still there, so it didn't take much time for me to turn it on and bring its engine to life.

*VROOOOOOOO!*

After a quick squeeze of the accelerator, I placed Garuda in front of me, making sure she wasn't going to fall off. We both don't have helmets, since I forgot to pick mine up when we rushed out of the storage room. Of course, the GoBro was on it too, so the viewers probably have no idea what's happening right now. But that's beside the point.

"Hang tight!"

With a little caution, I quickly turned to first gear and blasted off. The skidding sound of the wheels losing traction was somewhat letting me feel confident that I would make it in time.

The bike soon zipped across the parking lot, going for the ramp and heading up. Since it was a series of gentle curves, I couldn't go over a certain speed, or I'd overshoot. How I wish I had a car instead at this moment!

*AWOOOOO!*

And as expected, the monsters didn't let us go that easily. The wolves began chasing us from behind, gradually catching up. If I stay on the ramp, they'll soon reach us!

"No choice!"

As soon as I exited the 7th-floor ramp, I let the bike reach max speed on a straight line, heading for the second ramp on the other side. As expected, the wolves weren't able to catch up at my max speed, so they were left behind quickly.

"...!"

But the problem was that the 7th floor wasn't empty either. Now I know why the wolves seemed to be coming endlessly. "There's more wolf here than below!"

It was already too late for me to turn around, so instead, I just lowered my stance, protecting Garuda, as I slipped past them, praying that my bike was faster than their bites and scratches.

"Argh!" But as expected, it didn't go so well.

A claw landed on my left leg, opening a large wound, probably reaching bone deep. I could feel warm blood flowing down my leg, but I didn't stop. My feet can't move, so I can't change gears rapidly now, but that should be fine. I have no intention of slowing down either way!

"The ramp!"

After breaking through the large group of wolves and running over a few of them, I finally saw the ramp on the other end. With the distance between me and the wolves, I should be safe staying on the ramp until I reach the ground floor.

After that, everything felt like a blur.

By the time I noticed it, we were already on the ground floor. As soon as I left the parking lot, I quickly turned my bike in the direction of the Military Camp. There should be doctors there, or medics, at least!

I gripped the accelerator tight, turning it to the limit, as we zipped across the wide roads. It was basically a straight path from here to the exit, so I was able to reach it in under a minute. I could recall that it should've been about 10 kilometers away, but... anyway.

The monsters we passed by were a blur. I couldn't even confirm their figures, as we left them behind. My face was already numb from the cold wind buffering it, and my eyes were sore from trying to keep them open despite driving at the maximum speed of my bike.

I kept watch of the big monsters, if there were any, and made sure that I avoided them. After that, the camp finally came into view, with three gigantic wolf corpses lying just outside the main gate.

*SKKKKRRRRRRRR!*

I quickly hit the brakes and skidded to a stop before lifting Garuda and running to the shelter. "HELP! I NEED A DOCTOR!"

Alerted by my shout and probably the noise from me skidding to a stop, soldiers started to rush out and come to my side. However, they soon halted their steps.

"What are you doing...? She needs help ASAP!"

Despite my frenzied call, the soldiers merely looked at me with pity in their eyes. Amidst my anger and confusion, finally, a familiar face popped out within the crowd. Major Lucas.

"Hvir..." His voice sounded sad as he spoke. "That girl is no longer..."

"... What?"

Finally, I turned to look at Garuda. However, I could only see what was left of her... Her right leg was missing from her thigh, with her left arm in a similar state. Blood was no longer flowing out of her wounds, and her skin turned as white as a sheet under the light of the gates.

"No way..."

At that moment, the world went quiet.