Chapter 100: Chapter100-Death March to the Parallel World!
This time, I decided to do the opposite of what I did before. I wouldn't make that choice again...
But it seemed like destiny was against my plan, as something that was supposed to happen didn't occur...
In other words, the plot changed when I least expected it...
How?
She attempted to flee, but the man grabbed her arm before she could get away.
Struggling to catch her breath, the girl watched in horror as the man grinned menancingly....
Covered in blood, the man lifts his arm into the air.
"So, he's finally going to do that."
I muttered under my breath, my eyes fixed on the chaotic scene. But then something unexpected happened.
The girl, in a sudden burst of courage, kicked the man hard in the groin.
What?
Did she just...
He doubled over in pain, his weapon clattering to the ground.
"You! Bitch!"
The man clutched his groin, his face contorted in pain as he tried to ease the throbbing ache.
The girl struggled to her feet and attempted to run, but her pace was slow and uneven due to a visible injury on her leg...
Oh, she's also injured...
Now, I'm sure she's a goneror so I thought...
The man quickly regained his senses, snatching up his weapon with his right hand while still clutching his groin with his left.
He frantically scanned the panicked crowd, his eyes darting back and forth in search of the girl.
After a few tense seconds, he finally spotted her, limping and struggling to make her escape...
The girl pleaded with everyone for help, but all she received were harsh "No!" responses.
The killer shouted, "Bitch, you are dead now!"
She immediately glanced back and saw him standing, glaring at her with a horrific smile.
Terrified, she quickly looked away, her eyes darting around desperately.
I had no idea what she was searching for...
But after a few moments, her gaze locked onto me, and I felt a pang of confusion.
Why is she looking at me?
I quickly glanced behind me, expecting to see someone else, but there was no one.
No one was behind me, which meant she was staring at me.
But why?
I was bewildered for a few seconds until...
The girl abruptly changed direction, her eyes wide with fear, and started running straight toward me.
A realization dawned on me, and I muttered, "No way!"
Don't tell me she's going to ask me for help.
And just as I expected...
Without warning, she threw herself into my arms, clinging to me desperately and crying out, "Help me! Please, Help me! I don't want to die!"
Get away from me...
I don't want to die either...
Just get away...
"Find someone else!"
I struggled to push her away, to disentangle myself from the unexpected situation, and eventually succeeded.
I quickly looked up and saw the killer charging straight toward me.
Damn it...
I raised my hands in a surrendering gesture and stammered, "I'm not involved with herWhat am I even saying? She means nothing to me"
But...
That guy misread my intentions.
Believing I was trying to protect her, he charged at me with a fury I hadn't anticipated, his eyes blazing with rage...
Fuck! Idiot!
The killer charged at me with so much anger that I had no time to think...
His eyes were filled with rage as he lunged forward, his knife flashing in the light.
I barely had time to react.
**SWOOSH**
But...
I dodged to the side as he swung the knife at me, feeling the air rush past.
Desperate to protect myself, I threw a quick punch at his face.
It hit hard, but he barely reacted.
He came back with a vicious slash aimed at my stomach.
I jumped back, narrowly missing the blade that cut through the air where I had been seconds before.
Shit... That was close...
Thank goodness this guy fights just like those practice dummies, or I would have been in serious trouble by now.
With bare hands, I faced him, the glint of his knife reflecting the dim light.
Even though I didn't have any weapons, I wasn't too worried about him overpowering me since I'd fought off many guys like him before.
Wait! That was just a dream, so how could I say I have experience fighting them?
After a moment of thinking, I decided to let it go since I was in a dangerous situation.
He lunged at me, the blade slicing through the air.
I again dodged to the side, feeling the rush of wind as the knife narrowly missed my abdomen...
Then, I retaliated with a punch to his face, my fist connecting with a satisfying thud against his jaw.
The man staggered back but quickly regained his balance.
He slashed again, this time aiming for my throat.
Same attack pattern, no variation...
Amateurish fighting style...
I ducked, feeling the cold steel graze my ear.
I countered with a kick to his knee, forcing him to stumble.
We circled each other, the tension visible in his eyes...
He swiped at me again, and I caught his wrist, struggling to disarm him...
His strength was too formidable, and I could feel my grip slipping...
Oh, surprisingly, he does have good strength...
Hmm, that's unexpected...
With a burst of effort, he wrenched his arm free and backhanded me across the face with the hilt of the knife, sending me reeling.
"Ahh, that little hurt!"
I tasted blood but didn't back down, knowing I had a reputation for being a pushover.
Desperation fueled my next move as...
I started using my basic martial arts skills against him...
I learned it from Allen in my free time, thinking I might need it in the future, but I never expected to need it now...
Using my martial arts skills, it didn't take me long to overpower him as our fight became increasingly difficult for him.
Despite his efforts, it just wasn't his day, today...
After a few intense minutes, his strength began to wane, and his attacks grew weaker and more desperate.
I blocked his strikes with ease and countered with precise hits, each one pushing him closer to defeat.
Sweat poured down his face, and his breathing grew heavy and labored.
I could see it in his face; he knew what was coming.
He tried to rally, swinging wildly in a last-ditch effort, but his movements were slow and uncoordinated.
With one final, well-aimed blow, I sent him sprawling to the ground, disarmed and defeated.
The fight was over...
I tackled him to the ground, pinning his knife hand.
Now, the remaining part...
He fought back fiercely, his free hand clawing at my face.
I felt his nails dig into my skin, but I held on, using my weight to keep him down...
"Dammit, you're making me do this!"
With a final, desperate push, I slammed his hand against the ground, sending the knife skidding away.
"Ahhh!Let me go! I'll kill you! I swear I will!"
The man roared in anger and pain, but I didn't give him a chance to recover.
"Oh, shut up!"
I landed a series of blows to his face and torso until his struggles weakened and he lay still beneath me, unconscious.
Panting, I stood up, my body aching from the fight...
Ugh, this fight was good, but it wasn't as hard as the one with Drek.
I still feel the pain in my body just thinking about that fight...
Man, that was something else...
With those thoughts in mind, I scanned my surroundings.
A huge crowd had gathered around me, their eyes fixed on the spectacle.
I was at the center of attention, with many people snapping pictures and others recording videos.
I could tell that, in their eyes, I had become something of a superhero.
I knew I'd probably become an overnight sensation because of this fightor maybe not.
Uh, whatever.
I turned my attention to finding the girl and spotted her a few feet away, collapsed on the ground.
Her face was a mix of relief and terror, her body trembling slightly.
She truly was a damsel in distress, and even Kiara seemed more capable by comparison.
At least Kiara never made me feel like I was carrying a burden.
But...
This girl, on the other hand, was just too much to handle for me...
As I looked around, taking in the stunned faces of the crowd and the girl's trembling form, a sudden, sharp crack shattered the tense silence...
The bullet rang out with an ear-splitting sound, and before I could even react, I felt an excruciating jolt at the back of my head...
What?
The impact was immediate and brutal...
The fuck...
My vision swam as a searing pain exploded through my skull.
It was like a lightning bolt tearing through my brain, and for a split second, everything else was drowned out by the sheer agony.
I staggered, my legs losing their strength.
The world seemed to spin around me in a dizzying blur of colors and shapes.
I felt a warm, wet sensation trickling down my neck, and I knew instinctively that it was blood...
The crowd's gasps and screams grew distant and muffled as the intense pain overpowered all other sensations.
My surroundings became a chaotic swirl of confusion and disorientation.
Damn, I'm hit...
How did this happen?
Who fired?
I collapsed to the ground, my vision narrowing and darkening at the edges.
I could see the girl's horrified face before everything went black, her mouth moving, but no sound reached my ears.
What is she saying?
I can't hear anything...
Why don't I feel any pain anymore?
I tried to touch the back of my head but couldn't...
Then I realized...
I wasn't feeling any pain because my body wouldn't move...
Oh, whatever the reason, it doesn't really matter now... I'm not in a situation where I should carefully about it.
The concrete beneath me felt cold and unforgiving, and I could barely discern the frantic movements of people around me...
People were running in every direction, panic evident in their faces.
Not one of them stopped to help me...
I sighed, feeling a deep sense of abandonment.
In that moment, I realized how Lee must have felt. This world was no different from hiswhen you're at your lowest, when you need someone to reach out and offer assistance, no one comes to your aid...
Not even the god...
The blood pooling on the ground mixed with the grime and dirt of the city streets.
Each shallow breath felt like a struggle as the world kept blurring and fading...
It was only a matter of time till I again...
My vision kept flickering, showing brief images of the girl trying to push through the crowd, the frantic movements of people around me, and the distant sound of sirens getting closer...
Oh, an ambulance is finally here...
Maybe I'll be rescued now...
But I know deep down that it's unlikely I'll be saved since I've already lost so much blood.
But everything felt so distant, like I was sinking into a dark hole, separate from all the chaos...
As I started to lose consciousness, I saw my death happening right in front of my eyes...
Thoughts I hadn't expected started swirling in my mind as everything faded away...
The inevitable has finally happened.
Destiny didn't change as I had hoped.
At this moment... I really felt an urge to slap those main characters who always claim they can change their fate without realizing the huge cost involved...
I failed, yet I kept hoping I could somehow avoid this end...
But I have to say...
It was my own fault.
If I hadn't been so careless, things might be different now...
Now, I'm left wondering where I should go next.
Back to that same world again?
The last thing I felt was the cold pavement pressing against my cheek and the muffled sounds of the crowd, before I lost consciousness completely...
After a few minutes, I felt a strange tingling that made me want to open my eyes, which was odd since, as a soul, I shouldn't have eyes.
But the sensation grew stronger, so I finally gave in and slowly opened them.
Ohh, my...
To my surprise, I was surrounded by a deep darkness, an endless void with no distinct shapes or features.
The emptiness stretched on infinitely, creating a creepy and formless space.
When I checked myself, I realized something oddI had no legs or arms; it was like I was just a floating awareness in this undefined space.
Confusion set in, and I tried hard to figure out where I was.
Where am I? This definitely isn't heaven. Could it be hell?
But wait, I thought hell was supposed to be full of suffering, and I don't see anyone here...
Heaven didn't make sense, and the absence of suffering didn't align with the idea of hell.
Then... Where am I?
I said out loud, "Am I all alone here?"
The silence that followed confirmed it right away.
Yeah... I'm definitely alone here.
"Shi..."
What should I do now?
Since this place is completely unknown to me and everything around me is just darkness, staying here might be better than trying to run around like those protagonists who look for a light source that might not even be here...
But how do I get out of here?
I don't want to stay alone in this place forever... I'd definitely go insane.
But what can I do to escape other than running around?
I used every bit of my brain trying to figure it out, but after more than 5 minutes with no ideas coming to me, I decided to stop trying for now...
And, then...
Closing my eyes, I decided to count to 1000 to pass the time. "1, 2, 3," I began, continuing the counts.
I knew it was a foolish thing to do at the moment, but I couldn't stop myself, so...
As I reached "998, 999, and 1000," I wondered how much time had elapsed perhaps 40 minutes or an hour.
Boredom had settled in when a faint noise disrupted the silence.
"He.. W... Up! "
What's that sound?
Straining to understand, the barely audible voice became clearer.
"W-e up! "
It was a manly voice urging me to do something.
Confused, I listened carefully, trying to figure out who was speaking to me in this strange place.
"Hey, wake up!"
The voice sounded urgent, adding a sense of seriousness to the mysterious situation.
"Wake up? How do I wake up? Am I not dead? No, wait! Who the heck are you?"
But, instead of any answer all I could hear again and, again was "Wake up!"
After thinking it over, I decided to try something.
"System, are you here?" I called out into the emptiness, hoping for an answer.
The silence around me emphasized how alone I was.
So, he's not here either...
"How do I wake up?" I wondered urgently, needing answers.
After several minutes of thinking with no results, I decided to try something that had worked before.
Remembering something, I closed my eyes and focused, just like I had before.
As I concentrated, I noticed a strange smell...
What is this awful smell? It's really disgusting...
"But wait, how can I smell anything? Dead souls can't smell, right?"