I ran.
I wasn’t proud of it, but there’s no way I would take my chances against three Longclaws with my current strength. How can I think about saving others when I couldn’t even save myself?
Jiwan didn’t freeze, grabbing the Class Rep by the hand and running right behind me. The enemy didn’t come after us, hunting down people near them. The screams wouldn’t stop, echoing everywhere, as if the lively campus became a battlefield.
In a sizeable place like this, there were way too many people around, turning it into the perfect hunting grounds for the mindless killers. That itself brought even bigger problems. The more the Longclaws killed, the stronger they became. Soon they would be too strong, too fast, too ruthless.
Some would even rank-up, becoming even bigger threats.
People’s normal first instinct was to run and hide, but there would be no place to. It wasn’t a situation where rescue would come, nor the monsters would go back to the hell they came from. No one would think the world was ending, but I know it was. Hiding was useless. We had to run far away.
We made it to the hallway. A mountain of people rushed down the stairs, and another tried the elevators. They pulled and pushed each other around, even stomping on those that fell. I could pull ahead, but Jiwan would fall behind, and too many people meant that would be where the Longclaws would focus. I glanced around, searching for another option.
“What now?!” Jiwan shouted, “The stairs?!”
This was the first time I heard him sound so desperate, and it made sense. The Longclaws mowed people down left and right, a rain of blood unlike anything he had ever seen, even in brutal movies of war. Yet fainting meant death. “That won’t work…”
Surveying the walls, an idea popped up in my head. Structures weakened, my body became stronger. There was no other way but to gamble, “Jiwan. Hold her.”
“Uh? Hold?” He hesitated.
“NOW!” Stepping forward, I jumped, spinning in the air and landing a powerful kick in the wall with my entire strength.
*CRASH*
Jiwan hugged the Class Rep in fright. The wall broke, opening a view into Nova City and the college campus outdoor pool. However, it was still a good way off, most likely too hard for a normal person to jump.
Jiwan’s wide-open eyes fixated on me, and understood what I wanted, “You… you broke a wall! But that’s too far, we can’t make it!”
He hadn’t let go of the Class Rep, oblivious to her surprised but not angry stare. This bastard was taking advantage of the situation!
I grinned, grabbing and tossing them out of the window to a fifteen-meter drop straight into the pool, with no warning.
“WAAAAAH!”
“I’M GONNA DIEEEE!” The Class Rep screamed while the wind fluttered her neck length wavy brown hair.
“That will not kill you!” I looked around if anyone else was interested in the “ride”, but they backed away. Did they think it was better to face the Longclaws, or that I murdered people by throwing them from the building?
Whatever. I lost no time in opening some distance, running and jumping like a professional athlete, all the way to the pool. The impact was big, but not enough to cause harm.
“ARE YOU CRAZY?” Jiwan cursed at me, his face twisted and showing teeth. Call me a jerk, but it was enjoyable seeing my buddy without his usual fearless and perfect self.
“Better wet than dead, you fool! Get out. Those things are still out there!” I reminded him what we were running away from as I made it out of the pool, “Jiwan, what are you still spacing out for?”
He made it out, together with the Class Rep, face reddened and lost eyes, trying every second to look away from something but failing to do so.
My sight wandered to the same spot…
…The Class Rep wore a white shirt, now wet and see-through.
“The world is ending, and you’re enchanted by boobs?” I sighed.
The Class Rep covered herself, glaring at him.
“N-no, that’s not it, WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!” Jiwan took out the jacket, tossing it to her.
“Stop screaming and follow me, fool!” My God, what was I going to do with him?
We ran through the campus grounds. The scenery that followed us everywhere was death. The Longclaws around here were enough for a small army. In the past, I failed to notice this abnormality. And I never came back here, as it became too far into Ath’Taren territory. Why did so many of them appear here at once? Was there something special about this place?
It’s a pity I would have no answers, and there wasn’t time to stop. I expected Jiwan to say something chivalrous like “let’s help them”, but faced with death, he understood there was nothing that could be done about it but run. We went all the way to the western exit, ignoring the suffering of others and hoping not to find or be noticed by any Longclaws.
The exit was close, in sight. In one corridor, there was a group of fellow students, trapped between enemies, protecting themselves as best as they could by using anything as a weapon. They were only waiting to be slaughtered.
Among them, someone caught my attention. Green eyes, long unbridled black hair, a face straight out of my dreams. Memories of the past surfaced right away, and I stopped. Her figure was much slimmer and less toned, her behavior seemed gentler, incapable of being a warrior, she hid behind the others, fear covering her body.
“Zen?” Jiwan and the Class Rep also stopped.
“… Soojin? No way…!” I clenched my fists.
Demon Breaker Soojin. My savior, master, and friend. One of earth’s strongest protectors, my first commander, a legendary figure to any of us in the [Northern Old Earth Army] of the past. She was the sole reason our forces fended off the Ath’Taren Demons for dozens of years, and the only one who ever slayed a Demon King.
If I fought together with Soojin in the last battle, the Azure Armored Demon King would have died.
In this chaotic new world, after surviving all the treacherous battlefields, she met death in bed, suffering from a vicious disease, and died as an undefeated goddess of war.
My body moved on its own, rushing towards the group. The Soojin, in my mind, would not have died here, but some events already changed in the classroom. I couldn’t take that chance. I never forget my debts, gratitude, or grudges.
Even if I die, she must live!