Backlund East Borough.
The light yellow haze still filled the streets, and the Sun that had deflected to the west was a little dim, and the sunlight that barely shone on Earth Mother seemed to be covered with a layer of gray.
Several residents who had escaped danger in the attics high up in their houses cautiously opened their doors and took to the streets, tentatively breathing in the air that was still pungent but no longer deadly.
These Luck children are only a minority. Most people use all means to protect their lives in houses that cannot be isolated from the air. They use wet towels or clothes, stuff the closet with wet quilts, and even crawl directly under the bed...
But even so, a large number of poor people who were weak and originally sick had died in the poisonous mist.
Not to mention the residents who are homeless or unable to return home in time. They are lying quietly on the streets, alleys, or even in front of their homes. The vast majority of them will never wake up again.
"Bang——"
Xio kicked open the door of Sherman's house, and his petite body rushed into the door like the wind, bringing in a wisp of mist.
"Sherman, are you there?"
She shouted, looking from room to room.
Along the way, Bounty Hunter has seen no less than a hundred corpses, and even more are the cries and wailings of survivors who are still alive but have lost their loved ones.
She did not want to see her friend become like this, becoming an insignificant number, or even a number that might be missed, in the death toll counted in the newspapers a few days later.
"I'm here, attic, come help!"
There was a faint but clear answer from above her head. She quickly climbed up the stairs, pushed open the barrier covered with wet towels and clothes, and entered the dark attic.
Sherman was only wearing a thin shirt, and his coat had been taken off to fill the gap in the door panel. A girl was kneeling next to him, crying and looking at the middle-aged woman lying on the floor.
They were mother and daughter Liv and Freyja, whom Xio had met several times. Their family made a living by starching clothes and recently moved to a low-cost apartment next to Sherman's house.
"Hugh Miss!" Freyja recognized this woman who was shorter than her but quite capable at East Borough. Her tearful eyes lit up, "Mom is sick, very sick, but outside..."
"I just came from outside. The smog is no longer deadly, but the nearby Charity Hospital is already overcrowded. It's useless to go there now..."
Xio looked at Liv who was lying on the ground with red cheeks and shortness of breath, and immediately made a decision:
"Go to North Borough, a hospital or a church. Even if it's just to appear friendly to the people, they will now open it to East Borough's patients!"
Hope they really do...
Silently adding in his heart, Xio and Sherman made a simple stretcher with sheets and wooden sticks, lifted Liv and left the attic. Although Freyja himself was coughing constantly, he still insisted on going with him.
At the same time, East Borough, Docklands, and even the adjacent North Borough, South District, and Cherwood Borough, had countless people voluntarily helping other survivors who had contracted the disease but barely survived the haze. All hospitals and churches were overloaded, trying to save all the patients.
But more people lost one or more relatives in this short-lasting smog that covered half of the city. Low, sorrowful cries came from every house and every street, gathering in the air into a long-lasting cry that could not be dispersed, like a song to bid farewell to the victims.
Deep in East Borough, on a street with no living people, the light yellow haze and damp paving stones suddenly became rich in color, like an oil painting framed by someone.
Two men stepped out of the "oil painting". One was wearing a double-breasted gown, and was wet and even dripping with water. The other had a bronze complexion and soft facial features.
It is Klein Moretti and Azik Eggers.
"It should be here," Azik's gaze swept around, penetrating through the still thick haze, and paused for a moment on the corpses in different forms of death, "The... death aura here is the strongest."
Klein nodded and took two steps forward, dragging his somewhat heavy dress that was full of river water, and looked around quickly.
Just five minutes ago, he crawled out of the Tussock River and witnessed Mr. A, who had been tracking him all the way out of the ruins, being easily "erased" by a mysterious woman without any resistance. He was then found by Mr. Azik and fished back into Spirit World.
It should have been more than half an hour since "Lady Despair" arrived at East Borough. Angel, how could she...
Klein's footsteps suddenly stopped and his eyes were fixed on the ground not far away.
Lying there was a very familiar figure wrapped in a cloak.
Behind him, Mr. Azik sighed at the same time.
Of course, that's not necessarily her. There are countless black-haired women in Loen and Backlund. Hoods and cloaks are a must-have item for women in East Borough to prevent being stared at. With so many corpses lying around, this is just another victim like them.
With this in mind, Klein walked forward slowly, carefully stepping on the ice that had gradually begun to melt.
Backlund In the depth of winter, it is normal for the roadside to be frozen.
As he got closer, the female figure on the ground became clearer and clearer in his sight. Without even thinking, "Faceless" instinctively told him that the height of this body was 1.75 meters, 3 centimeters taller than himself.
She is much taller than the average height of Loen women, but it is not uncommon.
He kicked away a few "Storm Convergence" bullet casings left by an unknown Nighthawks on the ground with some annoyance. He knelt down gently beside the woman, stretched out his hands, and slowly flattened her crouched body with her back to her. He pushed aside her hood and bangs and looked down at the round, freckled face.
Fortunately, it's not Angel...
"She is very brave. The other enemy should be Sequence 4's 'Despair' Demoness. There are many traces of Magic Mirror Substitute nearby, and there is even a broken wand," Mr. Azik said from behind him said with a sigh, "Let's take her away. This is the center of the 'smog'. The official Beyonder may be here soon. Also, do you want her to remain in this 'disguise' state?"
No! What a disguise! This is just an ordinary girl with black hair and a round face - Klein wants to turn around and yell at her teacher, denying everything he said.
But he knew that this was just self-deception.
Touching Angel's hand that was hanging weakly beside her, Klein gently took off the "Madness Ring" on her finger, then held her face with both hands and took off the Beyonder Characteristic of "Faceless", making her long pale golden hair appear slightly slender, but her cheeks with perfect facial features reappeared under the double disguise.
It's a pity that I will never see her purple eyes again...
Klein pursed his lips, used both hands to pick up Angel, protected him on his chest, and then looked at Azik Eggers beside him.
"Mr. Azik, let's take her home."
The High Sequence Beyonder, who also had a sad look on his face, nodded, stretched out his hand to hold Klein's shoulder, and moved closer to avoid any accidents when Spirit World Shuttle.
"Huh?"
As colors like oil paintings appeared around him, gradually infecting the surrounding ground, he suddenly looked not far away in surprise.
There was a dark green object the size of a thumb. Just being thrown carelessly on the ground caused the surrounding fog to become iron-black.
Beyonder Characteristic...
A certain distant memory emerged in Azik's mind, which was his experience of cooperating with some "Demoness", which made him easily recognize that this was Beyonder Characteristic belonging to "Affliction" Demoness.
At the same time, it also allowed him to reconfirm the final outcome of the girl in Klein's arms.
Looking at the students beside him who were bowing their heads in silence, he sighed secretly, stretched out his hand and made the dark green Beyonder Characteristic fly towards him, and then the surrounding rich haze and the ground returned to normal.
But on the quiet street, the two people were no longer around.