Chapter 130

She didn't leave?

Futaba Erii stared blankly at the little girl's figure.

Hey! There's a little girl over there!

"Really...? Why are you there...?"

"Go save her!"

Some people in the crowd noticed the noise; some exclaimed, some discussed it, but no one dared to take a step forward.

"No... it's too late..."

"There's no other way... Let's pray the agent arrives soon... In this situation, we can only rely on the agent..."

Futaba Erii stared at the girl's figure for a moment, stunned.

It was just a fleeting moment.

When she came to her senses, she had already started walking in the direction she had come from.

"Hey, classmate! Where are you going...?"

"Help!"

Books and backpack were thrown on the ground. Futaba Erii, suppressing the trembling that welled up inside her, ran towards the girl.

187. Things to Do and Things Not to Do [Thirteenth Update]

Disaster early warning refers to a disaster prevention and control method that uses the Garrison District Boundary Stele Management System to sense abnormal Corruption fluctuations from a certain direction, and combines the time difference and azimuth difference between the Boundary Stele to determine the specific area where Erosion Disaster will occur and issue corresponding early warnings.

Generally speaking, when the Boundary Stele Management System detects abnormal Corruption Wave, it can almost certainly determine that Erosion Disaster is about to occur.

There is generally a reaction time of about ten minutes between when an abnormality occurs in the Corruption Wave level and when the Corruption Wave reaches a critical value and triggers Erosion Disaster.

Saying "ten minutes" is actually just a rough estimate. Sometimes it doesn't take that long, but there have been records of Erosion Disaster occurring after twenty minutes. In rare cases, there are also sudden and severe warnings, such as the large-scale Erosion Disaster that occurred in this square two years ago.

In summary, from the time a warning is issued until the disaster occurs, people must evacuate the Erosion Disaster site and enter shelters as quickly as possible. At the same time, the Special Disaster Division and the Orderkeepers Organization will also quickly deploy disaster emergency forces and agents to the disaster site.

For ordinary people who are unfortunately caught up in a disaster, if they cannot evacuate during this period, the best way to save themselves is to hide nearby and wait for rescue by the Special Disaster Division Relief Task Force and its agents.

Ordinary people without the appropriate equipment and the strength to fight against the Erosion Entity are almost doomed once they are discovered by Erosion Entity.

--Turn into "Dregs" and then be "sweeped away".

Futaba Erii walked straight through the landscaped flowerbed and leaped over the bench.

Perhaps not wearing heels today was a wise choice, she thought to herself.

She ignored the gasps of surprise coming from behind and the whistling of the wind as she ran towards the girl in the center of the square with all her might.

Getting closer and closer.

Why didn't that girl leave?

What is the girl looking for?

If something important was left there, could it be more important than life itself?

We cannot bear to see her die like this, no matter what.

Disaster is imminent; we must save that little girl now, or she will be in great danger.

But if they rush in now, Futaba Erii and the girl won't have time to escape. They'll face the threat of the Erosion Entity head-on. If they're lucky, they might survive; if they're unlucky, they'll probably die.

But...

But what if it were "Yanase Naoto"Yanase Naoto...?

That old-fashioned and somewhat strange guy would definitely run towards the girl without hesitation and save her without regard for his own safety.

This is not about weighing the pros and cons, but a decision to do or not to do.

Therefore, Futaba Erii also made what she believed to be the right choice.

Hey! You!

Futaba Erii arrived behind the girl, panting. The girl was still squatting on the ground, her hands pressed tightly to the ground, seemingly doing nothing. Hearing Futaba Erii's voice from behind, she was slightly startled, looked up, and the next second, Futaba Erii grabbed her wrist without saying a word.

"You..."

The girl tried to raise her hand, but seeing the nervous look on Futaba Erii's face, she frowned and lowered it again.

"It's too late! Don't stay here, come with me!"

Futaba Erii spoke loudly, and the girl's hesitant face came into her view.

The girl's eyes flickered slightly, looking somewhat taken aback.

How to describe that expression? For a moment, Futaba Erii felt as if she had done something unnecessary.

But that illusion was fleeting. Time was of the essence, and Futaba Erii didn't have time to think. She forcefully pulled the girl who was squatting on the ground up.

"We need to get out of here quickly!"

Futaba Erii exclaimed loudly.

"..."

Just as Futaba Erii was about to pull the girl away, the girl suddenly shook her head, and the surprise on her face gradually melted into her calm eyes.

"Don't worry about me, let's get out of here quickly... There's going to be Erosion Disaster here soon, it's very dangerous, you can't handle it..."

"What nonsense are you spouting?! It's precisely because it's dangerous that we can't linger here!"

Futaba Erii shouted at the girl, ignoring her reaction, and grabbed her hand, preparing to run towards the evacuation point behind her.

However, at this moment, the clear sky just a second ago was suddenly obscured by shadows, and a huge, muffled explosion erupted behind Futaba Erii and the girl. Spiderweb-like cracks instantly covered the ground beneath their feet, accompanied by a piercing, beast-like roar and a strong tremor that affected the entire square.

Futaba Erii was thrown off balance by the gust of wind that came from behind, and she lost her footing and fell to the ground.

The girl didn't fall down with her; she simply stood aside, her gaze fixed on what was behind them.

"Is it too late...?"

"Don't worry about anything else, just get out of here!"

Futaba Erii gripped the girl's hand tightly once more, and as she got up, she subconsciously turned her head to look behind her.

Blocking out the sunlight and the clouds was a gigantic, ape-like Erosion Entity, but strangely, its arms and body were in extremely disproportionate size. Its huge, dark body was hunched over, and its blood-red eyes stared straight at Futaba Erii.

The first Erosion Entity to appear in this Erosion Disaster thus descended before Futaba Erii's eyes.

The distance between her and the Erosion Entity was no more than ten meters.

Futaba Erii could almost feel the wailing coming from her chest, a primal fear, like the mournful cry of someone whose heart was being gripped tightly by death.

The girl's reaction was much calmer than expected.

Was she completely terrified, or was there some other reason? Futaba Erii was no longer able to think any further.

The scene from two years ago flashed before her eyes once more, making it difficult for Futaba Erii to even breathe.

At that time, it was "Yanase Naoto" who saved her, single-handedly drawing away the Erosion Entity and giving her a chance to escape. But it was also at that time that she was completely separated from the person she loved, falling into two completely different worlds.

"Run!"

Her voice was off-key, but Futaba Erii still grabbed the girl's wrist tightly and ran quickly back the way she came.

She heard the students' exclamations from afar, the rushing wind beside her ears, the deafening sound of the ground exploding, and her heart pounding in her ears like a ringing in her ears.

The massive Erosion Entity slammed down with its palm, and Futaba Erii and the girl were fortunate enough to escape unscathed, but the flying debris left bloodstains on Futaba Erii's face.

If you don't run, you'll die.

In this empty square, they didn't even have a place to hide or take cover; they had no choice but to run for their lives.

"Faster!"

Futaba Erii shouted loudly, pulling the girl with all her might.

But then, a huge shadow enveloped the two of them.

As soon as Futaba Erii sensed the danger, a gigantic, insect-like black shadow, as tall as a person, plummeted rapidly from the sky towards the girl.

"Careful!"

188. The Visible Starlight [Fourteenth Update]

The girl looked at the approaching Erosion Entity; Futaba Erii couldn't see her expression, only that she slowly raised her hand.

"Careful!!"

At the last second, Futaba Erii shoved the girl away, but she herself fell into the attack zone of the Erosion Entity.

The enormous shadow of the Erosion Entity blocked out the sunlight, and an intense sense of crisis pressed down like dark clouds, reflected in Futaba Erii's wide eyes.

The enormous claws slammed down viciously.

Futaba Erii didn't have time to dodge and could only pull her hands back to cover her head.

The excruciating pain arrived as expected. The air in her chest was forcibly expelled in an instant. Futaba Erii groaned in agony, as if all the bones in her body were shattering at that moment. She felt her body being thrown out by a tremendous force.

Futaba Erii coughed up a mouthful of blood, leaving a glaring Trace in the air.

The world spun around them, and screams of alarm came from afar; the alarm sirens still blared in their ears.

Everything has become so noisy.

Futaba Erii crashed heavily to the ground, the intense dizziness preventing her from getting up despite several attempts. The pounding of her heart pounded in her chest, and the metallic taste of blood filled her nostrils and throat.

My vision became blurry.

She tilted her head back helplessly, the sky meeting her feet on the distant horizon, her eyelids too heavy to open.

I have no feeling in my entire body.

This feeling was strangely similar to the feeling of being thrown off the mat by my master when I was learning martial arts, but the pain was worlds apart.

"Is this the difference between playing house and real combat...? I was really overestimating myself..."

Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, Futaba Erii mocked herself inwardly.

Why did you have to come all this way...?

If you couldn't do anything else, just recognize your own limitations, ignore the situation, and evacuate with the crowd, you certainly wouldn't be in this embarrassing predicament now, right?

But can you really do it? Wouldn't you feel uneasy doing something like that? Everything that "that person" risked their life to save and protect, yet you remain indifferent, not standing up but simply cowering behind that person to survive. How is that any different from yourself a few years ago? And what gives you the courage to speak your mind?

As long as one lives in this world, luck will not always favor them. Since her father left, Futaba Erii has come to understand many things.

The only thing I can't let go of is probably my younger sister...

What is my younger sister doing right now...?

Are you still angry with yourself?

Would she be sad if I died here...?

A piercing roar pierced her eardrums, and the massive shadow of the Erosion Entity was once again reflected in Futaba Erii's eyes— the Erosion Entity was coming after her.

But at that moment, a slender figure stood between Futaba Erii and the Erosion Entity.

It's that girl.

Futaba Erii paused for a moment.

"You..."

Her voice was so hoarse it didn't sound like her own as she gazed at the girl's slender back.

Unlike the Futaba Erii, the girl's body was free of dirt and injuries. She simply turned around and looked at Erii, who was lying on the ground, with a strange expression.

"You shouldn't have come... This isn't a place for you..."