Chapter 181

Chapter 181. The Commander, No. 2 (3)

While the two were talking, smoke began rolling in from farther down the hallway.

Victoria immediately spoke urgently.

“We need to move first. It’ll be dangerous if we stay here.”

The two hurried off in the opposite direction from the smoke.

As they ran, Nova looked around and asked,

“Where do we go?”

Victoria quickly surveyed the area.

“We need somewhere we can hide for now, but also rush out quickly once the rescue team arrives.”

Nova scanned the surroundings and spotted a women’s restroom.

“What about the bathroom?”

“Only one exit. We’d get trapped immediately.”

Victoria’s answer was pessimistic.

Then where?

Nova quickly looked around.

“Then... ughhh!”

At that moment, a headache like a razor slicing through her brain struck all at once.

Nova clutched her head, groaned, and collapsed.

“Nova!”

Victoria rushed over and supported her.

Apparently, another attack had started.

Caught in pain so deep she could barely breathe, Nova could only repeat one word.

“Medicine... medicine!”

Hearing that, Victoria hurriedly reached into Nova’s pocket and pulled out the painkillers.

Then she quickly shoved them into Nova’s mouth.

“Take it!”

Driven by the desperate need to escape the pain, Nova chewed and swallowed the medicine without water.

But the attack showed no sign of subsiding.

Had she developed a tolerance?

Nova clutched her head and made strangled groans.

“Ughhh... nghhh...!”

Victoria quickly wrapped her arms around her.

She desperately tried to calm Nova as the girl struggled helplessly through the attack.

“Nova, calm down! Don’t lose consciousness!”

“Ughhh... It’s no use. I think I’m going to...”

Nova trailed off through the pain.

Even now, heat and smoke were filling the area.

If this continued, Victoria might fail to escape in time because of her.

Then...

If that’s the case...

Nova squeezed her eyes shut.

She already felt like dead weight.

The guilt of holding Victoria back pressed heavily on her.

“You had fun at the beach, right?”

Victoria watched Nova with trembling eyes, then suddenly brought up something seemingly unrelated.

Nova struggled for breath and barely nodded.

“...Yeah.”

Victoria forced herself to smile.

Then she spoke brightly.

“Let’s go again after this is over.”

“This time, we’ll bring proper swimsuits too.”

“Swimsuits?”

Nova muttered weakly.

Victoria’s eyes lit up.

“Yeah.”

“I’m going to get something incredibly daring and sexy.”

“Something worthy of a great body like mine.”

Victoria in a daring, sexy swimsuit.

Yukgap would definitely complain the moment he saw her.

Of course, Victoria would ignore him and happily walk around in it anyway.

The thought made Nova laugh despite herself.

“Heh. That sounds fun.”

Hearing her laugh, Victoria kept chatting without pause.

“At night, we’ll make a bonfire and set off fireworks.”

“We’ll eat watermelon and go for a walk together.”

“We can catch fish and grill them too.”

Victoria looked completely serious as she said it.

And knowing Victoria, she would absolutely make it happen.

No one could match her when it came to willpower and conviction.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Nova naturally pictured herself spending another day by the sea with Victoria.

Just imagining it was fun.

As though reading her thoughts, Victoria emphasized again,

“Right?”

“So hang in there just a little longer.”

“You have to stay alive if you want to go back to the sea.”

Emotion welled up inside Nova.

Victoria must have realized she had momentarily given in to dark thoughts and was deliberately trying to encourage her.

Nova finally gathered herself and pushed back to her feet.

“Yeah.”

“I have to live.”

“If I’m alive, I can still do something.”

Victoria looked her over anxiously.

“Feeling better?”

“Yeah.”

“The headache’s easing.”

Perhaps the medicine had finally started working while they talked.

The pain had lessened considerably.

It would only last a little while, but for now she could stand and endure it.

More importantly, Nova’s fierce desire to live forced strength back into her limbs.

“Let’s move.”

“The rescue team should be here soon.”

“We only have to hold out until then.”

Victoria grabbed Nova’s hand.

Nova simply nodded.

Whatever else happened, having Victoria beside her made her feel safer.

Sniff, sniff, sniff.

Then a large man appeared in the distance, sniffing the air as he walked.

Beside him was a stern-looking man with gray hair.

Victoria immediately recognized them.

“Th-Those are...!”

No. 2 and No. 9 of Abraxas.

No. 9 grinned widely when he spotted Victoria and Nova.

“Found you!”

“Good thing I followed your scent!”

Beside him, No. 2 spoke emotionlessly.

“So this is where you were.”

“Victoria Frankenstein and Nova Hanson.”

Apparently, they had tracked them here by smell.

Victoria immediately stood in front of Nova.

“Nova, stay behind me.”

No. 2 spoke in a voice utterly devoid of emotion.

“Victoria Frankenstein, you are Alpha’s friend.”

“I would prefer not to use force against you.”

“Really?”

“Then how about politely stepping aside?”

Victoria asked jokingly while maintaining her stance.

No. 2 immediately shook his head.

“I cannot.”

“Alpha’s orders are absolute.”

It was truly mechanical loyalty.

There was clearly no negotiating with them.

No. 2 turned to No. 9.

“No. 9, I’ll handle Victoria Frankenstein.”

“You secure Nova Hanson.”

“Okay!”

No. 9 grinned and reached one massive hand toward Nova.

He could not manifest his shark form on land, but his huge physique alone was more than threatening enough.

And No. 2 was here too.

Facing both of them was clearly impossible.

After quickly calculating the situation, Victoria spoke rapidly to Nova.

“Nova, listen carefully.”

“What are you going to do?”

Nova asked urgently.

Victoria immediately answered,

“I’ll buy time.”

“When I give you the signal, run.”

“The Archons can’t do much to me anyway.”

“Hide among the people.”

“Use the emergency stairs. You should be able to blend into the crowd easily.”

Nova stared at her in horror.

“I’m not leaving you behind!”

“Don’t be stubborn!”

Victoria shouted sharply.

Then she forced a smile for Nova.

“We still have to go back to the sea, remember?”

Nova opened her mouth to argue.

Then she realized she had no other option.

This was not the time to insist.

Eventually, she lowered her head weakly.

“Okay.”

“I’ll do it.”

The moment she answered, Victoria kicked off the ground and leaped forward.

She swung a fist straight at No. 2 and shouted,

“Now!”

At the signal, Nova immediately ran toward the emergency exit.

Seeing his prey flee before his eyes, No. 2’s gaze suddenly sharpened.

A beastly growl tore from his throat.

“Grrrrrrr!”

His face pushed forward into a muzzle as sharp fangs emerged.

Pointed ears rose from his head.

Dark gray fur, the same color as his eyes, spread across his skin.

In an instant, he shed his human appearance and became a massive gray wolf.

Untamed wildness and a relentless hunting instinct flooded from No. 2.

“I’ll keep you company, doggy!”

Victoria charged straight at the fully transformed No. 2.

No. 2 frowned.

“I am a wolf.”

“Whatever!”

Victoria did not care in the slightest.

She kept swinging her fists desperately, doing everything she could to buy Nova time.

Because of Alpha’s standing order, No. 2 could only evade her attacks and was unable to properly strike back.

“Uh... what am I supposed to do?”

No. 9 stood there blankly, completely lost.

Without No. 2 actively directing him, he apparently had no idea what to do.

Unable to watch any longer, No. 2 barked out an order.

“No. 9! What are you doing?!”

“Go secure Nova Hanson!”

“O-Okay!”

Only then did No. 9 hurriedly rush toward the emergency stairs Nova had used.

Victoria clung stubbornly to No. 2, hoping Nova had managed to get as far away as possible.

No. 2 asked her flatly,

“Why are you going this far to protect Nova Hanson?”

“Because Nova is my friend!”

It was an incredibly simple answer.

No. 2 muttered,

“Friend...”

Then he added with something like a sigh,

“Alpha and you both obsess over very strange things.”

Nova ran forward without looking back.

Smoke and heat were still pouring up the stairwell.

Just being there made her eyes and throat burn.

“Cough! Cough!”

Nova coughed violently.

She had only just recovered from her attack and barely had any strength left.

Running in that condition was agony.

But she could not stop.

The fear that an Archon might suddenly grab her from behind if she slowed down kept driving her forward.

“Ah!”

Something caught her foot.

Nova pitched forward and fell.

A dull pain spread through her leg from the impact.

“Ugh...”

She groaned and struggled back to her feet.

Everyone else seemed to have fled already.

The emergency stairwell was completely dark.

Is Victoria okay?

Thinking that, Nova slowly raised her head.

Only endless darkness waited in front of her.