Chapter 186. A Goodbye for You (2)
“Why are you kids still here?”
Nova asked in alarm.
The children glanced at one another before answering one by one.
“Mom told us to stay here and play.”
“But none of the grown-ups came back.”
“There was a weird smell, and we heard scary noises too.”
Hearing that, Nova remembered the people from the audience earlier.
Apparently, these children had been brought here by the spectators and then stranded when everything suddenly descended into chaos.
Nova hurriedly shouted at them.
“Get out of here!”
“This building is on fire!”
“Your parents are probably outside!”
“But Mom told me not to go anywhere...”
Even after hearing Nova’s warning, the children only exchanged uncertain looks.
None of them seemed entirely convinced.
“Nova! What are you doing? I told you to run!”
At that moment, Yukgap heard her voice and came rushing over at high speed.
Nova stared at him in surprise.
“What about the other Archons?”
“I don’t know. I fought them for a bit and ran away.”
His body was still recovering, but it was covered in small injuries.
Apparently, he had fought the Archons rather fiercely to buy enough time for Nova to escape.
Nova immediately spoke to him.
“Perfect timing.”
“Yukgap, get these children outside.”
Yukgap stared at the gathered children in surprise.
“All of them?”
“It looks like the adults couldn’t evacuate them because everything happened so suddenly.”
“If they stay here, they might all die.”
Nova clung to him with more desperation than ever.
“Please.”
“Looking at them reminds me of my little sister.”
“I can’t just leave them here.”
Yukgap thought for a moment.
Then he nodded.
“All right.”
“I’ll put some effort into it.”
He put on the brightest smile he could manage and stretched out his large arms.
“Come on. Let’s go outside with this mister.”
But seeing Yukgap in his manifested Archon form only frightened the children.
They slowly backed away.
A few even looked openly hostile.
“Mister, what happened to your face?”
“Mom told me not to follow strangers.”
“You look like a monster!”
“Are you a monster?”
Apparently, his current appearance, somewhere between a human and a cheetah, was not exactly reassuring.
Yukgap trailed off, unsure how to explain himself.
“W-Well, you see...”
How was he supposed to explain himself to a group of children?
He certainly could not tell them the truth about being an Archon of Abraxas.
After struggling for an answer, he finally said,
“I’m Cheetahman, Hero of Justice.”
“Your parents asked me to come get you.”
The moment they heard the words Hero of Justice, the children’s eyes lit up.
“A hero?”
“Like the heroes in cartoons?”
“I’ve seen those!”
“Cheetahman? I like cheetahs!”
And thus, an experimental subject of Abraxas became Cheetahman, Hero of Justice.
Nova stared at him in disbelief.
“What the hell is Cheetahman?”
“It’s a thing.”
“Don’t ask.”
Then another explosion rang out in the distance.
Hearing it, Nova urgently spoke to Yukgap.
“Anyway, it’s too dangerous to stay here.”
“Take the children and evacuate now.”
“I’ll act as bait.”
“What?”
“You’ll be in danger!”
“Come with us!”
Yukgap shouted in alarm, but Nova immediately shook her head.
“The Archons will start tracking us again soon.”
“If I stay with you, the children might get caught in the attack too.”
“Alpha is extremely angry right now.”
“I can’t let them get dragged into this.”
“But Nova, you...”
“Don’t worry.”
“I’m a genius.”
“I’ve already figured out the layout of this building.”
“I’ll find another route and get out on my own.”
“You really think I can’t even keep myself alive?”
Nova deliberately acted confident to reassure him.
Then she pushed him lightly on the back.
“Go.”
She looked up at Yukgap and added in a voice more earnest than ever.
“Please.”
So many emotions were tangled in that single word.
Yukgap stared at her for a long moment before reluctantly nodding.
“All right.”
“Thank you.”
Nova managed a faint smile.
Yukgap then spread his arms toward the cluster of children staring up at him.
“Come on!”
“Let’s get outside with Cheetahman!”
Somehow, the childish hero name had worked.
The children finally dropped their guard and rushed toward him.
“Yeeeees!”
“Mister, carry me too!”
“How do you transform into Cheetahman?”
Bombarded with questions, Yukgap awkwardly began picking the children up.
Thanks to the larger body granted by his Archon form, carrying all of them did not look particularly difficult.
Nova quietly watched him for a moment.
Then she hurried away in the opposite direction.
“Ughhhhh...!”
Only after she had gotten far enough away did a harsh groan escape her.
She had been holding everything in because she did not want Yukgap or the children to see her in pain.
“Ughhh... nghhh...!”
Nova collapsed to the floor and clutched her head.
The pain continued without pause, as though something were scraping her brain out from the inside.
And the smoke filling the corridor was making it harder to breathe.
“Cough! Cough!”
