Chapter 45: A Faint Voice

He couldn’t seem to see the path ahead, only able to run forward without looking back.

The abnormally agile monster behind him was getting closer and closer.

Death was getting closer and closer.

He greedily inhaled every breath of air, even as his fragile lungs were on the verge of collapse.

He twisted and turned within the villa, the past few minutes feeling like an eternity in purgatory.

The Dark Abomination behind him was still relentlessly in pursuit.

“Ah~”

Perhaps because he was truly out of strength, his foot accidentally stepped on a piece of rubble.

His body went limp, and he suddenly fell forward.

At that very moment, Su Xuan’s heart was in his throat.

If nothing unexpected happened, he would be killed.

The Dark Abomination’s thick pillar-sword would pierce his delicate body, taking away the breath of life.

Despair… there were no means left to survive.

Then came a sense of release.

He was so tired.

Even for someone who had lived two lives, experiencing so much in one night was utterly exhausting.

He had been fighting so hard to stay alive, and his body could no longer bear such pressure.

Su Xuan understood his current state.

This wasn’t a situation he could escape from just by trying a little harder.

Su Xuan’er had fallen into a deep sleep, and his body, due to the excessive strain, could barely muster any more strength.

Only at this moment did he truly understand what it meant to be powerless to turn the tide.

Faced with such a huge disparity in strength, Su Xuan had no opportunity left to turn the tables.

There was no other way.

He could only face death.

And as someone who had lived two lives, he subconsciously thought that perhaps he would be reborn in another world once again.

One thought after another shot through Su Xuan’s mind, like a flashback of memories before death, replaying the important moments of his life.

Su Xuan thought of his older brother, Su Chen, his only remaining relative in the world.

He wondered how he was doing on the front lines.

Ever since their parents passed away, they had rarely seen each other.

His memory only held his brother’s cold, stern face, and his red, but tearless, eyes.

After he died, would his brother remember him?

Would he remember the happy times in their old house in White City?

But he was pitiful too, the last seed of the Su family, living all alone.

Su Xuan felt as if he had thought about so many things, and that a long time had passed, yet death had still not arrived.

Death itself didn’t seem so frightening.

What was frightening was the period of waiting for it.

The heavy sword he had imagined did not fall.

There was only a slight tearing sound, followed by the sound of something falling to the ground.

“Hey, are you alright!”

A cold voice rang out, with a hint of familiarity.

A blurry figure was on the verge of emerging in Su Xuan’s mind, yet he couldn’t quite place it.

“Crunch~ crunch~”

The sound of footsteps grew closer.

Su Xuan, lying prostrate on the ground, struggled to turn his head.

A man in a black combat suit stood there, holding a golden-red blade in his right hand, still stained with a viscous blue liquid.

He continued to look up, trying to see the man’s face.

However, a huge wave of weariness washed over him.

His eyelids felt as heavy as if they were weighed down by lead sinkers.

He could only vaguely see the man’s face before his exhausted body slowly drifted into a deep sleep.

Su Chen looked at the woman lying on the ground, fast asleep, and was momentarily stunned.

Su Chen guessed she must be one of the students captured by the cultists.

She probably escaped during the chaos when the Dark Abominations appeared and was chased to the point of exhaustion.

If she hadn’t run into him, Su Chen, she likely would have died today.

Suddenly, Su Chen sighed.

He sighed for this beautiful, flower-like woman and her tragic fate.

Most of the cultists were depraved lunatics.

If she had been bound by that thing, she likely wouldn’t have been able to escape even with the chaos caused by the sudden appearance of the Dark Abominations.

So, it was very likely that had happened.

Sometimes, being too beautiful was also a tragedy.

Even the indifferent Su Chen had to admit that this woman, without a trace of makeup, was indeed one of the most beautiful he had ever seen.

Seeing the beauty’s brow furrow slightly, the once calm surface of his heart stirred with ripples.

But Su Chen still had to find his little brother.

If he just left her here, she might encounter unimaginable dangers again.

Su Chen immediately took off his jacket, placed Su Xuan on his back, and twisted the jacket into a rope to tie them together.

A steady breathing came from his back.

A moist stream of air tickled Su Chen’s ear, making him tingle slightly.

He helplessly glanced back and saw the rosy face resting on his shoulder.

He sighed and continued to advance.

All was quiet, save for the sound of his footsteps and the girl’s breathing.

Feeling the softness on his back, he held his blade, “Dawn,” and warily watched his surroundings.

“Big brother~”

The woman on his back moaned faintly, a pitiful sleep-talk.

A weak voice pulled Su Chen into deep thought.

‘Big brother?’

Did she have a big brother too?

A brother who loved her, whom she could meet even in her dreams.

Su Chen thought of his own little brother.

He was also in this filthy villa, his Life Source Energy being cruelly drained.

Since their parents’ death, he had thrown himself into the battlefield, and five years had passed in a flash.

He had only returned twice during that time, and the number of times he had spoken with his brother was even fewer, almost none.

Had he been too negligent in their family relationship?

After all, Su Xuan was just a twelve or thirteen-year-old kid back then.

Even if he showed a nature beyond his years, he was still just a child.

In the dark and damp cellar where he was imprisoned, who could have helped him escape that pain and darkness?

During that time of dim hope, who could have given him hope?

Was it him, his brother whom he hadn’t seen in years?

Su Chen gritted his teeth.

No matter how cold he was on the battlefield, there was always a soft spot in his heart where he treasured his dearest family.

The reason he threw himself into the battlefield without hesitation was also to protect his family.

But he hadn’t been there when his little brother was in his most perilous moment.

What was the use of all his skills then?

He could only watch as his brother was taken far away from him.

All he could do was kill all the culprits, but what was lost would never come back.

His tenacious will locked away the stray thoughts.

His resolute gaze looked towards the path ahead.

His little brother, Su Xuan’s brother, must still be alive…

Soon, he arrived at a bedroom.

The walls had long been destroyed.

In a remote corner, there was a staircase leading underground.

The stairs were mostly destroyed, and going down normally seemed difficult.

But for Su Chen, this was no trouble at all.

With a light leap, he landed at the bottom.

An open door stood there, from which a faint blue light emanated, and a peculiar scent filled the air.

Su Chen did a rough scan.

There were five Dark Abominations and a dozen or so students with extremely weak auras inside.

And his little brother, Su Xuan, was most likely in there too.

But seeing them like this, half-dead, their Life Source Energy being drained—especially since one of them was likely his own brother—even if they were still alive, Su Chen’s heart burned with uncontrollable rage.