CHAPTER 41: CHAPTER 41- HEAVENLY EMBRACE

Chapter 41 – Heavenly Embrace

The retreat was slow and atrocious. Jack could see the door behind him fully open, and he could even leap toward it. However, he knew how tricky that illusion was. If he turned his back for a second, the monsters would take that opportunity and throw themselves at him, and he would be dead before he could even take a single step out of that building.

So, as if it were more a test of his patience and composure than anything, Jack kept retreating slowly with Luna. Her support changed their chances greatly. She was able to easily hold her ground against several monsters at once, which surprised Jack a bit.

Seeing her fight and devastate the Undead, he realized that he wasn’t the only one growing rapidly. This girl was also leveling up fast and learning powerful abilities in the process. Her fighting style, while not as aggressive or offensive as Jack’s, had its charms.

She was graceful and elegant in her movements, using her footwork and body flexibility to effectively neutralize her enemies without being too bloody or brutal about it. In fact, aside from certain instances, Luna hadn’t had a bloody outcome in any battle she faced. Her kills were clean and spotless.

’That girl isn’t half bad either. Tsk, what is going on with this world and producing talented geniuses?’ Liliana crossed her arms with a pout.

Meanwhile, the two continued their exhausting battle. For almost two minutes, they took snail steps back until—

The light of day finally touched them. The two stood outside, on the edge of the steps, as he killed more and more Undead coming at them.

However, they didn’t immediately break into a run. They stared at each other, their eyes speaking rather than their voices, and they nodded.

"On my mark," he said. "Three... two... one..."

"RAAAA!!!"

Slicing one last Undead, Jack channeled the rest of his Aether into his feet before he exploded in a sharp angle.

"Now!!"

Luna, who was ready, did the same, and like a whirlwind, the two launched themselves forward with all the power they could muster. Running as fast as they could, the flood of monsters finally broke through the gates as the wave of Undead chased after them—more violent than ever.

The two, who were several times faster than normal people, didn’t look back as they ran into the main street. Jack, who was ahead due to his higher agility, looked over his shoulder at Luna. She was running as fast as she could, too... However, he immediately noticed that something was wrong.

The girl looked quite pale, and her speed was decreasing rapidly. Then, he felt the uneven state of her Aether, making him raise an eyebrow.

"Luna?" he whispered as he noticed her body swaying subtly. "What’s wrong with her?"

"Your little friend is going through it. She’s overused her Aether quite a bit. Now, she’s entering a state we call Aether Poisoning."

"Aether Poisoning?"

"Exhaustion, strong nausea, weakness, even vomiting—and sometimes, in extreme cases, passing out or even death if they don’t stop trying to use more Aether. A user’s pool is limited by how much Aether they can handle coursing through their veins, and if that limit is reached, the body starts shutting down to avoid death."

As he watched his companion slow down more and more, Jack understood what Liliana had told him.

’She...’

The plan—the fact that she had to drag that whole horde so far away from the base. He realized that Luna must’ve used so much Aether to do that—something that exhausted her greatly.

’Why didn’t she stop? This idiot... now she came back to help me.’ Jack clenched his teeth.

Meanwhile, Luna herself was just seeing a hazy image ahead of her. Sweat covered her face, and her body was barely feeling anything anymore. She was numb, tired, and couldn’t even think properly. In her eyes, all she could see was the silhouette of Jack... however, she couldn’t call for him.

’Snap out of it... Luna... Jack will run too far...’ she mused as she bit her tongue, only to feel nothing. ’I can’t... lose him... again.’

She didn’t even realize her body was stumbling forward once, twice... then a third time, before she fell to the ground, slamming face-first. Her eyes were barely open. She tried to force herself up, but her limbs were weak.

At that moment, she realized she wouldn’t be able to run any farther. The horde was behind her, and her companion was far ahead. What was she supposed to do?

’I’m so... weak... I can’t even... run...’

"Ja... ck..." she whispered under her breath, in a desperate, yearning tone. That was all she could think about at that moment—not death, not the pain, but the silhouette of that boy in her mind.

She didn’t care about anything else; nothing else mattered as much, and nothing ever would. That was all she wanted and all she dreamed of.

Then, as her eyes started closing, she suddenly saw a shadow loom over her body before she felt herself being lifted, wrapped in comforting warmth—a very tight and heavenly embrace.

"Hey, Luna!" she heard a voice echo, growing clearer with each call.

"Hey, Luna! Are you hearing me?! Don’t fall asleep! Stay awake, I’ll get you to safety!" The voice was strong and serious, but also tinged with desperation.

’Don’t... sleep?’ she asked herself. ’This voice... is so nice... I love it...’

"Don’t sleep, Luna! If you sleep, you could die!"

’Jack...’

Meanwhile, Jack, who had picked the girl up in a tight embrace, ran as fast as he could. His face was dead serious, his eyes locked on the road, the horde behind them, and the weak girl he was carrying.

’Dammit, why didn’t she just stop and rest?! Does she want to kill herself?!’ He couldn’t understand, and at that moment, he even felt angry that she had let herself reach such a state in the first place. For what? The plan could’ve been adjusted, and even if it wasn’t completed perfectly, it would’ve still been fine.

She had no reason to keep going beyond her limit.

Like a flash, Jack moved through the streets, slowly losing the horde behind him one turn after another until... they were merely an echo in the distance.

After getting so much stronger, Jack’s agility now far exceeded that of the Undead.

Reaching a small corner of a street, he finally stopped and looked over his shoulder. ’They’re far enough not to find us anymore.’

He wanted to run farther, but he knew he had something far more important to do.

Quickly, he put Luna down, sat next to her, and gently slapped her face.

"Luna, it’s Jack talking. Can you hear me? You must remain conscious. Your body will only keep consuming Aether if you fall unconscious in this state," he said, tapping her face several times.

The girl was delirious, barely conscious, as she stared at him.

"Ja... ck...?"

"Yes, it’s me. Just focus on my voice until your body stops using Aether. It should take a few minutes at most. I’ll keep talking to you through it."

"... Jack... my... Jack..."

"..."

Luna’s weak hand rose slowly as she placed it on his thigh. Her lips parted slightly as she whispered,

"I... love you..."