He jerked his eyes open immediately. His eyes stung a little from how long he'd kept them closed, so he rubbed them, but he couldn't see much either since the tower was dark and could only permit just a tiny bit of light from the street.
"Who's that?" Eric asked.
"What? I don't know what's wrong with you, because you've been mumbling so many strange things in your sleep. But I think you should wake up now," said a feminine voice.
Only after listening properly did Eric remember that there was a strange woman lying beside him on the cold floor all along. The thought of her had completely escaped his mind, as he had been deeply engrossed with his interaction with the System.
"Oh, I'm awake. But why the urgency?" asked Eric, still rubbing his eyes.
"The base soldiers are already upon us. I saw them near the tower a minute ago. I don't think we can hide from them. Not for long," the woman was in a very panicked mood.
Eric, completely unperturbed, sat upright, his body cranky and achy.
"Pay no mind to them. They won't find us here," he said.
"How do you know that?" she persisted.
"I just know."
"And why are you so relaxed about this?"
"Well, it must be all that willpower upgrade."
"What?!"
"Oh, pay no mind. It's nothing."
"You know, that's one of the strange things you kept mumbling in your sleep. See, I'm scared. I think I'll go down and surrender myself gently. I can bet they do not have the intention of killing any one of us. They only want to erase the memories of tonight from our brains. We don't need to remember something like that anyway."
"It's true, but only partly. They are not looking for you to kill. It's me they are looking for. I shouldn't have dragged you here. I thought you were gonna get shot or something," Eric said, with the tiniest bit of remorse he could muster.
"Again, what? What do you mean they are looking for you?" the woman asked.
"Did you perhaps notice me during the rampage at Southern End?"
"Uhm… no. I was busy with my own, umm, brain malfunction."
A sigh. "You won't understand then."
'Of course, she didn't see me, else she'd have freaked out by the monstrosity sitting beside her now.'
"You know I can't hide here forever, right?" the girl said, a little low-pitched.
"That's intimidating. Anyway, this is what I'm gonna do. I'll walk down there, show myself to the soldiers. Then you come out after it's clear that they truly have no intention of killing you."
The woman gasped. "And must you show yourself first? What if the killing intent is positive?"
"I must show myself first because you can. Thanks for not understanding. Here I go."
Eric stood up immediately he finished speaking and hurried briskly down the stairs of the tower, leaving the woman to deal with the shock of his rash decision.
The system brought up the screen again, making it hard for Eric to navigate his way down the steep stairs. He stumbled and rolled down, almost breaking his neck, but survived with light wounds on his limbs.
'I knew you were meant to kill me.'
"What now?!" He practically yelled after he regained his footing in the dark landing.
[I Guess We're Done With This World Then]
[Are You Ready To Leave This Painfully Boring World?]
[Well, I don't Care If You're Ready Or Not]
[Transmigration starting in...]
"Damnit, wait a freaking minute. I need something from my house before I go to this your forsaken world."
[What Exactly Do You Need? Void's Bag Of Weapons?]
"Yes. I can't leave without it."
[I Guessed As Much. Well, I Have To Break It To You, That Measly Weapon Won't Be Needed In The Next World]
[That Ugly Katana Can Only Pass As A Toothpick For The Weakest Being]
"Ugh," Eric grunted, raising and dropping his hands in exhaustion. "I feel like you're making things up now. Just let me go take it."
[Transmigration Starting In: 2 m]
[Run]
"I need a jumpstart now that I know where the bag is," Eric said, mumbling mindlessly, ignoring totally the system's messages.
"Now that my speed point is well over 40 pts, I should be able to get back home before the right time. But what if I couldn't get there before then? This location looks too far to cover in less than a minute."
"Use Killer Dash," Eric prompted.
Facing the empty long and empty road, Eric bounced on his feet lightly before being propelled forward suddenly by the Killer Dash skill. He let the skill run for the entire 3 seconds it had been designed to operate without stopping it. But as soon as he felt the jumpstart speed coming to a stop, Eric prepared both his mind and body to immediately continue running with the initial speed he was going at.
[Killer Dash Cool-down Time Remaining: 1m, 59s]
"Stop pushing useless notifications in my face," he grunted.
Eric ran as fast as his speed upgrade could carry him. His legs felt loose, making him recognize the feeling of being unrestrained after healing from a fracture.
The cold air blew heavily in his face, his slightly long hair flew in the opposite direction from his focus view. His pants flapped noisily, and Eric had never felt more alive than right now. He also realized that despite how fast he was going, he wasn't panting for breath like he normally did whenever he was out running with Void or the other kids.
'Guess I'm really a different being now. Wish Void was alive to see this.'
A tear flew past the corner of his right eye, blown away by the wind. Eric then found himself running across the street of Southern End, a place where he had just witnessed and tore up humans for an hour.
Surprisingly, he saw that the place had been completely cleaned up and there was no hint of any bloody business around sight. At the end of the street houses, Eric saw a van turning the corner to the next street that leads to the mother base.
'That must be them carrying the corpses. Dirty little monsters. The System should have given me more time so I can feed on the mana of those five sneaky colony commanders.'
As soon as he rounded the next bend and into the street where he lived, a truck drove past him from the opposite direction. A slight glance from Eric, and he could tell that the truck was filled with military men sent out on an important assignment. He was right, except that the important assignment is him.
The truck made a sharp U-turn and instantly began chasing after Eric.
"Uh-oh!" Eric lamented, still hot on his heels. "They've seen me after all."
His building of residence came into view and a wave of hope and delight washed over him. He was totally unworried about the truck full of military men that was hot on his trail. Even if he slowed down his speed a bit, there was no way they were going to catch him now, since he was already near his destination.
What really was unnerving to him was not being able to retrieve the bag he dropped in his room before the Transmigration time was up. He felt missing this opportunity would probably haunt him for the rest of his life, because inside that backpack were all the important valuables that belonged to Void.
Earlier in the crematory, he had grabbed Void's bag of essentials that contained a katana, daggers, a customized small gun, a black leather mask and gloves. He had purposely taken Void's bag instead of his own because these things were what Void valued the most, regarding material things.
Void had always wanted to be an expert katana wielder, throw daggers with ease and someday emerge as the best recruit after his service years as a Becomer.
Void's dreams have been short-lived due to his sudden death, but Eric wasn't going to just let go of the things Void held valuable and cherished.
'Sorry, I can't even fulfill those dreams of yours, but I can't let them die with you either. I'll keep and take care of your toys in your memory.'
Bang! Bang!
Gunshots echoed in the empty street as bullets narrowly missed Eric who didn't stop running despite the command from the soldiers.
Eric fled into the wide open main gate of the residential building without as much a backward glance, then slammed the gate shut behind him.
"How long more?" he asked.
[32s ]
"Thank you for putting me in this tight position."
[You Are Welcome.]
He saw that the other rooms were still empty, devoid of residents. Jogging a few more paces, he saw his door which he had recklessly unhinged and flung down the hallway when he turned a beast. That much he remembered.
He rushed into his mess of a room and quickly grabbed the backpack, opened it to check its content, then immediately hefted it onto his back.
"Mission accomplished… With exceptionally more time than is necessary now. You should give me a reward for that, system."
[Host Is Declared a Greedy Being]
"Huh… How much time left, please? Let's get the heck out of here," said Eric hurriedly as soon as he heard marching footsteps coming from the hallway.
[23s. To Burn Time, Host May Fight The Incoming Assailants Off And Consume More Mana To Store In The Mana Bank]
"Hell no! I've killed enough colony mates for one night. These lot are innocent. They are just following orders."
"Umm… What do you think will happen if I get shot?" he asked calmly.
[Let's Find Out, Host]
"I prefer not." Eric rushed over to the window and with unintended ferocity, shattered the thick glass while opening it.
He looked down and in his mind, calculated the distance from his current height to the ground. This much was a risk he was willing to take.
His sensitive ears picked up the sounds of footsteps that have gotten dangerously close to the door. The soldiers would have bursted in if they weren't treading with caution.
"I'm sure nothing will happen to me if I jump from here, right? I mean, it's only about 30 feet from here, and I'm more agile and stronger than before."
[Again, Why Don't We Find Out?]
"Yeah, let's find out," Eric conceded as he decided that shattering his bones, despite how low the odds are, is better than getting shot.
At least, he knew his bones can slowly heal with time but the system seems also skeptical about a bullet wound.
"Here goes my limbs," he muttered as he tapped lightly against the window frame and dived down, headfirst. His dive was free at first, but as soon as he was just a few feet from touching the ground, he turned easily and balanced his body so his legs could land him. Surprisingly, he managed to touch the ground lightly, like a professional stuntman.
"Aha, I sure aced that one," he said delightedly. "Guess I'm a natural. No, I'm more than that. I'm supernatural."
[10 s remaining…]
"Cool. I'll just walk majestically down here while those soldiers wonder where I've disappeared to. See, I keep pulling stunts that amaze even me."
"For instance, I decided to jump because I know I was a born diver. You should have seen that stunt I pulled mid-air. Bet you couldn't believe it either, aha!"
[Host Is Ridiculously Childish]
"Also, did you notice I just created a new word? That word, 'Supernatural.' It can only be from me, I know. I wish this new world I'm travelling to appreciates my talent. I have a lot to teach the world."
[Ignorance And Naivety Is Not a Crime. Wallow In them, Host]
"Tch. A little word of encouragement would do."
Suddenly, a sharp noise pierced the still night. "Halt!"
Eric glanced up to see three soldiers standing by his window and pointing their guns downwards. He followed the direction where the gun was pointed to, but he realized that it wasn't at him.
"That's right. They couldn't have seen me where I'm hiding in the shadows. Are they seeing things then? Who else are they pointing their silly guns at?"
Then, it clicked. A thought? A feeling? Instinctual? Eric didn't know, but it really clicked.
"Oh shit! The girl. She followed me!"
[5s… 4s… 3s… 2s…]
Eric recklessly rushed out of his hiding spot and muttered, "use Killer Dash."
Making it last only a second, Eric dashed frantically and protectively towards the approaching girl who was still clad in a robe that was completely soaked in blood.
[…1s…]
[Activation Complete.]
[HOST IS TRANSMIGRATING.]
He flung his arms out, covering the woman from a direct gunshot from the soldiers.
A chime sounded from the system, a short gasp from the girl, and a gunshot.
The bullet burrowed itself deep into Eric's back as he wrapped the woman in a hug.
* * * * * *
[TRANSMIGRATION COMPLETED.]