A minute later...
"Let me go! I said LET ME GO, you c**t!" Auro shouted as she was carried out of the room.
Nyuro also struggled to free herself from the man's grip.
The two were being carried out of the company building.
"Where are you even taking us?!"
The man in the suit didn't respond.
He spoke into the microphone attached to his ear.
"Director of the company hasn't been found. I repeat, the director of the company hasn't been found. We suspect the target has escaped."
"Roger that."
Both twins could hear the conversation.
They looked at each other with worried expressions.
Not far from the men in suits, another man was hiding behind one of the pillars.
He was watching the men carrying the twins.
There are only three of them... I can do this.
He took a deep breath before slowly making his way towards the man carrying the twins.
The twins were still struggling to break free when they suddenly noticed their father approaching the man in the suit.
The man carrying them noticed the twins' sudden change in expression and turned around.
Before he could react, he was punched in the face.
Their dad had disarmed the man, taking his pistol before knocking him unconscious.
The other two men in suits noticed the sudden commotion. They pulled out their weapons while still carrying the twins.
Dad used the unconscious man as a shield and shot both of the remaining men in the head, killing them instantly.
He threw the unconscious man aside and rushed towards his children.
"Dad! What was that?!" Auro asked, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Dad, I'm scared!" Nyuro cried.
"It's alright. It's alright. Dad's here."
The man hugged both twins, comforting them.
"Now, now... We need to get out of here quickly."
The man encouraged his children before carrying both of them towards the exit.
Outside the building...
Several cars were parked nearby, surrounded by men wearing black suits.
One of them had managed to hack into the company's security system and was monitoring the cameras. He spotted their target carrying the assets.
The man gave his companions a hand signal, signalling them to move in.
Soon, all the men in suits began heading towards the building.
"Why are they here, Dad?!"
"I'm sorry. I don't have time to explain, but right now, our main goal is to get out of here."
The man ran through the garden while carrying the twins.
As he ran, the flower crowns on Nyuro and Auro's heads fell off.
In the distance, the crowns they had made for their parents could also be seen lying on the ground.
As he continued running, the door in front of him suddenly closed and locked.
He took the key card hanging around his neck and placed it against the tablet beside the door.
However, access was denied.
The man gritted his teeth.
They must have hacked into the system.
He could hear footsteps getting closer and closer.
"Think... Think... Think! What can I do now?!"
While trying to come up with a plan, he looked around the area.
Then, his eyes caught sight of an air vent.
"Yes! That's it!" he shouted.
"Dad?" the twins asked simultaneously.
He ran towards the air vent and opened it.
The air vent was barely large enough for an adult, but a child could definitely fit inside.
"Dad, what are you doing?!" Nyuro asked.
Dad was gasping for breath.
"This is the only way for you two to escape."
"But, Dad!"
"There is no time left... I'm sorry... I'm sorry I couldn't give you two as much love as I should have... I'm sorry for ignoring you both and not spending enough time with you and your mother... I'm sorry..."
The man shed a single tear.
The twins looked at their father, who was now crying.
The man hugged his children one last time.
"Now, go... If you crawl through this vent, you'll be able to reach the outside. After that, go find your younger sister and your mother, alright? She'll take care of you two."
The twins looked at their father sadly.
"Don't make those faces, please. You two are strong, right? You're both daughters of Mom and Dad... Now go! Don't let those men in suits catch you! Go! Go!"
Dad pushed the twins further into the air vent before closing the vent cover.
"What about you, Dad?!" Auro asked.
"I'm going to hold them off... Now go!"
The twins had no choice but to follow their father's orders.
As they began crawling through the vent, the door behind them opened, and numerous men in suits rushed into the room.
Dad hid behind a pillar before opening fire.
The men were alerted by the gunshots and immediately returned fire.
Dad took cover.
I just need to buy a little more time for them to escape.
Just a little bit more.
The twins crawled as fast as they could.
Dad glanced at his watch and activated the company's self-destruct system.
A small explosion went off first, shaking the entire area and destroying the pillar he had been hiding behind.
The explosion caught both him and the enemies by surprise.
Taking advantage of the commotion, Dad began shooting again.
Auro and Nyuro could feel the vibrations from the explosion, but they continued crawling until they finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel.
Dad was shot in the arm.
He gasped in pain.
Just a little bit more...
Another explosion occurred, shaking the ground.
He started shooting again, taking down more enemies.
Auro and Nyuro finally reached the light source and opened the vent cover.
They were outside, behind the company building.
The twins held each other's hands before jumping out of the vent and landing inside a trash bin.
Back inside the building, Dad had run out of ammunition.
With no other choice, he threw his pistol at one of the enemies, knocking him down.
He then began picking up pieces of rubble and throwing them at the remaining enemies.
Just a little more time...
He muttered to himself as blood streamed down his face.
Another explosion occurred.
This time, it came from right beside him.
The blast sent both Dad and the enemies flying.
Nyuro and Auro climbed out of the trash bin and began running away.
As they ran, they could feel the vibrations from the explosions.
But they continued running.
Dad regained consciousness, but his vision was blurry. The entire place was engulfed in flames.
His head was bleeding, and so was his arm.
He took cover behind some rubble.
"Now escape... Both of you, run! Run as far as you can! Nyuro... Auro... Run! Don't let them catch you!"
The man looked up at the sky.
He let out one final smile and whispered,
"I have always loved you."
Then, a massive explosion took place.
The ground shook violently as the company building was engulfed in an enormous explosion.
Rubble and flames spread everywhere.
Nyuro and Auro, who were running through the grass field, were thrown to the ground by the force of the explosion.
The grass around them swayed violently in the cold night wind.
They both turned around to look at the company building they had once called home.
It was no more.
All that remained were flames and destruction.
"DAD!!!" Nyuro screamed.
She tried to stand up and run back towards the building, but Auro grabbed her and held her back.
"Let me go, sis! Dad is in there!"
"Sister! Sister! Wake up!"
Auro slapped her twin and pushed her back onto the ground. She then sat on top of her, preventing her from getting up.
Under the night sky, in the middle of the grass field, the twins stared into each other's eyes.
Neither of them wanted to acknowledge what had just happened.
The only thing they could do was stare at each other.
Tears began to well up in both of their eyes.
Auro spoke while desperately trying to hold back her tears.
"...W-We need to keep going... D-Dad said we can't let those people catch us... We need to find Mom."
Nyuro didn't say a word. She could only slowly nod her head.
The twins stood up and began walking again, holding each other's hands.
Tears streamed down their cheeks as they continued walking through the cold, windy night.