After seeing that scene, Sami could no longer retreat. Unfortunately, he got closer until he was right next to her… and it seemed she was still desperately trying to hide.
When Sami was right beside her, he stood facing the shelf and grabbed one of the books with his hand.
"What's happening to me! Why is my face completely red? Damn! Stop being shy, me… I wonder how hard is it to talk to a girl? Just say anything, anything will be useful."
He forced his mouth open and moved his lips with difficulty.
"Uhh... h-he... hello..."
Damn! He failed! It seemed Sami wasn't what he thought he was. He wasn't a bold battle manga protagonist at all, but just a shy teenage boy. And it seemed that was becoming clear to him now because he was completely frozen in place in front of the shelf, and it looked like steam was starting to come out of his head.
For better or worse, it seemed the girl in question noticed this. She moved the book away from her face and stood quietly, now facing Sami. It looked like she was going to say something.
Sami managed to control his internal wars and glanced at her. But when he saw her, it turned out she was in the same state. Her face was painted with shyness, her eyes were darting around quickly, but she seemed to be trying hard.
Well, it seemed Sami decided to activate the backup plan.
"Team Leader, it seems you have a strange taste in books, don't you?... Well, though, I don't hate it."
As soon as he uttered those words, the girl's face turned even redder, and she let out an embarrassed scream.
"Aaaah!!! What nonsense are you talking about? This isn't mine! I was just here by mistake, yes, by mistake… and now I'm going back..."
Sami looked at her calmly. It seemed he had managed to compose himself, or he could no longer compose himself, or both.
He looked at her heavily as she headed towards the exit.
"Hey! Team Leader, at least take your book before you leave!"
She looked at him over her shoulder, her eyes shy. She lowered her head forcefully, quickly approached, snatched the book from his grasp, and lifted her face towards him. Her black eyes were like diamonds, with her long black hair and perfect face stained with shyness, looking at him in embarrassment.
"Well, I'll take it... and don't you dare tell anyone about this, Sami."
Sami replied with the same calmness he had.
"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."
And so he watched as she walked away in silence. As soon as she was gone, he slumped to the floor. It seemed his stamina had completely disappeared, and now there was nothing but complete embarrassment mixed with a bit of joy.
"What just happened? Did I do it?... Yes, I really did it! I had a successful conversation with her and controlled the situation... Really! Yes, really... Wow! I've really improved..."
And he started laughing in an awkward way, his face completely red. Finally, after staying like that for a while, he got up from the floor and started walking towards the exit. It seemed he was carrying some books himself too.
He walked while humming some strange tunes, and happiness seemed to be bursting from around him. He walked with cheerful steps, and it seemed he had forgotten the reason he came here in the first place.
He quickly returned to his room and opened the door to enter.
As soon as he entered, he said:
"Oh, Niko, you won't believe what happened to me... You know? You don't have to imagine... or you know what, you don't need to know in the first place... ha ha."
The atmosphere was silent. Sami searched for his roommate, but it seemed he hadn't returned yet.
Sami put the books on the shelf and sat quietly on his bed. It seemed his expression had completely changed, and his face became completely cloudy and gloomy.
He lowered his head in silence.
"Do I even have the right to be happy in the first place?... I am, after all, a killer, even if they were just copies. I killed them. Their blood was warm, and their eyes were crying. I don't deserve to be okay or to have a normal life...
Hey! Stop it, me! Is this even important?! You had no choice, you had to finish the ordeal no matter the cost. Don't hate yourself so much for this..
. Hey! Me, please stop talking nonsense! I killed them to survive, and it seems I'll kill more people in the future to achieve what I want...
Well, this is the path I chose. Don't blame yourself too much, just keep walking. All this will have meaning in the end, I think! ...
Well, where was I? You know? I hate thinking in the first place. Let's ignore it for now... All I have to do right now is become stronger... strong enough to get the answers I'm looking for... Yes, right. Let's focus on gathering strength for now... Well, let's do that."
Sami slowly raised his head and leaned back on the bed, trying to sleep. But suddenly, he heard a loud noise outside that sounded like massive debris crashing, followed by other explosion sounds.
Sami stood up in alarm, hurriedly left the room, and when he opened the door, he saw a scene he never expected.
The sky was painted in red hues. Many red stars filled the sky—or were they people? Sami couldn't tell exactly. But when he lowered his gaze, the Colosseum looked like a missile launch site, with debris everywhere and explosions. Sami even saw two people fighting in the arena, and their power seemed to surpass his own imagination. Every strike from each of them blew up an entire facility. Sami couldn't comprehend everything happening before him at this moment. With so many events, all that came to his mind was that they were under attack.
Sami summoned a sword, trying to be ready.
But suddenly, a notification reached his personal device. Sami hastily opened the device.
Red Alert to all Colosseum residents:
The Colosseum is under attack by unidentified terrorists.
Please proceed to the nearest defensive facility near you.
All Bound are requested to gather with their team and proceed to the same facility.
"Hurry!"
This announcement was truly shocking for Sami. He knew his luck was bad, but an attack on his second day in the Colosseum? That was way too much.
Well, he didn't have time right now to think about his luck. He opened the adjacent room; it seemed Turtle of the Water and Little Eagle were gone. Sami quickly went down the stairs and ran hurriedly to the nearest facility shown on his device.
And on his way, fleeing towards the safety facility and hoping not to die accidentally from one of the random strikes of these terrifying individuals, the Colosseum now really looked like the end of the world.
And Sami had to survive this apocalypse!
And so, finally, Sami reached the safety facility and quickly grabbed the door, trying to open it. He scanned his device on the sensor, but it seemed the process failed. Damn! He tried again, and again, and kept failing.
"Damn! I expected this from my luck. It seems the device malfunctioned because of this huge battle happening nearby."
Sami looked behind him, trying to find another way to survive.
But behind him, precisely about a hundred meters away, a powerful clash was happening between two terrifying warriors. One of them wielded a massive sword, bringing it down forcefully on his opponent, each strike making the ground groan and cry.
On the other side, his opponent was no less horrifying. He was also massive, his hands covered in a layer of solid iron. Each of his strikes seemed to carry a huge tornado. The fight continued with a speed and skill Sami couldn't follow with his naked eye.
If this scene did anything, it made Sami utterly terrified. He had also had his fair share of fights in his first ordeal and saw strong fighters like Kaf, and he killed some himself, but what he was seeing now was simply beyond human limits.
He started trying again, and suddenly, someone appeared beside him. It seemed to be the supervisor with the crow-like eyes, but she wasn't as terrifying and dignified as before. Her eyes were more tired, and her face was smeared with blood. Her formal uniform was torn, revealing some of her body, which was covered in wounds.
She shouted at him:
"What are you doing, Bound?! Get in now!"
As soon as she looked at Sami's reaction, she understood the situation with supernatural speed.
She grabbed his hand and directed him towards the door.
Then she raised a dagger she was holding in her hand and brought it down in a swift line on the lock, and it seemed she broke it.
She threw Sami inside and closed the door on him immediately.
Sami thought to himself:
"I need to learn how to talk to girls..."
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