Alune trembled on her own, her tears fell down to her chin. She slowly accepted that today was the day she would die. "I guess that is better…" she cried to herself. She could not think of any survival method at that moment; only death was on her mind.
Something passed Alune at high speed from her back. The sound of an engine and the blow of the wind made Alune come back to reality.
A man in a black suit rode his fancy sportbike, heading at high speed toward the Umbra. The man turned his head back, facing Alune's position. "Dumb, run if you want to live!" he shouted at Alune.
He jumped from his sportbike, making it smash into the Umbra. Alune's eyes widened.
"Your motorcycle!" she screamed. The man took off his helmet and looked at Alune. "So? You—get up before I throw you into the sea." He rolled his eyes. Alune's eyes stared at every inch of his figure—a handsome man with short hair. His hair shone under the sun, making it hard for Alune to look at him. His eyes also looked like old wood in a forest, making them captivating for anyone who looked at them.
The man bumped his helmet lightly on Alune's head, trying to wake her up. "Oi, brat… stand up." Alune glared at him. "I am not a brat. I am already 18 years old!" Alune stand up, stomped her feet and glared sharply at him. "Yeah, yeah, fine… now go. It's hard to babysit a brat while fighting this pain in the ass." He extended his hand toward the Umbra as it called over something.
A sportbike that Alune thought had already smashed to pieces was now heading toward them at high speed. Alune panicked. She shook the man, making him grumble. "Run, that's going to smash us!" she shouted at him.
"Tsk." He clicked his tongue in annoyance. Suddenly, the sportbike started to dismantle piece by piece. Alune could not believe what she just saw. The sportbike slowly merged into a big blue scythe. He caught it easily like breathing.
"Stupid brat." He pushed Alune to the back, making her fall. Suddenly, a red-haired woman caught her before she fell to the ground. "Hey, cutie, should we go somewhere safe?" She carried her in her arms and ran at high speed. Alune hugged her tightly because of the speed. The woman chuckled as she continued to run. She hopped onto every building effortlessly, as if it were not too high.
"AAAAA!" Alune screamed loudly as she continued to jump. She shut her eyes tightly.
Suddenly, her feet were already on the ground. Alune slowly opened her eyes, her arms still holding tightly onto the woman's shoulders. "Cutie, could you please let go?" Alune slowly released her grip. Alune became frightened again as she realized she was standing high on a tall building near the bridge. She grabbed the woman's hand.
"Oh my." The woman giggled.
Alune fell to the ground, her knees shaking as she saw how high she was now. The woman bent down to her level. "Watch our psychotic squad leader fight, okay?" the woman said to Alune, a smile plastered on her face.
Alune was dumbfounded, but she just nodded her head, unable to disagree or deny anything at this time. As her eyes roamed around, trying to find the man's figure, her eyes spotted something intriguing—a blue light blinding the area of the bridge. The monsters around the bridge had already been cut to pieces. Her eyes locked onto the figure sitting peacefully on a mountain of Umbra corpses. That figure was the man who kept rage-baiting her just now.
"Oops, it's already done." The woman just giggled. Alune nodded her head.
The woman held Alune again and started to jump off the building. She smiled as she leapt down. "N-no, not again! ARGHHH!" Alune screamed loudly, gripping the woman's neck as if her life depended on it. The woman laughed as she continued to run at full speed, passing multiple buildings even as the scene looked like time had stopped.
The woman stopped near the bridge and slowly put Alune down. "Here we are. It's a good view from up there, right?" she teased Alune, who was shaking from fear. Alune slowly gathered herself and looked at the woman again.
"Y-you're the lead support of the 4th division, right?" Alune said, her eyes looking straight at the woman. The woman's eyes widened at Alune's statement. "How do you know?" she asked. Alune smiled warmly, different from the nervous smile she had just had. "Because I am a fan of the Special Unit," she said with a wide smile.
The woman chuckled and ruffled Alune's hair, messing it up. "You're such an interesting kiddo. Well yes, I am. I am official officer Lisa Green." She flipped her long ruby-red hair. Alune pouted and slapped Lisa's hand. "Official Officer Green, I am an adult! I'm in my last year of school, so stop messing with my hair!" Lisa chuckled.
The short-haired man walked toward them, his body soaked in Umbra blood. It dripped from his fingertips, making his appearance unbearably creepy.
"Lisa, I'm done. Are you finished with the evacuation?"
Lisa nodded as she answered him. But the man's eyes never left Alune. He stared at her with a questioning look.
"Kid… what's on your neck?" he asked, raising his left eyebrow.
Alune lifted the necklace from beneath her shirt."Oh, this? It's a gift from my biological father… at least, that's what my mom said," she replied with a small smile.
Suddenly, the man snatched the necklace from her hand.
Alune gasped, shocked by how fast he moved. Lisa was stunned too—this wasn't like him at all. He usually just finished his mission and returned to base without bothering anyone.
"HEY! THAT'S MY NECKLACE!" Alune shouted.
He ignored her.
"Officer Gen, it's not proper to take someone else's belongings," Lisa said, raising an eyebrow.
He scoffed and tossed the necklace back to Alune."Idiot. That necklace is a Relic of Leviathan."
He stepped closer and suddenly threw Alune over his shoulder.
"Brat. Not 'Officer Gen.' The name's Aoi Gen—the man who just saved your stupid life and helped you stand."
Alune squirmed, trying to escape. Then—He dropped her onto his bike and carefully forced a helmet onto her head.
"Hold tight."
Before she could reply, he took off.
The bike shot forward at terrifying speed. The wind slammed into Alune's face, tears flying from her eyes as she screamed. She clung to him with all her strength, terrified that if she let go even for a second…
She would die.