She shouted instructions to the Knights of Valor members. “Run for it! I’ll hold them off!”
Several of Erna’s allies did as she said and started standing up, but the Genesis Army agents in the hall cut them off, firing shots by their feet and stopping them in their tracks.
From there, Nike’s agents split up into two groups. One team kept watch over the activists to make sure they didn’t go anywhere, and the other cut in to help apprehend Sara. Two of the people trying to capture her were Aion and Circe, the duo who’d demonstrated their outstanding skills during the first escape attempt.
Despite all that, Sara was as cool as a cucumber. She promptly deployed a smoke bomb. It was the same piece of Annette’s handiwork that Erna had used earlier, and it filled the entire lecture hall with white fumes.
Annette took that as her cue to call out. “All the radio bombs are going off in ten seconds, yo. And I’ll know if you try to ditch them, so don’t even think about it.”
There was ice in her voice as she threatened her former allies.
“But if you get out of my remote’s range, you just might survive.”
It was clear just from her tone that it was no idle threat.
The Knights of Valor members scattered like cockroaches, and the Genesis Army was slow to react. The activists had always had the numbers advantage, and in addition to being a target for arrest, each of them was simultaneously a walking bomb. If the Genesis Army wasn’t careful about how they detained them, the operatives themselves could get caught in the blast. However, the smoke screen kept them from using their guns; they didn’t want to risk friendly fire.
“Make sure to split up!!”
Erna did everything she could to urge the Knights of Valor to flee.
Unlike last time, they were done fighting among themselves. Sara’s speech had emboldened them all.
Annette was setting off firecrackers to add to the chaos, and Erna grabbed her by the hand and ran for it as well. They might not be able to save everyone, but this way, a good number of people would be able to escape.
“And where the hell do you think you’re going?”
That was when she was met with a wave of hostility that sapped all the heat from her body.
There was no question about it—that was Nike.
She’d finally made her move. She cleaved through the smoke and made a beeline to capture Erna. Her long, graceful arms reached straight for Erna’s throat.
There was nothing Erna could do.
What ultimately blocked Nike’s path wasn’t a human, but rather a black dog and a white cat. Sara’s pet Johnny and her new pet Aurelia slashed at Nike’s arms in unison.
Nike evaded them with ease, then sent the two animals flying with a single clean roundhouse kick. “Filthy fucking brutes,” she snarled, making no effort to hide her annoyance.
“Well, that’s not very nice!”
A pistol emerged from the smoke, followed immediately by a bullet.
The shot had been aimed at Nike’s head, and she narrowly dodged it with a twist of her neck. She shot a glare at Sara, the gun’s wielder. “How’d you deal with my agents so quickly?”
“You’re fighting me now!”
Sara positioned herself to obstruct Nike from getting to Erna and Annette. With a smile and a wave, she urged Erna to go on ahead before turning back to face their foe.
Her expression had been confident. She clearly had a plan.
Erna just said, “We’ll join back up later,” before dashing for the lecture hall’s exit. Still holding Annette’s hand in hers, she made sure not to let the opportunity Sara had given them slip by her.
This time, the Genesis Army’s pursuit was far less dogged. Sara must have already beaten most of them. If she hadn’t, there was no way she could have cut through the smoke screen and gotten to them like that.
It’s incredible how dependable Big Sis Sara has gotten…
Sara’s dramatic growth caused Erna’s heart to stir. To think that she would go from that timid and meek shell to being strong enough to trade blows with Nike!
Erna and Annette worked together to knock out one of the Genesis Army agents in passing. Luckily for them, his attention was elsewhere, and the girls were able to catch him by surprise. They mowed through him with ease.
Once they made it out the window, they were free from Nike’s clutches—for real this time.
When we meet up with Big Sis Sara later, I’m gonna give her the biggest hug ever.
She could picture that happy future in her mind’s eye.
Things were rough now, but she was brimming with hope. That was a testament to how touching the reunion had been.
Wanting to share her good cheer, she looked over at her partner, whose hand she was still holding.
Annette’s eyes were ice-cold. “________”
“…Annette?”
They were diligently putting one foot in front of the other, and their escape was all but guaranteed to succeed. However, there was no smile on Annette’s lips. Her face was that of an emotionless doll.
“…There’s no way Sara can ever win.”
In contrast to her blank expression, her voice quivered with an intense sorrow.
“A human like her can never beat a superhuman like Nike…”
Trepidation rose from the very depths of Erna’s being. She knew it was the wrong thing to do, but she couldn’t stop herself from looking back over her shoulder.
There, behind her, the lecture hall had become a brutal war zone. Right as Erna turned, a new figure came flying out the same window she had.
It was Sara, her body drenched in blood.
Despite the state she was in, Sara immediately rose to her feet to protect Erna and Annette from Nike’s assault.
For Sara, the whole thing happened in slow motion.
It was like watching her life flash before her eyes.
As soon as she squared off one-on-one against Nike, a man rushed in from behind her. He had a gloomy look about him, and as she recalled, his name was Thanatos. He fell to his knees in front of Nike and presented her with a mighty weapon. It was a sledgehammer. Its handle was over six feet long, and its head was weighty and cumbersome.