Erie
ERIE and Heath were left behind in the poorly lit refinery. Right before them stood Jair and Eben.
Erie slowly rose to her feet and removed Heath’s hat. “…I can finally have a serious fight with you.”
She worried about Lovel being carried off, but now she needn’t be concerned over Heath being exposed. She could unleash his full might as a Golem and pummel Jair!
“Heathy, kill Jair!”
Obeying her voice, Heath surged forward, closing the five-meter gap and thrusting his knife at Jair’s heart. A giant hand stretched out from the side, catching the knife.
It was Eben. The debris giant stood in front of Heath, blocking his path.
“Kill him first!” Erie shouted. Heath swept out with a crippling thrust. Grinding screeches blared as he cut through Eben’s chest.
But no matter how long and thick the butcher’s knife, a weapon of its type was wholly incapable of slicing through the massive stone giant’s body. Moreover, any damage Heath inflicted immediately regenerated. Eben was leaps and bounds more formidable than the Adamahs they fought two days ago.
“Tch…” Erie clicked her tongue and reassessed the situation. Jair cleverly hid in Eben’s shadow, leaving no visible openings for attack.
Then, rather than taking him on from the front, the best bet is to—
“Heathy, retreat!” Erie shouted, and she darted farther inside the refinery.
Moonlight left the inner depths of the building untouched, sinking it into complete darkness. Erie and Heath were no longer discernible by sight, and they would be able to pinpoint their enemy’s location by the sound of his footsteps. Betting on that, Erie hid behind one of the pillars with Heath.
Countless pillars filled the room, holding up the heavy ceiling, which would make it difficult to locate their hiding spot. Erie hid the glowing letters on Heath’s forehead with her hand. Eben’s heavy footsteps slowly approached them.
Come and get me. I know exactly where you are.
Erie waited with bated breath for Eben to draw nearer. Heath would slash off his arm once he came in range!
Her plan ready, Erie listened closely, but her enemy’s footsteps abruptly ceased.
He’s not pursuing us? Before she could even finish her thought, an eruptive bang that bore no similarity to stone footsteps tore through the room. What was that?!
The earth-shattering bang shook the room more than once. BANG! BANG! The bangs continued to move closer, one after another.
What is that sound? It’s almost like someone’s pounding a stone pillar with a boulder… Erie peeked out around the pillar to spy on her enemy. Icy chills rushed down her spine at what she saw, making her shudder.
Eben was smashing all the pillars in the room and knocking them over. And with each bulldozed pillar, a disturbing creak came from above. Losing most of its pillars caused the ceiling to collapse in on its own weight.
AAAAHH! Erie clapped her hands over her mouth to stifle her scream. Heath immediately threw himself protectively on top of her when she crouched down.
Stones from the caving ceiling mercilessly pelted both of them. Intense pain shot through Erie’s shoulders, back, and waist. Blood trickled down her face as excruciating pain throbbed in her feet.
Oh no! At this rate, the entire building will go…!
Erie’s hands were clammy with sweat. Eben had yet to cease his rampage against the remaining pillars, rapidly bringing down more sections of the ceiling. It was only a matter of time before the entire refinery would give way.
But Erie spotted Jair hiding in Eben’s shadow. He was about ten meters from her. He was outside of Heath’s range, but now was the only shot they had!
Erie sat up in the raining debris and strained her voice. “Now, Heathy!”
Heath held Erie in his left arm as he dove out of the pillar’s shadow. Eben noticed them and swung down his fist. Heath, still holding Erie, jumped aside, dodging it. He proceeded to vault himself over Eben, landing right in front of Jair. He drew the knife with his right hand and slashed at Jair’s throat.
But Jair blocked the knife with his sledgehammer. Sparks flew in the darkness, illuminating Jair’s face. Jair lashed out with a powerful swing kick. Catching the blow with his side, Heath was flung back with Erie still in his grasp.
“…Agh!”
They smashed against the wall and slid to their knees. In the same moment, the disturbing creaks from above concentrated over their location.
It’s going to collapse?!
Heath hastily scooped up Erie and leapt out the refinery window, shattering it, and landed outside the building.
KABOOOOM! The sound of a heavy implosion thundered behind them. The refinery’s ceiling had entirely caved in. But, without sparing a moment to look behind them, Heath fled from the scene with Erie in his arms.
We couldn’t even faze him…! It’s like we stood no chance at all!
Erie ground her teeth, biting down on the inside of her cheek. Jair might’ve been pinned under the rubble, but she didn’t think for even a second that he would die from it. After all, she could still sense his bloodlust behind her.
She was losing consciousness from the pain and bleeding. From what she could remember from her school lessons, she probably had a cerebral concussion. Heath, who was mentally connected to Erie, started to move sluggishly.
“This isn’t…good…we…have to…run…!”
If they didn’t put more distance between them and the refinery, Jair would catch up. But Erie didn’t think she could last the trip to Head Island, and she didn’t have anyone she could trust to help her on Chest Island.
I c-can’t…hold…on… The moment the thought flickered in her mind, Heath pitched forward. He collapsed on the ground with Erie in his arms.
The sounds of footsteps approached them before long. Even if she willed herself to escape, her body refused to move.
Those footsteps were the last thing Erie heard before quietly losing consciousness.