Chris grabbed Helen by the end of her sleeve and shook his head back and forth. She was taken by surprise and fell down to the floor.
“Aaaah! Akane!”
But Akane was slumped over in a daze and only glanced at Helen dully.
Chris growled and tugged on Helen’s sleeve.
“Stop it, you stupid mutt! Get it off of me! Yuuma!”
Hinata turned to Mayuka and shouted, “Go and call for help!”
“A-all right!”
But just as she opened the door and started to hurry up the stairs, Yuuma came stomping down from above.
“Look out, Mayuka!” Hinata called. She ducked to avoid the man’s grasp, right as Hinata took a capsule out of his bag and threw it at the door.
It worked perfectly. Yuuma passed through the doorway just in time for it to strike him on the forehead and burst open, showering him with red powder.
“Aaah! M…my eyes!!” Yuuma bellowed, holding his face and rolling on the floor. “Owwww!”
He was incapacitated for the moment and wouldn’t be able to open his eyes or do anything for a while. The spice powder bomb worked like a charm. Thanks for the empty capsules, Rui!
“Are you all right, Mayuka? Hurry up and go!”
She quickly got to her feet, leaped over Yuuma, and rushed up the stairs. Hinata took the leash, which he’d only pretended to put on Chris, and wrapped it around Helen’s legs as best he could.
“S-stop it! Stop this at once!” Helen raged, but Hinata only pulled the leash tighter.
It didn’t need to be permanent; it just had to hold her for a little while. As long as she had to take the time to undo it, they had a chance to escape…
Yuuma, meanwhile, was still rolling around and bellowing in agony. Once he was done with the leash, Hinata said, “Stop! Chris, stop!”
Chris let go of Helen’s sleeve and looked straight at Hinata, ears erect.
“Go, Chris! Follow Mayuka and call for help! Go—and don’t turn back!”
In an instant, Chris was darting across the room and up the stairs.
“Akane! What are you doing? Go and stop that girl!” Helen commanded, dragging herself across the floor toward Akane. She was sitting next to Kobayashi, covering her face in her hands and trembling. She didn’t seem to hear Helen.
Hinata looked at Kobayashi. He was staring back with tears in his eyes.
At last, he spoke. “H-Hinata, just go. You can’t support me on your own. Focus on getting help,” he said, his voice hoarse and weak.
Then he leaned forward, toppling off the chair and landing on Helen’s back as she was attempting to wriggle past.
“Aaaaah!” she roared with pain.
“Mr. Kobayashi!” Hinata shouted, but the older man was resolute.
“Go now, Hinata. Go and help Christie…”
Hinata regretfully tore his eyes away from Kobayashi, then rushed up the stairs and out of the basement.