As an icy presence appeared in the sky above the burning city... "Tap tap tap..."
Two sets of hurried footsteps echoed distantly down the street. Water splashed everywhere...
"Huff huff huff..."
Mono gasped for breath.
The cold rain couldn't extinguish the fear and trembling he felt in his heart... He sensed it...
It was here, nearby...
Mono...
Little Six's feet moved at the same frantic pace as the person in front of her. Her face was pale, her eyes darting glances behind her from time to time—even though... Mono hadn't said why they were running.
But,
She too had detected that dark aura she feared the most.
Like needles in her back...
Impossible to forget...
Whenever her body was enveloped by that chilling presence, death would descend nearby...
"Little Six, don't be afraid, keep running. As long as we reach the Signal Tower, we can escape this place. Huff huff huff..."
Mono could feel the stiffness in the small hand he held tightly.
Little Six was terrified...
But no matter how scared she was, at this moment, they absolutely could not stop. Mono had been lured out of the Signal Tower by their actions over the past few days.
Right now, the Signal Tower was at its most vulnerable.
If they missed this opportunity, Mono—who had already become aware of their existence—would surely cut off all their escape routes.
Then, things would become truly troublesome...
So, from this moment on, he had to race against time until they reached the Gate of Light.
Before that...
Under these critical conditions, any negligence or distraction was unacceptable...
However, Mono's reassurance didn't have much effect.
Little Six's eyes still kept turning back from time to time...
Mono felt that if he didn't drag her along as he ran, this girl would most likely just stand there blankly, waiting for death.
This "dazed and lost" look really bothered him.
Even if they were truly going to fail, shouldn't they face it with their heads held high?
Fear should have its limits.
If you bury yourself in shadows all day, how could you possibly have the strength to escape this damned world, break free from the clutches of darkness, regain your freedom, and see the light again?
Feeling the tension still present in the hand he held, Mono silently took a deep breath. His previously unsettled eyes gradually regained their calm.
"I don't know what happened to you in the past."
"But whatever happens next, I'll experience it with you."
"Whether it's joy or pain, I won't leave..."
"So..."
"There's no need... to worry anymore..."
"Understand...?"
The gentle words, though not loud, carried an unexpectedly firm resolve.
"Mono..."
Little Six's gaze finally snapped back, staring blankly at the person in front of her. After a long moment...
The terror that had been buried in her eyes slowly faded from their dazed state, replaced by... calm, followed by a flicker of determination.
A soft sound came as the little head nodded emphatically.
The two of them sprinted once more toward the location of the Signal Tower, undeterred by the wind and rain, their pace not slowing in the slightest.
"Mono... there's someone over there..."
Little Six suddenly tightened her grip on Mono's hand again.
Someone?
Mono didn't doubt Little Six's words. He quickly changed direction, running toward another path.
As long as there were no abnormal fluctuations in the electromagnetic field, Mono was unlikely to appear before him.
That person was probably someone controlled by electromagnetic waves.
"Mono... there's another person over there too."
After running not much farther, Little Six spoke up again.
Hearing this, Mono changed direction once more.
They ran and stopped intermittently along the way, gradually moving away from the city's residential areas.
And their position drew increasingly closer to the Signal Tower.
However, just as Mono was about to take another step forward...
"Zzzzt zzzzt zzzzt..."
A series of grating noises suddenly filled the surroundings. An invisible magnetic field instantly enveloped the entire space. Televisions hanging on walls or left out in the rain flickered with white light out of nowhere.
"Damn it!"
Mono cursed under his breath, changed direction again, and dashed into an alley.
... Seeking flowers...
Little Six's face turned pale once more, but she still held Mono's hand tightly, running forward alongside him.
Both of them were moving fast, but
they couldn't shake off the sudden onset of electrical static...
With each television they passed, the screen behind them would light up.
The distance... was gradually closing, and the crackle of electricity grew louder, the light,
brighter and brighter...
Finally, at a certain moment, the next television blocking the alley ahead suddenly blazed to life.
"Bzzz——"
The piercing noise instantly pierced their eardrums, assaulting their minds, making them feel as if they were about to faint.
...
Cold sweat broke out on Mono's forehead. How had this damn thing discovered them?
0...
He hadn't even used his ability to better conceal his aura? Yet Little Six's gaze was fixed silently on that abruptly illuminated television...
Though fear gripped him, Mono's movements didn't slow. "idiot, stop staring, let's go!
He immediately grabbed Six, who had frozen again, and pulled her back.
A dark silhouette slowly materialized within the television... the elongated figure reflected there was like a sharp blade poised to slit a throat... cold and keen...
Yet the feeling was so familiar...
A sinister wind swept past, seeming on the verge of freezing everything.
Mono glanced back over his shoulder.
He felt it was both familiar and strange, real yet illusory...
This was the first time he had laid eyes on this soul, perpetually shrouded in darkness and resentment.
Was this the master of this world?
Suddenly, a slender hand silently extended from the television... Mono's heart once again began to pound wildly.
However, his own reaction wasn't slow either. The next instant, he also reached out a hand, placing it on the television screen before him.
Light flashed and vanished, the surrounding space twisted, and the two small figures vanished from the alley.
The slender arm, only halfway extended, sensing this, halted mid-air...
After a long pause, it silently withdrew...
Then, the flickering light began to spread towards the distance...
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