Chapter 6
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Nowhere to Run
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I swung the axe one more time at the monster collapsed on the ground. Aiming squarely for its head.
Squelch—
The axe blade embedded itself perfectly in the monster's head, and a viscous green fluid splattered out.
Gasp. Gasp. I panted, looking down at the monster, which now appeared to be completely dead.
Seeing the monster up close made it all too real. This horrifying situation wasn't a novel; it was my life now.
‘I need to get down to Brunel village right away. I have to build a shelter immediately.’
Seeing the virus monster with my own eyes cemented my resolve.
Thankfully, Aurora was too distracted by the monster to see my face.
I turned my back so Aurora couldn't see me. I quickly wiped the axe, slid it into its holster, and pulled up my robe's hood to cover myself.
Aurora, seemingly snapping out of her daze, approached me.
“Are you all right?”
She pulled back the hood of her robe and took my hand.
Beautiful, wavy silver hair that cascaded to her waist, mysterious violet eyes. She was a pure, ethereal beauty, with an aura that could mesmerize you the moment your eyes met.
“Did you see a man run out of this house?”
“He ran that way.”
In response to my question, Aurora pointed to the end of the alley. He must have already gotten away and vanished.
‘Still, I’m glad I saved him.’
The plan was a success. I got the Elpinus Herb and killed the monster without any casualties. The relief was so overwhelming I felt like I could cry.
But it was Aurora who started crying first.
“Thank you for saving me,” she sobbed.
Aurora must have been terrified, because she clung to my hand and burst into tears.
“I don't even want to imagine what would have happened to me if it weren't for you. You’re my savior.”
She wouldn't let go of my hand, weeping uncontrollably.
I looked at her, troubled. The few people passing by on the street were starting to gather. My face was hidden by my hood and mask, but I was still getting nervous.
“Who’s there.”
Just then, a man's low, stiffly controlled voice came from somewhere nearby. A man was approaching from behind Aurora, a revolver in his hand.
Even in the dark of night, his dazzling blond hair seemed to shine. A firm-set mouth, a sharp nose, and fiercely angled eyebrows. The man's blue eyes were as cold as a frozen lake.
‘Wow. He's ridiculously handsome.’
With his shirt buttoned to the neck and his crisp police uniform, the man exuded an effortless sex appeal. And I had a feeling I knew exactly who he was.
He was none other than the heroine Aurora's brother, Ethan. Ethan Duncan Lancaster.
‘Damn it, why is he showing up here?’
The most competent person in the survival team Aurora formed in *Love in a Ruined World* wasn't the main male lead, Crown Prince Theodore, nor the sub-male lead and doctor, Knox, nor the weapons expert, Jose. It was Ethan, the police officer.
Not only was he competent, but he also carried the virus antibody that could end this whole crisis, making him someone who absolutely could not be allowed to die.
Still, as long as he was with Aurora, Ethan wouldn't die. At least, that's how it was in the novel I read. He was practically her right-hand man.
Meanwhile, Ethan seemed to have realized that the woman holding my hand was Aurora.
“Aurora? What are you doing out here at this hour?”
Ethan asked her urgently. He didn't even glance my way, as if no one else existed.
“What are you doing here, brother?”
“I was on patrol. We got a report.”
As he answered, Ethan scanned the area and spotted the broken gate and the dead monster in front of it. *Click.* He cocked his gun and aimed it at the creature.
“What the hell is this?”
Only then did Aurora remember the monster she had momentarily forgotten. She shuddered and backed away. Of course, since she was still holding my hand, I had to back away with her.
‘Please, just let go of my hand, heroine!’
Now that Ethan was here, he would take care of the monster's corpse. He was a police officer, after all.
I had to get out of here before Ethan and Aurora could figure out who I was. If I said anything and they started paying attention to me, or worse, found out I was Cherry Sinclair, it would be a disaster. So I tried to keep as low a profile as possible.
“This person saved my life.”
Despite my wishes, Aurora made sure to point me out to Ethan. His gaze immediately snapped to me.
“...Are you the one who did this to this beast?”
he asked me. It was a monster, not a beast, but I didn't answer, only nodding. Ethan then politely thanked me and asked for my identity.
“First, thank you for saving my sister's life. I'd like to reward you, so could you show me your face...”
“Aaaah—!”
Whether it was fortunate or not, Aurora let out a piercing scream right then. The monster's body had twitched, as if in a final death spasm.
I had smashed its head with the axe, so the thing was definitely dead. But Ethan, not knowing that, quickly threw an arm out to shield both me and Aurora.
“Stay back.”
Then, Ethan pulled the trigger, aiming at the monster.
Bang—!
A gunshot echoed through the city in the dead of night.
I could see lights flicking on one by one in the other houses, all except the mansion at Number 61.
The monster's corpse no longer moved. It was completely and utterly dead.
Aurora looked completely stupefied with fear, and Ethan was preoccupied, leaning down to inspect the monster's corpse.
‘...Now's my chance!’
I wrenched my hand from Aurora's grasp and bolted.
I couldn't let my name appear alongside Aurora's in tomorrow's headlines!
“Huh? Wait! My savior! Where are you going!?”
Aurora cried out to me, her voice filled with the sorrow of a tragic heroine. She called for me as desperately as a prince searching for the Cinderella who had fled, leaving a single glass slipper behind.
“Please, just your name...! At least tell me your name before you go!”
But with Aurora this curious about me, there was no way I could reveal my identity.
After running for a while, I glanced back, thinking I must have lost him. But I could see Ethan chasing after me.
“Ugh, agh! What the—! Stop chasing me!”
I started running with all my might again, but this time, Ethan blew a whistle.
Tweet—!
At the shrill sound, lights in the mansions along our path flicked on. The commotion in the middle of the night must have woken people up.
“Stop right there!”
Ethan shouted at me. But stopping and getting caught would look even more suspicious and strange.
It was too late to turn back now. I had to escape. So I gritted my teeth and ran.
But Ethan, with his superior physical abilities and stamina, was determined to catch me, and the distance between us kept shrinking.
‘Of all people, why did it have to be Ethan! Damn it, think, Cherry, think.’
I needed a way to distract him. Even as I ran at full speed, I scanned my surroundings.
‘Is there anywhere to hide?’
Notium Street was a complex maze of a road. That meant there were plenty of places to hide. But that also made it dangerous.
I remembered the axe on my back. I had enough monstrous strength to send that damn virus monster flying.
‘If it comes to it, I could just smack the back of Ethan's neck and knock him out...’
I shook my head, dismissing the thought. No. The world hasn't ended yet, so let's not make things worse.
Gritting my teeth, I climbed over a wire fence blocking the way between alleys.
“I believe I told you to stop.”
Ethan's voice came from behind me, not even a single gasp of breath betraying his exertion. As if I was going to stop for that.
I leaped down from the fence and immediately veered into the alley ahead.
The path split three ways. I ducked under the stairs of a semi-basement home just before the left alley. The darkest place is under the candlestick, after all.
Clatter, clatter. I could hear the sound of dress shoes running this way.
The footsteps came to a sudden halt.
Suddenly, the footsteps stopped at the entrance to the alley.
The sound was right in front of me, so I held my breath.
Thump, thump. This time, the footsteps drew closer, right up to the wall. We were facing each other with only a single layer of brick between us.
I clamped a hand over my mouth. My palms grew sweaty with tension.
I stayed like that for a long time, listening for Ethan's movements, but no more sounds came.
‘What? Where did he go?’
For some reason, it felt darker than before. As if a shadow had fallen over me.
With a sense of foreboding, I slowly raised my head. And my gaze met a pair of blue eyes looking down at me.
I was too stunned to even scream.
“Is this the best hiding spot you could find? Hiding like a little rat.”
“Ah, ack!”
I fell to the ground with a thud. Ethan reached out a long arm and grabbed the back of my robe.
Damn it, why am I always so unlucky