How does it feel to have a ten-year-old sprout crying her eyes out in your arms? Even Ana's resolute expression couldn't hold. She subconsciously raised her hand and patted Azhar on the head.
The turn of events was truly beyond her expectations.
She had thought that Azhar, who had proposed "splitting up," was a person of courage. She had even suspected that Azhar, like Bianka, had some special means of turning herself into a child.
But now... wasn't this just a child?
A child who was scared to tears by the darkness.
"Senior Azhar, you've been..." Ana cleared her throat, feeling that this game should have a dignified end.
"I know! I've been caught! Waaaah, I don't want to play anymore, I want to find Bianka, I want to find Rita!! Waaaah!!" Azhar, who hadn't cried even when facing a Herrscher twice, was now crying her heart out.
It was because the sensory deprivation—the surrounding darkness, the lack of sound, the lack of any feedback—from her encounters with the Herrscher had left an indelible psychological scar on her.
Darkness, silence... these were the things that Azhar now feared. Being separated from Bianka was already the limit of what she could accept. Now, with the added fright from Shu in the darkness, the fragility of a ten-year-old child had finally overcome her reason.
Ana was at a loss for a while. When she patted Azhar's back again, her voice had softened uncontrollably, turning into the tone one would use to soothe a child.
"There, there, it's okay..." She gently patted Azhar's back. Azhar's crying quickly subsided, but her body was still trembling uncontrollably.
Ana had no choice but to take Azhar back to Rita first.
As for Bianka... Ana could only say she would do her best.
Whether it was her silent approach to check the coordinates or her speed that left Ana in the dust, and her reaction time to Ana's surprise attack in the darkness, Ana knew that it was basically impossible for her to catch her.
But she had to try... After she took Azhar to Rita, she would come back...
"Azhar!" Bianka's anxious cry rang out. She landed in a hurry and finally breathed a sigh of relief the moment she saw Azhar. "I'm so glad you're okay..."
Azhar turned her head, her face already covered in tears.
The moment she saw Bianka, the grievance that had just been suppressed in Azhar's heart surged up again.
"Waaaah—!!"
Ana watched as Azhar, who had been clinging to her, ran out and threw herself into Bianka's arms.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!" Azhar buried her face in Bianka's shoulder. This time, her crying wasn't as heart-wrenching, just a repeated apology.
Bianka could tell that she was already incoherent. She quickly patted Azhar's back to help her catch her breath. "It's okay, it's okay... it's my fault, I left you alone..."
Azhar was still sobbing. "No, it's me... I'm too timid, I'm sorry... I should have... held out a little longer..."
She had been caught so quickly, and she had even led Bianka here. Hadn't her carefully planned strategy completely failed?!
Realizing this, the grievance in Azhar's heart grew even stronger.
She was so useless! Not only could she not go it alone, but her plan had been completely ineffective! She hadn't been useful in any way. At this moment, her low self-esteem was even harder to bear than her fear.
"I thought... I could help... sob... I thought I could help..." Azhar's crying made even Shu, who was hiding in the darkness, feel a little uneasy. His foot hovered in mid-air for a long time, but in the end, he didn't dare to step out.
Right now, Bianka was comforting Azhar, and Ana wasn't taking advantage of the situation. After Bianka had clumsily soothed the nearly broken Azhar, the scene finally quieted down a bit.
Azhar's eyes were still red, and there were tear tracks on her face.
But her mood had basically stabilized, leaving only a hint of dejection and encouragement for Bianka.
"Go for it! Bianka," Azhar said forcefully to Bianka before being carried away by Ana.
Bianka stood in place, looking at the tears she had wiped from Azhar's face, now in her palm. After a long silence, she looked towards a certain corner.
"Ahem..."
Shu coughed lightly and stepped out from the corner under Bianka's gaze. He held his hands up halfway. "I say, I just wanted her to get a better score. Would you believe me?"
Bianka didn't say anything, just her expression grew grave as she prepared to flee.
The game was still on, and she... she had promised Azhar that she had to win!
From the first moment she saw Shu, Bianka's intuition had been telling her that this person was strong... unbelievably strong!
Just as it was written on his resume, all his characteristics, his past experience, were summed up in two words—
Very strong.
How strong was he? Bianka didn't know, but that didn't stop her from preparing for the highest level...
Shu lowered his raised hands and looked at Bianka. They faced each other for about two seconds, then Shu raised his hand, signaling for Bianka to run first.
A sonic boom echoed out of thin air. Shu felt a gust of wind pressure hit him, blowing his sideburns.
Bianka's figure was in the sky in an instant, a long distance away from Shu.
And at that moment, the one second of indulgence Shu had allowed was over...
A much larger gust of wind pressure swept out in all directions. If Bianka was an arrow released from a bow, then Shu was a scorching bullet fired from a gun!!
Bianka twisted her body sharply in mid-air, barely dodging Shu's trajectory.