"Damn it! This isn't going to work!"
Geno hunched over, his fists clenched tight. Staring at his left leg, which hadn't fully regenerated yet, a thick sense of unwillingness took root in his heart, with nowhere to vent it.
"Lucia's condition can't drag on for too much longer. I have to get her out of here as soon as possible."
If they continued to waste time here, Lucia would be worn down sooner or later. He had to find a way to leave.
That being said, the situation of being surrounded showed no signs of easing. Geno couldn't think of how to break through the encirclement.
'Could it be that I have to forcefully break out with Lucia?'
'No, that won't work. We'd be shot into honeycombs like that.'
Against one Terrorbird, it might be possible. Against a hundred Terrorbirds, they would meet no other end than becoming minced meat.
Geno turned over various escape plans in his mind, but none of them could immediately solve their current predicament.
Yet Lucia's condition allowed for no delay. He had tried to absorb the Ether several times, but all attempts ended in failure. If this continued, Lucia would lose her life sooner or later.
"Tsk! Do every single one of you want to be my kind that badly? First Twiggy, and now Lucia!"
Geno, who had been spouting nonsense out of frustration, suddenly froze. He... seemed to have just thought of a way to crack this situation.
But that flash of inspiration was elusive. What exactly was the point he had overlooked?
"My kind... Right! My kind!"
Having figured it out, Geno slapped his own forehead. How could he have forgotten about this ability of his?
He immediately shook the drowsy Lucia, urging her to wake up.
"Stop sleeping, Lucia! We're saved!"
"Really? You're not lying to me, are you?"
Lucia, her consciousness still a bit hazy, looked at Geno's excited appearance and for a moment couldn't distinguish between reality and a dream.
But as Geno explained the plan in detail, Lucia's eyes grew brighter and brighter, though they still glimmered with a trace of skepticism.
"Can this... really work?"
"It's a Hail Mary, but it's the only option we have."
Having said that, Geno made no further moves, throwing himself wholeheartedly into the engineering project of repairing his left leg.
Lucia could only accept the other's idea. While controlling her breathing rhythm, she began to use her staff to create new phantoms.
Inside the building, Thanatos was wandering the area with a group of lackeys, completely devoid of the excitement it had shown when it first saw the two of them.
For some reason, within its hollow core, a touch of human-like sorrow seemed visible.
"Hey! Come and catch me! You stinky Ethereal!"
Lucia rode atop a Hati, making faces at Thanatos right in front of it, displaying utter provocation.
This action caused the group of Ethereals to instantly explode into chaos.
You have disturbed the Thanatos!
The ghostly figure of the Ethereal hunter vanished instantly. When it reappeared, it was already swinging the arm-blade in its hand towards Lucia's slender neck.
Fortunately, she had long been prepared.
With a clear ding, the special material of her staff clashed with Thanatos's arm-blade. Borrowing the force of the impact, Lucia retreated and decisively began to run towards the pre-arranged location.
"Come catch me, you big dummy!"
Lucia's arrogant appearance immediately infuriated Thanatos, who decisively chased after her.
Seeing their boss run off, the rest of the lackeys naturally followed suit.
On the other side, Geno walked out of the building after healing his leg injury.
The Terrorbirds guarding the outside immediately aimed all their muzzles at Geno, but they soon fell into confusion.
The Geno of this moment was no longer in his previous Ethereal form. Instead, he had used his transformation ability to change his appearance, turning into the likeness of the Silver Squad's Captain.
That night, he had seen with his own eyes that this captain had left the battlefield, so her name and appearance must be on the Silver forces' evacuation list.
If he could use this face to deceive this flock of Terrorbirds, whether getting them to make way or commanding them to attack the Ethereals, it would be a good thing.
However, facts proved that Geno's thinking was still too naive.
"Target data detected. Verifying identity. Target Name: Anby. Affiliation: Silver Squad. Position: Captain. Current Status: Deceased. Target identity confirmed as disguise. Engaging!"
Having stated this, the lead Terrorbird launched an attack, and the other Terrorbirds behind it also opened fire.
Geno cursed inwardly—sure enough, it wasn't that easy. Fortunately, he had prepared a Plan B.
If the bluff didn't work, he would lead these hunks of iron to the designated location to rendezvous with Lucia.
"Damn tin cans! If I get the chance, I'm gonna dismantle every last one of you!"
Geno dodged the hail of bullets, swiftly leading the flock of Terrorbirds towards the position beneath the building.
Success or failure hinged on this one move.
At this moment, Lucia inside the building wasn't faring much better.
Thanatos's speed was shockingly fast. Relying on the advantage of her petite frame, Lucia narrowly avoided attacks several times, yet she still suffered some injuries.
Thankfully, she finally managed to lead Thanatos to the spot they had agreed upon—the very place where Geno had jumped down from the building.
"Idiot Thanatos! Big dummy! You can't catch me at all!"
Following Lucia's provocation, although Thanatos didn't show much change on the surface, its attack frequency and speed became faster and faster; it was clearly agitated.
This also caused its Ethereal lackeys behind it to gradually fall behind, clogging up the rear.
"We're here. This is the place."
The air from outside the building blew onto Lucia's face through the broken window, making her feel a bit cold.
Looking at Thanatos behind her, Lucia finally revealed a satisfied smile. She then dismissed the Hati that had carried her the whole way and stepped up to the window again.
"Now, it's my turn."
Then, she took a firm step forward and walked out towards the world outside the window.
This window welcomed its second jumper of the day.
And Thanatos's footsteps once again halted right there.
It didn't want to seek death.
"Woohoo!!! So thrilling!!!"
Lucia felt the cold wind scraping against her face, feeling as if her face was now a piece of playdough being blown into various shapes.
And then, at the moment when her life's countdown was halfway through, the hero who saved her appeared once again, catching her in mid-air.
"Wow! You can jump this high? Wait! Who are you?!"
Lying in Geno's embrace, she realized the tactile sensation was different from before. Looking up, it was actually the image of a silver-haired woman.
"I borrowed a little external help; the current face belongs to someone else. I can turn into your look if you want. But for now, let's get down to business."
Geno, wearing the face of Twiggy's kin, held Lucia in one arm while his other hand hung onto the building, stopping the two from falling.
The Terrorbirds downstairs were loyally executing their orders, not letting a single person come out of the building alive.
A hundred machine guns and rocket launchers aimed at Geno and his companion, firing in unison, yet they didn't know this played right into Geno's hands.
"We're going to fly. Hold on tight!"
____
New Story: Bleach: Dominating Soul Society in One Sting
✅ Read up to 40 chapters in advance (all stories)!
✅ Access exclusive posts and updates first!
Let's achieve our community goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = +1 extra chapter for everybody
🚀 140 MEMBERS = +5 additional chapters on ALL STORIES!
👻 P - Walnutchan