Chapter 24: Guilt

Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Guilt

"...You again?"

"...Eh?"

Rhys and the girl stared at each other for a few seconds, both seemingly confused but for different reasons—Rhys thought the girl would have been out of the building by now, as for the girl, she definitely thought she would be dying here today.

"Have you seen Dr. Lopez?"

"Huh?"

"Dr. Lopez, have you seen her?"

"..."

She still seemed visibly stunned, unable to really say anything as she just stared at the dead arachne in front of her.

"..." Rhys could really only wait for her to recover from the stupor she found herself in. He started looking around to see if there was anyone else there, but the only thing he could see were 3 other arachne blocking the way down to the ground floor—all dead.

And judging by the dozens of familiar-looking knives pierced through each of them which made them look like a group of porcupines, they were killed by none other than the shriveling girl with her butt on the floor.

They did say these arachnes were of the lowest threat, but still, Rhys could not help but be momentarily impressed. She already had one of her Hearts filled for some reason... maybe it was possible to get her abilities?

"..." Rhys then turned to look at the arachne he just killed, only to notice several blades stuck to its breast and stomach—but sadly not deep enough to cause actual damage. Did she get exhausted?

But she was already able to kill 3 on her own at the same time... she shouldn't have had any problems dealing with this last one.

"..." Rhys then started looking at the girl from head to toe. She was small—no, perhaps petite would be the best way to describe her. Since she was on the same floor as Rhys, she should be a senior. But her stature, partnered with her colorful orange hair made her look like she just passed the school's entrance exam.

And as Rhys's eyes reached her legs, he finally noticed her swollen ankle.

"...Can you stand?" Rhys then finally broke the silence as he offered the girl a hand.

"I...I don't know?" The girl looked back and forth between the arachne and Rhys, before hesitantly reaching for his hand. She was able to stand up but found herself hopping on one foot as her injured ankle was too painful to put pressure on.

"Kh..." The girl sucked in a deep breath as she tried standing on both feet; before she could do so, however, Rhys pulled her closer to him, "...Eh?"

"It's fractured," Rhys said, "Putting pressure on it will only make it worse."

"...Thank you, Rhys," Chloe rested her head on Rhys's chest as she continued to cry, "Really... thank you."

"Thank me when—"

And all of a sudden, as the two neared the last turn for them to reach the building's main exit—every hair on his body stood up.

"..." His legs quickly stopped moving as he just stared at the bloody hallway in front of him. He could hear voices coming from the main exit, but they were completely clouded by the sound of his own breaths as everything around him seemed to slow down.

"...Rhys? What's wrong?" Chloe whispered, "Did you see some—"

"!!!"

And before Chloe could finish her words, a group of a dozen students suddenly emerged from the hall—their faces, filled with dread, frenzy, and desperation as they all ran in panic toward Rhys's direction.

"I told you not to open the fucking door!"

"Fuck, just run!"

Rhys quickly recognized three of the men in the group—It was Lex's friends, Rob and the two others. Rhys and Chloe didn't really even have to wonder why they were running, however, as the reason for it quickly showed itself.

A cluster of arachne—too many to count as they almost filled the entire hallway, violently stepping on each other just to chase the humans in front of them.

"W... wait, what are you doi—!!!"

"!!!"

Rhys was about to turn around and run, but he saw as Rob and his group suddenly started tripping the others behind them, deliberately pushing them toward the wave of death that violently chased them.

"H... help m—"

The students that were left behind weren't even able to fight, they were just instantly swallowed by the onslaught of arachnes. And with the wave slowed down, Rob and his friends ran as fast as they could.

Chloe, and even Rhys were both stunned by what they have witnessed—but once again for two different reasons.

Chloe was shocked, refusing to believe that there would be someone that would push someone else to death just to survive. As for Rhys, he was thinking that if he didn't ask Katarina to save Rob and his friends back on the construction site...

...then people they just watched die wouldn't have had to die in the first place.