The Villain's Shopping System

38  Chapter 37 - Can villains save people?

With steps quickened by his will, Kaito strives to reach the girl in danger. His heart is racing as he dodges cars and obstacles, focused only on reaching his goal.

The Spectres run after him like fervent animals, pushing and bumping into each other. They think that Kaito is actually running away from them, so they are much more confident than when he was facing them.

Kaito can't even see the girl, because the other Spectre is blocking his view. That way, all he can see is the monster's back, which stands up on two legs to intimidate and corner her. As it stands, the Wraiths look more like basketball players than monsters, because they have a structure that closely resembles a human, except, of course, for the fact that they have completely gray skin and sharp teeth.

Without wasting any time, Kaito jumps over a car crossed in the middle of the street, surprising the Spectres chasing him and causing one of them to crash into the car, giving him some more leverage. He then accelerates further. The interval for his feet to touch the ground is minimal, and the speed he reaches is impressive even among the Awakened Ones.

Finally, Kaito reaches the location of the girl and the eighth Transcendent. Just as the monster is about to attack her with his claw. Kaito climbs onto its back, holding its neck, and while struggling not to have his right hand swallowed, he rests his left hand on the right side of the monster's skull.

The girl, who is lying on the ground and frightened, watches all this with the shadow of the creature covering her.

The Awakened One keeps his focus and when he finally manages to fit his right hand to the Ghost's chin, he uses his full strength to turn the monster's head to the right in a spinning motion, breaking the creature's neck.

[You have killed a Spectre. You gained +250 XP].

The Spectre's corpse falls to the ground next to the girl, who, startled, immediately tries to move away.

However, Kaito has no time for that now. With an agile movement, Kaito lifts the girl by the waist and puts her over one shoulder to keep running, because five other Spectres are after him, not to mention the other two he also spotted on top of the buildings.

The Wraiths crowd together, forming a small, snarling horde.

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Before he starts running Kaito looks around, searching for an escape route. His eyes find the fire escape that the Wraith he just killed came down. That seems to be the only place Kaito can take the girl to try to get her safe without putting other people in danger.

"Gulp! Hey, what are you doing?!" The girl screams, then remembers that she is wearing a skirt, "Put me down now, please!"

"Shut up while I save your life," Kaito says without much thought. Since he has not had any female contact and there have been very few times he has spoken to a woman in real life, he does not understand delicacy in words.

[You have earned 1 Point of Malice for Asperity.]

The young man ignores the notification and starts running to the alley where the fire escape is with the girl firmly leaning on his shoulder. His mind is on keeping the girl safe.

With impressive agility, Kaito deftly dodges the onslaughts of the desperate Spectres who are struggling to catch up with their precious prey. And when they finally enter the narrow alley, Kaito can hear the girl's gasping breath, an echo of the terror consuming her. He understands her fear, especially as she is facing backwards and witnesses the Spectres getting closer and closer. However, although Kaito wishes to go faster, to overcome his current limitations, he is at his limit.

All that can help Kaito now is the adrenaline pulsing through his veins, propelling him beyond the limits of his endurance. His body seems to move by pure instinct, every muscle and fiber contributing to his speed.

At last, the fire escape rises before Kaito like an emergency life preserver, the only way out for the girl from this suffocating situation.

"The ladder is probably locked at the top... I'll throw you in." Kaito says, a little breathlessly.

"What? Throw me?" she inquires, surprised.

"Three, two, one! Now!"

Kaito uses every muscle in his arms to throw the girl up. His muscles throb with effort, but he blocks out the pain.

The Spectres, with fury pulsing in their vacant eyes, watch their prey in the air and their eyes glare with even more intensity.

The girl waves her arms, not knowing how to react for sure. All of this has happened very suddenly. Still, she knows she can't go wrong just now, so at the sight of the ladder she stretches as far as she can to reach it. When her fingers finally reach the ladder, a metallic noise echoes loudly through the alley.

"I made it..." She mutters, almost voiceless, as she realizes what she has done. "I did it!"

The girl's eyes meet Kaito's as she looks down, and she has a genuine smile of relief and happiness on her face.

However, Kaito has no time to be happy for her now. He looks back and sees that the Spectres are less than two meters away from him.

There is no time for him to try to reach the ladder, and no reason, because this could put the girl at risk again.

Instead, Kaito decides to keep running down the alley, after all there is no reason to fight in such a tight space against so many creatures.

As he advances relentlessly through the claustrophobic alley, Kaito's eyes scrutinize every inch of the environment, looking for ways to slow the monsters down. He knocks over a trash can, then picks up a crate and throws it behind him. All this just to buy some time. And then, like a ray of light in the darkness, Kaito spots the small opening at the end of the corridor. As he finally reaches the next street, the emptiness of the air embraces the young man.

Now at last he is in a wider and more open place, where he has more room to fight. So he brakes his run, sliding with his shoes on the concrete and staring at the monsters squeezing their way out of the alley.

However, when the Spectres finally reach the street, before Kaito can launch himself into combat, something unexpected happens. A deafening sound cuts through the air, echoing down the street.

A speeding car passes in front of Kaito, skidding on the asphalt and creating sparks, as well as a high-pitched sound that almost resembles the music of a violin.

The Spectres, who were preparing to attack Kaito, are violently run over by the car and their bodies are thrown in different directions, scattering like rag dolls from the force of the impact. The twisted metal and shattered windows of the car make for a chaotic and surreal sight.

Kaito watches all this practically in slow motion and sees a man with blond hair behind the steering wheel. He recognizes this man, for it is the same man who delivered the Alliance warning letter to him.

As the dust settles, the man in the suit gets out of the car, looking unperturbed. His cold, determined eyes scan the scene and he wastes no time as he sees some of the Spectres getting up even after the impact. He raises a machine gun from inside the car and fires bursts of bullets at the Transcendents. The shots cut the air with a frightening sound, hitting the monsters full on. The blue blood of the Spectres mixes with the dust raised by the car's sudden skid and the gunpowder from the gun.