Chapter 465: Hidden In The Corner

Grayson’s vision flared into a clean white burn; the pain was making him feel nauseous. The colors thinned out, drained toward grey, and then sharpened, the way a camera lens sharpens when the focus ring snaps.

The dust hadn’t disappeared, but it became tolerable under the moonlight. He could now see past the corner of the building, into the shadow beyond it —

It was a human silhouette.

Trembling.

Oh fck.

Grayson thought, eyes seething in pain.

Fck. Who the hell left the building alone and hid back there?! Are they crazy?! They clearly knew that there was a high-ranking Zerg around, and they still came out?! Who the fck is that?!

But thinking about it more as he calmed down by the second, Grayson looked around. Everyone who had stayed in the living room knew about the nine mines. Surely no one stupid stepped out of the encirclement without hearing nine mines detonating, right?

Therefore, that person over there shouldn’t be someone who came from the living room.

But counting out the people who knew, he was sure that only Neville and Lilianna Gringer didn’t know about it. There was no way for them to know either. So, he was pretty sure that neither of them was that shadow in the corner.

So... who was it? One terrible thought passed into his mind. Was it a civilian who had wandered inside the seaside estate and was caught up in this horrible mess?

A civilian had, in the panic, separated from a group or gotten lost. Probably found their way to the wrong corner of the wrong building at the wrong moment.

Desperate, Grayson pushed his beast eyes to the limit, ignoring the pain.

The human had a slim figure, probably a woman. They wore a distinctly latest designer dress because Grayson knew that Gloria had the same but a different color of dress.

Grayson’s eyes were practically swelling with blood at the corners, but refused to drip down. He fought to keep his focus.

The woman had one hand pressed flat against her own mouth. The hand had a little dust and dirt on the back side. The skin there was a little wrinkly but obviously well-maintained.

The other was clenched in a fist against her breastbone, white-knuckled. Her shoulders were shaking in a way that was not crying so much as the body’s involuntary attempt not to cry, which was always worse to watch.

Just from that, Grayson could guess who that person was. He knew that person very well.

Catalina Romana Gringer.

Lilianna and Sarah’s mother.

Grayson’s gland flared so hard his vision actually doubled for an instant. He bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep the pain quiet. Blood pooled a little in his mouth, but he spat it quickly.

He knew that he was in no condition to save anyone or even make it in time.

Grayson shouted in a hurry, "Ciel! Stop that zerg or get the woman out!"

Ciel did not even ask which woman, or how a woman could be in here. He just quickly sprinted to the person that Grayson said to take out. Even when bone-tired, it was clear that Ciel earned the rank Colonel for a reason.

He pivoted on his lead foot, eyes already searching the corner of the building. His gun lifted into a high guard, and—

The moment his eyes met the woman’s, it was too late.

Because Keres saw her at the exact same time.

All this time, Keres had just been pretending to be distracted. He had let Ciel and Grayson believe that he was wounded and slow and confused, when in fact he had been calculating.

He had been measuring the distance between his current position and the corner of the building.

As soon as he assessed his condition, he jumped.

The jump was not a jump. It looked more like a teleportation as far as normal human perception was concerned. There was a hiss of compressed air at the sudden absence of Keres in the place Keres had just been.

Keres was now behind Catalina, looming, the great spined forelimb already curled forward.

The forelimb seamlessly hooked under Catalina’s arms.

And carefully lifted her fragile body. Afraid of quickly killing the poor old woman.

Catalina did not scream, more like she couldn’t. Despite having her mouth open, no sound came out. Even her breath hitched, afraid of letting the warmth of her breath touch the surface of the zerg’s forelimbs and impulsively snap her head.

Even so, her eyes gleam against the moonlight. She was staring, wide-eyed at Grayson, who was gripping the dirt in pain, and Ciel, who had a devastated look on his face. Tears dripped down her cheeks, tears reflecting the moonlight.

Catalina’s trembling hands were clawing weakly at the chitin under her armpits. Her bare feet kicked out frantically into the empty air as the height increased.

Suddenly, the forelimb tightened, but did not pierce.

Keres knew what he had and what he could use it for. Keres rotated his great head toward Grayson and made a sound that was, unmistakably, a laugh.

"Krri, krri, krriii."

"Damn it," Ciel cursed under his breath, blaming himself. "Fck. Hyung, that—"

He pointed at Catalina, clearly recognizing why Grayson shouted an order in a hurry.

"I know," Grayson replied in a grave, pained tone.

He knew that there was a chance that Catalina would appear in here, given how she acted back in the ruins of Mecha Research Institute.

But Grayson clung to the hope that at least Geron would do something about it. Regardless of their fallout, he hoped that this scene could be prevented.

He recalled that Thiago said that there would be reinforcements. If it were Geron, then this would be a real headache. An emotional commander couldn’t make a cold decision.

Problems after problems. Grayson sighed. This time, I’m also left to clean up this mess.

Catalina must’ve snuck inside at the last minute when the barrier was set up. Otherwise, anyone else in the building could’ve seen her lurking around or even approached Lilianna.

Ciel’s gun was still in high guard; he had not lowered it, but he couldn’t recklessly fire either. He stood there frozen in the absurd, terrible posture. He was caught between two impulses that neither would save Catalina in Keres’s grip.

Grayson’s eyes ached again.

Fck, his eyes!

The pain had climbed past clean-burn and into something that was beginning to gray the edges of his vision in the opposite direction, the way a too-bright light overexposes a frame.

Grayson quickly tried to harness the impulses to semi-transform. He forced himself to stop his eyes from transforming back again.

The moment his silver irises bled back to round pupils, the world dimmed, blurred, restored itself to the limits of normal human vision.

But Keres was still there. Catalina was still there. The forelimb under her arms was still there.

Until when do we have to hold up before the reinforcements come?!

Grayson angrily thought, quietly searching for Thiago. But even if he asked Thiago, there was no way for anyone inside the barrier to communicate with anyone outside.

Neville or Catalina.

Two hostages at the same time.

No one could help them immediately, which meant that the moment Grayson committed his full attention to one rescue, he needed to drop the other.

Before, as a general, he had made this kind of decision before. Either situation gave him the title of a hero in the eyes of many.

Regardless of the sacrifices, praises came one after another. As if those praises could cover the filth of the truth that sacrifices had been made.

But those praises saved him from this very awful, disgusting, and terrible feeling that he was feeling right now.

And giving up was not an option.

"Ciel," he called, his voice came out low and steady.

"Yes," Ciel said.

"Don’t move."

"I understand."

"Don’t even breathe loud."

"I’m not."

Keres, who heard it, lifted Catalina higher.

"Krrriiii, krriiii, krriii," He was laughing, livid as he watched Grayson’s expression change.

Catalina, suspended above the gravel in the curl of Keres’s forelimb, finally got her voice back. It came out small and frightened.

"Grayson—" Catalina said. "My daughters—ah!"

Keres didn’t like what he heard and quickly swayed Catalina, quick to shut her up.

But Grayson had already said what she wanted to say.

Catalina meant: Take care of my daughters, leave me to die.

Ciel, who also knew what she meant, shed uncontrollable tears.

Grayson’s hands curled into fists at his sides. The nails of his right hand drove crescents into his palm.

Pain against pain clearly helped clear his mind.

Grayson raised his plasma gun.

Keres raised an eyebrow, challenging, "What are you planning to do now? This old hag’s life is on the line, remember?"

As if to show his power, Keres tightened his hold on Catalina and made her cry in pain. Her shoulder joint’s clearly popped, misaligned.

"Auntie," Grayson ignored Keres and shouted, his voice gentle. "Eyes on me. Only me."

Tear-filled, trembling eyes tried to make eye contact with Grayson and the gun in his hand.

She didn’t even blink.

The next second.

BANG!