Chapter 80: don’t leave me

"BARRY!"

Suzy’s said through the sudden chaos of the room, a panicked scream full of absolute terror. Her eyes went completely wide as she saw his body tilting toward the tiles. She went her body forward, catching his shoulders in her arms right before his knees hit the floor, sliding down with him until his head was resting across her lap.

The grand assembly room turned into a brutal, ruthless war zone within seconds, with dozens of attackers cutting through the crowd as blood splashed across the walls.

"Wait—barry! Look At Me! Stay With Me!" Suzy cried out, her voice shaking as a wave of pure panic and fear took over her mind. Her hands were trembling uncontrollably as she pressed her palms against the deep opening in his chest, trying to stop the endless flow of blood. But the blood kept pouring out from between her fingers, completely soaking her smooth hands and staining the silk of her gorgeous new clothes.

"No, no, no... why, why isn’t it stopping? Barry, please open your eyes!"

[System Alert: CRITICAL DANGER! Vital point have been severely compromised!]

[Warning: Core energy is leaking rapidly! Life signs are dropping below 15%! Emergency status active, host!]

Barry heard the system notifications coming through his mind link, but the sound felt incredibly low and slow like it was filtering through a deep pool of water. The intense heat of the room vanished, replaced by a freezing coldness that filled his body. As he looked up at Suzy’s beautiful face, his vision grew dark at the edges. He felt the soft, desperate warmth of her hands on his skin, and for the first time in his life, his brain didn’t think about profit and money business models, or contracts. He just felt an immense fatigue, wanting nothing more than to close his eyes and slide into a sleep.

"Don’t you dare close your eyes, Barry!" Suzy said, tears finally pouring into eyes , her expression turned completely broken and sad. She held his head tightly against her chest, her entire frame shaking with an agonizing emotion she couldn’t contain. "You promised me! You said you would stay by my side until the very end You cannot break your promise now, you can’t leave me alone!"

Up on the stage, the Grand Elder of the Manesi Capital Alliance was fighting off four black-clothed attackers at the same time, his hands projecting powerful blasts of spiritual energy. Seeing the sacred hall turned into a slaughterhouse, the old man’s face twisted into an intense, absolute rage.

"TREASONOUS DOGS!" the Grand Elder said releasing the full, overwhelming power of his core. The sheer pressure wave blasted outward from his body, cracking the pillars and making every single fighter in the room freeze in pure terror.

Boom!

The main roof of the hall suddenly shattered completely as a powerful man in black armor dropped straight down from the sky, landing right in front of the Grand Elder. The newcomer looked at the old man with a mocking smile. "Your alliance is ancient history, elder. Men! Show these lowly creatures your true form!"

The dozens of local traders and false elders who were killing the crowd suddenly shed their outer cloaks, revealing identical black combat uniforms and swords. The leader launched himself straight toward the Grand Elder, and the two powerhouses clashed in a brutal explosion of magic, turning the central stage into an ocean of blood and flying debris.

Down on the floor, Barry tried to brace his elbows against the tiles to lift his frame, but his muscles had zero power left.

’System...’ Barry thought weakly, his mental voice fading. ’Give me... an inventory asset... something to fix this wound...’

[System Notification: Process failed, host. The attack has punctured your core boundary pathways. The depth of the injury cannot be mended by normal health pills or standard restoration medicines.]

[System Action: Unlocking Emergency Asset — ’The red Stasis Potion’. Price: 50,000 Gold Coins. This fluid will temporarily stop your blood flow and block 100% of your physical pain receptors for few minutes, but it will not heal the underlying structural trauma. Would you like to purchase?]

’Buy it... use it now...’ Barry thought.

[Transaction Completed: 50,000 Gold Coins deducted. ’red Stasis Potion’ applied instantly.]

A coldness washed through his wound. The agonizing ache near his heart vanished instantly, and the endless bleeding from his chest slowed down to a dull drip, giving his mind a brief window of absolute focus.

Suzy was weeping nervously, her hands shaking as she tried to lift his body onto her shoulder so they could escape the room. "We need to get out of here, Barry... I will carry you out. I will find a high-tier healer in the capital ... Don’t worry I will fix your injury, just hold on for little longer..."

Suddenly, a assassin noticed her movement and come across the broken table, his sword cutting down toward her exposed neck.

Suzy’s eyes turned completely cold, a murderous fury exploding from her core as she saw the threat. She did not try to parry. She reached down, grabbed her sword, and gathered her power into the deadly strike and went forward in one savage, horizontal line.

Slice.

The pure magic wave cut the assassin completely in half in a single strike, his broken body splashing onto the floor as Suzy’s body shook with rage. But because of the sudden movement, Barry’s body slipped from her grip, falling onto the floor once more.

"Barry!" Suzy panicked completely, dropping her weapon as she scrambled back onto her knees, her voice breaking as she pulled his head back into her lap. Her hands were completely covered in his blood, a tears dropped from Suzy eyes straight onto his forehead as she looked at his still eyes.

"I am sorry... I am so sorry, Barry. Please don’t leave me alone in this place. I will do whatever you want... I will do anything you tell me... just don’t close your eyes... please..."

Barry looked up at her crying face, his hand slowly reaching out to touch her wet cheek. The room around them was burning, but inside the center of the blood and chaos, their hearts were locking down the final point of their lives.