Under the Veil of Night

BAM!

Without thinking, he pulled Kanae close, hoping that he could protect her. Similarly, Kanae's reflexes made her want to block the explosion for Kevin. However, her strength fell short of Kevin's, resulting in her ending up in his embrace.

The office room blew up, sending shattered debris all over the place. Because they were on a high floor, wind started blowing inside through the broken windows.

Prang! Whoosh!

Pieces of paper flew everywhere. At the same time, chunks of wood, concrete, and various other materials scattered everywhere. Despite the mess, the two of them were still alive.

Although his hands were covered in scratches, Kevin was still hugging the girl. He shook her slightly. "Kanae, are you alright?"

Kanae frowned. The explosion was not too big, but the sudden force caused burns on her back. In addition, numerous items were pushed outward. She had no idea how many pieces of wood or concrete hit her as he couldn't completely shield her, which was also her fault because of her reflex to protect him.

She tried to move when she felt the sudden pain in her back. Her face paled immediately. "I think, something pierced me."

Kevin quickly checked the girl, and he saw a piece of metal had pierced into Kanae's left shoulder blade. The piece of metal was not large, but the place where it struck bled.

"I'll take it out, bear with it for a bit."

As the man pulled the piece of metal out, Kanae gritted her teeth. It was not that unbearable, but she felt rather irritated by her slow reaction earlier. If only she had moved a bit faster, she wouldn't get hurt like this.

Kevin tore off a piece of his shirt and pressed it to the wound to suppress the bleeding. His action would only help a bit as she needed proper first-aid to make sure that the bleeding stopped completely.

"We have to go down. Can you walk?"

"I can."

Pulling the girl up, Kevin took her hand and guided her to the stairs.

Whoosh!

The wind entering from the broken windows was quite strong, but he could hold on quite well. His eyes watched the young girl with worry, hoping that she would be fine. The winds blowing at this height might be a bit too much for ordinary people. It was good that Kanae didn't have any problem walking with him covering for her.

When they reached the stairs, he looked at the mess with a frown. Thankfully, the stairs were relatively fine. If not, they wouldn't be able to descend.

While descending the stairs, Kanae looked at the man's back. Some parts were burnt because of the explosion, forcing his bloody clothes to stick to his injuries. It must be hurting, but he didn't say anything about it.

She knew that he wouldn't want her to say anything about it either. Even though it must be painful, he wouldn't let them stop just because of that. His enemies might be coming after them, and this building might collapse anytime soon. They needed to leave this place as fast as possible.

"Kanae, can you keep up?"

"Yes," Kanae replied.

Some parts of the stairs were destroyed due to the bomb. They were not sure whether there would be another bomb or not, but they had to be careful as some parts of the building might be collapsing as they walked down.

Bam!

At that moment, the building shook once more. Kevin hurriedly pulled Kanae's hand and hugged the girl. This time, Kanae let herself be pulled and stayed within Kevin's embrace. It felt warm and safe.

"Are you alright?" Kevin asked when the tremor stopped.

Kanae nodded. "I'm okay. How about you, Kevin?"

"I'm fine."

"We should hurry then," Kanae said as she looked away and released herself from Kevin's embrace. It was not safe yet.

Kevin knew that Kanae must have seen his messy back, but there was nothing else that they could do right now. He could only receive proper medical treatment after they left this building. For now, he had to treat it as if there was nothing wrong with his bleeding back.

He felt glad that Kanae didn't say anything about it. Her eyes showed her worry, but she didn't say anything to him. She must have understood that this was not the time for that.

They didn't have the time to worry about their wounds.

"Yes."

The two of them stayed silent as they walked down the stairs. Without the wind, they didn't have problems walking normally. The only thing they needed to worry about would be their speed, as it was possible that the people who planted the bomb were still inside the company.

Thinking of the numerous new employees, Kanae's eyes grew cold. She wouldn't forgive those people for threatening Kevin's life.

"Kanae, move back," Kevin suddenly ordered.

Kanae was startled, but she quickly sensed several people heading towards them. Releasing his grip on her hand, Kevin dashed down the steps and directly kicked the coming man. The man was stunned and got pushed back, but his companion used the handrail to jump and kick at Kevin from mid-air.

Blocking the kick, Kevin sidestepped. He punched the man upwards in Kanae's direction.

The man landed right in front of Kanae.

"There's a gir-GUH!"

Before he could get up, Kanae had kicked him in the stomach. It was enough force to send him crashing into the wall, and he lost consciousness.

'I might be a girl, but that doesn't mean that you can take advantage of it,' Kanae thought inwardly. Other than some scratches, her legs were not wounded, so she didn't have any problems kicking.

Kevin paid no heed to the man anymore because several others were coming at him. They all ganged up on him while one person stayed on a lower landing, trying to find a way to shoot Kevin.

Bang!

The bullet missed by a bit, and it barely scratched Kevin.

Kanae frowned and crouched next to the man that she kicked earlier. Considering how they moved, they must be professionals hired specifically to kill Kevin. If that was so, this man must have brought a gun with him too.

"Get down!" Kevin suddenly yelled.

From the corner of her eyes, Kanae noticed that one of the men was pointing a gun at her. His finger pressed the trigger.

Bang!