Chapter 302 - 270: As Sweet as Her Scent
Chapter 302: Chapter 270: As Sweet as Her Scent
「Ten minutes earlier.」
"Are you cold?"
Philinos tilted his head slightly, asking the young woman nestled against his shoulder.
"I’m not cold," Gu Ning answered in a muffled voice.
At that moment, she was being held by Philinos as they flew through the night sky, having left the building where they lived.
Philinos said, "If you’re cold, press your hands against my neck for warmth. Don’t touch the base of my wings."
’It tickles.’
"..." Gu Ning sheepishly moved her hand away.
She had left in such a hurry that she hadn’t worn gloves. The area around the base of Philinos’s wings was fluffy and warm, and she had unconsciously reached out to touch it.
Philinos saw her pull her hand back, not touching the base of his wings or placing it on his neck. After a moment of silence, he said, "Go ahead and touch them. Just keep your hand still. I’ll let you feel them all you want once we’ve landed."
Hearing this, Gu Ning pressed her hand, now icy from the wind, back against the base of his wings and obediently kept it still.
The corners of Philinos’s mouth lifted into a slight smile, and he held her a little tighter.
"Where are we going?" Gu Ning asked, looking up.
"Where do you want to go?" Philinos countered.
Gu Ning’s mouth fell open. She let out a soft "ah." "You... don’t have a destination in mind?"
Philinos said, "This was a sudden development. There’s no plan."
Gu Ning looked down at the shadowy outlines of the buildings visible in the sparse light below. "Well then..."
Philinos suddenly said, "If you want, we can just keep flying. It’s safe up in the sky."
’Safe as in I’ll plummet to my death if you let go?’
"Let’s go to the gro—"
Before she could finish, a muffled BANG! echoed. A bullet from an unknown direction tore through Philinos’s wing, scattering a spray of blood into the air.
Philinos’s body faltered in mid-air. Without a sound, he tightened his grip on Gu Ning and flew down to land in a tall tree by the street.
"Philinos?" Gu Ning sensed something was wrong. "What happened?"
"It’s nothing." Philinos folded his wings, holding her protectively as they hid behind the tree trunk.
As soon as he spoke, another bullet flew out of the darkness, grazing the trunk above their heads and showering Gu Ning’s hair with wood splinters.
Gu Ning: "?!"
’This doesn’t look like ’nothing’ at all!’
After the first shot, a series of bullets struck the tree trunk on either side of them, clearly trying to force them out of the tree.
Gu Ning’s eyes widened in terror as she met Philinos’s gaze.
"It seems the sky isn’t so safe right now," Philinos said.
Seeing how calm he was, Gu Ning took a deep breath and asked, "Who’s shooting?"
’They can’t be after me, can they?’
’Goddammit.’
’These xenophobic Beastmen are terrifying.’
"I’m not sure." Philinos felt the young woman’s heart pounding and soothed her by rubbing her back. He covered the top of her head with his hand to block the falling splinters. "The Admiral has many enemies. It’s probably one of them."
Gu Ning breathed a sigh of relief. ’Oh, so it’s one of the Admiral’s enemies, not someone hunting me down in the real world.’
’Oh, wait! That’s terrifying too!’
The bullets came one at a time at irregular intervals, as if the shooter was just toying with them.
Gu Ning’s initial heart-pounding terror slowly gave way to anger.
’What kind of grudge is this, to hunt us down so relentlessly?’
"Don’t be afraid. This tree is thick. He can’t hit us; he’s just trying to scare us." Philinos held her motionless, one arm wrapped around her waist, the other cradling her head. His calm demeanor had a soothing effect on Gu Ning, and her anxiety and anger subsided. She remained there, hiding with Philinos behind the tree.
Neither of them spoke again. The gunshots came sporadically, the intervals between them growing longer.
As if realizing they wouldn’t come down from the tree, the person stopped firing.
Silence finally descended, leaving only the sound of her and Philinos’s slightly heavy breathing.
Only then did she notice the rise and fall of Philinos’s chest and his long exhales. ’So he was actually nervous too?’
"Bird Team... should you, maybe, put me down?"
Gu Ning spoke after a long silence.
Philinos let out a slow breath, his breathing steadying. "He might still be watching. Let’s wait a bit longer."
Gu Ning had no choice but to maintain her position, clinging to him tightly.
In reality, she could barely move anyway.
Philinos was holding her so tightly, his hand still on her head, that if she turned her head even slightly, her face would brush against his.
His skin was hot, and he was sweating profusely. She ended up getting some of it on her own face.
Gu Ning didn’t know how long they would have to stay in the tree. Philinos seemed frozen in place; besides his increasingly heavy breathing, he hadn’t even moved his hands.
She wanted to activate her terminal and call Barto for help, but she was afraid the light would give away their position to the Beastman hunting them. Giving up on the idea, she rested her chin on Philinos’s shoulder and resigned herself to enduring the agonizing wait.
Philinos was also in torment.
A torment he had never felt before—and yet, it was sweet.
As sweet as her scent.
’He almost wished the sniper would fire a few more shots. That way, she wouldn’t be clamoring to get down.’
"Your heat is in less than three days."
Gu Ning heard Philinos whisper in her ear.
"Hm?" She tilted her head slightly to look at Bird Team.
Philinos: "Do you need..."
He stopped mid-sentence.
Gu Ning: "Need what?"
After a moment of silence, Philinos said, "Do you need more painkillers?"
Gu Ning said, "I still have plenty of painkillers."
The amount in that one bottle was enough to last her for almost a year.
Philinos gave a soft "mhm" and fell silent.
A moment later, he spoke again. "Do you need..."
Before Gu Ning could reply, Philinos suddenly dropped, plummeting toward the ground with her in his arms.
As they fell, she caught the blue glint of Philinos’s sharp weapon, the Blue Blade.
The wind RUSHED past her ears, his voice carried along with it. "Hold on tight."
Gu Ning immediately tightened her arms around his neck.
Philinos landed lightly on the ground, holding her with one arm while his other hand slashed his blade at a dark figure approaching them.
Gu Ning felt like she was clinging to a bouncing ball, leaping and tumbling across the ground with him. In the faint light, she could only make out him fighting a shadowy figure.
The gleam of the blade cut through the darkness, chasing the dodging shadow.
Gu Ning saw the shadow’s billowing cloak, which made a whipping sound in the silent night.
The dark figure didn’t attack them, only dodged, its movements incredibly agile.
Several times, it closed the distance and reached for her, as if trying to snatch her from Philinos’s grasp.
Once Philinos realized the Beastman’s intent, the next time it drew near, he slashed at its side, slicing the gun at its waist and its robe in two. Then, without lingering in the fight, he prepared to take to the air with Gu Ning.
Gu Ning heard a sound like tearing silk from behind them, and then a huge dark shadow pounced down on her and Philinos.
In the darkness, she saw a pair of large, emerald-green eyes, followed by the head of a giant cat.
The giant cat’s paw swiped at her.
Just as it was about to touch her, Philinos’s Blue Blade pierced its paw.
The big cat snarled in pain, and enduring the agony, it slammed Philinos—blade and all—hard into the snow.
After pinning Philinos, the big cat hooked a claw into the clothes of the floundering Gu Ning, opening its mouth to carry her away. But as it caught her familiar, yet much stronger, scent, it froze. The cat leaned its head closer to sniff her, its pupils suddenly contracting as its eyes filled with confusion and disbelief.
The giant cat’s head moving so close scared Gu Ning so much her heart nearly stopped. Her body reacted before her mind could, and she pulled the trigger.
The small handgun Barto had hastily shoved into her hands erupted with a blinding flash in the darkness. The recoil knocked her backward into the snow. At the same time, there was the wet thud of a bullet hitting flesh, and warm blood splattered onto her face.
A bleeding paw pinned her down.
Gu Ning watched as those glowing, bell-sized green eyes approached her, and she raised the gun again.
Before she could fire a second shot, a faint, cold breeze swept by. A black shadow as massive as a mountain tackled the big cat, viciously tearing into it.
Snow flew up in clouds, settling softly over Gu Ning.
The two giant beasts fought for only a moment before the big cat, realizing it was no match for the Black Wolf, quickly vanished into the darkness.
Still shaken, Gu Ning sat in the snow and, with a trembling hand, activated her terminal, pointing its light forward.
The black Wolf King licked the blood from the corner of its mouth and strode steadily into her line of sight.