157 Did I miss something?

(A man's POV).

Darkness, exhaustion, paralysis, pain, and despair...

These are all things that I am currently feeling.

I was buried in the rubble of a building, my body was in so much pain, I couldn't see what was wrong with me, but I thought some of my ribs had been broken.

I tried to open my mouth to tried to breathe but this backfired, my open mouth was covered in mud and dirt which made me cough violently.

My chest hurt so much, I guess it was because my broken ribs were piercing my lungs.

Is this the end?

My eyelids felt so heavy, my head started to spin, probably from lack of oxygen, since I couldn't breathe right now. 

I bit my lip until it bled, the dirt on top of my face was mixed with my blood, but I didn't care!

I can't accept this kind of ending!

I tried to move my cold fingers only to feel a stinging pain.

Not only my ribs but even my fingers were broken.

In this kind of desperate situation, even though my heart felt extremely unwilling, I could now only give up, letting death take me.

I closed my eyes, letting the grim reaper take my life.

But... Right after that.

*Srgrak...*

I heard a digging sound from above my head.

No, maybe it was just my imagination. Like when near death, time slows down.

*Srgrak... SGRAAK!

The digging sound got louder until it made me open my eyes again.

A light, a light from the small hole above my head shone on my face.

"URGH!!!*

I heard a girl's voice from above my head, was that girl digging through these ruins to find me?

"My intuition was right!  A survivor is indeed here! Thank goodness!"

"You! Hang in there! I'll get you out of here soon!" said the girl in a happy tone.

I raised my head slightly to look in the direction of the voice, I couldn't see her appearance clearly, but... Looking at her Fusca-colored eyes and her worried expression, only one thought crossed my mind.

An angel.

I've been saved by an angel.

I opened my mouth and spontaneously said in a weak tone, "*Hnngh*, please... Help...Me..."

I bit my lip before vigorously trying to raise my hand.

I suddenly felt a pain so intense that it made me want to scream, but I could only hold back my voice.

Sweating profusely, my bite grew stronger until it made my lips bleed but I didn't care, I just needed to stick out my hand.

My hand seemed to be trembling and even oozed fresh blood before it slowly lifted up until it was level with the girl's hand.

Just when my hand fell back due to pain and lack of blood.

The girl immediately grasped my cold palm tightly before saying, "Don't worry! I will definitely save you! Come on, hold my hand tightly!"

I could feel the warmth from her palm.

I finally grasped her hand very tightly with my remaining strength.

The light from the hole grew larger making the light even brighter, now I could finally clearly see my savior's face.

Her beautiful face, fusca-colored eyes, and long gray-white hair coupled with the rays of sunlight behind her made her look truly angelic.

"Thank ... You..." I said in a hoarse and weak voice.

That was the last thing I said before losing consciousness.

POV end.

(E/D: This guy is a Jojo character. I mean who else would be able to describe his own dying moments in such detail? Now spam Jojo memes everywhere and call everything a Jojo's reference.)

___

Ana looked at the man she pulled from the ruins of the buildings with a worried expression mixed with relief.

Fortunately, her hunch was not wrong, she actually heard the sound of someone calling for help.

The man's condition was a bit pathetic, both his hands and feet were bleeding from being stabbed by sharp objects.

Fortunately, this man seemed to have a very strong will to survive so was still conscious even after experiencing this.

But... she could clearly see the pale skin with purple streaks from the man's hands.

The man had been corroded by Honkai's energy.

What a poor man.

Ana with a worried expression then placed her ear on the man's chest.

*Bump!*

She heard the sound of a slightly slow heartbeat.

Hearing this, Ana breathed a sigh of relief, as long as this man was not dead, her Captain could easily cure him.

She also did not forget to take out some kind of serum from her back pocket before injecting the man's hand.

After the injection, it could be seen that the man's hand skin which was pale and had patches of purple lines began to fade before completely disappearing.

The serum was actually Honkai's corrosion-neutralizing serum.

The serum was created by a scientist named Dr. Magi several months ago and had been tested intensively before being mass-produced to be given to all Valkyries.

The serum she injected into the man was actually not recommended for use on ordinary humans because the dose was too high for an ordinary human who had a not too high Honkai energy resistance.

But seeing how effective the serum was, it seemed that this man had fairly high resistance.

The man had messy gray-white hair, she could not see his face clearly because it was covered with mud and soil.

She then cleaned the mud and soil off his face so that she could clearly see the man's face.

The man had an ordinary face compared to the 'Captain' and even had eye bags under his eyes.

'Hmm... Is it that other than the Captain and the Overseer? All the men have ordinary faces?' Ana thought innocently.

Ana didn't know, but if all the men with mediocre faces heard her words, they would all be instantly 'Insecure'.

Ana was then seen performing first aid by covering the bleeding from his wounds before finally carrying him to safety.

Looking at the man who was still unconscious, she could only mutter, "Hold on... Please hold on... Don't give up..."

Honestly, for Ana, this was the first time she had experienced a situation like this.

The missions she had worked on with her team before were ordinary compared to this eruption.

Moreover, in previous her missions she had always depended on the 'Captain' and 'Leader'.

They were both very reliable people so when she was separated from them, Ana did not know what she should do now.

But even so, she still remembered her oath as a Valkyrie.

"I will not run from pain, I will not quit just because of anxiety, I will not retreat just because of facing death... "

"I!... Will be a beacon of hope for those who experience suffering and despair!"

Thinking of her vow back then, she could only smile bitterly at her current state.

Only when she had a near-death experience...

She now knew why one would be so afraid when facing it.

Remembering when she almost died because of the explosion from the airplane made her involuntarily shiver.

"...Are you... scared?" said someone beside her.

"Huh?" Ana turned to look at the man she was carrying in confusion.

Without her realizing it, the man had woken up from his stupor, but the first words he spoke were about her fear of death.

Ana could not answer his question, or rather she did not have the qualifications to answer the question.

After all, the worst thing she had experienced apart from the recent airplane explosion was when her Captain drove a car or a plane.

She swore that her Captain's driving style was enough to make anyone have a visit to the Creator without dying.

The man then continued, "What a terrible disaster. People... Turned into monsters... Strange animals appearing on the road attacking people..."

"... " Ana was silent listening to the man's words before finally saying.

"It's all because of Honkai."

"...Honkai?" the man asked.

"Yes. But don't worry. I'm a Valkyrie sent by Schicksal to take care of this... No, perhaps the Captain and the leader will solve this disaster." Ana replied with a strange expression as if remembering something.

Ana then realized before continuing, "Ahh... Sorry, some people probably won't understand what I'm saying."

Listening to her words, the man only wore a calm expression before saying, "So it's like that... I originally thought that this disaster was a Zombie apocalypse like in the game..."

"Zombies?" asked Ana with a strange expression.

"Yes. You know, the undead with green skin and ugly faces that can't be killed with almost any conventional weapons."

"You can only defeat them by smashing their heads or burning them to the ground."

"But... What's more dangerous about them is their bite. When they manage to bite you, you'll lose your mind before becoming just like them: a hideous, mindless undead. And the worst part is..." the man said in a dramatic tone.

"Stop..." Ana muttered in his ear.

"Huh?" the man looked at her in confusion.

"I said stop! Why are you telling me about zombies? You're making me remember very bad memories..." Ana said with an expression of disgust and fear.

The man's words reminded her of one of the missions she and her team had undertaken.

It was truly a mission that she would always remember even if it was in a negative sense.

"..."

"So that's it..." The man nodded his head before saying, "You're apparently afraid of zombies."

Like a cat with its tail stepped on, Ana quickly refuted his words.

"NO! I didn't say that I was afraid of them... I just feel very disgusted by them!"

"I see... Looks like Valkyries are just ordinary girls after all." muttered the man with a small smile before turning to look at Ana.

"My name is Chen Tianwu. What about you?"

"Ana... Ana Schariac." Ana replied.

"Ana. Thank you for saving me." Tianwu said in a tone full of gratitude.

"You're welcome." Ana said with embarrassment.

She felt a strange feeling towards Tianwu, the same feeling when she saw Captain.

...But maybe she was just overthinking it.

Ana who was carrying Tianwu was wearing a pensive expression while walking along the broken highway.

__

Half an hour later.

In the middle of the broken highway, Ana was walking with Tianwu while having a little conversation.

After half an hour, Tianwu had begun to slowly recover and could now walk without Ana's help.

Looking at the expressions of the two of them, it seems like they have become increasingly close.

But unfortunately, their sweet approach had been hindered by something.

Ana who was talking to Tianwu at this time suddenly raised her head to stare in a certain direction with a very serious expression and was about to make an evasive movement.

It was just that Ana was a step slower.

A giant white silhouette carrying a spear charged toward her and made a slash that whistled as it split the air instead of a deadly stab.

Ana saw a spear swinging like a sword aimed at her body.

Time suddenly seemed to slow down for her.

She could finally see the appearance of her attacker.

It turned out to be a Templar-type Honkai Beast, moreover, this Templar seemed to be a variant of the wind element.

Normally, to fight an ordinary Templar, a team of A-Ranks Valkyries would be needed, but now she alone had to face the Honkai Beast.

Should she dodge? The attack would definitely leave her severely injured or at worst paralyzed.

But if she dodged, the attack would definitely hit Tianwu who was behind her, with the power of the attack, Tianwu would definitely die!

But... Did she need to risk her life just for the sake of someone she had just met?

All these thoughts quickly crossed her mind, before she finally made her choice.

Ana seemed to stand tall and stared at the spear that was getting closer to her body without blinking.

She then took out her spear and assumed a defensive stance.

"Ana! What are you doing? Get out of the way!" shouted Tianwu seeing Ana standing in front of him.

*Swoosh!*

Ana took a few steps forward before the attack finally fully hit her spear.

*BAM!*

*Crack! *

"Kya!!!" Ana was thrown to the side several tens of meters away until she was buried in the rubble, her spear even looking shattered from deflecting the Templar's attack.

"ANA!!!" Tianwu shouted.

"Damn it!" Tianwu turned to look at the perpetrator who threw Ana with a very angry expression.

A spear-wielding Templar similar to a medieval knight with a height of fifteen meters stood before him with an intimidating aura.

Looking at the Templar, Tianwu knew he would definitely not win against it, but for the sake of giving Ana time to escape, he would not back down from this Templar!

"Ana! Hurry up and get out of here! You don't have to worry about me!" he said and walked forward without looking back.

Ana was seen coming out of the ruins full of abrasions, she looked at Tianwu with worry.

"...But Tianwu!..."

"Ana! No one will survive if you don't go." Tianwu said calmly.

Ana bit her lip when she heard his words.

"...Don't worry Ana, I won't die easily... Let's bet." Tianwu muttered.

"Bet?" asked Ana.

"Yes. Let's bet that if I'm still alive after this, go on a date with me." Tianwu said without looking back.

It was a pity that Ana couldn't see his expression when he said such an embarrassing thing.

"What?!  What are you saying out of the blue in a situation like this?" Ana said with a blush.

"Hey. I'm just telling the truth, you're the reason why I'm still alive. You... are the reason why I was able to survive all the way to this place."

"Ana... Meeting you in this disaster is the best thing that has ever happened in my entire life." 

After saying that, Tianwu was seen running straight toward the Templars.

Ana's heart raced when she heard this.

Looking at Tianwu's back, she could only open her mouth in a stammer as she didn't know what to say.

".... I... -"

*BOOM!*

An explosion suddenly occurred near the Templar and sent Tianwu flying backward.

Fortunately, Ana quickly caught him before dazedly staring at the place where the explosion occurred.

Around the scattered smoke and dust, Kouro could be seen standing on the body of the Templar that had died before turning into dust.

Kouro clapped his hands together a few times before turning to look at the two of them.

Seeing Ana and Tianwu embracing each other, Kouro gave them a long look before asking.

"Did I miss something?"

(E/D: Yes... You missed a lot of stuff. Anyways the Waifu overload situation has been handled.)