Chapter 2 – Prologue ②

I had no idea why I started running.

 

Was it because I felt sorry for the girl who was about to be killed?

 

Or Is it because it would be bad if I died in front of the girl?

 

I felt like that’s the case, but I also felt like it’s something else.

 

However, my legs started moving on their own and did not stop.

 

Against the flow of people, I ran towards the girl.

 

Even though I had no strength, I somehow wanted to help her desperately… I barely heard the voices of the old man and old woman who bumped into me and scolded me as I tried to go in the opposite direction.

 

Rather, I was desperately trying to save her even though it would be more rational and instinctive as a human to run away here, and their curses became inaudible.

 

“—Stop, please… don’t kill me…”

 

The girl spoke in a trembling voice as if it was about to give up.

 

The girl repeatedly tried to stand up, but each time she fell on the ground, and her face was battered and bruised.

 

And in front of the girl stood a man with a creepy smile on his face, holding a blood-stained knife that strikes fear in my whole being and my chest tightened as I watched from afar.

 

“Hahaha…Hahahaha…Hahahah!!”

 

The man laughed from the bottom of his heart and licked the blood-stained knife with his mouth.
In front of him, the girl was crying while desperately trying to run away from the scene.

 

“N-no… no way…”

 

She spoke in a barely audible voice.

 

“H-help…”

 

With a trembling voice, the girl mustered her last strength and struck the man’s foot with her fist as she somehow managed to grip on it.
Few moments later there was a sound of impact, and the girl stopped moving as if all her strength had been drained.

 

The man spat and let out a senseless voice as he swung down the knife but it only cut through the air as there was no one where he aimed.

 

“It’s good… it’s good… I like this kind of fear! Kakaka !!! It feels so gooood!!! I’ll go completely, completely crazy…”

 

“Ah… who…?”

 

It seems I was stabbed in an instant, just as I slipped through the wave of people.

 

“Ahh, such pleasure.
It’s nothing like I felt before.”

 

He swung his bloody knife aimlessly towards me.

 

I couldn’t make it in time, but I still jumped towards the girl who was sitting on the floor with a sense of intuition.

 

“Gaaahhh!!!!”

 

Using all of the strength I had I pushed sideways avoiding the attack.

 

The next moment, I barely intercepted the knife attack that was aimed at me and I rolled over with the girl in my arms.

 

The pain in my back was dull, but it didn’t hurt much.

 

I quickly checked my back, but it seems I haven’t been cut.

 

I also checked the girl in my arms, but she wasn’t injured either.

 

The situation was dangerous, but somehow both of us were safe.

 

I sighed in relief when I finished checking our conditions.

 

“Ah… who… are you?”

 

As if she had accepted death, the girl had a face that didn’t seem to understand why she was alive and being held by me, and her tears had already stopped at the sudden event.

 

“Who… who are you?”

 

I’m sure she didn’t expect anyone to come to her rescue.
The man who was holding the bloody knife was a little confused because of my sudden appearance, but he quickly started laughing again with a creepy smirk.

 

As I looked at him up close, he became even more unsettling.
This girl is amazing, I can’t believe she was able to move and try to escape.
She should have fainted by seeing that disgusting face.

 

“Hmm… So you’re trying to be a hero?”

 

“N-no, it’s not like that…”

 

“Kakakaka! Wow, that’s impressive, I will forgive you for that bravery.”

 

It seems that he was in no mood to even talk things out.

 

“Well, I’ve decided.
I’ll save the cute girl for later.
First, let’s deal with this guy here! Oh, maybe he’s in middle school? I’ll show this kid trying to be a hero the reality of things!”

 

The man with the creepy smile turned towards me and thrusted his knife at me.
It seems he wanted to skewer me.

 

I’m not afraid – that’s not the case.

 

As the man said, I am not a hero or anything.
I am just a 15-year-old, recently passed out third-year middle school student.
I am so scared that I want to run away now.
But, my legs are shaking.

 

However, if I run away now, the girl behind me will surely die.
And even if I managed to escape, the killing would start again before the train stops, and I was not sure if I could escape.
Even if I escape, I will definitely regret abandoning the girl and it will haunt my life.

 

So I decided…

 

I won’t run away and try to do something about this situation.
Even if I was stabbed in the end, at least I will protect her in the end.

 

I turned back and with a serious face I said to the girl,

 

“Hurry and run away… I’ll somehow manage here.”

 

“B-But…”

 

“I said go! Quickly!!!”

 

I had no room to gently persuade the girl who was trying to argue back, so I yelled and she ran off towards the rear end of the subway.

 

Thud— The sound echoed when she ran off to somewhere safe for the time being, and I felt relieved as I turned my eyes to the murderer in front of me.
His creepy smile widened as he watched our exchange.

 

“Nice, nice, nice!!! I like it, let’s end this, I’ll go on a date with that girl after I kill everyone here.”

 

“Tsk…”

 

S**t, he started running towards me as he started closing the distance between us.
But, in the middle he laughed out like a crazy maniac.

 

“Kakakakaka!!”

 

He charged at me, while bending forward and thrusted his knife as he came closer.
The distance between us is about 10 meters.
If I tried to catch the knife as it is, it would surely pierce my flesh.
Internal injury or massive blood loss will certainly kill me.

 

Even if we exchange blows, it’s not certain that the next hit will be exchanged in the same way.

 

It’s not out of the question that I’ll die.
But the odds are overwhelmingly against me.

 

However, in those few seconds, something appears in my field of vision, and that was…