Panting, Jay continued on running while her grip around the terrified child tightened a bit but not enough to hurt the poor thing.
- Oh god... Oh god... Oh god -
The young woman let out a gasp as she slipped and fell on her back but soon scrambled on her own two feet, her eyes widening when she saw how close the demon was with its claws raised as it grinned at her.
Everything went to into some sort of slow-motion as the giant and sharp claws of the demon went for the raven-haired woman's form while said female watched with widened eyes as she stumbled on her own two feet, her arms tightening around the little girl that was clinging onto her clothes while her face was buried on her shoulder blade.
- Is this it...? Am I really going to die here...? But... My t-top priority is the girl... I'll distract this thing until s-she's far enough... -
As she looked up, her whole body stiffened while tears pricked the corners of Jay's eyes as she watched the demon's claws move closer and this made her lose courage about her plan working as a pained groan left her lips when her side started throbbing painfully, her eyes closing shut.
Her mind went blank as she kept on forcing herself to open her eyes when she reminded herself that she and the girl were in a very bad situation but she already expected that she wouldn't have time to dodge the claws of the demon due to her exhaustion slowing her down.
- This is actually it... I'm going to die... But the girl -
She thought as she readied herself for the impact and for the unbearable pain.
...
...
...
But none of those things happened.
The raven-haired female felt her back hit something hard but it wasn't the ground since it was too soft and as it let out a grunt, followed by two gunshots and a roar of pain from the demon.
Mustering up some courage, Jay slowly cracked open her eyes only to see the demon covering its face as black blood dripped from where its eyes are supposed to be.
"You two alright...?"
Jay tilted her head up to look at hers and the child's saviour as tears freely fell from her eyes, a sob almost escaping her when she recognized who it was but also from shock since she realized that she and the little girl in her arms were no longer in harm's way.
"G-Granger... Y-y-you..."
Said male, noticing the tears in her eyes, was about to reassure the young woman that they were safe when he was interrupted by the roar of the, now, blind demon before them that was slamming its huge arms and tail against the objects near it as if he could hurt or kill the reason of its blindness.
"You don't have to worry about anything anymore... I'll deal with this thing"
He murmured as he placed his gun in its holster and grabbed his violin case making the young woman's eyes eyebrows furrow in confusion but mostly in curiosity.
"What are you-"
Jay's eyes widened as she gawked at the object in the male's clutches when she saw the top of the case open, showing a huge barrel of a gun that was pointed at the monstrosity in front of them.
"Let's make this quick..."
And with that Granger shot the first bullet, landing a perfect hit on the demon's stomach and creating a gaping hole, black blood oozing from the wound.
The thing let out a terrible but pained howl although, wounded, it started charging for the three but this didn't stop the marksman who simply held the two to his chest and simply dodged to the side, making the demon slam against the ground and lose its orientation.
Taking this as an opening, the crimson eyed male finally shot the last two bullets that made two gaping holes at the back of the demon - where its other hearts are supposed to be - finally killing it.
Jay watched as the demon's body started to disintegrate into thin air, her arms still securely wrapped around the shivering child.
"Now that thing has been taken care of..."
Focusing his eyes on the two, Granger watched as the raven-haired girl checked up on the child by asking her if she was hurt after wiping the tears that fell from her eyes.
"I-I'm fine...! Thank you, kind lady...!"
The girl smiled up at the relieved woman who happily smiled back only to grimace as she let out a groan.
"What's wrong?"
"I don't... Know..."
Looking down, Jay's eyes widened when she saw deep, red claw marks on her leg while blood flowed out from the wound as the ruined bandages, that were wrapped around her leg, absorbed the red fluid.
- Maybe it got me when I was distracted by my thoughts and after I stumbled against Granger... How I didn't feel it earlier is way beyond me... -
Granger knelt down and inspected the wound, frowning when he saw her flinch and close her eyes when his fingers came in contact with her wounded limb as if he was the one that caused the wounds.
"We better wrap this up... You're losing too much blood and you'll only further hurt yourself if I let you walk... Nana, you'll have to go on your own this time..."
Nodding, Nana carefully got out of the young woman's arms as Granger gathered the wounded woman in his arms who carefully held the violin case for him as her eyes flickered towards the place where the demon's body turned into ashes, its blood still marking the pavement.
- What if we get attacked? What about Nana...? Will she be able to outrun it if we were to encounter one? I hope so... I don't know if I can handle watching a child being... -
Jay stopped her pessimistic train of thoughts as she worriedly looked down at the magenta haired child who only smiled at her, reassuring and calming the young woman's mind as she unconsciously relaxed into the marksman's arms.
The brunette then started walking, passing through some broken windows and doors that are either hanging from their hinges or are lying broken on the floor but he soon stopped and looked down at the magenta haired child who looked up at him in confusion due to him stopping in his tracks.
"Nana, you need to go to Miya... She needed your assistance but to also know if you're alright... She was about to bust a nerve when she could not find you anywhere... And do not mention about her... Just say that I managed to arrive just in time to help you... But if she gets suspicious tell her I'll explain when the situation is better, understood?"
The Leonin opened her mouth to say no but soon decided to not do much since he seems to be troubled and annoyed enough, not to mention tired.
"Okay, you better stay safe and come back with her...! I'd hate to see you moping about like last time...! See you, kind lady!"
Waving, Nana ran down the hallway then disappeared behind a wall after turning to her right.
The maroon eyed woman sighed as she looked at the violin case that she was holding, trying not to start poking it since she didn't want the male to get mad at her or to accidentally activate it but she was still curious if it was actually a weapon hidden in it or a violin that turns into a weapon.
"... You seem to like being wounded... Or to attract danger..."
Blinking, she looked up but pouted when she notices that the turtleneck of Granger's jacket was covering her view though she kept her mouth shut about it.
"I don't... Like it but I can't do much about it either... I can't say anything because it's not like I chose to attract unwanted attention..."
"Hmm..."
An awkward silence followed after that as Granger's footsteps resonated around the empty hallway.
"Wait, aren't you supposed to be with the others?"
"I was... Until Tigreal ordered me to come back to you, he was worried that you were left alone since the doctors were somewhere else also because your room was closer to the place where the demons came in..."
As the male looked down at her with his crimson orbs, Jay avoided his gaze as she tightened her grip on the case to calm her nerves, her cheeks turning pink.
"And luckily I arrived just in time..."
"I... Yeah... Thank you..."
Giving her a grunt as a response, the taller male turned to his left and stopped in front of a door then kicked it open to show an empty room with a - strangely intact - bed, a dresser, a mirror hanging on the wall, two nightstands on either side of the bed and a desk with a chair.
Granger walked up to the bed and carefully placed the wounded female on the mattress then went to another door that was beside the desk.
Jay watched as the male disappeared then reappeared with a medical kit in his left hand.
Her eyes focused on him and waited for him to finish cleaning and wrapping her leg, eyes glancing once in a while at his arm that was covered in her blood then back at his blank look.
"I... I'm sorry for bothering you... I-I mean, you could be somewhere else right now than just staying here tending my wounds... W-we could of also be at the place where you're supposed to take me b-but..."
"It's fine..."
"Well, I don't think it is..."
Sighing, Granger looked up only to see the girl frowning as tears pooled in her eyes either in frustration or embarrassment, her arms shaking due to her tight grip around the case.
"I don't care... If I'm here or not... You're my priority..."
"But for now... I'll b-be fine... You should go help the others-"
"You're in no position on giving me orders..."
"I-I don't care...! You s-should go back...! I can't replace hundreds of lives... My life isn't valuable or anything..."
Jay's hands tightened their grip on the bed sheets after she placed the violin case beside her while Granger sighed.
Placing a hand on her head, he softly ruffled her hair thus making the girl look up at the male with her tear-stained cheeks turning a darker shade of red from the gesture.
"Your life is still... Valuable... So don't say that... Now rest... You're a lot paler than the last time I saw you... I'm afraid you might pass out... And that will slow us down... If we were to leave now..."
The raven-haired girl hesitated but soon nodded as she laid down on her right side, her back facing the marksman while she tried on calming her breathing.
Granger sat down, left hand holding his violin case while the other held the pistol then watched the girl slowly fall asleep.
- Good, she fell asleep... After all that has happened... It must be hard to not understand anything... -
Sighing, the brunette kept an eye out for anything, not letting his guard down as he kept guard over the dormant woman.
Time skip|
Groaning, Jay slowly opened her eyes and tried on remembering what happened before she fell asleep.
- Child... Demon... Granger... Wound... -
Eyes going wide, the raven-haired woman quickly sat up only to bite back a whimper when she felt her leg and left side ache painfully until it turned into a dull ache.
- I need to remember to not do that when I'm injured... It hurts so damn much... -
"Morning, princess..."
Blinking, the girl turned her head to see Granger's back facing her while his violin case was placed right beside him.
"G-Granger... I... Oh god, did I sleep for too long? If I did, why didn't you wake me up-"
"You only slept for an hour..."
"I..."
- An hour...? But... It felt like a day... -
Groaning, Jay placed a hand to her side while the other one was on her knee as the pain started aching again thus making the marksman turn and look at her with worry in his eyes.
- That's not good... From what Claude told me she almost broke some of her ribs... She needs new and clean bandages... -
"Come on... We have to go to others... Let's hope that someone will be able to help you as soon as we get there..."
The male murmured as he gave her his case and then carefully carried her but when he was about to kick open the door, Jay stopped him by tugging on his red sash.
"W-what if there's a d-demon...? I know t-that I slept for an hour but it's enough to give t-those things time t-to roam a-around the p-p-place"
She looked up at him while he looked down at her, seeing the worry and fear in her orbs.
"Then we'll have to outsmart them... Those things might be strong but they're not that smart..."
He squeezed her a bit to reassure her and the gesture seemed to work since the girl's body slowly relaxed while her head was comfortably laying on his chest, avoiding the spikes that were on his shoulders.
"I-I... Alright... I trust you..."
Nodding, Granger kicked open the door, ignoring the loud noise it made when it hit the wall, then left the room with the girl in his arms while his eyes glowed dangerously.
"Good... Because I won't let anything happen to you..."
Was all he said as they ventured further the empty hallways.
- I won't lose anyone anymore... -