"It's too cold," Ana whispered softly as hot breath came out of her mouth. Her face has turned red from the intense cold. "Papa, come back fast."
Krch Krch
Suddenly, she heard the sound of someone walking in the snow. She turned her head up, and excitement filled her. Her papa has come back.
Ana ran toward him, despite having a hard time walking on the pile of snow.
Max was clutching his stomach, which was throbbing in pain. He got hit by a bullet there, and he was bleeding heavily. But he hid it with his arm, not trying to let Ana see it.
Max had a smile on his face seeing Ana still being fine. He wanted to run toward her, but an intense pain ran throughout his body that made him kneel on the ground.
Ana came before Max grabbed his head and said with concern. "What is wrong, papa?"
Max endured the pain and said, holding back the blood that wanted to come out of his mouth."I am fine."
Despite saying that normally, Ana was able to see blood coming out of the corner of his mouth. She looked around and saw Max's hand, which was clutching his stomach; it had turned red.
Ana said it in panic. "Papa, you hurt. You have to cover it with ice. Momma told me if you get injured, you just have to place ice on it and it will go away."
Ana went to her right side and started to pick up the snow on the ground.
Max tried to stop her from touching the snow. "Ana, stop. You might catch a cold."
However, Ana didn't pay heed to Max's warning. She scooped up snow with intense focus. Max felt his heart sooth seeing her like that. 'Ahh~ She is always like this. Trying everything just to save someone. She has healed so many wounds in my body…I can't even remember.'
Getting a helpful amount of snow in her hand, Ana got up from the ground."It is okay, papa. I will treat your wound away-"
Just after she said she saw a man behind a tree pointing a gun at them.
"Watch out, papa!" Ana shouted anxiously and got in front of Max.
Bang!
Puchi
Max just turned his head, and his eyes widened in extreme shock. He felt the whole world start to move in slow motion as Ana's blood started flying in the air.
Max's breathing became rough and his heart started to beat slowly but loudly.
Thud
Then all returned to normal, and he watched in horror as Ana lay down on the snow. The snow around her started to turn red, like a splash of red ink dropped on a blank sheet of white paper.
The man was to shoot another time after seeing he failed to kill Max, but he was a bit slower. Max had already aimed his gun at the man's head.
Bang
With that, the man also dropped to the ground.
Max threw away the gun in a daze and picked up Ana in his arm. He grabbed her cheeks and shook them a little."Ana…Ana…are you okay, darling?"
Ana looked at Max's face with drowsy eyes. She whispered silently. "Papa…it hurts…can you put ice on the place it hurts? ...and papa…I feel sleepy."
Tip
Tears started to fall from Max's eyes. He said it in panic. "Ana, it will be okay. Just stay awake; I will save you. Just please don't fall asleep."
Max was about to stand up when he felt a weak pull on his jacket. He looked down and saw Ana closing her eyes.
"Papa…I can't stay awake long….I wanna..sleep…" Ana closed her eyes and bent like a shrimp in Max's lap.
Max held her close and tightly. He gritted his teeth, trying to hold back his tears. "I am…sorry. I am so sorry…."
"Ahhh!" Max's cry could be heard in the mountain that was filled with pain and rage.
For ten seconds, Max cried out loud and only stopped when he felt his body getting weak.
In that instant, Max's face returned to his previous state, without any emotion. He took the phone from his pocket and called on a number.
…
"Sir, this is all there is to know about Max's full operation," Tobi said to a man sitting across a glass desk.
The man had a neck full of beard and had a big build. Which hid the wrinkle he got from old age.
They were currently in a well-decorated room with full of expensive items. The building they were in could be called a giant castle, which was surrounded by a lush, green forest.
This was the headquarters of the Dying Sun. The assassin organization that Max worked in.
The old man with a beard was the boss of this organization, Khalid.
Khalid nodded in satisfaction upon hearing Tobi's report. "As expected of Max. Sealing the room with soundproof walls earlier, manipulating the meeting to take that place, no evidence left along the way… Huh~ He is truly one of the best assassins the world has had in a while."
Then he said, disappointedly. "Sadly, he has to go. We let such a good dog of ours roam freely among the commoners. So, is he dead already?"
Tobi shook his head. "No, sir. But he can't live long enough. He may be one of the greatest assassins, but he is not strong enough to survive a swarm of people. He only knows how to kill people by hiding in the dark."
"True." Khalid agreed with him.
At that moment, Tobi's phone started to ring.
He picked it up and heard a weak, soft voice.
"Tobi, you really tried very hard."
"You are still not dead? But from the tone of your voice, it looks like you have a few seconds to live." Tobi didn't get much shock; he was just a bit surprised Max was able to go on for so long.
"You were a best friend of mine, but it looks like I forgot we were criminals. Can you give the phone to the boss?"
Tobi raised his eyebrows and handed the phone to Khalid. "Boss, Max wants to say something."
Khalid took the phone curiously and put it on his ear.
Then he heard something that left him dumbfounded.
"Die…Asshole."