"Come on, Dad, hold on!" Akira said as she carried her father, who could barely stand.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
"They're catching up!"
Jack turned around and fired without hesitation. "Take them all out; we need to keep this area clear for when our lord arrives!"
Boom!
Akira carried her father; she didn't want to lose him, but in a situation like this, everyone might end up dying at the hands of the Order, all because of her father's stubbornness.
As they continued forward, more armored soldiers emerged from the darkness and fired at them.
"The cars are up ahead; they're heading to a place where your father will recover. If we get there in time, there might not be any problems, but you have to understand that anything can happen in a situation like this."
Akira watched as her father was loaded into a truck, knowing that at least he would leave this place alive. She said, "Give me a weapon; we'll wait for Anton to come back."
Jack looked at Akira, who was enduring the pain in her abdomen, and with admiration, he handed her a weapon. Everyone deployed, and at that moment, the first truck sped out of the hotel through the back.
"Provide covering fire!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Akira, who was too furious, watched as the enemy continued to advance, and with rage, she also fired.
"Aaaahhh!"
Boom!
In no time, gunshots, explosions, and cries of pain could be heard in this area too.
Akira didn't mind staying here; she knew that these men followed Anton's orders fully, so she trusted that somehow they would keep her father safe. The least she could do now was wait for Anton, who was still in the building.
"They're on their way; get ready!"
Jack approached the edge of a wall and continued to fight. There was no anxiety on his face, but he knew that if they kept delaying, they would be the first to be killed.
"Aaaaahhhhh!!!"
Crack!
At that moment, a cry of pain was heard from afar, and soon Anton limped out of an alley, followed by John, who wasn't in much better condition.
But at the same time, as he approached and saw that Akira was still here, Anton, who was a bit tired, saw a grenade rolling by his feet and widened his eyes.
"Grenade!"
Boom!
Anton managed to get Akira to safety, but in the process, they both went flying. Smoke filled the area, and amidst the daze, Anton removed his mask, revealing his face covered in blood.
"Arghhh!!!"
Jack stood up, threw several smoke grenades, and quickly started lifting people, starting with Anton, into one of the trucks.
John, who was feeling better, helped cover the retreat and shortly after got into the last truck that sped away.
"Are they following us?"
"It doesn't seem like it..."
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A group of armored soldiers shot at the truck's windows, but because they were armored level six, these bullets didn't harm anyone inside the truck.
When Anton slowly regained his focus, he looked at Akira next to him and asked, "How are you?"
"Minor injuries; I'm okay," Akira replied with a grimace of pain.
Knowing she was okay, Anton checked the time and said, "Have a group take John to one of the nearby safe houses; the rest of you go recover from your wounds while we'll be at another safe house."
Jack, who was sitting in the passenger seat, said, "Sir, we might still be followed, so you'll get off with Miss Akira at a surveillance house, and we'll meet up after you give instructions."
"What will happen to my father?" Akira asked as she looked at Anton.
"He will be taken to a safe place where he will be operated on; we'll keep you informed in real-time about his recovery process, and you'll be the first to know his condition," Jack said as he checked one of his wounds that was bleeding a lot.
A few minutes later, the truck stopped, and Anton, accompanied by Akira, got off; thanks to the darkness, they were able to go unnoticed. But Anton couldn't go far in his suit, so they quickly arrived at the grounds of a quite solitary chapel and managed to enter from the back.
"Argh..." Anton groaned in pain as he felt his skin burning, so he tried to speed up his recovery with divine energy.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Akira looked at the blood on Anton's suit and didn't know if it was his blood.
"Just help me take off the jacket; I'll close the larger wounds, and then we'll take care of your injuries," Anton said as he undid the belts of his jacket.
Soon, dark wounds from bullet impacts, cuts, and burns from the explosions appeared on different parts of his body.
"Is there a first-aid kit?" Akira looked in the second-floor room of that small chapel and, before understanding the lights, decided to close the windows.
"There's probably one in the bathroom." Anton looked around and nodded when he saw that it was a safe place.