Chapter 108: I’m not leaving you

Several minutes passed.

Lucian did his best to create distance, changing directions again and again, zigzaging through the streets and narrow pathways while carrying Lia tightly in his arms.

But despite all that—

The monster still didn’t stop chasing them, crawling relentlessly in their direction and smashing through roads and structures as if it held some personal grudge against them specifically.

But after some time, and through his repeated sudden changes in direction, Lucian was eventually able to gain some distance—a large distance between them.

He turned back briefly.

The gigantic worm-like creature was now far behind them, still visible in the distance as it tore past the ruined streets while trying to follow their trail.

“We cannot continuously run like this,” Lucian muttered quietly, his voice low.

Lia nodded faintly against him, as she clutched him harder, her fingers unconsciously tightening around his neck.

Lucian briefly glanced toward her.

‘Increase agility and strength by 10 points.’

[Attribute Points – 100➝80]

The moment he gave the command, the change settled into his body.

His leg muscles tightened faintly, and his body felt lighter, denser.

Then—

He leaped upward.

The ground beneath his feet cracked slightly from the force as his body shot toward the nearby house.

Toward the balcony on the first floor.

Lia’s eyes widened from the sudden motion as the wind brushed past them.

In the next moment—

Lucian landed heavily onto the balcony floor with a loud thud.

The moment his feet touched the surface, his balance slipped as he dropped hard onto one knee, planting his other foot forward to stabilize himself.

“Ugh…”

A low groan escaped his lips involuntarily.

“Brother!”

Lia shouted immediately, panic flashing across her face.

“I’m fine…” Lucian muttered quickly.

He turned his head back, noticing the gigantic creature still crawling after them in the distance.

Shifting his attention back, he looked at Lia, who was staring directly at him, her eyes filled deeply with concern.

Not for herself.

But for him.

Her chest tightened. Because of her stupid decision, Lucian was suffering so much.

“Lia…”

His voice softened faintly.

“I’ll try to send that monster away. By that time, you will stay here.”

Lia’s eyes widened immediately.

“W-What…?” Her voice trembled in disbelief.

For a moment, she genuinely thought she had heard him wrong.

What was her brother saying?

Send that creature away?

That thing?

That gigantic creature—the one that was large enough to crush buildings and swallow vehicles whole?

What was he even saying?

Lucian slowly turned his head away from her.

Only then did he finally notice the woman who had fallen near the balcony doorway, apparently after both of them had suddenly appeared onto her balcony out of nowhere.

Her face was pale, expression frozen as she stared at them with complete shock.

Two blood-covered strangers had just jumped onto her first-floor balcony as if their house was just a few feet above the ground, with one carrying the other in his arms.

And then—

There was the blood, so much blood on Lia, along with some smeared over Lucian from holding her.

“W–who a-are you…?” she asked hesitantly.

Then, her gaze shifted beyond them, and as she saw it—

Her expression twisted instantly into sheer horror.

Her trembling hand rose as she pointed past Lucian.

“W-What is that?!!” her voice nearly broke in her throat.

Lucian ignored her fear and got up.

He walked toward her before kneeling slightly in front of her, making her shift her attention toward him again.

“W–what…”

“Take care of her,” Lucian muttered coldly, pointing toward Lia behind, who was still too stunned from his earlier words.

The woman repeatedly blinked in confusion.

Nothing made sense to her.

What was even happening right now before her?

Her eyes kept darting back toward the enormous creature, which was closing the distance.

Its body was getting clearer to see, and bigger as it got closer.

The ground beneath them—

It began trembling violently.

The balcony shook along with it, making her gasp.

“Take care of her.”

Lucian repeated firmly, his voice sharper than before, forcing the woman to finally look back at him.

“During that time, I’ll pull the monster away from your house.”

His words stunned her completely.

What was he saying?

Pull it away?

From their house?

How?

And who even was this man?

“W-What are you…”

Lucian no longer had any time to answer her.

The shock from the worm’s arrival was so overwhelming that his words weren’t even reaching her.

The trembling beneath them intensified rapidly as seconds passed by.

Dust fell faintly from the ceiling inside the house.

Lucian’s eyes sharpened further.

‘No other choice.’

As soon as the thought appeared in his mind, the air around him changed.

It became heavier.

Almost suffocating.

The woman, who was already stunned previously, froze in her spot.

Her heart tightened painfully, like something invisible was gripping around it and squeezing without mercy.

Her expression turned dreadful as an overwhelming pressure descended upon her entire body.

“Do you understand what I said?”

Lucian’s cold voice echoed through her ears.

The sound alone was enough to send a violent chill through her spine.

Unconsciously, she rapidly bobbed her head up and down.

“Y-Yes!” she blurted out immediately, her voice almost cracking with fear.

The moment the words left her mouth—

The invisible pressure—the heaviness in her chest—all of it disappeared instantly.

She staggered faintly while gasping for breath, sweat forming across her forehead.

Lucian turned away from her without another word and rushed back toward Lia.

Lia’s head was lowered slightly, her expression looking fearful.

The skill Lucian had used—Supression Intent—had been applied to her as well.

Not nearly as strongly as the woman had experienced it, but still enough for her to feel the shift in the air.

Her chest tightened even further.

As soon as she saw him kneeling before her, her lips parted again.

“W–why—don’t… don’t go away,” she said softly through her cracked, fragile voice.

She grabbed tightly onto his clothes, her fingers squeezing so hard they turned white—desperately trying to stop him from going away.

He stilled for a second.

The violent trembling beneath the building intensified again, causing several flower pots placed along the balcony edge to shake violently before crashing onto the streets below.

The moment they hit the ground, they shattered loudly.

But Lucian’s eyes only remained on Lia.

“I’m not leaving you, idiot. Just wait here for some time.” He gently ruffled her head.

Lowering himself further, he closed the distance until his forehead rested lightly against hers.

Lia froze at the sudden closeness.

Their foreheads touched softly, and both of them could feel the other’s breath brushing against their skin.

Lia’s trembling, moist eyes stared directly into Lucian’s dark black eyes inches away from her.

His gaze remained firm, but there was an unmistakable softness in them.

“Don’t cry, or I’ll be angry…” he said quietly with a faint smile.

Gently ruffling her head once again, he finally stood back up.

Behind them, the woman, the owner of the house, remained frozen in shock before raising her head.

The pale, bloated worm was coming towards them, damaging the structures, tearing apart roads and walls alike, simply by brushing past them.

Entire sections of nearby walls collapsed under its enormous frame.

Its wide, void-like circular maw was partially closed, the spiralling flesh twitching grotesquely inward.

The woman trembled violently, her body locked in place by the sheer fear of just looking at it.

Her vision then shifted lower as she watched him—Lucian—walk toward the edge of the balcony, jumping over the railing without hesitation.

Lucian’s legs flexed, then—

His body shot forward with unnatural speed, launching across the air towards the other side of the building.

The moment he passed through the air, the creature’s large, faceless head abruptly turned toward him.

Lucian’s eyes widened faintly.

Because he himself hadn’t expected this much increase in his physical abilities after raising his stats.

‘But still not enough.’

The thought came to him before he could get any happier.

The monster chasing behind them was enough to make him realise how weak he was.

His hand shot forward and grabbed onto the railing of another balcony.

Pulling himself upward and planting his feet on the edge of it, he jumped again.

And again.

Leaping from one balcony edge to the other balcony edge as he rapidly made his way to the rooftop.

As he repeated the process again and again, his arms strained painfully each time.

The injuries from his previous battles that still hadn’t healed properly.

Pain pulsed through his muscles every time he exerted more force than he should’ve—something he’d been doing from the moment he came out of his house.

But that didn’t stop him even a bit.

Both Lia and the woman stared upward in stunned silence as Lucian climbed over two more floors with frightening speed—movements that would make even trained parkour athletes hesitate—before he finally reached the roof of the building.

Hearing the loud rumbling that continued to grow stronger, many people stepped out from their houses in confusion, and the moment they looked at the cause of the quakes in the ground—

Every single person’s expression collapsed into absolute horror.

Because the Giant Maw Worm was crawling directly toward them.

Its enormous body surged forward, like a living nightmare dragging itself through the streets

Its partially closed maw slowly opened wider, revealing countless spiraling rows of jagged teeth, each resembling a massive sharpened spike twisting inward into darkness.

Some people froze, some screamed instantly, while others couldn’t even process what they were seeing.

Before any of them could even properly understand what was happening—

The creature crashed into their building with a massive impact that exploded throughout the entire structure.

100 Powerstones = 1 extra chapter

50 Golden Tickets = 1 extra chapter

This is the most I can do by now. Might increase the number of releases if you support me more.