Entering Apocalypse in Easy-Mode
Chapter 535: Hide For A Moment

Chapter 535: Hide For A Moment

Clyde heaved a sigh of relief the moment his eyes confirmed it. Mina was alive, and even better than alive.

Standing atop a crushed police car, dirt and blood streaking her face, her torn sleeves fluttering in the wind, she looked shaken but upright.

The dagger he had given her back then was gripped tightly in her hand. Her knuckles were white, her arm trembling but there was blood on the blade.

That meant she had fought and killed.

"Good," Clyde thought. "She won’t be a burden."

This was exactly what he had prepared her for.

He advanced. Silvercoil spear flashing as he cut down another lunging monster. His feet barely touched the broken pavement. Smoke and blood swirled around him as the battle raged on in every direction.

But then it happened.

Just as he was closing the distance to reach her, a large man burst out from behind a wrecked sedan and tackled Mina to the ground.

"Shit," Clyde hissed then breaking into a sprint. But he was still too far.

The man was wild-eyed, his face streaked with grime and fear, veins bulging from his neck. He pinned Mina down. His hands pressing against her throat while the other grabbed for the dagger.

"Give it to me!" the man barked, spit flying from his mouth. "You don’t even know how to use it! I know its a strong weapon. Give it to me!"

Mina’s eyes went wide with terror. Her hands trembled but she didn’t release the blade. Her lips parted but no sound came out. Her breath caught in her chest.

The man yanked at the dagger again but she resisted with all she got.

Then he slapped her.

The sound cracked through the chaos like a whip. Mina’s head snapped to the side, her cheek already blooming red.

Her eyes filled with tears and her strength faltered. But even then, she didn’t let go.

Then the man stopped moving suddenly.

His body went rigid. Eyes widened. A confused strangled gasp left his throat.

He was no longer touching the ground. He was lifted by something.

Mina looked up, worried if that was a monster.

Clyde was standing there, one hand gripping the back of the man’s neck, lifting his entire body with terrifying ease. The look on his face was calm and cold.

Then, without a word, Clyde turned slightly and hurled the man aside. His body crashed into a heap of broken debris.

Clyde walk and stopped beside Mina. "You alright?"

She was trembling too much to answer, her lips quivering and her breath shallow.

"Hey!" he said more firmly. His hand closed around hers. "Get up. You’re not done yet. Get your shit together!"

He pulled her to her feet.

She wobbled at first, but then something in Clyde’s grip—his presence—gave her enough grounding to steady herself.

She nodded faintly, blinking away tears. The dagger was still in her hand.

Clyde didn’t wait for her to say more. He dragged her behind him.

They moved fast, Clyde cutting down two more creatures that tried to intercept them. One lost its head mid-lunge. Another was run through the heart.

He kept glancing at the buildings they passed. Most were too open or too damaged. He was looking for a place to hide for a while.

Then he spotted it. A small, partially collapsed laundromat.

Steel shutters had jammed halfway down and inside was narrow, dark, but still intact.

"There," Clyde said, pointing.

They ducked inside. The air was thick with dust, the buzzing of broken lights above them barely audible through the chaos outside.

"We’ll rest here just for a while," he muttered, checking the windows.

Mina slid down the wall, still clutching her dagger. Her breath came in shaky bursts but she was no longer crying.

Clyde stood by the entrance, spear in hand, watching the street with sharp eyes.

Outside, the apocalypse continued.

But for just for a moment they will had a pause to collect their thoughts.

Clyde took a slow deep breath. The metallic tang of blood mixed with the dust in the air, but the worst of the chaos was muted from inside the laundromat. He could think again.

He was calm. Not because the world made sense right now. But because he had already lived through this once before.

The Selection Stage, the apocalypse had begun. And he was here again.

Still, Clyde knew that Mina hadn’t been prepared for this the way he had. Not truly. She had trained and known about this but theory crumbled quickly when soaked in blood and panic.

He glanced at her.

She was sitting against the wall, shoulders tight, jaw clenched. Her face twisted as if trying to hold everything in but it was obvious that she was breaking. Her breath hitched and her hands trembled as she wiped at her eyes, refusing to let the tears fall.

Clyde walked over and stood beside her.

"You can cry now," he said quietly. "Just... don’t be too loud."

Mina blinked at him.

That one sentence, the permission, confirmation, was all it took.

She didn’t nod. She didn’t say anything. Her body just gave in.

Mina dropped to her knees, the dagger clattering from her hand as she buried her face in her palms and sobbed. The sound burst out of her like a dam finally shattering.

All the fear, the confusion, the helplessness, the horror she had shoved down in order to keep moving was poured out of her now with every gasping cry.

Clyde didn’t say a word. He just stayed near, positioned beside her but facing the shattered windows.

His spear rested in his side, his other hand on the wall, fingers spread in readiness.

He kept watch.

The world was still tearing itself apart outside. More people would die today on the first day. Later more monsters would rise. More cracks would open in the sky.

But for now he would let her cry first.

Soon, they’d both have to stand again and fight again against something far worse.

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