The Broken System Chose the Antagonist
Chapter 11: Running to Hide?

Chapter 11: Running to Hide?

Vitality was a power that all Vitalists drew on to accomplish different kinds of tasks, ranging from increasing their physical strength to even healing the most hazardous of wounds. Some talented Vitalists could tap into a unique path called Spiritualism, which allowed them to cast Spells that could achieve an array of tasks.

Defence, offence, and even boosting the Vitalist’s abilities. All could be accomplished with enough understanding and with a Talisman.

But the one thing that all of these needed to even give an effect was ultimately Vitality.

Just like how pushing your body too far could leave you in critical condition, or even lead to death, using up all of your Vitality or going over the limit could put you on death’s door.

"Just hold on, Ben!"

Nadia sprinted forward with Ben in her arms; his face growing paler and paler by the second. Although his wounds were already wrapped tightly with Nadia’s black leather jacket, his condition was still worsening.

The wound he was given went further than just his skin and muscles. It reached his spine and the back of his ribs. Luckily, the done to the bones wasn’t severe at all.

But...

’He was losing too much blood. And too rapidly...’

She grimaced at his condition before glancing back, staring at the pack of Scoundrels chasing after them. She quickly counted and discovered there were now 10 on their tail, compared to the troublesome six before!

The Spell Hilda had casted earlier to deal with one of the Scoundrels caused quite the commotion, grabbing the attention of nearby Predicaments. And although it did serve as an effective wall for a bit, it didn’t stop the surrounding Scoundrels from gravitating towards their location like moths.

Turning her head to get a good look at Hilda, who was following behind her with a metre gap between them, she asked:

"Hilda, could you use another one of those Spells? The one you did earlier!"

"Hmm..." Hilda hummed as she checked her remaining Vitality.

Afterwards, she shot the still-bleeding Ben a quick glance before smiling regrettably.

"I tire very easily, so not for a while..."

Nadia raised an eyebrow at what Hilda said, confused, before frowning a little.

"Seriously? Damn..."

Even Nadia had begun to grow tired from all the running. Because of that, there were even cases where she slipped up and could’ve gotten herself mortally injured.

Luckily, though, Hilda proved far more competent than she initially thought—having saved both her and Ben multiple times already; it was also the reason why she remained closely behind them instead of at the front. Just in case she slipped up again.

’I guess not everyone who works for the GOHG is all heartless...’

With how agile and competent Hilda was, she could’ve easily left both her and Ben to fend for themselves. In fact, she didn’t even need to step in from the beginning!

Nadia felt her gratitude towards Hilda increase, with her hostility towards the woman’s identity decreasing a little.

’She said she gets tired very easily, but it looks like she’s holding up well...’ Nadia stared suspiciously at Hilda, who smiled gently back at her.

"Meine Dame, if you stare so intently at me, I might become too bashful to focus on running~"

"That can happen?" Nadia widened her eyes before shaking her head and facing the front, "Sorry."

Hilda chuckled from behind. She then quickened her steps and closed the gap between them. Afterwards, she grabbed Nadia’s attention with a point of her finger.

Just a few dozen metres away from them was a row of terraced townhouses; their walls partially covered in vines and claw marks, windows smashed, but surprisingly still well intact.

"Let’s hide in one of those buildings, it’ll help us lose the Predicaments."

"Are you sure—"

"Bad time for questions, meine Dame~"

Nadia gritted her teeth and immediately took a sharp turn, going against the momentum she had built up. Then, once she reached one of the buildings, she twisted her body and bashed her shoulder through the door.

Hilda later followed her in, but only after flicking a single Talisman towards the chasing Predicaments, which soon exploded into a small pulse of electricity—stunning the Scoundrel long enough to break their focus on them.

She then climbed up the stairs to the second floor to find Nadia lowering Ben into the bathtub.

Sensing Hilda’s arrival, the Heroine asked with a concerned look on her face:

"Are you really sure that we’ll be fine here? They watched us come in here... and could break into the house at any given second. We’re practically caged—"

"You’re being a bit loud~"

"Huh?"

Hilda kneeled down beside Nadia before instantly leaning her face close to the woman’s ear.

Nadia, startled by the sudden approach, flinched back, but was firmly held down by Hilda on the shoulder, leading her to be unable to back away.

She then watched as the German woman opened her mouth and began whispering in a firm tone:

"Meine Dame, you mustn’t be so loud around Scoundrels..."

Hilda later leaned away from Nadia’s ear.

"I presume you’ve heard something about how some Predicaments have poor eyesight, ja?"

Nadia nodded silently in response, causing Hilda to smile in satisfaction.

"Scoundrels are one of these Predicaments. They have the poorest eyesight of them all, only being able to see roughly a metre in front of them properly.

"But in exchange, they have excellent hearing und a decent sense of smell—slightly better than humans’. So, hiding here would break their line of sight of us."

Hilda then raised her head to take a look around, sniffing the air.

"Und because of all the mould in this building trapping the musky smell, our scent should somewhat be masked... although not enough to completely get rid of their suspicions that we’re in here."

"But what if they storm in here?" Nadia whispered, "They can break through walls, so why do you think they would let us hide in here?"

Hilda smirked before answering:

"Because of competition."