Chapter 145: Knight

For a car traveling at over 100 kilometers per hour, two kilometers would only take a few minutes. However, the female officer couldn’t make it to the designated rendezvous point with her “passenger” still clinging to the roof. During the chaotic struggle earlier, her car had veered onto a different fork in the road.

Even though she had taken the wrong route, stopping was not an option. In fact, even slowing down slightly would leave her vulnerable to the creature’s claws. At least she could be thankful that this road was almost empty at night. Otherwise, with her erratic driving, it wouldn’t matter if she didn’t crash into another car—other vehicles might crash into her instead.

But what now? Eiko had no time to think about that question. Perhaps, if she kept going for a bit longer, her unwanted roof guest might get carsick and lose its ability to act, she thought, trying to console herself.

Ten minutes later, Eiko spotted a white car parked about 100 meters ahead. Beside it, a man was standing by the roadside, waving in her direction.

“Damn it, why does your car have to break down now?” she cursed inwardly, showing no sympathy.

Thankfully, this wasn’t a one-way street. To avoid the stationary vehicle, she briefly straightened her chaotic trajectory into a proper straight line and narrowly swerved past the white car.

She thought she heard the man yelling something angrily behind her as she passed.

Before long, Eiko started to adjust to this erratic style of driving. Using her left hand to control the steering wheel, she picked up her phone with her right hand and called the precinct again.

There was no time left to find a more suitable location for action. The car could be forced to stop at any moment due to obstacles or other simple problems. Her orders were straightforward: everyone needed to rush to her location as quickly as possible.

As the car headed toward the city center, Eiko began to see rows of residential buildings and towering skyscrapers through the broken, now highly “ventilated” car window.

“Maybe I’ll go down in history as the first officer to bring a dangerous suspect straight into the heart of the city,” she thought, mocking herself.

Tokyo’s nightlife was world-famous, so unlike the earlier highway, traffic here began to pick up. Thankfully, the roads were relatively wide, and as long as other vehicles stayed out of her way, they wouldn’t be hit by her wild, rally-style driving.

Not every driver was so cooperative, though. After about 15 minutes of reckless driving, a car ahead of her suddenly stopped. The reason was simple: the light had turned red. Stopping at red lights—basic traffic law that any driver with a shred of knowledge would understand.

With vehicles streaming through the intersection, Eiko had no choice but to swerve to the right, making a sharp turn.

After completing the turn, Eiko couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh. She hadn’t turned onto another open road but into a parking lot behind a restaurant. It seemed likely that this would be the final stage of tonight’s vehicular showdown. She only hoped it wouldn’t also mark the end of her life.

Eiko suddenly accelerated, pushing the car to its limit. When she was about 100 meters from the far end of the parking lot, she slammed on the brakes. The car screeched to a halt as the high-density polyester tires skidded against the asphalt, producing an ear-piercing sound. The immense inertia finally flung her unwelcome roof guest off the car, sending the creature flying into the parking lot.

If it had been an ordinary person, such a fall would likely have caused serious injuries. But knowing the nature of this creature, Eiko couldn’t afford to lower her guard. She quickly spun the car around and returned to the original road.  

She didn’t immediately drive away because she still hoped to lure the creature out and continue her ambitious capture plan—even though she wasn’t confident it would work.  

Suddenly, a woman’s scream came from inside the parking lot.  

Was there someone else in the parking lot?  

The realization made Eiko’s scalp tingle.  

If her actions caused someone to lose their life, she might have nightmares about it. Using that as her justification, Eiko bent down and started feeling around for the bullets that had fallen beneath her seat earlier.  

She managed to find only five bullets, but there was no time to search for more. Acting quickly, she loaded them into the revolver’s cylinder.  

With the gun in her hand, she felt much calmer. Eiko opened the car door and ran toward the parking lot.  

After witnessing the creature’s terrifying capabilities, she expected to find nothing but a corpse at the scene. However, under the dim, far-from-adequate lighting of the parking lot, she was greeted by an unbelievable sight.  

***

Four hours earlier.

Naoko was in high spirits that evening, having made plans to go out for dinner with him.  

Teikyo University was quite far from her apartment, requiring over an hour’s drive. She didn’t want him to go through such trouble every day, especially for safety reasons. After much persuasion, she convinced him to visit her only on holidays. Finally, he agreed.  

After days of waiting, today was their day to meet, and Naoko had been excited since morning.  

Wearing the ultra-short suspender dress he had bought her, she blushed as she looked at herself in the mirror. What a rascal—why would he give her a dress like this? Hadn’t he said he didn’t like others seeing her in short skirts?  

She dabbed some moisturizer on her face and carefully combed her shoulder-length hair before picking up her handbag and leaving her room.  

“Lei, we can go now,” Naoko said, instinctively lowering her head as she spoke. She didn’t dare look directly into his eyes.  

Wherever his gaze landed on her, it felt as if it carried a strange heat, making her blush again.  

The sight of her in that dress made Lei Yin’s heart race. Her long, slender legs and the snowy white skin left bare by the outfit were mesmerizing.  

Gently pulling her into his embrace, Lei Yin whispered in her ear, “Since that little brat isn’t here, I’m wondering if I should just have you as my main course right now.” As he spoke, his hand slid onto her thigh, slowly caressing it. The incredible elasticity and silky smoothness of her skin left him enchanted.  

“Lei… not here, please. Let’s go to the villa. I’m afraid Aiko might suddenly come back,” Naoko replied in a trembling voice.  

“Alright, we’ll eat first. You must be hungry.” Lei Yin lowered his head and kissed her forehead.  

Naoko nodded gently, her heart melting at this rare tender gesture. Moments like these made her feel like a cherished child in his eyes.  

After spending so much time together, Naoko had realized that the man she loved was something of a foodie. He often took her to places that didn’t look particularly upscale but served incredibly delicious dishes.  

However, tonight, Lei Yin didn’t take her to one of those eateries. Instead, he chose a rather famous restaurant. After all, the theme of the night was their reunion, not simply enjoying good food, so it made sense to pick a more romantic venue.  

Even on the busiest streets, Naoko’s presence was impossible to overlook—especially when dressed so provocatively.

As soon as the two of them entered the restaurant, every man who saw her stared at her like wolves eyeing prey, while the women directed intense jealousy and hostility her way.

“Do you have a reservation?” The restaurant manager struggled to tear his gaze away from Naoko.

“Yes. The reservation is under Gennai,” Lei Yin replied.

“Please, follow me.” The manager quickly located their booking and led them further into the restaurant.

During the meal, Naoko curiously asked about Lei Yin’s university life.

“It’s alright, not too boring—probably because I’ve met a few strange people.” Lei Yin described Takeda and his friends’ personalities to her. When he mentioned Takeda taking over his apartment and refusing to leave, Naoko couldn’t help but laugh.

The dinner passed in a relaxed and cheerful atmosphere.

“Normally, after dinner, we should go see a movie. Do you want to?” Lei Yin asked as they finished paying.

“Yes,” Naoko replied softly, wrapping her arm around his as they left the restaurant.

At the parking lot, just as Naoko was about to open the car door, she suddenly heard the screech of tires. Then, a humanoid figure came flying toward her…

***

Influenced by Western literature and films, many girls, during the transitional phase between childhood and adolescence, fantasize—at least to some degree—about a handsome and strong knight who is always there to protect them. To clarify, this does not refer to someone riding a motorcycle or bicycle.

However, as these girls grow into young women, with age and experience, they shift their admiration to real-life celebrities with dashing looks.

Watching her very own knight standing in front of her, fiercely battling the monster, Naoko felt no joy—only heartache and anxiety.

There were deep wounds on his shoulder blades, so severe they exposed the bone, and blood flowed incessantly from the injuries he had sustained while protecting her.

Under normal circumstances, Lei Yin would have relished the challenge of such an opponent, given his unparalleled combat skills.

The strength and speed of the monster’s attacks were beyond anything a normal human could endure.

If he had a blade, Lei Yin wouldn’t consider this creature much of a threat. However, that wasn’t an option in this situation.

Naoko was directly behind him, so retreating was not an option.

The sensation of every punch landing was thrilling, but Lei Yin knew he couldn’t prolong the fight, as his wounds were bleeding profusely.

The creature’s claws and fangs were not its only dangers—it also had tough skin and thick flesh, making each strike feel like punching a tire.

Although Lei Yin was inwardly cursing his predicament, Eiko, who had just rushed into the parking lot, had a completely different perspective.

She couldn’t fathom that a human being could engage in such a brutal hand-to-hand fight with that kind of monster.

Watching the ferocious battle between the man and the creature, Eiko couldn’t help but feel that neither of them was entirely human.

However, it was clear that the man’s attacks were far more calculated and precise.

With clever—or perhaps even miraculous—movements, he neutralized the creature’s claws and delivered powerful blows that even Eiko could hear as they struck the monster’s body.