They Hated Me in My First Life, But Now I Have the Love System

Chapter 547: To The End

His gaze flickered over to Nnenna, still unconscious under the tree, and the weight of his resolve hardened. No matter what happened next, no matter the odds, no matter the cost, he would protect her. To the end.

Behind him, Arthur’s stance mirrored his thoughts without a single word exchanged between them. His face was impassive, but there was no mistaking the fury burning behind his eyes.

His hands were already moving, adjusting his position as his body coiled, ready for the fight. He, too, had made his decision: there was no backing down now. He was prepared to fight, even if it meant dying here.

The two of them were more than ready.

Somto’s fist tightened as shadows dropped from the trees, one after another, until the forest floor swarmed with black masked figures. They had been there the whole time, hiding in the branches like patient predators.

“They really came prepared,” he muttered under his breath, scoffing.

Arthur didn’t reply. He just shifted his stance, the quiet set of his jaw enough to tell Somto he was ready to go all the way if it came to it.

Behind them, Nnenna was slumped against the tree where Arthur had laid her. Her chest rose and fell slowly, oblivious to the chaos about to break loose. She was the target, every masked man’s eyes kept flicking toward her.

The first wave attacked.

Somto moved first, sharp and precise despite the lingering ache from the sonic wave bomb they had endured earlier. His muscles still felt heavy, his balance a fraction slower than normal, but that didn’t mean he had forgotten how to kill.

Arthur matched him, a blur of elbows and knees, every movement efficient. But both men knew, they weren’t at their best tonight. The sonic wave had dulled their reflexes, every motion costing more energy than it should.

The masked fighters were no pushovers either.

They moved like trained units, attacking in coordinated bursts, trying to break the defense and rush the tree. But each time they got close, Somto or Arthur was there, shoving, striking, dragging them away from Nnenna’s unconscious form.

called out, spinning to block two attackers from

gritted his teeth.

fought like that for what felt like an eternity, step, strike, block, step again. Their chests

Then, Somto spotted it.

in

to grab and toss it back, just like he had done countless times before in battle. But this one wasn’t an ordinary explosive. It was a compact

Gas.

His stomach sank.

how he had once saved a whole squad by throwing every grenade back at the enemy. That’s why they had timed this one perfectly,

Somto yanked

him, Arthur did the same,

One minute.

Two minutes.

Three minutes.

held out for as long as humanly possible, nearly four

eventually, their bodies

the world

where they stood, victims of their

the haze, footsteps echoed,

tall man emerged from the depths of the forest, his silhouette cutting through

carrying a weight that

shapes closed in on Somto, Arthur, and Nnenna’s

Somto saw before blacking out was the man’s face, half hidden under

far from the

arms burned, his lungs ached, but he didn’t stop.