Chapter 344 - Marcus
Before Nathasia could push him away, she was surprised to see the man grabbing her wrists and pulling her towards him.
She obviously realized that he was trying to shield her and cried out, "No!!"
*Sptchk!*
"Nngh…"
The bullet found its mark and hit the back of the mysterious man making his expression grimace.
But his brows pulled together as he swiftly twisted his body around and fired his rifle at Moby as fast as lightning.
*BANG!*
Before Moby could fire again, the man was too fast, and all he saw was the man pointing the rifle at him.
The next moment everything went dark for him as the bullet splattered his brain. It was a perfect headshot fired by the man, and Tony's eyes widened seeing Moby succumbing to the ground with a bloodied head.
"P-Please don't...shoot me!!" Tony immediately kneeled on the ground as he began to beg for his life. His heart was on the verge of exploding from fear, and feeling the man's killing intent made him piss his pants.
Even if that killing intent merely lasted for a moment and wasn't directed at him, he felt as if he was looking at a demon and how measly his life was before that man.
Nathasia was shocked to see the mysterious man kill him without even blinking and so perfectly.
She saw how his eyes looked completely cold as before without any flicker of emotion as he killed that man. It was as if he had just killed an ant and not a human being.
Another astonishing fact was how he was able to land a perfect headshot after getting injured in the back. She felt that it must have been due to the fact he was an Ascended one.
The man let out a scoff seeing Tony beg, and said coldly, "Take him away and bury him in some ditch. If I see his body or you anywhere in these woods, then my squad and I will hunt you down till you die like a dog."
Tony was ecstatic to hear that the man didn't intend on killing him. He didn't care about the other details. As long as he gets to keep his life, why the hell would he dare to come into these woods again and piss off this malignant star?
He quickly got up on his feet and tried to drag away Moby's body. But finding it too hard, he somehow lifted Moby's body and placed it around his back before running off with wobbly steps.
Seeing Tony disappearing into the mist, the man finally threw away the rifle in his hand and looked back at the girl staring at him with a slack jaw, her body pressed close to his.
He quickly pushed her back and made sure she was okay by quickly glancing whether she was injured anywhere.
However, he saw her looking at him with a stupefied look and asked, "What are you looking at?"
Nathasia was awed by the man's actions since she never expected him to protect her by putting himself before her, especially when she was just a stranger to him.
But she had no idea that the mysterious man also had the same thought.
Her cheeks were flushed, thinking about how close she got 'hugged' by another man but strangely made her feel very safe and comfortable. She also accidentally felt his rock-hard abs, amazed by how strong they felt.
Nathasia knocked herself out of her daze hearing his question and answered with a dry chuckle, "I-I wanted to say that I am very thankful that you came back to save me," She said with a beauteous smile.
"I just came back to pick up the logs I had forgotten to pick before."
"But you still came here to save me," Nathasia said with a cheery smile.
The man seemed speechless as he didn't refute her. He was surprised that she didn't seem to be much shaken after what happened or be wary of him now that he killed someone before her.
He still asked, "You had a gun with you all this time. Why didn't you use it when I tried to choke you before or threatened to kill you?"
Nathasia simply shrugged her shoulders, "Because for some reason, I knew you wouldn't hurt me, and I was right." She said with a wink.
"I see. Go home now and don't wander alone like this if you don't want to get into danger," The man said as he simply turned around to leave.
Nathasia raised her brows, feeling surprised how he was just simply leaving after all this when she had so many questions to ask him.
She then remembered that the man was shot trying to protect her and saw the blood behind his back.
She quickly stopped him by pulling his wrist, making the man look at her with a strange expression.
She meekly let go of his wrist and said, "Don't go yet. You are hurt. I can help you get treated. My father is a retired army doctor."
Nathasia was astonished how the man didn't even seem to show any signs of pain or discomfort after getting shot.
It was as if he was least bothered about the bullet in his back, which she thought had something to do with how he was an Ascended one.
Still, it was an injury that happened to him because of her, and she was feeling guilty about it.
"No thanks. I can manage myself," He briefly replied as he again turned to walk away.
Nathasia let out a frustrated sigh as she ran forward and blocked his way, "No, that's not an answer. You got hurt because of me, and I wouldn't be able to sleep unless I helped you out. So don't be shy and just come with me. My father is a very good doctor. He will painlessly take out that bullet for you. Even if you are an Ascended one, it's still bad to have a bullet stuck inside you."
The man let out a low sigh and was about to say something when Nathasia continued in an adamant tone, "Don't refuse. I won't let you go till you let me help me out. It's not wrong or shameful to accept another person's help. So, come on."
The man looked at her with a helpless gaze, not knowing how to get rid of this stubborn girl. He then sighed and said, "Fine. But make it quick."
"Of course! Follow me. My house is very near," Nathasis beamed as she skipped forward.
The man didn't know why he was bothering to even entertain this girl but decided to go along with it since he found her to be a peculiar person compared to other people he usually saw.
As they walked, she asked, "So, really, what's your name?"
"I told you I have no name," He briefly said.
"Then I will call you Mr. No Name, hehe," Nathasia giggled.
The man slightly shook his head with a faint smile that was hidden by the scarf around his face. He then said with a sigh, "Fine. You can call me Marcus."
Nathasia's eyes shone with victory as she said with a smile, "Oh, Marcus. It took you long enough to say such a good name."
"So, are you really an Ascended one working for the military?" Nathasia curiously asked since she had never been this close with another Ascended one.
Marcus casually replied, "I guess so. But right now, I am on block leave, so I am not on duty as of now."
"So, are you really tasked with killing the Crimson Devil?"
Marcus slowly turned his eyes towards Nathasisa, who was looking at him with her big, round eyes for an answer.
He said with a strange glint in his eyes, "Maybe. Are you that eager to see him die?"
Nathasia tilted her head in confusion, "Huh, but I never told anything about seeing him die. I know most of the people in this world want him dead, but me personally...I am not sure what to think about him. It's just too complicated, especially when I don't even know him personally. I mean, he was a hero to the world once, so I find it hard to believe that he can go bad within such a short amount of time."
Marcus was a bit surprised with her answer and began to look at her in a different light. Most of all, he was surprised that she gave an ambiguous answer to him, especially when she considers him to be part of a military squad tasked with hunting down the enemy of the world.
He wondered if she was just naive and ignorant or if she wanted to answer it like that to him.
Soon enough, the two saw a small house coming within their sight, and Nathasia proudly said, "That's my sweet home, come on."
Marcus stood still for a while before following her.