The World Is Mine For The Taking-Chapter 1169 - 178 - The Bandit Ambush (5)

Kaori’s POV

Everything was burning.

Fire roared on all sides, swallowing homes, streets, and memories alike. Heat pressed against my skin as I moved forward, step after step, eyes locked ahead.

The thought of how these attackers had flamethrowers and guns built into their arms should have shocked me.

It didn’t.

The question barely crossed my mind before vanishing entirely, drowned out by urgency as I ran toward where I sensed someone—anyone—still alive.

Smoke filled the air, thick enough to choke, yet my vision was strangely clear.

Too clear.

Every movement stood out. Every sound felt sharp. My senses were heightened to an unnatural degree, as if the world itself had slowed just enough for me to react.

It had to be my increased perception.

A perk of being a hero.

My awareness was razor-sharp, my body moving almost on instinct alone.

And yet, beneath that clarity, something felt... off.

I felt like I was slowly losing pieces of myself.

It wasn’t fear. It wasn’t panic. My sense of self wasn’t slipping away completely—but there was a distance forming. A strange detachment. Like the person running through the flames wasn’t quite the same person I used to be.

But that didn’t matter right now.

I didn’t have the luxury to think about that.

Not now.

Not when people were still trapped out there.

Being a hero meant I could sense survivors.

And being a hero meant I would save them.

Right now, more than ever, this was the moment I had to become one.

That was when I heard it.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh!!!"

The sound cut through the roaring flames like a knife. It was raw. Desperate. I turned sharply and saw her. It was a girl crouched near the ruins of a shattered house, her face twisted in fear and pain, fat tears pouring endlessly from her eyes.

I didn’t hesitate.

I sprinted toward her and dropped to my knees, pulling her into my arms.

"I’m here," I said quickly, firmly, as if the words themselves could shield her. "You’re okay. I’ve got you."

She clung to me, her sobbing hitching violently. The crying eased for a second, but it didn’t stop. Her body trembled, pain and shock running too deep. I could feel it through the contact.

I placed my hand against her and channeled healing mana.

It wasn’t perfect. I wasn’t skilled enough to fully mend her injuries. But warmth spread through her body, dulling the pain, easing the sharp edges of her suffering until she could at least breathe without flinching.

Her sobs softened.

"Do you know where your parents are?" I asked gently, keeping my voice low.

She looked up at me with glassy eyes, lips trembling. Slowly, she raised her arm and pointed.

Toward a house that had already collapsed, swallowed by fire.

My senses reached out instinctively.

Nothing.

There was no response. No presence.

My chest tightened. It was too late. The truth hovered at the edge of my thoughts, and it was heavy and cruel—

Then she grabbed my clothes tightly.

"P-Please... save my mother, hero," she begged.

Her eyes were wide, pure in a way that hurt to look at. Innocence untouched by the kind of darkness burning this city to the ground. Flames reflected in her pupils, painting her gaze with fire and shadow.

Something inside me snapped into place.

I didn’t think.

My body moved.

I took off toward the burning house, wrapping mana around myself as I ran.

Princess Myrcella’s words echoed in my mind. She said that mana wasn’t just for weapons. It could protect the body too.

I burst into the flames.

Heat tore into me immediately, searing my skin, my lungs screaming in protest. Fire licked at my clothes, my hair, my flesh—but I pushed forward, teeth clenched, ignoring the pain.

Then I felt it.

A presence.

I turned sharply and saw a body buried beneath wreckage.

Alive.

And another one beside it.

That one... wasn’t.

Understanding came instantly. The fallen debris. The positioning. The way the living body had been shielded.

The father.

He had protected the mother with his own body.

I didn’t waste time.

I reached out and grabbed the burning debris with my bare hands. Pain exploded through my palms, skin blistering instantly, but I lifted anyway. The weight was nothing compared to the resolve burning inside me.

If the father had endured all of this to save his wife—even at the cost of his life—then this pain was nothing.

I threw the debris aside and pulled the woman free..

I lifted her carefully and carried her out, my body instinctively shielding her from the flames, from falling ash, and from everything.

"Mother!!"

The girl screamed as she ran toward us—

And then she was grabbed.

"Oops, sorry, young one," a man said casually, fingers digging into her arm. "Don’t even try. You’re coming with us."

I turned sharply.

He was one of them. One of the attackers.

"Seriously," he continued with a laugh, "what’s with these people? Way too skilled for young’uns. But hey, we’ll still profit from it."

More figures emerged from the smoke, surrounding me slowly and confidently.

"Hey, woman," the man said, eyes flicking to my sword. "You’re a hero, right? Why don’t you put that thing down and come with us quietly? Otherwise, I’ll slit this girl’s throat right here."

He pressed the blade against her neck.

"Hiik!" she shrieked.

"You’ve got power," he went on calmly, "but we’ve got numbers. Even heroes and magic knights are struggling tonight. You’re troublesome, sure and the others heroes are as well, and we couldn’t even get close to capture them but look at that. You’re clearly weakened. Makes things convenient for us."

"Are you the one behind this attack?" I asked, my grip tightening.

"No," he replied easily. "But that doesn’t matter now, does it?"

The blade pressed closer.

"What I want is simple," he said. "A hero. A female one, preferably. A male hero would sell better, sure—but we can’t exactly use him as a plaything on the way back to the market."

He smiled at me.

"So," he continued, voice smooth and mocking, "why don’t you be a good girl, lower that sword... and let us take you?"