Ernest knew that there was a possibility the mysterious middle-aged man might chase them through another way, but he had accounted for it. Since the area was an abandoned project site, there was no lighting from lamps or anything else, so his whereabouts would be safe from the scouts who had managed to track where he had gone.

With great difficulty, Ernest attempted to swim to the far bank of the lake on the other side while occasionally encouraging the woman. While swimming in the lake, the blood on Ernest's back continued to flow and mix with the water, bearing witness to his efforts.

Not only from Ernest but also from the woman’s shoulder, blood flowed and mingled with the water, even though she had covered her wound with a torn cloth.

A few minutes later, they finally arrived at the edge of the lake.

“Ha~ let me... rest... for a bit!”

“Ha~ “

Ernest spoke in gasps.

As soon as they both dragged their legs out of the lake, like people emerging from the grip of quicksand, they were breathless. They flopped face down on the lakeside ground, their bodies and clothes still soaking wet. The cold water soaked through every pore in their bodies, and droplets of water continued to drip from their hair.

The relatively small size of the lake saved them both from bleeding out and exhaustion. Ernest was thankful they didn’t die in the middle of the lake, by the way.

“I-I know you’re tired, but we have to move away!”

“I-It’s weird hearing you talk about getting away while panting like that.”

Unlike usual, this time, the woman urged Ernest to move quickly. Just like Ernest, she was also struggling to catch her breath.

Ernest’s focus suddenly turned to the woman’s body.

Because of the water soaking her messy robe, her body curves were clearly visible. The contours of her ample bosom looked enticing. Unfortunately, her camel toe wasn’t visible. Although Ernest clicked his tongue in disappointment, just seeing the water dripping from her hair down to her neck and flowing down to disappear behind her slightly exposed cleavage was enough to make Ernest swallow hard.

In the woman’s attempt to stand, she fell back down and lost consciousness again before she could stand up straight. From the beginning, Ernest had wondered where she wanted to go, so Ernest was a bit confused. Ernest had prepared their escape route but didn’t remember telling her about it.

Ernest’s admiration for the beautiful sight of her body vanished as Ernest’s eyebrows furrowed. Although her breathing seemed fine, she didn’t wake up when Ernest approached and shook her body.

Ernest imagined how difficult it would be for her since he had to carry her.

“Hey, why do you keep losing consciousness?!”

Despite his complaints, Ernest still lifted her up like a princess in distress because her back was still bleeding.

Luckily, Ernest didn’t have to carry her for long because the person he was waiting for had arrived shortly after he reached the roadside.

Bee-boo-bee-boo!

On a road not far from the lake where Ernest fell, the sound of ambulance sirens was heard.

When someone sitting in the passenger seat of the ambulance saw Ernest, the ambulance stopped right next to him. Ernest recognized the person who had exited the ambulance after opening the door. As Ernest expected, it was Olivia.

If you’re wondering why Ernest wasn’t surprised to see Olivia arrive, the answer is that Ernest had called Olivia on the phone while he was still in his previous car.

Yesterday, before Ernest left the hospital, he was told that he had to do check-ups or follow-up appointments. So, to do that, he was given Olivia’s business number.

“I can’t believe I got a call to dispatch an ambulance here. If it were a regular night, I would have ignored your request to bring the ambulance here. But, since tonight is a night of magical events, I had to comply with your request.”

Shortly after exiting the ambulance, Olivia complained while massaging her forehead.

Ernest had predicted that he would escape through this road, so he had instructed Olivia to bring out the ambulance to pick him up. Of course, he initially thought there was no need to bring the woman in the robe, but here he was, struggling to carry the burden on his shoulders.

“But hasn’t the Gate been found at Orlando International Airport? It’s unlikely that you met monsters from there and then ran here, right? How did you end up in such a pathetic state? Luckily, I was on duty in the emergency room of the hospital, if not—”

“Stop! Can you treat us first before you start lecturing? I’m afraid I’ll bleed out before you finish talking.”

Reluctantly, Olivia instructed the ambulance attendant to bring out the stretcher.

Ernest laid the woman in the robe on his shoulders on the stretcher and entered the ambulance with Olivia. Meanwhile, the ambulance attendant sat in the driver’s seat and pressed the ambulance’s gas pedal.

The ambulance siren continued to sound as the ambulance headed to the Circle of Hope Hospital.

Meanwhile, inside the ambulance, Olivia’s hand trembled greatly, a sign that a great shock was affecting her.

“Is something wrong with her condition?”

Ernest asked, puzzled by Olivia’s surprised expression. He wanted to urge Olivia to treat his back immediately, but he chose to let Olivia check the woman first.

In his heart, he told Olivia to hurry up!

Ignoring Ernest’s grumbling, Olivia, with trembling hands, tried to remove the cloth covering the face of the woman lying on the stretcher.

And when Olivia saw the woman’s face, it wasn’t just her hand that trembled, but her whole body and her eyes as well.

Olivia can’t be amazed by the woman’s beauty, right? When Olivia herself was quite pretty compared to the woman, it’s hard to believe that Olivia trembled with admiration. 

After checking the woman’s vital signs, Olivia sighed.

“Since when has this woman been unconscious?”

“Just now. Why?”

Ernest wanted to say that this was the second time she had fainted and the first time Ernest had given her artificial respiration, but Ernest refrained from telling her.

“Well, just in case,” Olivia took a syringe from the compartment. She pulled out a small tube containing a mysterious fluid from the pocket of her robe.

After filling the syringe with the mysterious fluid, Olivia injected the syringe containing the mysterious fluid into the woman’s body.

Once done, Olivia’s eyes were fixed on Ernest. Not a friendly gaze, but a gaze that signaled Ernest to tell her everything that had happened.

“It seems you know her,” Ernest said.

That’s the only reasonable explanation when seeing Olivia’s reaction.

Ernest himself was curious about the woman’s identity. What made him more curious was the notification window that always appeared when he wanted to know the woman’s name, from the beginning until now.

[Failed to know the name of the target you aimed for!]

[Your skills are still too low.]

Through the notification window that always appeared whenever he was curious about her name, Ernest assumed that her abilities were too great, so he couldn’t even know her name.

“Yeah. It seems it’s okay to tell you her name. You'll find out later if I don’t tell you anyway. Her name is Juliet. But, more importantly than her name, can you tell me what happened?”

“Can you treat me first?!”

Despite being pressured by Olivia’s intimidating gaze, Ernest still smiled and refused to tell her when Ernest himself was starting to feel dizzy because his back still bleeding.

[Because your body’s condition has reached the limit of endurance from the mysterious energy within your body, you will soon faint.]

“Ugh, shit!”