“Hina…” I whispered. “Whatever you do, don’t open your eyes. Run away from here as fast as you can. I’ll catch up.”

“I… No. I won’t leave you behind, b-brother!”

Those were the words I mumbled to the shivering Hina. She clutched her hands behind my back, refusing to obey my words. Hina told me she wouldn’t run away without me. That girl didn’t like the sound of leaving me to die, even though we barely talked for the past few years. It made me smile. But it also made me terrified of what was about to come.

I steeled my fist and wished to take it all. This was my job. I lost my family at a young age and lived with strangers I didn’t know. If there was someone who should live, it was Hina. Her parents saved me from despair when I should’ve already died from hunger or depression. Hina had a life even before me, while I forfeited it long ago.

It was over. There was nothing I could do to stop the monster, even with the rifle beside me. However, something miraculous happened. It was as if an angel heard my prayers and saved Hina. But it came with a price.

The pain that I had expected to come never made it towards me, despite this monster lunging in our direction. Was this a dream? No, it wasn’t. Hina and I were about to die from this untamed beast that emerged inside this unknown portal. And I accepted that fate. I wanted to push Hina away and turn her back on me to save herself. I wanted to save her. But someone had already taken that job away from me.

We were saved, instead. It wasn’t the adventurers or heroes seen in movies and other films. It was my best friend, Midori.

As soon as I opened my eyes, Midori was in front of me. The creature’s claws impaled his chest and tore his ribs into pieces. A pool of crimson blood formed beneath Midori’s feet and eventually reached ours. Groaning sounds escaped from my friend’s mouth as he coughed out every blood inside his lungs. But In spite of everything, Midori remained tall and stopped the fiend’s movement.

Every day, Midori would run straight to school and improve his stamina. He didn’t care about anything except reaching his goal of being the best athlete in Tokyo. We became friends because of that. That was Midori’s dream. And that was the thing that saved Hina and me from death’s door.

“M-Midori…. I thought I told you to stay behind and call for help! You don’t have to do this-.”

“SHUT UP!” With the remaining strength Midori had, he shouted at me and gritted his teeth. My eyes widened in surprise as I listened to his growl.

It should’ve been me standing there, taking the hit from the monster. Instead, Midori, a guy who had a dream, faced death with a smile. Midori knew that doing this would save Hina and me from danger, but leave him to die. He traded lives…

The beast pressed its claws against Midori’s hands and chest with every move Midori made. However, the creature couldn’t finish Midori off. My friend stood his ground and never wavered, regardless of the claw that skewered his body.

“Let’s go together, Midori. Maybe we can outrun this monster….” I suggested, even if the monster was right in front of us.

However, Midori shook his head and mumbled. “Tell Hina…. to run away… as fast as possible… Save her… for me, okay?”

I knew this was going to be our last meeting. Midori wouldn’t survive his wounds, even if we tried running together from this monster and finding a hospital or a doctor. Someone had to play the decoy or else Hina and I would die. And that decoy was Midori. He chose to be one.

But I refused to accept it. I refused to see…. My best friend dying because of me. I had this rifle in my hands, and yet…. I couldn’t pull the trigger. The world had granted me a system powerful enough to end any monster in my eye. It was a fantasy come true. However, I failed to use it. If only my parents didn’t die from a gun, maybe I could…

“YOU IDIOT!” Another cry came out from Midori, catching my attention. “I told you… to run away…. Please, Aoi. Do it for your sister. Hina… still needs you.”

After hearing that sentence, I made up my mind. As soon as I turned around, the quivering Hina greeted my eyes. She still had her eyes drenched, but closed after everything that had happened. It was a good thing. Hina didn’t know that Midori, the person who likes her, was about to… die. And it was because of me.

“I’m sorry, Midori… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be……… You idiot.”

Once we had that exchange, I grabbed Hina’s arms and dashed back down the staircase without ever looking back. I also told Hina to look straight ahead and avert her eyes from whatever creature chasing our tails.

As we descended the building, my weapon disappeared, and it went back to my inventory. The gears that came with the rifle also returned to where it came from until I could summon them back to me. My clothes also changed into my ordinary uniform, which could help me blend in with the crowd of students.

Midori’s roar from the third floor was the last thing we heard from him as we reached the ground floor. Much to our surprise, there were more monsters on the first level, even bigger and deadlier than the one we saw earlier. I thought the reptile we met a while ago was the boss - just like the system had described. It was the leader of its pack, but the group of reptilian beasts was far more dangerous than anything we had seen.

Thankfully, when we arrived outside, the adventurers Midori called earlier helped us in the nick of time. Hina and I didn’t turn back and see their fight, but we knew we were safe. The monster’s growls echoed from the portal when the adventurers struck them with everything they had. Within a few moments, the medical team went towards us and helped Hina get back on her feet. That team also led us towards a camp with students who went out from the portal. The doctors and the police told us to wait for further instructions before anything else could happen. They also said that this place was safe and the monsters inside the portal wouldn’t attack us.

Their words soothed our minds. However, the memory of Midori continued to haunt me like a ghost. I knew it was just inside my head, but I couldn’t help but blame myself because of it. Midori died because of me.

A few people handling microphones and cameras went towards our figures and interviewed some students in the area. There were also quite a number of government representatives and members that showed up on the scenes and rallied every survivor in a specific place. Word came out that these officials wanted to keep these portals confidential until an official statement was released.

However, more news spread across Tokyo, Japan as the interview came by. According to reporters present on the scene, there were multiple sightings of portals across the city, just like what we had at the school. It was one problem after the other.

“We got a call from our news station that twelve portals appeared on the streets, plus the ones we haven’t counted yet!”

“How many are we talking about?! I want to interview the students first!”

“I think there’s one portal not far from here! And there are already several people that died because of it!”

“Shit! We don’t have much time! We just have to wait for these students and catch every footage of these portals in different places!”

Those were the instructions shouted by the leader of those reporters. But there was one thing that caught my interest. As stated by those journalists, there was one portal not far from our academy that terrorised the city. But, the thing was, we lived in this neighbourhood. It took me a while before I finally noticed that Hina’s family was in danger.

Hina, who had already realised what was happening, stood from her seat in a panic and tried running back to our home. However, her body surrendered even before she could reach the school gates. The running we did a while ago must have taken a toll on her. Hina had already used every ounce of her energy sprinting away from the beast. And the same also happened to me.

However, I refused to quit. I was Hina’s big brother, after all. Even though I didn’t do anything to save Midori, maybe I could save Hina’s parents. Perhaps this time, I could fix my mistake and use my system to save whoever I could save.