Saving the End: The Villainess Redemption

Chapter 4

"Five minutes?" Alina repeated, her voice rising in a sharp, defensive arc. "You expect me to just pack a bag and follow some random guy because he says the sky is falling?"

"The sky did fall, Alina," Diego said, pointing a finger toward the shattered living room window. "Look out there. The sky is purple. A monster just tried to eat your brother. If you want to stand here and debate my credentials, we can do that, but we’ll be doing it while being torn to pieces."

"Alina, I'm scared," Mikhail whispered, his small fingers clutching her sleeve so tightly his knuckles turned white. "Can we go with him?"

Alina looked down at her brother, then glared back at Diego. "If you try anything, I swear to God I'll use this knife on you before the monsters can."

"Fair enough," Diego said, nodding quickly. "Grab a backpack. Stuff it with clothes, any canned food you have, and bottled water. Do it now."

"I have my school backpack," Mikhail said, pointing to a blue bag near the door.

"Perfect, Mikha," Diego said, trying to keep his voice soothing. "Put some water bottles in there. Alina, your turn. Move."

Alina moved with surprising efficiency, grabbing a canvas bag from the kitchen and tossing in a few supplies. "Where are we even going, Diego? If the roads are blocked, we're trapped."

"I have a warehouse in the South Sector," Diego explained, keeping his eyes on the open doorway. "It has steel-reinforced doors and a backup generator. If we can get there, we can ride out the first wave."

"The South Sector is miles away," Alina said, zipping her bag. "How do you expect us to walk that?"

"We use the service tunnels," Diego said. "But first, we have to get out of this building. And we aren't using the stairs."

"Why not?" Alina asked, pulling Mikhail close. "The lobby is right down there."

"The lobby is a death trap," Diego said. "That Crawler came from somewhere, which means more are already in the hallways. We're using the fire escape."

"The fire escape is old," Alina argued, stepping toward the hallway window. "It hasn't been inspected in years."

"It's better than being cornered by a pack of blind killers," Diego snapped, ushering them toward the back window that led to the metal stairs. "Come on, ladies first."

Alina pushed open the heavy sash of the hallway window, the rusty hinges screaming in protest. "It's a long way down, Mikha. Don't look down, okay? Just look at me."

"I'm brave, Alina," Mikhail said, though his voice shook. "I can do it."

"That's my boy," she whispered, stepping out onto the rusted iron platform. "Okay, Diego. We're out. Now what?"

Diego climbed out after them, the cold air hitting his face. The sky above was a swirling vortex of deep violet, with veins of black lightning crackling silently through the clouds. "We go down. Carefully. Don't run, or you'll shake the brackets loose."

They descended the first flight of stairs, the metal groaning under their weight.

Suddenly, a high-pitched, crystalline chime echoed directly inside Diego’s skull.

"Ugh!" Alina gasped, grabbing her head with one hand while holding the railing with the other. "What is that? Are you hearing that?"

"My ears are buzzing!" Mikhail cried out, squeezing his eyes shut. "It hurts!"

"It's happening," Diego muttered, his eyes wide as a translucent blue screen flickered into his field of vision. "The integration."

"What did you say?" Alina demanded, looking at him with panic. "What integration? There's a blue light... in front of my face. Is this a hallucination?"

"No, it's real," Diego said, his heart dropping as he read the text floating in his mind.

`[System Initialization Complete.]`

`[World Integration: Phase 1 (Tutorial) is commencing.]`

`[Calculating local survivor density and threat adjustment...]`

"Oh, no," Diego whispered. "No, no, no."

"Diego, what is it?" Alina asked, her voice sharp with worry. "You look like you've seen a ghost. What does the blue light mean?"

"The System is adjusting the difficulty," Diego said, his voice trembling. "Because I saved Mikhail. In the normal course of things, the survivor density in this zone should be lower. But we have three people here. The System thinks we're a party. It's scaling up the difficulty."

"A party? Like a game?" Alina's jaw dropped. "Are you insane? This is real life!"

"It's both now," Diego said. "And because the difficulty is higher, the local spawns are going to be stronger. The tutorial is going to be a nightmare."

Before Alina could reply, a loud crack echoed from below. The rusted metal bolts holding the lower landing to the brick wall sheared off, sending a shower of sparks and plaster into the alley.

"Diego!" Alina screamed, grabbing Mikhail as the platform they were standing on tilted violently. "The stairs are giving way!"

"Hang on to the railing!" Diego shouted, lunging forward.

The ladder leading to the ground level had slipped from its track, dangling precariously over a fifteen-foot drop. If it fell, they would be trapped on the third-floor landing with no way down, and the Seekers would spot them instantly.

"I can't hold it!" Alina yelled, her feet slipping on the slick metal. "The whole platform is pulling away!"

Diego looked at his blue screen.

`[Available Attribute Points: 1]`

`[Strength: 10]`

`[Agility: 11]`

`[Constitution: 9]`

"System!" Diego screamed in his mind. "Allocate the point to Strength! Do it now!"

A warm, electric sensation flooded his veins, his muscles tightening with a sudden, violent burst of energy.

`[Strength updated: 10 -> 11]`

"Get back!" Diego roared, lunging across the gap and grabbing the falling iron ladder with both hands.

His muscles screamed, the rough metal cutting into his palms, but he held. The heavy iron ladder groaned, but its downward momentum stopped.

"Diego!" Alina gasped, her eyes wide as she watched him hold the entire weight of the lower escape with his bare hands. "How are you doing that?"

"Don't ask questions, just climb!" Diego grunted, his teeth grinding together. "Get Mikhail down! Now!"

"Go, Mikha! Hurry!" Alina shoved her brother toward the ladder.

The boy scrambled down, his small hands moving as fast as they could. "I'm down! Alina, I'm down!"

"Your turn!" Diego yelled, his arms shaking violently as the metal began to bend. "I can't hold it much longer!"

Alina didn't hesitate. She swung herself over the rail and slid down the ladder, landing safely next to her brother. "Okay! I've got him! Jump, Diego!"

Diego let go. The moment his hands released the iron, the entire lower section of the fire escape collapsed with a deafening crash, shattering against the concrete of the alley.

Diego dropped, landing heavily on his feet and rolling to absorb the impact. "Agh! That hurt."

"Are you okay?" Alina asked, running over to help him up. Her hostile demeanor had softened, replaced by genuine shock. "That was... how did you lift that? That was impossible."

"I told you," Diego said, panting as he pushed himself up. "The rules of the world have changed. I just used my first point."

"A point? Like a status point?" Alina asked, her voice hushed.

"Exactly. Now check your own screen. You should have one too."

"I... I do," Alina whispered, staring at the empty air in front of her. "It says 'Available Points: 1'."

"Don't use it yet," Diego said, walking toward the alley exit. "Save it until we know what class you're going to get. If you spend it now, you might mess up your build."

"My build?" Alina let out a dry, hysterical laugh. "You're speaking a different language, Diego."

Suddenly, the purple sky above them flashed with a brilliant, blinding white light. A massive, translucent blue screen, large enough to span the entire horizon, materialized in the air above the city. At the same time, smaller, personal screens popped up in front of their eyes.

"Look at the sky!" Mikhail whispered, pointing upward. "It's so big."

"It's the official start of the apocalypse," Diego said, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"Diego... what does it say?" Alina asked, her voice barely audible.

Diego read the glowing letters aloud:

`[Tutorial Quest: Begin.]`

`[Objective: Survive for 24 Hours.]`

`[Current Survivors in San Valen: 142,853]`

`[Time Remaining: 24:00:00]`

`[Note: The difficulty of this Tutorial has been adjusted to 'Hard' due to abnormal survivor density in key sectors. Good luck.]`

"Hard?" Alina whispered, turning to look at Diego. "Because of us?"

"Because of us," Diego confirmed, his grip tightening on his bag. "And the first wave of

monsters is already spawning. We need to move. Now."

"Where?"

"To the safehouse," Diego said, looking down the dark alleyway. "And we better run."