# 943
Chapter 944: The Protection of the White-Clad God
Countless stones battered against his body, making him stagger precariously. His blood-stained white robe had been torn by glass shards thrown by the crazed residents...
He turned a blind eye to all of this.
He walked from one side of the crowd to the other, crossing half a small street. Everything his eyes met was either people cursing and accusing him like the others, or a group huddled in the back, silent and speechless...
The cross-shaped pupils in Yuzuri Takishiro's eyes showed unprecedented disappointment, and he began to question himself.
Just as he was about to fall into complete despair, among the crowd on one side of the road, a pair of slender arms pushed through the people. A strange little girl covered in dust but with bright eyes, holding a bright yellow umbrella in her arms, passed through the volley of stones with her head bowed and ran to Yuzuri Takishiro.
Yuzuri Takishiro stopped in his tracks.
Bang—!
The umbrella frame opened, and the bright yellow umbrella spread open like a sturdy canopy, shielding Yuzuri Takishiro from behind.
This umbrella blocked the stones behind him and also shielded him from the blade called malice.
The little girl gripped the umbrella handle, looking up at this tall, blood-covered teenager. Though there was still some fear in her eyes, she still extended her small hand to hand the umbrella handle to Yuzuri Takishiro.
"White-Clad God Brother, here's the umbrella!"
Yuzuri Takishiro froze in place.
His eyes gazed down at this little speck, and after a long while, a smile bloomed on his pale face.
He smiled very happily, happier than ever before. He was like a child who had found his beloved toy, his eyes full of joy. The gloom that had just shrouded his gaze was instantly swept away.
...He had found it.
"Any human group is complex. Some may be terminally ill and beyond salvation, but there must still be some who have the possibility of being changed"... This was what Yuzuri Takishiro had said to Yuzuri Nana, and it was the most fundamental driving force that sustained him through all of this.
These people with the possibility of change were like seeds, like hope. Even if there was only one, it meant everything was worth it.
So what if he wasn't understood by everyone? Perhaps this road would be extremely bumpy, so what?
Yuzuri Takishiro didn't care.
When this person who was willing to hold an umbrella for him appeared, everything he had done was worth it.
The scattered stones hit the umbrella surface with dull thuds. Yuzuri Takishiro slowly squatted down, his snow-white hair spreading across the blood pool. He reached out and gently patted the little girl's head, his eyes full of tenderness.
"Scared?"
"...Not scared." The little girl summoned her courage to say. "The White-Clad God will protect us."
Yuzuri Takishiro smiled faintly, pulling the little girl into his embrace. Those cross-shaped star eyes lifted, gazing through the edge of the umbrella at the emptiness ahead.
"Mm, I will."
Boom—!!
The cyberpunk spear lying nearby suddenly trembled violently, as if responding to some summons, and shot into the sky, piercing through the void and flying toward behind the little girl!
The spear tip pierced the void, as if touching some hard object. Traces of blood appeared in the emptiness, and the outline of a massive corpse beast emerged before everyone!
This was the second corpse beast that had concealed itself within the surroundings.
The spear thrust into its chest, and the corpse beast let out a pained roar. Its howl swept across the street like a physical force, blowing away the bright yellow umbrella that had shielded Yuzuri Takishiro. The residents still throwing stones at Yuzuri Takishiro turned pale, fleeing frantically backward!
Only the little girl blinked, looking dazedly at everything before her.
She couldn't see that corpse beast because Yuzuri Takishiro was holding her, her back to the danger.
She couldn't hear that corpse beast because Yuzuri Takishiro had tightly covered her ears.
Her world was peaceful... simply because in front of her was the White-Clad God who protected her.
Yuzuri Takishiro lifted his pale face, his eyes fixed on the pain-wracked corpse beast before him, his gaze erupting with startling killing intent.
The spear tip embedded in the corpse beast's chest suddenly bloomed open like a bouquet. A beam of destructive light erupted from within the spear, instantly piercing through the corpse beast's body, flying from the earth up to the sky, penetrating the clouds.
A massive circular hole appeared in the corpse beast's chest, the wound's edges scorched and scalding. The red in its eyes gradually faded, and finally it collapsed to the ground, the rising dust engulfing the ruined street.
The people who had been fleeing wildly all stopped, turning to look back, their eyes full of terror.
If Yuzuri Takishiro hadn't fired that shot just now, not a single one of them would have survived...
Clang—!
The spear that had pierced through the corpse beast's body fell powerlessly to the ground, dissolving into nothing as a game prop.
The little girl only felt her body grow heavy. That white-haired teenager cradling her had lost consciousness, his face deathly pale.
"White-Clad God?" The little girl anxiously called out. "White-Clad God! Wake up..."
Everyone exchanged glances, their eyes filled with bewilderment.
The White-Clad God... was dead?
"Is he dead?"
"Can't be?! He was so powerful, how could he possibly die?"
"If he's dead, who's going to protect us?"
"Let's run! If we don't run now, when new monsters appear, it'll be too late!"
"..."
Ssss!
Two blood-red cracks split open once more in the distant sky, the roar of beasts echoing from within the clouds. The residents who had barely escaped death shuddered, despair written across their faces.
Vroom—!!
Just then, the roaring sound of an engine rapidly approached from the end of the road!
Everyone turned to look. A McLaren with a post-apocalyptic paint job crashed through the dust and smoke, speeding forward like a roaring beast. Swirls of black smoke churned around its spinning wheels before it came to an abrupt stop before the crowd with a screech of tires.
A car!
It was a sports car!
Some people's eyes lit up. Their red-tinged gazes fixed on the vehicle, greed flickering across their faces.
In this situation, if they had a sports car, their escape speed would greatly increase!
No one cared about Yuzuri Takishiro's state of life or death beside them. Several among them exchanged glances, nodded subtly, and silently picked up glass shards and knives from the ground. Their faces twisted with menace as they walked toward the McLaren.
Bang.
The car door opened, and a young man wearing a deep crimson cloak stepped out.
"Kid! Hand over the car and get lost right now. We'll let you keep your miserable life!" The man at the front threatened viciously.
The young man didn't answer. His eyes gazed at Yuzuri Takishiro collapsed in the little girl's arms in the distance. His hands hung limply at his sides, tightly clenched into fists...