Tifa could smell the strong smell of blood before she entered the depths of the clearing, which reminded her of the day the village was massacred.
How many demon wolves have died... Will senior brother be okay?
She anxiously patted the white mane of the Thunder Wolf beneath her, urging it to move faster. The Thunder Wolf snorted and moved faster.
The further they walked, the stronger the smell of blood became, accompanied by a slightly burnt smell, which made Tifa's ominous feeling even stronger.
Finally, they returned to the garbage mountain deep in the clearing near the outer wall area.
This place was originally filled with massive amounts of rusty steel scraps and industrial waste, but at this time, demon wolf corpses were almost everywhere. The thick bloody smell even produced a faint blood-red mist under the reflection of the magic furnace.
The 'moonlight' shines through to the outside.
“Senior brother! Senior brother!”
Tifa turned over and jumped off the Thunder Wolf Dragon's back, even staggering and almost falling. She stumbled and ran forward, looking around and shouting, hoping to find that familiar figure.
But it was still silent here, except for the echo of the girl's scream.
With tears filling her eyes, Tifa wiped her eyes and called Heather's name in a crying voice. She was never afraid even when she was attacked by a pack of demon wolves, but now, she was really afraid.
Don’t leave me alone, brother.
Under the moonlight, the girl walked alone among the mountains of garbage strewn with corpses, looking for the most important person to her. The Thunder Wolf Dragon cub sat quietly in the corner and watched all this, silently.
The silence after each cry will make the despair in the girl's heart further.
Every time she took a step forward, she was afraid of seeing the cold body of her senior brother among the wolf corpses everywhere. Tifa rejected this possibility from the bottom of her heart.
O God, if you really exist, please don’t take away my senior brother, he is my last family member.
“Tifa, what are you looking for?”
Senior brother, I'm looking for my master... Tifa turned around suddenly and saw that familiar figure with eyes blurred by tears.
She ran forward stumblingly, threw herself into Heather's arms, and cried loudly: "Brother! I thought you... thought..."
Heather had just used the Shinra Company's special medicine forcibly confiscated from Renault to provide emergency treatment for the bruised strong man. Then she threw the summoning stone and walked out. Unexpectedly, she had just walked a few steps.
I found Tifa crying and looking for something among the garbage.
Only then did Tifa realize that there were blood stains all over Heather's body. She hurriedly touched Heather's body with trembling hands: "There's a lot of blood. Senior brother, are you injured?"
"Idiot, how could I be hurt? They're just a few wolves, so weak." Heather shrugged indifferently, earning a glare from the old wolf in the distance: "Hey! Okay, don't touch me. I'm so weak."
Not injured."
The girl's reserve and shyness were all left behind. Tifa hugged Heather tightly and buried her head on his chest: "Brother, don't leave me..."
Heather's body froze, and after a long time, she touched Tifa's head hesitantly with stiff movements. Her voice was no longer so cold or cynical, but revealed a rare tenderness:
“…well, I won’t leave you.”
……………………………………………
“Thank you both for your life-saving grace! Thank you for saving my daughter Marlene!”
Three days later, the strong man who lost too much blood finally woke up after treatment. After he woke up and figured out the situation, he immediately found Heather and Tifa, and bowed to thank them despite the wounds on his body. For him,
The safety of his daughter Marlene is much more important than his own life.
Tifa and Heather saved Marlene, which was the greatest kindness to him, not to mention that Heather saved him from the pack of demon wolves alone. He was determined to repay this kindness.
Heather, who was wiping glasses behind the bar, glanced at him and said impatiently: "Get up, I'm not into this. If the wound breaks open again, I won't pay for your medical expenses!"
The cold tone made the strong man very uncomfortable. Remembering that the person in front of him was his great benefactor, the strong man who was about to get angry suddenly became submissive and didn't know what to say.
In front of the bar, Tifa was holding little Marlene and teasing her. Seeing this, she smiled and helped the strong man out of trouble: "Mr. Barrett, are you not a native of Midgar?"
The strong man known as Barrett touched the back of his head, and when there was no one around him, he whispered: "I'm from the village of Corel."
“Corell Village? Could it be the one who was hit by an avalanche...” Tifa looked at Heather in surprise.
Barrett shook his head: "It wasn't Avalanche, it was Shinra! The magic reactor they installed in Corel Village had a major accident. In order to cover up the truth, Shinra Company dispatched [Special Forces] to destroy Corel Village.
Massacre them all and frame the charges on the Avalanche organization."
“Your hands were also at that time...”
Barrett's left hand touched the broken part of his right arm, and he gritted his teeth and whispered: "Yes, this is a 'memorial' left to me by Shinra Company. One day I will return it to them a hundred times a thousand times!
"
"You can't say this kind of thing casually in Midgar. The third rule of survival in the Midgar slums is [no matter how much you hate Shinra, you can't tell others in Midgar]." Tifa looked at Barrett.
, as if I saw myself filled with anger when the village was just slaughtered. If I hadn't met my senior brother, I'm afraid I would have been tortured by the fire of anger while struggling to survive in Midgar.
"Of course I know this kind of thing. But you two are my great benefactors, and I will not deceive you with lies."
Barrett said firmly: "My life belongs to you. Even if I am really stabbed to the Shinra Company, I will just give my life back to you. After all, I have made a few days of profit.
Ha ha."
"Don't worry Mr. Barrett, we will never betray you to Shinra Company." Tifa hugged little Marlene with a bright smile on her face: "By the way, how long have you been in the Qifan Street slums?"
“It’s been less than half a month since I came here. The environment and atmosphere here are much better than those in the slums on Bafan Street. It’s just that it’s not easy to find places to live and job opportunities.”
Barrett rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment: "I'm sorry for occupying your room for so long. I'll take Marlene and move out right away."
Tifa looked at Marlene who was babbling in her arms, and then looked at Heather. The latter clicked her tongue, with a look of displeasure on her face: "Look what I'm doing, you can speak much better than me in front of that old woman Mare."
Already."
“You hate it, don’t talk about Granny Mare like that.” Tifa patted Heather’s arm lightly, then looked at Barrett with a smile: