Chapter 172 172. Kevin Vs Vanessa.
The timer stopped with three seconds left, and a huge sigh of relief escaped from Vanessa's lips.
She instantly untied the ropes binding Sasha's hands and legs before removing the cloth tied around her mouth as well.
Looking closely, Vanessa could see several cuts and bruises on Sasha's once beautiful and clear skin. She was barely able to summon enough courage to withhold the tears which were on the brink of coursing down her cheeks.
And just from the look of Sasha's physical condition, Vanessa couldn't even begin to fathom the amount of horror Sasha had gone through for her to be in such a pitiful state.
She hated herself for not being there for her sister when she needed her the most, but that wouldn't be for long because Vanessa would make sure that the man who did this to Sasha would regret ever laying hands on her sister.
Vanessa cradled Sasha's limp body closer before gently tapping her cheeks to wake her up.
"Sasha, Sasha!! Wake up, wake up!!" Vanessa called out, but Sasha didn't respond immediately, it took a while for her to finally open her eyes, and Vanessa seized that moment to make Sasha focus her gaze on her.
Sasha's view of her surroundings was blurry at first but after hearing a few sounds from Vanessa's direction, she began to slowly focus her attention on her.
"Sasha, wake up, it's me, Vanessa," Vanessa repeated her words, hoping that Sasha would recall where she was and everything that had happened to her so far.
But instead of Sasha hugging Vanessa for coming to save her, which was precisely what Vanessa had been expecting, Sasha did the exact opposite.
As Vanessa's face became more clear, a look of dread filled Sasha's face and she instantly screamed as though she had seen a ghost. "No!!!!"
Sasha tried everything she could to free herself from Vanessa but with Vanessa possessing more strength than her, Sasha couldn't shove Vanessa away from her.
"It's okay, it's okay. It's me, I'm here, I'm right here," Vanessa pulled Sasha into her embrace, hugging her tightly as tears streamed down her face.
She wondered what might have traumatized Sasha to this extent but she didn't linger on such thoughts for too long and instead chose to calm her sister, reminding Sasha that she was here for her now and she wasn't going to leave her ever again.
Hearing that, Sasha calmed down a bit and she finally accepted that it was truly Vanessa's voice and her presence.
"V-Vanessa??" Sasha stuttered in confusion while hoping that she wasn't hallucinating about being in her sister's embrace right now.
"Yes. It's me," Vanessa replied, tightening her arms around her sister in comfort before feeling Sasha wrap her arms around her as well as she hugged her in return.
The two sisters continued to embrace each other for quite some time until the tapping sound of a male's shoe against the ground echoed throughout the third floor and Sasha's body instantly shuddered, recognizing the person heading towards their way.
Sasha immediately grabbed hold of Vanessa's shirt and buried her head in her sister's breasts while quivering with fear as the footsteps grew louder and a man wearing a black mask appeared out of the darkness while clapping his hands in mocking amusement, as though he had just witnessed a heartwarming scene straight out of a movie.
"Bravo. Honestly, I'm impressed. You must really love your sister to have come all the way here in time to save her just before she became minced meat."
"But sadly, the game for today has come to an end, so I suggest that you break off your little reunion because it's finally time to make the preparations for stage two."
"What?"
"Oh, don't look at me like that, a game wouldn't be called a game without stages and levels, right?" Kevin smiled ominously behind the mask.
"Now…!!!" Kevin paused mid-sentence and made a loud clap which reverberated throughout their surrounding and sent shivers down Sasha's spine.
".... It's time we take our leave. C'mon now Sasha, we'll get to see your sister again tomorrow, if she wins tomorrow's task that is," Kevin grinned roguishly as he urged Sasha to walk towards him.
Hearing his words, Vanessa tightened her arms around Sasha and Sasha did the same as well. After seeing the kind of treatment she was experiencing in the video, did the masked man really think Vanessa would willingly let her sister go through such an ordeal again?
Nonsense.
If anyone wished to lay a finger on Sasha, they would have to go through her, first.
Vanessa made up her mind and glared at the masked man, she was ready to launch a surprise attack that would provide both her and Sasha with enough time to escape.
But while Vanessa was formulating a series of plans in her head, the masked man repeated himself and Vanessa suddenly heard Sasha muttering to herself, but her mumbled words were loud enough for Vanessa to hear and she couldn't believe the words coming out of Sasha's lips.
"I'm sorry, sister, but I can't disobey him."
If her words weren't shocking enough, then the ease at which Sasha freed herself from Vanessa's grip certainly was.
Even Vanessa was caught off guard by Sasha's sudden action and she landed butt-first on the ground, watching with puzzled eyes as Sasha walked over to the torturer of her free will.
'How did she free herself from my embrace?'
'The strength she used to free herself just now could rival even that of an S rank awakened.'
'But since when did Sasha become an awakened?'
The more Vanessa thought about what just occurred, the more questions she had running through her mind, but she didn't want to lose Sasha again, not after finding her so soon.
Something definitely doesn't feel right. Sasha certainly didn't seem like she wanted to return to him and Vanessa wasn't going to give up on her sister so soon.
With this thought in her mind, Vanessa hurriedly got back on her feet.
Meanwhile, Sasha finally approached the masked man whose hands were spread wide to welcome Sasha into his embrace.
She walked straight to his chest and he wrapped his arms around the stunning beauty whose n.a.k.e.d body was now freezing in the cold night.
"Good girl," Kevin patted Sasha's head before adding in a disappointed tone.
"But you'll have to be punished for making me wait longer than I intended to."
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