Miho the Killer
Chapter 96: It’s All Over

Chapter 96: It’s All Over

I woke up with a stinging pain on my side.

Miho was sitting next to my bed, her body bent forward and her head leaning on the edge of my pillow. She was snoring soundly.

I did not want to wake her up.

I gave up trying to get up. As soon as I used an ounce of strength to pull my body up I felt like the stabbed wound on my side was going to burst open.

Still laying on my back, with my head only slightly lifted up - I looked around, scanning the room trying to figure out where we were.

It seemed we were in some sort of a motel.

The room was modest, to say the least.

Old, cheap furniture. A TV that looked like it must be at least a decade old. The bed creaked as I writhed my body.

I tried to recall what happened back in the safe house.

My mind was still hazy and my memories not so clear. But one thing was certain - Shin was dead.

I looked down at Miho’s head. Her hair was in a total mess. She was still wearing the same cloth covered in dust and blood. I wanted to let the poor girl grieve in her dream for a while, but at the same time, I realized I was probably being a liability here that delayed us from getting as far away as possible; as soon as possible.

"Miho," I whispered her name gently. Followed by a groan.

She bolted up straight away, pulling out blades from God knows where, gripping one on each hand, immediately assuming a lean fighting stance.

My tigress must have been so tired.

How long have we been on the run? Hours? Days?

It seemed it’s been in the previous life that she had last rested.

If there were next life - a life after this, would she able to rest? Could she live her life never needing to fight again?

And we - could we finally find peace?

"Oh, it’s you," seeing no danger around, Miho wiped the drool off her mouth and put her knives away.

"I’m so sorry, Miho," pathetic - but apologizing was all I could do.

She plopped back on to the small chair that she had pulled up next to my bed.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"It hurts."

"Yeah, a stab would is horrible. But the Old Man-"

Miho couldn’t continue as she struggled to suppress herself from crying.

"I’m sorry."

She closed her eyes, leaned her head back, was about to scream - then she bit her fist instead. She bit it so hard I saw blood drip down.

"Please don’t."

She was trembling.

I tried to reach out to touch her, to comfort her, but the pain pulled me back.

We were both aching. In every possible way.

Then there was a long silence. Neither of us was capable of saying anything. There were simply no words good enough to mend the broken hearts at times like this.

Perhaps, all we had to - and all we could do - was just to grieve.

After a few minutes, Miho finally calmed down and placed her hand on my pillow, leaning forward.

She whispered into my ear.

"What now...?"

Miho was lost. Completely lost.

The tigress, the devil, a free spirit - yet she had lived her whole life being told where to go and who to kill. Her freedom was a violent one. She took the liberty to kill anything and anyone that crossed her path, but she had never experienced not knowing what to do - or rather, there had always been someone - Shin - who gave her guidance.

"Where are we?" I asked her instead.

"Just past Incheon. They won’t find us here. For a while," she sighed.

"How long have I been out?"

"Most of the day."

"I see."

I finally managed to reach out and touch Miho’s hand. It was sticky with blood.

"You are bleeding."

"Not the worst thing in the world."

I looked into her eyes. They were full of sadness, yet seemed vacant at the same time.

"Miho."

"Yeah..."

"It’s all over"

I gently squeezed my hand. She initially tried to pull away, but I did not let her. After a short moment of struggle, she gave in.

"What are we going to do now..."

I had never seen Miho so lost before, except when she was in her extreme depressive state. But what she was feeling now was no trick of her mind, but a genuine and deep sorrow - with an unbearable weight of grief.

"Have you ever thought about what to do when you... retire?"

"Hah... I didn’t think I would retire like this... I always thought... it would be more-"

"Shhh," I rubbed her forearm with my palm, trying to calm her down.

"The time has come, Miho. I’m sorry that things happened the way they did, but..."

I took in a deep breath.

"We need to move on."

"Easy for you to say," Miho immediately shot back, grunting.

Immense guilt rushed through every vein of my body.

My eyes swelled with tears too.

How selfish...

The guilt wasn’t only that I brought this mess to us.

What was more unacceptable was that there was a sense of optimism in my heart that now we could - finally - end this life and start a new one. Somewhere far away from here.

"I need to go see Juho."

"I understand."

A long pause.

"I’m sorry to bring this up at time like this, but... do you still have means to support him?"

A practical concern. Harsh. But necessary.

"The Old Man... prepared for this eventuality," Miho let out.

"I see..."

Miho and I looked at each other in silence. I could hear - feel - every heavy breath she took in and let out. The tigress was tired. Tired of fighting, tired of running. Tired of the past, scared of facing the uncertain future. For someone who lived dancing on the knife’s edge of death and survival, she still had a tender spot in her heart that was still capable of feeling too much.

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