Chapter 1045 - 132: Cry for Help Amid the Storm
The explosive sound of Apparition still trembled in the air, Vid wiped the rain splashed on his face, gently shook his head, showing a hint of helplessness on his face.
When Grindelwald left, he was very angry, disregarding his usual elegant demeanor.
The noise when he Apparated was as if someone had detonated a bomb on the rooftop, the compressed air violently blasting the surrounding rain into scattered white mist.
But Vid was not worried about Grindelwald’s anger.
Seeing a successor more outstanding and thorough than he had expected, shouldn’t a pioneer feel gratified?
Though Grindelwald was arrogant, cold, extreme, and manipulative, lacking awe of life... at least, he was not a petty person.
Vid turned his gaze back to the city ravaged by the downpour beneath him, with only cold scrutiny in his eyes.
...
On the coast, waves as tall as three meters roared like black walls, crashing toward the shore with irresistible force!
A man, confident and eager for the challenge, attempted surfing as the storm came; in an instant, he was swept away by the crest of the wave, disappearing from the surface like a pebble thrown into the water.
"No, John—" his female companion on the shore was completely stunned, then snapped out of it, and let out a heart-rending scream: "Help... John... John..."
Underwater, the man was tossed around by enormous power, seawater pouring into his nose and mouth, he struggled desperately against the intense suffocation.
No matter how he flailed his arms and legs, he was swept away by the current, swiftly plunging toward the deep sea.
Just as his consciousness was about to fade, a sudden and powerful force erupted from beneath him!
That force moved against the current, with equally irresistible strength, quickly pushing him up from underwater!
John hadn’t even had time to cough out the water from his lungs before he was hurled high out of the water.
"Wait, cough cough cough, wait—"
John shouted, rapidly glancing back, feeling as if he were a stone shot out by a catapult, helplessly being thrown ten meters away, then landing heavily on the wet sand!
"John—"
His companion cried out, rushing over, and embraced the man, wailing loudly.
"Cough cough cough..."
John, who had narrowly escaped death, coughed violently, still shaken, he turned back to look at the still roaring sea, brewing for another assault.
"Quick! Let’s get out of here!"
His girlfriend pulled and dragged him up, quickly supporting him as they began running away from the shore.
John glanced back again, only to see a blurry black shadow flash underwater, swiftly vanishing into the depths of the turbid giant waves.
—What was that?
The man muddledly thought:
Was it... a jellyfish?
...
Downpour lashed, the sky seemed to be torn open with a crack, the rain didn’t fall in drops but poured down like a waterfall.
Muddy rainwater, mixed with dirt and trash from the ground, was swept into rapid torrents, rushing towards the low-lying areas along the streets.
The underground parking lot seemed to have turned into a flood channel, sewage gushed in wildly, swiftly engulfing the vehicles and goods stored in the underground space, the water level rising visibly.
Faint cries for help emerged from the narrow entrance.
"Help—is anyone there? Save us—"
The woman called out with all her strength, her voice echoing in the underground space, but much of it was drowned out by the sound of rushing water and the howling wind and rain.
A brief moment of hesitation before, and she had lost the chance to escape the underground parking lot. In a panic, the woman lifted her three or four-year-old child and desperately climbed onto the roof of an off-road vehicle.
Chilly sewage had submerged most of the car in the blink of an eye, the child shivered in fear, hugging their mother tightly, not daring to let go.
"It’s okay... someone will come to save us..."
The woman trembled as she comforted the child, once again calling out in despair and helplessness: "Help... please save us... can anyone hear?"
"Boom!!!"
The thunder rolled, as if a Giant were fiercely pounding on a drum, overpowering all the sounds between heaven and earth.
At this moment, light shone through a small window, illuminating the dark water.
The woman suddenly noticed a strange ripple spreading across the water’s surface, she looked in fear, her heart almost jumping out of her chest.
"Splash," a wet head emerged from the water—that was an enormous Black Dog, its head coming out looking almost as bear-like, startling the woman and child into simultaneous screams.
"Ah!"
"Woof!"
The Black Dog let out a friendly bark, approached the roof, and stared directly at the mother and child.
The woman held her child tightly, shrinking back in terror, trembling as she faced off with the giant creature.
The Black Dog retreated slightly, its limbs flexibly moved in the water, it didn’t approach to attack, nor did it leave, but lingered around them.
"Go away! Don’t come near us!" the woman cried with a sob in her voice: "I have no food, leave us alone!"
The Black Dog backed up a bit more, its black crystalline eyes fixed on her quietly and gently, as if it could understand her fear.
The woman suddenly felt a little remorse for her harsh attitude.
In a few brief minutes, the water level rose considerably again, the turbid surface had reached the car roof, even standing became difficult, the biting cold and fear made her tremble uncontrollably.
Suddenly—
"Thud—clang!"
In a bizarre muffled sound, the woman watched in horror as a Honda Accord swayed like it was intoxicated, shedding the bonds of the earth and started to recklessly charge around in the water.
"Crash—scrunch—"
The car was pushed by the water, scraping past an entire row of parked vehicles, producing a teeth-gritting sound. Then it swayed violently and rammed into the off-road vehicle under the woman’s feet!
"Ah!"
A scream, the woman fell from the roof, she shut her eyes in despair, yet she didn’t fall into the frigid sewage.
The Black Dog caught them.
It supported both with its neck and back, once more emitting a prompt bark: "Woof! Woof woof!"
At the brink of life and death, the woman miraculously understood its meaning.
Taking advantage of the Black Dog’s strength, she steadied herself, tremblingly asked: "You... you’ve come to save us?"
In the dim light, the Black Dog nodded, its gentle eyes seemed to be speaking.
Suddenly, an odd feeling ran through the woman’s body, like fear, like gratitude, or perhaps a numbness as relief washed over her after narrowly escaping doom.
The woman resisted tears, gritted her teeth, carefully climbed onto the dog’s back.
The Black Dog immediately moved, its limbs swiftly paddling through the water at astonishing speed.
It was like a fish breaking through the waves, skillfully avoiding those vehicles crushing and colliding with each other in the water, firmly carrying the mother and child toward the exit.
The woman clung tightly to the fur on its back, feeling as if tonight’s ordeal was just a dream, only the child in her arms was real.