I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 293: Point of Impact

"Wait, it’s a car. What makes you think you can lift it?" Alicia runs after Hawk.

"All I need to do is lift it slightly, so you two can pull the man out," Hawk says, not stopping as he approaches the car.

But then, a spark falls onto the leaking gasoline.

Hawk sees it and immediately stops Alicia. "Watch out!"

But Alicia’s focus is elsewhere.

Her attention is on the fire spreading quickly, and on Theo, who is already in position to pull the man out.

Alicia freezes as the fire reaches the car’s gas tank.

Hawk watches in horror as Theo bends down, ready to pull.

He reaches out toward Theo, trying to pull him away, but he is too late.

The car explodes.

The blast sends Hawk and Alicia flying nearly a hundred meters away.

Alicia instinctively uses her Wind to keep herself from getting hurt.

She lands on her feet, while Hawk crashes into a pile of cars.

Alicia wants to scream for Theo, but she knows he is fine, and she does not want to attract unnecessary attention.

But Hawk...

He scrambles out of the wreckage, his face full of scratches. He struggles to get free, his eyes locked in Theo’s direction.

"Ms. Montrose!" he yells.

Smoke and debris obscure their vision.

Hawk runs toward the explosion, waving his hands to clear the smoke as he keeps calling out for Theo.

Alicia follows close behind him.

"I’m okay!" a voice calls from within the smoke.

As it begins to clear, Hawk and Alicia see Theo, protected by a shield, with the man lying on the ground beside him.

"Thea!" Alicia yells, running past Hawk toward Theo.

"Watch out!" Theo shouts, as another explosion erupts from the car.

Alicia and Hawk drop flat to the ground, their eyes on Theo, who remains protected within the shield.

"Shield?" Hawk mutters in disbelief.

The explosions finally stop.

Hawk and Alicia cough because of the smoke. Their faces are darkened with soot.

"You guys okay?" Theo asks from inside the shield.

"Yeah, I am," Alicia answers between coughs.

Both Hawk and Alicia get back to their feet.

Alicia approaches Theo as his shield slowly dissipates.

"How...?" Hawk asks, confused.

"Huh? How what?" Theo replies, equally confused.

"The shield... what is that?" Hawk asks.

Alicia goes slightly pale, but it goes unnoticed.

Realization dawns on Theo. "Oh, that?"

He lifts his left wrist. "It’s this. Aegis."

"Huh?" Hawk is still confused.

Alicia closes her eyes and exhales in relief.

For a second, she had been afraid Theo used magic.

"Aegis? From Montrose Corporation? You haven’t heard of it?" Theo asks, deliberately making himself sound more confused than usual.

Hawk blinks several times.

"Yeah..." His voice cracks.

He clears his throat. "Yeah, I’ve heard of it. Of course. Aegis is very popular in the military... of course!" He finally catches on.

"You’re a Montrose. Of course you have your own personal Aegis." Hawk smiles, relieved that he finally understands.

Because for a second there, he had thought Theo was using magic.

Silly me. Not everyone can use magic, Hawk. Don’t jump to conclusions. Damn you, Ethan!

He curses Ethan inwardly. It was Ethan who suggested that Rhaenas might be using magic, since Maeve Collins is one of their members.

Because of that, Hawk had subconsciously started connecting Theo to being a magus.

When he saw the shield, part of him had been in awe. He had never seen magic used like that, so precise and controlled.

Theo squats down to check on the unconscious man.

Alicia notices and crouches beside him, checking as well.

"Phew, thank god he’s okay." She scans him. "No visible wounds, only on the legs where he was pinned under the car. Nice reflex, Thea!" Alicia playfully hits Theo on his upper arm.

Theo smiles faintly. "We should move him out of the way. Maybe over there, near the gate, so when the rescue team enters, they’ll see him." He points to an area.

Alicia nods. "Agreed. I think we should look for survivors, and when we find them, we bring them to the same area."

Theo nods.

"Wait." Hawk stops them.

From the way she moves, Hawk can tell Alicia is not a regular civilian. She looks well-trained. And he does not remember seeing her profile in the Rhaenas dossiers they have.

"May I know who you are?" Hawk asks Alicia.

Alicia looks at him, blinks several times, then crosses her arms.

"I think it’s polite to introduce yourself before asking someone else."

Hawk sighs lightly.

"I’m sorry. I’m called Hawk. It’s not my real name, but I’m used to it by now. And you are?"

Hawk extends his hand.

Alicia looks at his hand, arms still crossed.

She looks back at him.

"I’m Alicia Lutherford." She uncrosses her arms and shakes Hawk’s hand.

"And this is Thea Montrose. But I’m sure you already knew that, since you called her."

Hawk then extends his hand toward Theo.

Theo shakes it and smiles politely. "Nice to meet you, Hawk."

"Alright, now that we know each other, let’s get to work," Alicia says. Her tone carries a hint of the authority she used to have as Chief.

Hawk notices that, but he does not know how to ask without being labeled nosy. And he remembers Taylor saying that women do not like nosy men.

Hawk sighs as he moves to find survivors.

I’ve never had to think about these things. Thanks, Taylor, he says inwardly, full of sarcasm.

Alicia positions herself between Hawk and Theo. She has noticed Hawk keeps glancing at Theo, and she does not like it.

At all.

Watch it, Hawk. If you so much as point a finger at Thea, I’ll cut it off.

Soon, the three of them begin sweeping the area. They do not dare wander too far, for fear of encountering haelions.

After searching for about an hour, with no interruption from haelions, they find around ten people who are still alive.

Among them, two are critically injured. Five have serious injuries, but not life-threatening... yet.

And three have minor lacerations.

Theo keeps his eyes on the critically injured. He is trying to find a way to stabilize them, but he has not found the opportunity, since Hawk’s eyes are always on him.

He notices that Hawk stays close. He keeps a certain distance, but he is always there.

Theo cannot help but think Hawk is suspicious of him being a magus.

Theo also notices that Alicia always places herself between Hawk and him, which makes him smile in amusement.

Can I really blame her? No, not really. Hawk’s attitude does feel... predatory, but I don’t think that’s it.

Theo can say that because he does not sense anything malicious from Hawk.

In fact, if it were not for Hawk’s suspicion, Theo would think Hawk is actually trying to make sure he is safe.

That he is there in case Theo needs help.

He really does hover like a hawk.

Theo chuckles.

"What’s so funny?" Alicia asks.

Theo shakes his head.

"I was just thinking how jealous Julian and Liam would be if they knew we were in here and they weren’t," Theo lies smoothly.

Hearing that, Alicia chuckles.

"Yeah, that does sound like them."

"Julian and Liam?" Hawk asks from beside her.

Alicia looks at him, slightly annoyed.

"Come on, Hawk. Drop the act. Don’t pretend you don’t know them. You knew Thea, which means you probably read about her somewhere. If you did, then you should know about Julian and Liam too. They’re members of Rhaenas."

"They’re pretty famous these days, you know. Don’t tell me you only looked at Thea’s pictures." Alicia looks straight at Hawk. Her posture is relaxed, but her tone and eyes... they challenge him to admit what he’s really paying attention to.

Hawk falls quiet.

So that’s why she keeps positioning herself between me and her.

Hawk chuckles.

Alicia’s demeanor shifts.

Alert.

"What’s so funny?" She is ready to take him down.

"So that’s why you’ve been placing yourself between me and Ms. Montrose, Ms. Lutherford," Hawk says with a grin.

"Because you think I’m interested in Ms. Montrose."

He exhales.

"You can relax. The only thing about Ms. Montrose that interests me is her safety. I thought she might need some help. We are in a dungeon, after all. A mutated one at that. If I’m too far, and she needs help, I’m afraid I wouldn’t reach her in time."

He adds, "Satisfied now?"

Alicia scoffs lightly. "She’s a Rhaenas. She doesn’t need your help. Besides, we don’t know who you are or what you do. We don’t know if you’re even capable of protecting her from haelions."

Hawk tilts his bald head slightly. "I remember that she’s a Rhaenas. But look at her, Ms. Lutherford. Come on. If we’re talking reality here, who would think someone as delicate-looking as her could fight haelions?"

He looks at Theo. "No offense, Ms. Montrose."

Theo smiles lightly. "None taken."

"What do you mean, none taken, Thea? I’m offended!" Alicia exclaims.

"What a very male thing to say!" she adds, full of fire.

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down, Ms. Lutherford." Hawk raises both his palms in a gesture of surrender.

"I’m not trying to offend anyone. I’m just saying, based on appearance, if someone saw me and Ms. Montrose, who would they think has a better chance of surviving against haelions?"

"Am I shallow for saying that? Maybe. But am I wrong? I don’t think so," Hawk adds.