Chapter 168: The Mercy of a Miracle
"Protect yourselves!"
At Soren’s frantic shout, both Drake and Leo instantly froze. They stretched their senses outward, and a split second later, they picked up exactly what had triggered Soren: a terrifying wave of heat rushing directly down the tunnel toward them.
"Fuck!" Cursing out loud, Drake shouted, "Jonas!"
With a swift command, he unsummoned the massive bear magic beast, simultaneously channeling his mana to encase himself in a thick, defensive shell of layered rock.
Leo, on the other hand, didn’t try to weather the blast inside the enclosed space. He unleashed a concentrated blast of wind toward the pile of debris blocking the exit, blasting a large gap open, and immediately propelled himself out into the open air along with his magic beast, Chuck.
Left with no choice and no time to move, Soren squeezed every remaining ounce of his mana and slammed his hands down, conjuring a massive, thick barrier of solid ice that encased both himself and the entire car.
BOOM!
The world outside vanished into a blinding flash as the shockwave struck. Soren braced for the impact, but as the powerful wave of heat washed over the barrier’s exterior, the physical force of the blast felt almost nonexistent, merely causing the outer layers of ice to hiss and rapidly evaporate into steam.
’Huh? What happened?’
He frowned through his hazy consciousness, confused by the lack of impact, but he didn’t have the luxury to ponder it. Coercing that massive structure from completely dry mana channels had demanded a toll his battered body simply could not pay.
As an overwhelming wave of exhaustion and agonizing pain ripped through his system, his focus shattered entirely, sending him collapsing backward into the encroaching darkness.
The last thing he registered as his consciousness slipped away was the sensation of falling into a soft embrace and Ethea’s voice echoing deep within his mind.
’Soren!’
───────
’There!’
Rounding the edge of the central district plaza, Makil finally locked eyes with the target.
The dragon was positioned right in front of a large tunnel entry point. Its jaw was already unhinged, its throat glowing with a concentrated, deadly light as it prepared to fire directly down into the structure.
’Could it be?’
Makil quickly swept his senses down into the tunnel, his eyes widening as he detected several distinct presences trapped deep inside the far end of the structure.
Without a moment of hesitation, Makil blurred across the plaza like a flash of lightning, positioning himself right in the trajectory of the imminent strike. He unleashed a massive burst of mana, violently striking the middle section of the tunnel to cave it in. The ceiling collapsed instantly, creating a dense, solid blockade of heavy debris right in the path of the incoming blast.
Simultaneously, he threw his hand forward, layering multiple wind barriers just past the collapse to absorb any residual shockwaves and protect the people on the other side.
BOOM!
The dragon’s attack collided with the improvised obstacle, instantly vaporizing the stone debris before slamming into the defense lines. The sheer force of the blast tore through the obstacles, shattering layer after layer of the gale.
Makil gritted his teeth, pouring every drop of his mana into reinforcing the remaining defenses.
’Come on!’
Just as the destructive beam was about to pierce the very last layer, the torrent of energy suddenly vanished.
’Good!’
Makil exhaled in relief, snapping his eyes to the side. Karen and Theo had already arrived on the scene, unleashing a barrage of long-range attacks to draw the dragon’s attention away from the tunnel.
Leaving the dragon to his teammates, Makil immediately headed inside the tunnel. With a sharp snap of his fingers, he shattered the remnants of the rock and ice barriers blocking his path, his eyes sweeping over the aftermath.
’It’s him?’
He instantly recognized Drake emerging from a crumbling stone shell, while another young hunter lay completely unconscious on the ground right beside the car, amidst the remains of ice blocks.
Without wasting a second, Makil summoned a powerful current of wind, seamlessly levitating both the car and the unconscious youth into the air.
"Let’s get out of here!" he shouted to Drake.
Propelling himself forward, Makil flew straight through the opening that the other hunter had blasted in the debris earlier. Once outside, he lowered the car to the pavement and transferred the unconscious youth into Drake’s arms as the guy landed beside him.
"Hurry and escape from here," Makil ordered, his expression grim. "There’s a dragon on the loose."
"A dragon?!" Drake’s eyes widened in shock. He quickly nodded, offering a breathless, "Thank you, Sir!"
Acknowledging the gratitude with a brief nod, Makil rocketed back into the sky, rushing straight toward the ongoing battle with the dragon.
However, just as he arrived, a silent but powerful shockwave rippled through the air, forcing him back a few inches. He braced himself, watching the dragon completely ignore Theo and Karen’s attacks as it forcefully unfurled its wings and took flight.
"Be careful!" Makil shouted while extending his hand. He then rapidly compressed a massive volume of air into a dense, roaring sphere of swirling gale before hurling it forward. The projectile struck the dragon squarely on the side of its head. The impact forced the massive creature to pause mid-air, its gaze snapping directly toward him.
For a fleeting second, a cold chill ran down Makil’s spine.
’...Gulp.’
An inexplicable sense of dread washed over him, as if he were staring directly into the eyes of his greatest fear and worst enemy.
The suffocating sensation vanished as quickly as it had come. With a deafening flap of its wings, the dragon rocketed higher into the sky, banking sharply before diving straight in the direction of the fleeing hunters he had just rescued.
’Oh, shit! It’s after them!’
Makil immediately threw his weight forward, executing consecutive sonic bursts of wind to close the distance, with Theo and Karen trailing closely behind.
The dragon was deceptively fast, quickly closing in on the fleeing car. It drifted lower, unhinging its jaw to rain down a volley of compact, explosive fireballs. The vehicle veered wildly across the pavement, tires screeching as it narrowly dodged the incoming bombardment.
’Damn it! Why is it so obsessed with them?’
Makil cursed as he swiped his arm through the air, channeling his wind mana to unleash a barrage of razor-sharp, flying sword slashes, aiming to sever the dragon’s focus. Theo and Karen simultaneously launched their own long-range attacks to back him up.
Before any of their attacks could even touch the creature’s scales, the dragon unleashed a deafening, reality-shaking roar.
In an instant, a pitch-black domain erupted from the beast’s body. The darkness expanded at an unnatural speed, completely enveloping both the dragon and the car in an impenetrable void, while violently rejecting the trio and leaving them stranded on the outside.
"Urgh!"
Makil slammed hard against the barrier, his wind blades dissolving into nothingness against the shifting void. Balancing himself, he cast a frantic glance toward Theo and Karen, but their shared expressions of dread offered no answers. After all, this was a domain; unless they could manifest one of their own or possess power that completely eclipsed the monster, forcing an entry was entirely impossible.
As they stared helplessly into the impenetrable, swirling abyss, they could only hope the people trapped inside could survive long enough for a miracle, knowing that whatever happened next was entirely out of their hands.
However, even after a few minutes, the domain remained perfectly intact, shifting silently in the air.
"Just what is happening in there?" Theo muttered.
Hoping to use the tense waiting time as efficiently as possible, he had long begun clearing the surrounding area, summoning massive torrents of water to crush any monster in his vision.
Not far from him, Karen nocked an arrow to her bow and released a rapid succession of shots, instantly dropping several aerial threats out of the sky. Her expression was just as strained as his.
Both of them turned back to Makil, hoping the veteran hunter would come up with something, but they froze. Makil’s face had lost all color as he lowered his communication device, having just finished speaking with the command center above.
He glanced at them, his voice tight. "The Bastion Emperor managed to bring down the dragons, but he’s critically injured. And... A new one just emerged from the gate."
Theo and Karen felt a cold dread sink into their chests.
Looking up at the darkening sky, they realized it wasn’t just the people inside the domain who needed a miracle now; the survival of the entire city depended on one.
Makil gritted his teeth, his knuckles turning white as he clenched his fists. "Let’s hope the reinforcements arrive as soon as possible, or else..."
He didn’t finish the sentence, but they all understood what he wanted to say.
While high-ranking hunters like themselves possessed the mobility to retreat and survive, the millions of ordinary citizens and low-ranking Awakened would be left entirely at the mercy of the catastrophe. Worse still, walking away wasn’t a real option. This city was the bedrock of their lives, the place where their families and loved ones were currently trapped right in the path of destruction.
Left with nothing but their fading hope, they braced themselves for the worst.
