"Ajax! You're as underhanded as ever."
Agor snickered as he touched his neck. Even after covering it with tentacles made of darkness, Ajax's blade still managed to leave a thin scratch there. After confirming that his injury wasn't something serious, he looked at the four bodies lying by Ajax's feet.
"Gemini, Sagittarius, Cancer, and Leo..."
He muttered the titles of the four fallen comrades. However, his voice didn't quiver from sadness, not even one bit. Instead of sadness, his eyes burned with hatred and cold anger.
He raised his hand and snapped. At that signal, the remaining Zodiacs quickly moved.
The first one to arrive before Ajax was a small man with what looked like pointy knuckles. He launched a quick jab, but Ajax only needed to turn his neck to dodge the strike.
Just as he was about to counterattack, a thin man appeared behind him and slashed him with what looked like a rapier. Ajax shouldn't be able to get injured by such a simple attack, but his instincts told him to move out of the way.
As he did, two figures wielding a chopper and a hammer landed on the spot he was in a second before. Both weapons look terrifying, as if cursed, making Ajax feel relief for following his heart.
However, his hardship was not yet over. As he was stationary for a short moment, four attacks came at him at the same time. One from both sides, one from the back, and one from above.
He gritted his teeth, unable to believe that a God-tamer like him was getting cornered this easily. However, it was almost a fact that he was done for.
*Pap!*
As if waiting for this moment, a loud clap was heard. Ajax was then covered by a white light, sending the sword and saber coming from both sides reeling back. The spear from above was the same, flinging backward as it was deflected.
The claw aimed at Ajax's back was able to bypass the light and pierce through, creating a few bloody holes over his jumpsuit. The khaki color of his clothes quickly became darker as his blood seeped through.
Ajax, without turning around, sent a kick backward. The owner of the claw dodged the kick successfully but was forced to move a little distance away from him. Finally free from attackers, he retreated to where Zeshion and the others were.
"I'll patch you up,"
Blanc said as she waved the staff she took out, sending a wave of white glittery light over to Ajax, closing the wound on his back almost instantly.
Zeshion, after watching the short exchange, frowned deeply. The eight hooded figures were only about 9th-stage in terms of power, but when they worked together, they could even injure someone like Ajax, who is a god tamer.
In his estimation, if four of those hooded figures gang up against one of them, then it'll be an uphill battle for their side. Thankfully, Ajax managed to take four of them before the battle began; otherwise, it would have been a hopeless battle.
Zeshion moved closer to the six girls and whispered.
"Go ahead and leave this place to us. We'll make sure that none among them will follow you, but beware of other Demon Tamers along the way."
Although he didn't mention it explicitly, Ember and the others quickly realized that he was letting them go ahead not because he was worried about Will but more because they'd be a burden if they stayed there.
"Then, we'll be counting on everyone here. Please be safe."
Ember muttered before leading the charge to where Will was. Fang quickly recovered and overtook Ember, taking the lead once more. The other four quickly followed, running faster than they had before.
As they ran, Agor followed them with his gaze. He then sneered as he snapped his fingers.
Thousands of tentacles made of darkness appeared. Almost every corner of the space that had shadows was squirming with them, painting an extremely revolting sight.
All the tentacles moved at the same time and headed for the girls. As each strand rapidly approached, a wave of white light suddenly flashed by. The tentacles fell powerlessly to the ground as they were cut into millions of pieces in an instant.
Agor looked at Zeshion, who finally had his saber out. The earlier flash was just Zeshion swinging the saber once. It was as powerful as it was hundreds of years ago in Agor's memories.
Ember and the others continued running as if they didn't see anything to make them stop. However, worried about their safety, Zeshion ordered Zeta through their mental link to move to the girls and protect them.
A crack in space appeared above the girls as a woman with long hair the color the same as the dark blue sky on a clear night, Zeta, emerged from it. As she was a familiar face, the others didn't even flinch as she joined in.
Zeta flew over the group, protecting them as they rushed ahead. Behind them, Agor was sending several other attacks to the group, but Zeshion managed to block each and every one of them.
The two glared at each other, not letting their guards down.
---
I stopped running for a moment and tilted my head.
For some reason, the direction of Ember, Fang, and Igni changed from the south to the west. What's more, the presence was much stronger than before.
"Did they teleport somewhere nearby?"
I quickly thought.
However, there's no need to think too deeply about it. I quickly turned to the west and continued using [Shadow Skip]. However, just as I took a few jumps, I was met with trouble.
"..."
At the space where I landed, a figure was standing while looking around. He was staring right at me, the both of us in awkward silence.
"Ah! You trash! So you were here!"
The Demon Tamer grinned viciously as he whistled loudly. Soon, I could feel a few more presences approaching at an extremely fast pace. I gulped at the sudden situation, considering the choices I could make.
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