As I was in the air, I was able to offset a lot of the impact from the explosion. I crossed my arms and legs, protecting most of my important organs, as I watched the flashing heat wave sweep over us.
"Kuh?!"
However, the damage I received was still beyond my expectations. As I rolled on the ground, I could only hear a ringing sound in my ears. My eyes were blurry, and honestly, I felt like I had gone blind for a moment.
I covered most parts, but my arms and legs, the clothes covering them, and even my hair got intensely burned. I could still feel them, but I guess the nerves on them got snuffed out as I felt no pain.
When the whiteness in my sight vanished, it was replaced by pure darkness. I couldn't see a thing... Until a small gold and green wave of energy flashed before my eyes.
I quickly tilted my head, not knowing what it was. My cheeks suddenly felt a burning sensation as something hot flowed down to my neck.
'This is bad!'
I quickly moved backward, but another flash of gold and green appeared in my pitch-black vision. This one was faster than before, making me unable to dodge in time.
I felt something strike my left shoulder, embedding deep. It wasn't something physical, as after the tearing sensation, I could feel that the wound was left open, exposed to the air.
In a panic, I relied on muscle memory and quickly retrieved the strongest potion I had. Instead of gulping it, I just placed it above my head and smashed the vial. The contents flowed down to my head, eyes, cheeks, neck, and chest.
My eyes recovered, and I could finally see clearly.
Before me, who was still rushing backward, the earlier woman was chasing me with a limp and a burned body. Her clothes were torn all over, with almost nothing left. She must've protected her face and chest, as those areas were the only ones that had relatively fewer injuries.
Her expression was twisted in a mixture of pain and rage as she sent another dart made of wind to my face. However, this time, I could see her movements beforehand.
Using the winding motion of her arms, I predicted exactly where she was aiming. Using that information, instead of dodging away, I closed the distance with her. The wind darted past my ears as my fist landed on her chest.
I sent a mass of violent energy to her heart, disrupting the natural cycle of her energy. She went past me and quickly fell to her knees. Her face was pale as she vomited buckets of blood.
I sighed in relief, finally managing to neutralize my attacker. However, I immediately noticed that I was surrounded. Eight clumps of energy were rushing to our location from different directions.
I realized that there was no escaping this time, as the space was blocked by some skill, disabling all forms of instant movement skills. I rushed back to our previous location and fetched the rifle that was lying on the ground. It was made sturdy, so it only had scratches despite getting hit by the full blast earlier.
I changed the form into the pistol and reloaded the magazines. The rifle may be good at long distances, but it's unwieldy in close quarters.
I calmed my breathing, checking the state of my body as I waited.
All major injuries have healed. My energy still has about half remaining. My mind is still working fine. With this, I could at least buy some time while I wait for backup.
Ember, Fang, and Igni were already in the range where I could feel their emotions. Although they had excitement at first, it quickly turned into worry and panic. Especially Ember. Her panic and fear doubled every other second that passed.
I smiled, imagining the faces of the three. I looked up, and there were eight hooded figures floating imposingly, surrounding me at even intervals. They looked down with anger in their gazes, probably for their fallen comrade a little distance away.
I held the pistols askew as I aimed toward them.
"Come!"
---
Ember's group was rushing through the forest.
With protection from Zeta, all the Demon Tamers that got in range ended up lost in the large void of space. The three girls, Wan Li, Wan Er, and Ying Yue, could only shiver at the brutal but efficient way that she handled her enemies.
Ember, Fang, and Igni were a bit different, though. As they approached the direction where Will was supposed to be, they could clearly feel their connection with him getting stronger.
Smiles slowly spread on their faces as their steps became livelier.
"!!! Master!"
Finally, Fang was able to feel Will's emotions. This meant that they were within 10 kilometers of him. However, her smile quickly faded and turned to fear.
Will's emotions were a mix of calm, pain, and resignation. Judging by that, she could quickly deduce that Will was fighting an impossible battle and was resolved to fight to his last breath.
"Goddess Zeta!"
Ember shouted before Fang could, as she ran faster than she thought she was able to. Zeta, who was flying in the air, understood what she wanted to ask before even hearing the rest of her words.
Will had been within her detection range since earlier, but he was now covered in a space-sealing barrier. It was supposed to prevent any instant movement or teleportation skills... But that had nothing to do with her, the Goddess of Space.
Zeta stared forward, locking onto the figure of Will that was too far away to be visible. Then, when she blinked, her position and Will's switched. Will was surprised as he fell down from a few meters above the ground, but quickly regained his bearings and turned around to land.
On the other hand, Zeta appeared on the spot where Will was standing. Around her, the eight demon tamers looked on in shock and fear.
She had no wish to exchange words with them, so she immediately manipulated their coordinates. She subtracted a thousand meters from their vertical coordinates, making them vanish from their position.
A thousand meters below the ground, eight figures were crushed to death after they suddenly appeared between the bedrock. However, only Zeta knew about this fact.
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