"The heir of the Ming clan…"
The man in the air, Yuan He, commented in a calm voice as he studied Chen on the Myst platform. Chen Ming, amidst fear, rage, and indignation, looked at the man in the air and spoke loudly.
"Do you know who you attacked? The direct disciple of the two youngest Master-level individuals in history, someone who can have casual conversations with the most powerful Legend-level of all. Erik Verne, the greatest genius in known history.
"Harming a single hair on his head would lead the Arcane Order to pursue the He clan to extermination, and my Ming clan wouldn't be spared either! And you even had the audacity to hunt down the entire younger generation and ally with the Virelians? What the hell is the He clan thinking?!!"
But as Chen shouted with all his might, Yuan He began to look around with a serious expression. Somehow, he could sense an imminent, mortal danger, but he was unable to determine its exact origin. It was almost as if it came from all directions, as if the world itself was watching him with murderous intent. Something that inevitably brought to mind a memory that made him tremble just recalling it. A calamity of the Myst.
"Nothing an ant needs to know. The dead tell no tales."
Failing to detect anything, Yuan He commented in a cold voice while extending his hand toward Chen. At that moment, a sphere of light began to form, intending to finish everyone off and flee. After all, the danger he felt grew stronger with each passing instant, to the point that even his hands began to tremble slightly.
"Shields up!!! Knights, with me to the front!!!"
At that moment, Tomás drew his sword and ordered forcefully while his mana roared mightily, preparing for a desperate attack. This scene provoked a disdainful snort from Yuan He, who quickly aimed at the little leader, ready to end everything at once. But right at that instant, somehow, a dry, cold laugh reached his ears, chilling him to the bone.
In that moment, Yuan He felt something gently touch his temple, causing his body to tremble involuntarily and a sordid terror to grip him as time seemed to slow down. With time moving in slow motion, Yuan He turned his eyes to look beside him, where he could see that half-dead young man smiling calmly with his charred left index finger touching his temple.
But that smile caused an experienced general like him, who had participated in hundreds of battles both large and small, to be seized by panic. That calm smile seemed empty, soulless, as if behind those half-blinded green eyes there was only an infinite darkness from which a terrifying beast peered. It was as if he had inadvertently unleashed a bloodthirsty beast that, after who knows how long of repression, had long since descended into madness.
"An Illuminated-level on the verge of entering the Sage level, right at the barrier between the 'mortal' and the 'divine'… I wonder what your final seconds will be like…"
At that instant, Yuan He heard a cold, raspy voice that resonated powerfully in his mind. But before he could do anything, electric flashes shone on the young man's finger, and his mind went blank. Meanwhile, Tomás, who had charged forward along with dozens of knights to attack Yuan He, saw everything that happened, and a strange smile couldn't help but appear on his face.
(You really are something else…)
"Erik gave us an opportunity!! Attack with everything!!!!!"
As the sphere of light in front of Yuan He faded and he fell from the air, releasing Erik, Tomás ordered before shooting off to catch Erik. Soon, a ruthless rain of attacks descended upon the peak Illuminated-level individual, who was sent flying half-dead from the light field, only to crash squarely into a wall of the dark corridor. There, a tide of dark tentacles pierced him mercilessly, drawn by the faint light attempting to heal his wounds.
"""Erik!!"""
Meanwhile, on the Myst platform, Chen and the others called out in unison and ran toward him with potions while Elara and Christine conjured healing spells on him with everything they had. At the same time, an exhausted Kaiser emerged from Erik's charred left arm, while Tiberius leaped toward him from the darkness outside the light field.
But while everyone did their utmost to heal him, tears in their eyes, Erik remained watching as Yuan He was torn to pieces by the dark tentacles. The guy was truly intriguing. He had first used magic circles, which he was terrible at, in an attempt to confuse them, which gave Erik the opportunity to reflect his attacks with relative ease.
But the moment he realized this, he quickly switched to his real magic system and began to use absurdly complex Zazen discipline spells without using Mystic Confluence, only mana. This nearly eliminated any possibility for Erik to control his spells in the short term and gradually cornered him into a dead end that almost cost him his life.
In the end, only because he was arrogant enough to keep him close, Erik was able to use a cheap copy of what Ebonique had done with that hunter on the roof at the garden entrance. Using Kaiser's electricity and the Myst, Erik managed to block the communication between his neurons for a few moments, leaving him defenseless long enough for the others to attack.
"Erik?! Answer me, Erik!! You can't die here! Erik!!!!!"
Zoe screamed with tears in her eyes as she practically bathed Erik in healing potions lying on the Myst platform, but he simply remained with dull eyes staring into the distance.
"We have to get out of here and open the refuge! There must be something inside to save him!!"
Elara exclaimed almost in a panic as tears streamed down her cheeks. At that moment, the Myst platforms suddenly vanished, and everyone fell to the ground while Erik spat out a large mouthful of blood.
"Everyone, get out of the box! We'll run to the upper floor!!!"
Tomás quickly ordered in a serious tone and tried to take Erik, but before he could, the wolves picked him up and ran at full speed down the corridor, with the gas lamp following them.
"Quickly, move! Don't create any source of light, or we're dead!!" Tomás ordered with his sword in hand as Zoe mounted Hiyori to chase after the wolves.
Meanwhile, the fox spirit remained silent, watching the battered young man with a serious expression. She truly struggled to understand why this young man did what he did, time and again saving others at the cost of his own life, believing himself to be some kind of hero. But, though it was ridiculous and foolish, the fox spirit couldn't help but let a hint of appreciation and admiration seep into her gaze.
A person capable of remaining true to their ideals even in the face of death was rare, even among spirits, let alone among fickle humans. But there was that young man, practically a baby who knew nothing of the world, fighting on the brink of death time and again without retreating a single inch.
For her part, Christine, who was running with all her might behind Erik while trying to conjure runes to heal him, couldn't tear her gaze away from him. Men were supposed to be nothing but fickle, manipulable creatures who wouldn't miss an opportunity to take advantage of others. That's why it was okay to exploit him; that's why it was fair, because they were ruthless beings dominated by base instincts who would end up betraying and hurting.
But no matter how she looked at it, she couldn't see any of that in Erik. She wasn't foolish; she could see that Erik didn't have a very high opinion of her and only interacted with her out of necessity, and only the strictly necessary amount. But, even so, he time and again stepped forward and ended up on the brink of death while she didn't suffer a single scratch. No matter the situation, Erik seemed willing to keep his word even if it cost him his life.
(Mother… Are all men really despicable creatures…?)
As everyone ran as if their lives depended on it, chasing the light field that grew ever more distant, Tomás followed with a firm step from behind, totally alert. Yet he couldn't help but get a little lost in his thoughts. Before, he had only heard rumors about that star-haired young man, mainly that he was an unparalleled genius.
Even before that, he had come to hear that he was a coward who wouldn't accept a duel; some had called him elitist, arrogant, and so on. He had also heard he was someone cunning and insidious, but today he knew the truth. Above all else, Erik Verne was an admirable and trustworthy warrior.
Reaching a conclusion about the star-haired young man, Tomás gripped his sword tightly, unwilling to let him die under any circumstances, even if it cost him his life. But noticing someone running not far from him, Tomás accelerated greatly and soon reached his side. At that moment, he turned to look at him and commented.
"Chen Ming of the Jade Lotus Union, I need a very good explanation."
"You doubt me…"
Chen, who was also watching as Erik moved away, turned to look at Tomás and commented with a bitter smile. In response, Tomás remained in a cold silence, staring at Chen, who soon began to explain in a heavy voice, full of insecurity and confusion.
"The man earlier was Yuan He, a descendant of the main branch of the He clan and the general in charge of guarding the He clan's home planet. I saw him a couple of times there when I went with my father to pay respects to the He clan, but I don't understand why he's involved in this… This is an extermination-level sin; no one in their right mind would do such a thing, least of all someone like him…"
"What does your clan have to do with all this?" Tomás asked coldly, to which Chen quickly replied in a solemn tone.
"Absolutely nothing, I can stake my life on it. My father would never dare to do something like this! I swear!"
"I'll believe you for now, but stay away from Erik."
Tomás replied coldly and soon moved away to take the rear guard, something that inevitably put a bitter smile on Chen's face. He could notice how everyone running beside him was glancing at him warily out of the corners of their eyes.
…
Soon, the group finally made it through the stairs, where they could see a long, almost empty corridor. Erik was there, protected by his wolves, while Zoe desperately tried to spray healing potions on him. Soon, Tomás, who was carrying a rescued mage with wood affinity, along with Elara and Ethan, commented in a serious tone while looking at the intelligent wolves.
"Kaiser, Tiberius, they will try to heal your contractor! I hope you'll allow us to do it!"
The pair of wolves looked at each other and, after smelling Elara and Ethan, let them pass. But they stared at the young man with wood affinity with bared teeth, without the slightest intention of letting him through. At that moment, Tomás cut his own arm with his sword, causing a large amount of blood to flow. He turned to look at the nervous young man and ordered loudly.
"Heal me!"
With Tomás's order, the young man quickly performed four hand seals, and soon his hand was surrounded by a greenish aura. When the young man placed his hand on Tomás's wound, it began to heal rapidly. The blue-maned young man then looked at the wolves and commented seriously.
"He can heal!"
Seeing the scene, the pair of wolves, each measuring about five meters, looked at each other and soon opened a space for him to enter. Tomás quickly took the young man and passed by the wolves, soon seeing Elara frantically casting healing spells while Zoe made Erik drink a potion and Ethan tried to set up a formation for continuous healing.
"Examine him and try to heal him, but I don't want any surprises." Tomás ordered seriously while looking at the young man beside him, gripping the hilt of the sword at his waist.
"I-I'll do my best."
The young man quickly nodded, somewhat nervously, and soon ran toward Erik. He then performed several hand seals, causing his hands to be surrounded by a greenish aura. After placing his hands on Erik's chest, the young man closed his eyes and concentrated completely but soon opened them and looked at all present with an expression somewhere between disbelief and pain.
"What is it?!" Seeing the young man's expression, Elara couldn't help but ask aloud, full of panic. In response, the young man replied with a solemn expression.
"His mana circulatory system is shattered, his left arm irrecoverable, more than half his bones broken, and his lungs pierced by his ribs… His muscles are also torn, he has various severe internal hemorrhages, and his heart is barely beating… This is beyond my abilities… I don't even know how he's still alive…"
Hearing the diagnosis, Zoe grabbed the young man by the neck and, with eyes full of tears, ordered with murderous intent bursting from her red, desperate eyes.
"No matter what you have to do, Erik cannot die for anything in the world! If he dies, I'll bury you with him!"
"… What touching love. It seems people with that hair are truly charismatic…"
At that moment, from afar, a calm voice resonated, leading everyone to take up their arms while the wolves began to roar and prepared to kill. For his part, Tomás took a step forward, brandished his sword, and mobilized his mana at full power with a solemn expression. He never sensed the other party and had no idea how they arrived, which only meant trouble.
Under the cautious gaze of all present, firm footsteps began to be heard from afar. Slowly, the figure of a handsome young man with black hair, fair skin, and an elegant black suit with golden decorations fit for royalty appeared. But what undoubtedly drew everyone's attention the most were his dark eyes, in which stars and galaxies shimmered, somewhat similar to Erik's hair.
***
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