Chapter 293 Oh no
Yue placed the back of her hand on the girl's forehead standing opposite her.
"Sia? Are you alright?"
The ears on top of Sia's head twitched due to the sudden warm contact. She backed away and shook her head. Just like Yue, her breathing was uneven.
"I am fine, but is he really gone? That man has been following behind us for so many hours, and I noticed it..."
Sia sucked in a deep breath.
"He is strong enough to capture both of us within seconds but instead, he chose to trail behind when we made our escape. He was enjoying it when we struggled to take a breath! So, why did he suddenly disappear?"
Yue clenched her fists tightly. She noticed it as well, the man was indeed toying with them! She opened her mouth to utter some comforting words, but then a familiar laughter filled the air around them, sending chills down their spine.
Sia's eyes widened but amidst the fear in her eyes. She immediately grabbed the spear hanging behind her back before looking at Yue with gritted teeth.
"Let's attack this time, and when he's distracted, we'll split up and run in opposite directions. That way, at least one of us will survive."
Yue bit down on her lips, hard enough to draw blood. As a member of the famous WintCrest family she was taught to fight with a lot of weapons but in the end, being a mage made it challenging for her to excel in close combat.
However, she knew from her previous experience that her spells would not work on the enemy. That's why she grabbed a silver saber from her storage ring. With a deep exhale, Yue turned to Sia.
"I have an artifact. I can kill him with it but I need to get closer to the man to activate it."
After her words fell, with a burst of determination, they leaped out from the underground tunnel, but the man outside wasn't surprised as if he already knew the girls were hiding in the underground tunnel. The wings behind the man's back fluttered and he eyed them with a grin.
"Finally decided to come out huh?"
The girls' eyes locked onto their opponent, but their hearts trembled when they saw another similar man behind the one who had been following them.
'Oh no.'
Yue gritted her teeth. Now, with the addition of another strong enemy, the chances of winning were almost non-existent. Still, her saber gleamed in the sunlight as she charged forward with Sia.
Delight laughter spilled out from the man's throat as he saw their futile struggle. However, instead of stopping the attacks, he looked back at his companion.
"Tsk, it's getting boring. Grab them and let's go back."
Yue and Sia weren't able to comprehend the meaning behind his words, but they shuddered when they got the answer. A heavy, almost suffocating pressure descended on their shoulders. Simultaneously, their grip on the weapons faltered and they dropped to their knees.
A trail of blood oozed out from Yue's mouth as she looked at the incoming hand with horrid eyes. She wanted to shout, but the suffocating pressure around her body sealed her mouth. She noticed from the corner of her eyes, Sia was also struggling to move.
'I thought I was strong after I broke through to (C-)-Rank! So why is it that I can not even save myself?'
Yue's body shook and she desperately tried to activate the artifact present in her sleeves but her fingers could not reach it.
'No... I still want to say sorry to dad because I fought with him before I left. I still want to see mom. Please move..'
But, before she could reach the artifact. Sia's loud cry reverberated in the air and she froze momentarily. Yue's eyes dilated when the man grabbed her neck and for the first time after her brother's death, glistening tears formed in her eyes.
'No... please.'
But then, suddenly another voice echoed in the air, tinged with drowsiness and a hint of complaint.
"What's happening? I just want to rest for a whi...!"
The voice stopped abruptly, and Yue noticed with bated breath. It was very familiar. She had heard that same voice many times before. Even the hint of annoyance within the tone was strikingly similar to that person.
Her eyes snapped shut and the tears around her lashes dropped to her cheeks before she called out, her voice barely a whisper.
"Kyle..?"
At that moment, everything around her fell into eerie silence. She hastily moved her fingers toward the artifact, only to be interrupted by a piercing, agonizing cry that echoed through the air. In an instant, she wanted to open her eyes, but a cold hand from behind swiftly closed them shut.
"It's fine."
Kyle's face was expressionless and his eyes extremely cold as he stared at the other winged man who was grabbing the demi-human girl. He shuddered at the thought that if only he was a few minutes late something devasting could have happened to Yue.
The winged man trembled under his gaze and staggered backward with shock and fear. He couldn't help but gazed at the glistening ice sculpture of his companion. What happened? They were enjoying themselves, weren't they? So how did his friend turn into an ice sculpture so suddenly?
His eyes remained fixated on the sculpture, but it was as if his friend had never existed. Suddenly, the ice sculpture burst into a mesmerizing display of glistening sparks, soaring away with the wind.
The man's panicked scream filled the air as he desperately flapped his wings, attempting to flee. But his eyes widened with terror when chilling blue flames materialized all around him.
Unlike his companion, he was not able to cry out in pain because the cold flames seeped into his mouth, traveling straight toward his skull and heart.
Opposite the newly formed ice sculpture, the demi-human girl's mouth was hung open and her eyes wide with disbelief. It was a sight that she would never forget in her whole life.