BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!
Fyar fired at the mysterious man. The man did not move from where he stood. He only tilted his head slightly to the left, then to the right, and shifted his torso a little. The five bullets flew past him without touching him in the slightest.
he yanked the shadow blade from Illya’s stomach. The girl coughed violently, her limp body immediately thrown onto ground.
Rasie’s eyes turned red. "DIE!, DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE!"
Veins bulged on his neck as he charged forward. His sword with blazing with fire, was swung toward the man’s neck. However, the man simply raised one hand. A shadow shot up from the ground beneath him, forming a solid black shield that blocked Rasie’s fiery slash.
"Relax," the man said in a casual tone. "Because of you all, now I have to deal with the Royal Guardians, you know."
Rasie did not respond. He continued to attack blindly, each slash leaving a trail of fire in the air, but always blocked by the shadow that moved fluidly and solidly at the man’s will.
Zaefal charged in from the other side. "Get her out of here!" he shouted to Fyar.
The mysterious man now faced both of them. Rasie with his explosive fire attacks and Zaefal with his black sword slashes. The man smiled cynically.
He was no longer just defending. From his own shadow, two black daggers formed in his hands. He moved quickly, parrying Rasie’s sword with the dagger in his right hand, then spinning to block Zaefal’s attack with the dagger in his left. The shadow on the ground continued to move, occasionally shooting up in sharp tendrils, forcing both of them to keep jumping back to avoid being tripped. Zaefal and Rasie were continuously pushed back, struggling to keep up with their opponent who moved without effort.
Fyar nodded without question. He immediately lifted Illya’s blood-soaked body and ran as fast as he could toward the dungeon gate.
"Illya... hang on, hang on!" he whispered.
With a weak voice, Illya placed her trembling hand on the hole in her stomach. A dim green light flickered as she murmured a spell. "H...heal... h...heal..."
"Why are you running boy?!" The man’s voice sounded mocking from behind, amidst the clashing of swords. He kicked Rasie backward, then snapped his fingers.
Instantly, seven human-shaped shadows emerged from the ground. Their forms resembled humans made of thick black smoke, with empty, glowing white eyes. Each held a black sword,
without hesitation, they immediately ran after Fyar.
Fyar pushed his stamina and ran faster. Finally, he managed to arrive in front of the glowing dungeon gate.
Damn, it takes a few seconds to teleport! he complained internally.
He saw the seven shadows now getting closer. Just as their black claws were about to touch his back, Fyar’s vision blurred and went dark.
In an instant, Fyar was standing outside the dungeon. He reappeared in a forest where the surrounding trees had smiling faces carved into them, and the ground was pinkish.
The breath of relief he was about to take caught in his throat when he saw the dismembered bodies of the two guards in front of him. Pieces of their bodies were scattered around a wooden table, drenched in fresh blood.
"What..." His eyes widened, processing the scene before him.
What happened?! He already killed them?! And also... Fyar looked ahead and couldn’t find the horse-drawn carriage that brought them ... the carriage is gone too... not only that... the adventurer’s corpse we found earlier is also gone!... Fyar then turned in a panic to the girl in his arms. "Illya, are you still holding on?! Illya?!"
"I... I’m... s... still... o... okay... F-Fyar," Illya said, her breath catching.
Fyar quickly lowered Illya and leaned her carefully against one of the smiling trees. "Hang in there, Illya..."
I don’t know what to say in times like these... Fyar bit his lip so hard he could taste salt. He gently held Illya’s wrist. The girl continued to weakly mutter a healing spell, her green light barely visible.
What should I do now?.. Think, Fyar, think think think!
Woosh!
The seven shadows that had been chasing him emerged one by one from the portal gate. Their white eyes immediately fixed on Fyar and Illya.
they ran in unison towards the two of them.