After saying that, I simply turned to the sky. Even if I couldn't see anything, this darkness felt kind of peaceful.
Then all of a sudden, I could hear a ringing in my ears growing louder. I knew danger was heading our way, meaning an Arcane Fang beast level was heading this way. I don't believe for a second we can defeat it just because we had the grace to kill the two from before.
So I jumped down, turning to Aria and Julia, saying, "We have to move now. There's an Arcane Fang level beast heading this way."
Then I waited for Aria to lead the front, running, and I followed her, same with the rest following us from behind. We kept running. I could still hear the ringing growing louder.
Then I shouted in my mind, "Fuck! This thing was coming after us from the start! What kind of beast is it?"
Then I told Aria, "Pick up the pace. The beast is catching up to us. Hurry!"
Then she sped up. I followed her steps. Even if I was a mortal, I was running really fast for one. Then suddenly, a heavy pressure landed on us. Then my eyes widened. This wasn't an Arcane Fang level magical beast.
Then I could hear Aria shouting, "It's an Etherborn Warden magical beast!"
I could feel it. The mana pressure was intense. What is this level of beast doing here? I was wondering.
Turning to Aria, "Do you have a way to deal with it?"
And she replied, "No. Even all the weapons are up to Arcanist level, and I can't even use them."
Then I could hear a slithering sound, making me know it's a snake-type magic beast and probably a newly ascended Etherborn Warden. We had already stopped because the mana pressure pressing on us was strong. Even moving was hard, and I am just a mortal. My legs felt weak, wanting me to fall and kneel. For some reason, I couldn't accept that. Then I figured it was probably the bloodline that was making me act this way, wanting me to charge ahead, but I knew that would be foolishness.
So I turned my head to one person who would be able to deal with this—the guy with a scar on his left eye side. I had already marked everyone's scent, so I could tell where each of them was. So I asked him, "You have a way to deal with this, right?"
He replied with a frown on his face, "What makes you say that?"
Then I said, "I watched each and every one of you when we faced the Arcane Fang level beast the last time. You didn't appear as worried as the others, probably because you had a way to deal with something higher than a peak Arcane Fang beast. And second, you didn't deny it with a simple 'no,' asking me how I came up with this theory, meaning you already considered using it. And let me tell you this: I don't mind dying, but that delay will cost you your life and those of everyone around here. It's your call."
As soon as I finished, he had a tense expression on his face. I could already tell before, because when I saw his relaxed expression on his face when we were facing that Arcane Fang level beast, I knew for a fact he had some kind of trump card. So I was pretty sure it had to be more powerful than a peak-level Arcane Fang level beast. But I didn't call him out. But now we are face to face with this level of beast, I knew for a fact we needed a way, and I am not foolish enough to believe someone was going to come help us.
And it seems I was right. He brought out a pin from his hair. Though I couldn't see it, I heard him say, "This pin is more like a spatial artifact but can only be used once. I bring out anything that's in it, then it will crumble. And it has an attack crystal of Ether Sage of solid stage in it, but we will be caught in it. But if we move out in 5 seconds before it explodes and attacks, we will be safe."
I had to think of a way. After a while, I could hear a hissing sound, meaning it was in front of us already. I could feel the shadow of something covering us, meaning it was huge.
Then I asked Aria, "What kind of magical beast is it?"
Then she replied, "Blazewrath Serpent. They are also known for their strong scales, which have hints of flames in them, and are very fast."
I nodded. Then I turned to the scar guy, saying, "Activate it and pass it to me."
He was just an arm's length away from me. I could still feel the pressure pressing down on me. Heck, my legs were shaking as fuck, but I gritted my teeth. Not like I couldn't feel fear; I could hear my heart beating like crazy, the ringing in my head growing louder and louder. It was growing far louder than ever before. But I held on.
Then he brought out the crystal, which was brownish-black, and activated it while shouting, "Here! It's activated!" meaning he had already poured all his mana into it, and the seal was already off. And I already held out my hands. As soon as I felt it on my hand, I ran to the shadow I felt towering above me.
I could feel it. My bones were screaming at me. My legs almost gave out. I was betting everything on my regeneration, and I wanted to see how far I could push myself. So I ran. As soon as I felt mana surging from the crystal, I threw it.
I didn't even care to tell them to move back, but it seems they already did. Then an explosion occurred. An even higher pressure was released, this time forcing me to the ground, falling face-flat. Then earth spikes came out from the ground, piercing the snake-type magical beast. Then I felt something piercing me too, from my stomach.
I shouted, "FUCKKKK! AHHHHHH!"
It hurt as fuck, honestly. I felt I was going to die again because this time, I felt it raising me into the air, with more spikes piercing me too. I could even hear the snake's hissing sound of pain. After a while, no noise came out. Then from there, I could tell it was dead, and I lost consciousness.
The rest just watched with wide eyes as the spikes came out, piercing the snake and Lucian together. They also felt the pressure from the crystal, making them all fall to the ground. After a while, everything calmed down. The first one to break the silence was Julia, asking, "Is he still alive?"
Then the elf sisters replied, "Yes, I can still feel faint life force coming from him. He's like an unkillable undead. As for the magical beast, it's dead."
Aria just stood up, went to carry his body. By now, his body was already healing on its own. Then Lirien said, "We can heal him. Me and my sister have nature abilities. It's not as potent as his regeneration ability, but it will still help him speed up his recovery."
Instead of Aria replying, it was the scar-faced guy who replied, "You're just asking to be killed, then. From what I can tell from that guy, he doesn't like receiving favors, so he's likely going to get rid of you when he finds out you helped him. Just let him heal at his own pace."
Then after saying that, he turned around, went to a tree to rest. By now, the sun was already up. They had been running for God knows how long. Then the huge guy asked, "Don't you find it strange? He is still a mortal, but he already picked up the first sign of danger before us, and his healing ability is something else. Can you tell me what kind of race he belongs to?"
He looked around. No one replied. Everyone had the same thought going through their head. After a while, Aria set up a tent, taking him inside and closing it. Then Julia went to stay with the elf twins. The huge guy just went to lean on the tree, leaving the snake corpse out there. It would probably chase away any magical beasts coming this way.
Inside the tent, Aria was staring at the kid the report claimed to be a druid, and looking at the body that looked 15 but was really age 12. By now, all the wounds had healed, even the huge hole which the spike had pierced earlier, already closed, leaving a big, blood-marked hole on the shirt.