Eugene raised his eyes toward the metallic mass behind him; terror spread through his entire body, and he shivered for a moment.
"I should have killed you a while ago."
The old man pointed downward quickly with his hand, and in the next moment, all the iron pieces fell with a single push.
"Yugene!" Farid felt a surge of fear for Eugene.
"Do you know your shouting is annoying?"
Both the old man and Farid turned their gaze toward the source of the voice with obvious shock.
Eugene appeared, sitting on the ground behind Farid, with Rin beside him, bleeding profusely.
"I'm alive. No need to worry."
"Huh… how?" The old man needed a few seconds to comprehend, his gaze shifting toward Rin, before returning to the moments of battle.
The old man frowned and said, "So… it seems you are more of a problem than these two."
Slap. Reem struck Eugene and Rin on the back of their heads.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Rin looked at her, seeing sparks shoot from her eyes in anger.
"Where has your mind gone? You've weakened my vision."
Eugene pointed toward Rin, saying, "He's the cause. Hit him."
"Hey, wait! You're the one who attacked…"
"Watch out!" shouted Farid, and in the next moment, Eugene kicked Reem, causing her to fall quickly.
At the same moment, a chain of iron shot quickly from above Reem, destroying the walls and pillars behind her.
"Hah…" Reem looked at Eugene, then above her. "That attack almost killed me!"
"Watch out!"
The old man attacked again, but this time Eugene, Reem, and Rin anticipated and dodged the chains, each moving in different directions.
While running, Rin's pace quickened, fear filling his eyes, and he tripped over a large stone, causing him to fall.
"Rin!" A cold shiver ran through Eugene just imagining the iron chain separating Rin's head from his body.
He was not ready to lose another person—after losing his talent, village, mother, and having scars all over his body.
At the same moment, on the opposite side…
Farid's pupils glowed golden-red, and he released light through the veins in his hand, shooting a fireball.
"Boom!"
Eugene, Reem, and Farid's eyes widened as the chains all turned to intercept the attack.
The old man gritted his teeth, veins bulging, some sweat on his forehead.
"Damn it! Have they discovered my weak points?!"
Rin looked at the chains, then back to the moments that had just occurred, feeling something strange.
Eugene and Reem ran to Rin and helped him to his feet.
Then Eugene used the mist, forming light clouds, moving quickly to hide Farid from the old man's sight.
A shadow appeared running through the mist—it was Farid, taking advantage of the old man's distraction, escaping to reach the others.
"How should we deal with this person?" Eugene asked Farid, clearly tense.
Farid looked at him: "If I had a way, I would have executed it."
Reem noticed Rin's absent-mindedness.
"Rin, what's wrong? Are you thinking of something to get us out of here?"
Farid and Eugene looked at Rin, who said:
"A moment ago, the chains withdrew toward the fireball, even though it was about to kill me."
Eugene frowned: "So what? It moved to protect him; that's normal."
Rin replied in a calm voice, though inwardly tense: "No, it's not normal. The attack wasn't strong enough to kill him, so why would the chains retreat, despite him saying earlier that I posed a greater threat due to my ability to manipulate objects?"
Rin's words confirmed Eugene's previous observations:
"Also, a moment ago the same thing happened when the chains turned toward Farid—they were in position to kill me, yet they changed direction quickly, as if they could see my movements."
Farid added: "And he used the metal imprint to try killing Eugene, despite having iron chains that consume less energy, are faster, and more efficient. It's illogical that he chose a large, heavy metallic mass over quick, multiple attacks."
Reem mixed Rin, Eugene, and Farid's thoughts in her mind.
Meanwhile, the old man was in a state of rage.
"How… how can a bunch of kids make me waste all this time and energy, yet I haven't killed them yet… how, how, how—" The questions repeated in his mind, anger spiraling around him.
Reem's eyes widened as she reached a conclusion:
"Wait…"
Farid and the others turned toward Reem.
Rin spoke, contemplating, having reached an insight that might help them: "W-what's wrong? Is there something?"
Reem spoke in a low voice so the old man wouldn't hear:
"I think the chains don't act under his control—they move on their own."
Eugene raised his eyebrows, not understanding:
"You mean the chains are a separate entity or a magical tool?"
Reem shook her head and continued:
"No, I don't think that. I said the chains targeted Farid in multiple instances, even though they could have killed you and Rin. In reality, they don't aim at Farid… they aim at Farid's attacks."
Farid's eyes glowed: "So the chains follow the threat. Like Eugene said, they quickly changed direction even when the old man was distracted… and judging by his expression, he was scared when he saw the chains leave Rin to block the attack."
Rin smiled.
"If this is true, it means…" he looked at Eugene, "the mist is the best solution, since it consists of water particles."
They all smiled at this idea, but Eugene crushed their hopes.
"Wait, don't get excited. It's already consumed more than half my energy, and with this person's power, I don't think what I have will be enough to kill him, or even make him unconscious."
Everyone felt disappointment mixed with fear.
Reem spoke loudly, mixing tension with anger:
"If only you hadn't used up the resources for the others' talents, I could have gotten us out of here."
Eugene raised his eyebrows with an annoyed, incredulous expression:
"It wouldn't have made a difference; we'd die either way. And even if it did, why did this happen?"
Reem retorted angrily: "They told me that! It seems your listening skills were nonexistent at the time."
Rin got a headache—on one hand, they faced mortal danger, on the other, his friends were arguing.
He placed his finger on his ear, his face turning red, and then…
"Stop arguing like children! We're not in a situation that allows this!"
Rin exploded in anger at them, leaving Reem and Eugene stunned. It was the first time Rin had raised his voice this much, and Eugene knew he had truly exploded in anger.
Rin ran his hand through his hair, bowing his head:
"Sorry, I was just stressed."
But Farid interrupted, saying:
"I think I found a way to get rid of him, at least for some time."
Everyone looked at Farid as he continued:
"The human body has points and areas that can render a person unconscious."
Hope returned to them.
"So all we have to do is distract him as much as Reem can, use the mist to stop the chains, and use the shadow portal to transport Farid, who being the most experienced, can strike one of those points."
They all looked at the old man, who raised his gaze and reactivated the chains, attacking again.
This time, Eugene used the mist, spreading it across the area.
"Hah!" The old man's eyes widened for a moment.
At that moment, a small stone appeared from within the mist, shooting forward rapidly.
The old man caught the small stone in his hand, surprised internally.
Then a golden beam surrounded the rock, and before the old man could comprehend, the small rock exploded; it weighed the equivalent of twenty kilos.
The heavy weight made him bend forward.
"What is this?!"
A purple beam appeared behind the old man, directing his head toward it. He had opened a transport portal from which Farid emerged, just steps away from striking the old man.
The old man smiled cunningly…
To be continued.
End of Chapter
"Note: We apologize for the mistake—this chapter was accidentally reposted twice, and we didn't catch it sooner. To make up for it, there will be two chapters released on Wednesday, January 14. Tomorrow, a single chapter will be released as usual, just like on the other days."