CHAPTER 69
"MOVE!" Kai roared as he suddenly appeared between Ray and the leg.
He wasted no time lifting his hands, which were now fully crystallized, making his limbs look overly bulky.
He placed them before his face in the nick of time as the Aberrant leg crashed into the crystal.
A loud bang rang out with devastating intensity.
Blood sprayed from Kai's mouth as his body blurred through the air, smashing into Ray, and they both went tumbling across the ground, skipping over it like stones on water.
"Ugh…"
All actions halted instantly as everybody turned their eyes to the two fallen bodies on the ground who were trying to get up.
The crystals encasing his hands instantly shedded and fell off his limbs, revealing bruised palms with blood still dripping from his mouth.
"Ack…" he coughed out another mouthful of blood.
Berg, on the other hand, could be seen gritting his teeth at this sight.
'I…I can't die here no matter what. That brat is right. If I do, I will always get replaced, and I don't want that. I refuse to. I have to live to fight another day. This is not my end.' he frowned, and with that thought made—
Berg suddenly looked in the direction of the forest and, without hesitation, his boots activated, vaulting him away from the battlefield at full speed.
His hands swung downward as flames sprayed out, propelling him even faster.
This caused a ripple among the Aspirants as they watched Berg rapidly close in on the forest at blazing speed… literally.
— If Berg is running away, then who am I? F*ck this shit, man!
— I'm out too!
The sounds grew louder and louder by the second, and without hesitation, all Aspirants—except those who were still fighting and those rooted to the spot—suddenly turned around and began gliding through the air, attempting to escape.
Kai froze in shock at this sight, his heart thumping violently in his chest.
"Curses! We need to retreat too. We can't die here." He thundered through his earpiece.
At that moment, Chloe and Van landed beside him and Ray.
"You okay?" Van asked worriedly as he crouched beside Ray, who let out a low groan.
"Mhm."
"We need to leave. This fight is beyond us. To the gate!" Van gritted his teeth and turned to see Trisha still fluidly facing off against the Aberrant.
"The hell is she doing?" Chloe shouted angrily.
"Let's go. She will hold up the rear." Kai urged as they all turned around and began running toward the forest, vaulting into the air at intervals.
Ray and Van were side by side in the air as they soon began catching up with the others.
The Aberrant, on seeing the humans making their escape, frowned in fury.
"Get away from me!" he roared in rage as he aimed to swipe at Trisha.
She barely managed to place her daggers in front of her face in time to block the claws.
But it did nothing.
The claws ripped through the ice daggers like paper, while the force of the impact sent her body shooting through the air toward the retreating Aspirants.
Before she could collide with anyone, she swiftly spun mid-air as blood trickled down her lips.
'I have almost hit my limit.' she grimaced inwardly as she finally managed to catch up with the others in time.
Without looking back, she passed by Van and Ray, who were struggling to keep pace with the group ahead.
Kai was in front of them, and soon enough, the Aspirants reached the forest where they were finally able to increase their speed.
Leaping from tree to tree like monkeys, their gears aided them as they blitzed through the area, but the next moment—
Thud, Thud, Thud!
The sound of heavy footsteps behind them echoed loudly as trees fell with every step.
"Shit, shit, shit! Come on, Van! Faster!" Ray shouted as he glanced back at his best friend behind him.
Naturally, Ray would have been at the forefront right now with his boosted speed.
But he couldn't leave his best friend behind.
Hence, he deliberately cut down his pace to run side by side with Van, matching his rhythm even as danger closed in from behind.
The Abberant was rapidly gaining on them and, in anger, the creature swiftly uprooted a tree.
Holding it up like a javelin, it hurled it forward with all its might.
BANG—!
Ray's ears perked up in an instant.
"Move!" he shouted as he quickly jumped to the side while Van followed along.
Kai also heard the warning and dashed aside.
But those out front weren't lucky enough as the uprooted tree tore through bodies and kept streaking through the air, dropping humans like flies until it finally lost momentum.
"Shit!"
They kept leaping from tree to tree with the aid of their VMS gear, but Ray's heart pounded violently at the sound of the approaching creature.
And soon enough, his worst nightmare came to pass as the Abberant was now directly behind him.
For some reason, Ray spun around to see the creature's palm outstretched and it wasn't heading his way, it was heading for Van, who was completely oblivious.
"F*ck!"
Without thinking twice, Ray increased his speed in a heartbeat with the use of "Thunder Step."
And in the blink of an eye, he was directly beside Van.
"Live… for me."
Bam—!
He pushed Van with all his might, sending him tumbling in the air like an out-of-control truck.
Van even crashed into Kai's back, causing the boy to lose footing for a moment.
"NOOOO! RAY!" Van screamed loudly.
"Ray?" Kai muttered as he turned around, and then his eyes bulged in horror.
"Shoot!" He kicked with all his might, speeding toward Ray, trying to see if he could help, but it was too late.
TCHAKKK—!
The Abberant's claws immediately tore through Ray's abdomen, ripping through him like a hot knife ploughing through butter.
[You have taken a critical hit!]
[-40 HP]
"Gah…." Blood sprayed from Ray's mouth as his breathing hitched violently.
'Dam… damn! Aaaaaargh! Fuck you! Fuck you! I want so badly to tear you up instead! Aaaaaargh! Screw you!' He roared inwardly, staring into the Abberant's yellow eyes with a glare that could pierce one's soul.
"Ray!" Kai shouted as he rapidly approached when the silver-haired Aspirant turned his head to face him.
Trisha had also paused for a moment as she clamped onto a tree, watching Kai and Van shooting toward Ray.
Weakly shaking his head, Ray coughed out another mouthful of blood before speaking into his earpiece.
"Ru… Run away for me. Pl-please. This is my last wish… Gah… run! Don't look back. Pl-please live to fight another day." He muttered through the comm device, causing Kai to pause mid-air.
"Hel-help save Van and take him out of here." He added after another weak cough.
Van had long since removed his comm device as he could be seen crying while leaping from tree to tree, hoping to reach Ray in time.
Kai, on the other hand, squeezed his hands tightly in pure, restrained rage.
"Argh! Damn this!" He shot forward and quickly grabbed onto Van's hand, then spun around in one smooth movement before speeding off, leaving the Abberant with Ray's body.
"Good." Ray mustered a weak smile as he stared at Kai's back.
"What are you doing, Kai? Let me GOOOO! Kai! FCK you, fCK you! Ray is back there! I want to save him! Leave me now! KAIIIIII!"
Van kept screaming at the top of his lungs with tears and snot dripping down in waves while he kept kicking wildly in the air.
But unfortunately for him, Kai's grip was immense.
"Hey, where are you going? Let's play some more!" The Abberant shouted before staring down at Ray, still impaled on his claws, in disdain.
'Screw you, bastard! I just wish I could kill you! Damn it! I don't want to die yet! Somebody, save me! I want to kill these blasted Abberants with my own bare hands! Aaaaaargh!' Ray howled inwardly as he kept staring at the creature in front of him.
"Get lost." The Abberant scowled as he swung his hand behind him, sending Ray's body flying off his claws into the distance.
As his body flew through the air, Ray's weak eyes landed on Van out front, still in Kai's grip as they were almost out of the forest.
A warm smile flashed across his face as his mind was strangely partly… calm?
"At least Van will be safe."
DING!
[Conditions met]
[All Bloodlines Activated]
THUNK—!
His body smashed into a tree… hard.
[-8 HP]
'Wh-what's the use now? It's-it's all over.'
"Is it though?" A sudden voice resounded deep inside Ray's mind, causing his body to jolt violently.