Free Web NovelChapter 130: Terror Rune Realm [ 7 ]
For a moment, Leomaris thought another team of mercenaries had shown up. But the spell nagged at him, and when it clicked, it clicked fast. That was Charlotte’s work.
"I won’t let you kill that creature."
Her voice did the rest of the confirmation. It was fierce and livid. Raine was with her soon enough, her crimson eyes on the creature below as it struggled under its own weight, fighting to get back to its feet. freёwebnovel.com
"You little brats. You killed Jack." He practically spat the words.
One of the men struggled against his restraints, desperately trying to break free.
"Don’t move. I’d rather not kill you," Raine said before turning and walking toward the Endbringer.
She managed three steps before one of the men spoke. Something came up beneath him, slimy blue tentacles appearing from nowhere, taking hold of the restraints.
They writhed and twisted into grotesque shapes, one after another, until they took the form of human hands and ripped through both restraints clean.
Both Charlotte’s and Raine’s attention snapped toward them, and they moved back without thinking, widening the gap between themselves and the men.
Charlotte sneered and dragged a finger through the air. The words formed a massive boomerang and launched without warning. One of the men grabbed the other, and they blinked out into the distance before it could land.
The tentacles that had summoned them withdrew and took shape where they stood. It took the form of a fallen beast, octopus-bodied, but too slimy to be mistaken for one.
The boomerang wasn’t deterred. The beast took it full on, shielding them with its body. It was slammed into the ground by the force, but it reformed soon enough and was back at its master’s side.
Raine gave them no time to breathe. Her black sword carved through the air, sending a wind blade straight at the beast, which absorbed it without flinching. The blade churned in its stomach and came back at her less than a second later. She got out of the way.
"Oh, I understand now. None of them possesses the ability to face the Endbringer; that is why Jack was the only one attacking," Lucius said, nodding in the process.
"The octopus is effective for defence and redirecting attacks. But since it failed to redirect Charlotte’s attack, I believe it cannot handle high-powered attacks. And since it couldn’t face the Endbringer, it likely cannot redirect physical attacks either."
"That is likely why they have remained here for so long. The other individual also only possesses teleportation magic. Clearly, if they had known what the Endbringer looked like, they would have realised they were poorly matched for it," Lucius added.
Entry into a Rune Realm meant staying until the Endbringer was defeated. Once dead, a portal would surface within the ruined city, lingering long enough for anyone in the territory to see and use it, though it would disappear from the real world at the same time. No one could enter, but everyone could leave.
As a result, every entry into a Rune Realm was blind, with no foreknowledge of the creature inside.
Void Rune Realms were no different but concerning exit portals, they were another matter entirely. Exploration was relatively open, but not everyone could set foot in one, weaker humans would be corrupted and die the moment they did.
In theory, any raider strong enough to survive a Void Rune Realm could wander far enough to find an exit portal back.
"Based on their experience, should they not have taken that into account? Not every Endbringer is capable of using spells; they should have known that."
Lucius shrugged. "Who knows, maybe they did, but that person was killed too. Jack was just crushed to death, wasn’t he?"
Leomaris’s attention shifted to the Endbringer. It was on the ground, still struggling to its feet. The distance between them was considerable, its destruction couldn’t reach them, but nor could they see exactly what was keeping it down through all the collapsed and half-collapsed buildings.
But the sight of it had Leomaris realising something — something both he and Lucius had overlooked. His attention moved to Raine, Charlotte, and the men, still at it, then back to the Endbringer.
He smirked. That was it. They could finally attack the creature. Kill it, if it came to that. Not his preference, but Lucius wasn’t going to let him off the hook, so he’d fight it the easiest way he could.
Even so, before he could open his mouth, Lucius spoke, as though they’d had the same thought at the same time.
"How about we attack the creature, Leomaris? They don’t know of our existence, and while they are busily fighting each other, we can easily get the creature and make a run for it once the exit portal appears."
"That—
The words died in Leomaris’s throat. His eyes darted about, his expression growing darker with every passing second.
He felt the heat in the atmosphere as though they were walking toward a scorching flame, but there was something else beneath it. Something chilling and cold. Contradictory as it was to feel both at once, his senses weren’t lying.
He turned to Lucius. The expression on his face said enough, he was feeling it too, and that alone was enough to make Leomaris feel less mad.
His sixth sense kicked in soon after, and his attention snapped toward it, a massive fireball with darkness churning inside it, large enough to block out the sun entirely.
Heading straight for the Endbringer. Leomaris and Lucius both realized it without a word passing between them, the destruction from those flames would reach them even at this distance.
Raine and Charlotte had no better luck. The attack would find them wherever they ran. Leomaris caught sight of them but didn’t have the time to linger on it.
Without a moment’s hesitation, they leapt from the statue’s neck and scarpered into the hideout. Almost simultaneously, the fireball hit, and the sheer volume of flames burst through into the room, driving them further back than they’d anticipated.
Lucius clicked his tongue. "That has to be them... it has to be Alfred and Warner." freeweɓnøvel.com
That much Leomaris had suspected. Alfred and Warner had been up there the whole time, combining their abilities to put together something that powerful.
His body went rigid with anger. All of this was Instructor Moon’s fault. Moon had brought them in to finish Leomaris off: the perfect environment, no consequences, and a bounty good enough to make anyone’s trigger finger twitch.
Now, he could only hope Raine and Charlotte pulled through. He’d trusted their strength well enough, but right now, he wasn’t so sure about that.
