Free Web NovelChapter 56: _Missed Me?
Back on the battlefield, Devon was like a loose cannon, charging through swarms of beasts alone. His body blazed like a meteor, scaring off fellow Espers in his way.
Viktor watched his movements with confusion. Devon was prone to going berserk more than any S-Rank he’s seen, yes. But this was different. This wasn’t like the fight against the S-Rank centipede.
"I’m not the only one who thinks something’s off with Devon, right?" He called out to Alisha beside him, conjuring ice spears that impaled a few incoming beasts.
Directly through their neck gills.
Alisha had a small dagger held out, pushing back locks of her hair. "No you aren’t."
"And you don’t think we should do anything?"
"Like what?" Alisha flung the dagger at a beast to her right, striking its neck. The dagger had a secondary ability that made it levitate back into her waiting fingers. "His nephew is somewhere in this city. Either dead, alive or worse. He’s probably distracted trying to find him."
Viktor’s brows knitted.
As convincing as that sounded, he didn’t buy it.
Meanwhile, Devon’s mind was a jungle, a barrage of thoughts hitting him too fast for him to focus on one. Most of it was confusion and concern for Ambrose.
’I know what I felt earlier.’ he punched through a beast’s neck, hand pulling out in the next second. ’He was in pain.’ A violent swing of that hand created a literal flaming tsunami, consuming other beasts ahead. "But how? What’s happening back in Aurelia?"
He wanted to call him, but couldn’t.
Not when they’d gone so far into Norfolk.
The beasts seemed endless because more kept dropping from the Echo Rift behind them, charging to replace the numbers of their fallen comrades. As for the Leviathan, it remained beneath the depths, the waters around it rippling for hundreds of meters. Without it making any moves yet.
Devon halted at a point, trying to see if he’d get any signals from the link.
Nothing.
It was just silent like nothing had happened before.
Something snapped in his mind when the thought of Ambrose getting hurt flashed. He brought both palms together, a big yellow fireball forming between them.
The fire gradually condensed, getting smaller and smaller while simultaneously increasing in heat and mass. By the time it was the size of a speck, the air around him stilled.
His breathing stalled as well, eyes taking in a horde of beasts scaling down a skyscraper. Most of them had begun targeting him specifically, eager to take out the biggest threat.
Fatal mistake.
With a charged roar, he flung both hands forward, shooting out the condensed fireball. The air behind it burned, its tiny form carrying enough pressure to split the earth beneath.
It tore past several beasts before finally striking the building that the beasts hid in.
Silence fell around that place first—
—Then air, smoke and debris were sucked in from hundreds of yards around it.
BOOM!
Flames exploded outward faster than the deafening sound of the explosion. A few buildings around the epicenter crumbled to rubble. The heat alone incinerated any beast close enough in a heartbeat, leaving nothing but ash.
A large mushroom cloud rose into the air, shockwaves still spreading several seconds later. Even Hunters and beasts at the very edge of the harbour had to cover their faces from the heat and dust from the blast.
Ambrose was also affected, his stealth potion flickering off for a second when he had to cough. "Good lord, that doesn’t look good."
It felt like an atomic bomb had just dropped.
If it weren’t for his passive Aether Protection Field, the excess energies from this battle would’ve been discomforting for a C-Rank like him.
[You’re 120 meters away from Devon.]
[Stealth potion time left: 3 minutes 12 seconds.]
He’d been running nonstop through the battlefield before the explosion. Avoiding dead bodies, stray Esper attacks and bumping into anyone in his way.
He also noticed something during his run.
The bodies of some of the dead beasts here were also melting away. A few had even turned into molten puddles of black goo, smoke rising off them while the Hunters kept on fighting unaware.
"I’m almost there." The stealth potion covered him right when a male Esper glanced in his direction.
The guy scratched his head. "I could’ve sworn I heard a voice there."
The battlefield stretched on like a war-torn nightmare.
Buildings ahead leaned at unnatural angles, some split clean in half from earlier clashes. Others burned quietly, flames licking through shattered glass while black smoke curled into the sky.
The once-flooded streets had begun to recede slightly, leaving behind thick, murky puddles mixed with ash, blood and the dissolving remains of beasts.
The number of monsters had noticeably thinned.
Hunters moved in more controlled formations now, finishing off stragglers rather than being overwhelmed.
Ambrose darted past a collapsed bus, boots splashing lightly against the wet ground. His breath came out uneven, chest still tight from earlier. Every now and then, the stealth cloak flickered faintly with his movement.
He didn’t dare slow down.
Not when he could feel that faint, familiar pull. Stronger than before.
[You’re 95 meters away from Devon.]
A beast lunged across his path out of nowhere, jaws snapping wildly as it chased another Hunter.
Ambrose froze mid-step.
The creature’s claws missed him by inches, passing straight through the space he occupied without registering his presence. It crashed into a nearby wall instead, roaring in frustration.
He swallowed.
"Yeah... I definitely don’t belong here," he muttered under his breath, quickly moving again.
Across the battlefield, Viktor exhaled sharply, conjuring another wave of ice that spread across the ground, freezing two advancing beasts mid-step before shattering them cleanly at the neck.
But then his nose twitched, brows furrowing. "...Huh."
For the briefest second, something familiar brushed past him.
A faint scent.
Out of place in the middle of blood, smoke and rot.
His head tilted, gaze sweeping lazily across the battlefield.
"...That’s odd."
But the moment passed just as quickly.
Another beast charged and he shifted his attention back, dismissing the feeling with a quiet scoff.
Ambrose didn’t notice when he passed Viktor.
He was too focused.
[You’re 70 meters away from Devon.]
The pull intensified like a thread tightening between them.
His chest rose sharply, heart pounding louder with each step. The closer he got, the more overwhelming it became—like his entire body was reacting before his mind could catch up.
"...Seriously?" he muttered, pressing a hand briefly to his chest. "Now of all times?"
Ahead, Devon stood amidst the aftermath of his own destruction.
The ground around him was scorched black, cracks spiderwebbing outward from where his last attack had landed. Smoke still rose from the rubble of a collapsed building, embers flickering faintly in the ruins.
No beasts dared approach him now.
Even the remaining ones hesitated at a distance, circling, waiting. Watching.
Hunters gave him space.
Because right now, he didn’t look like someone to stand beside. He looked like something you flee from without looking back.
[You’re 55 meters away from Devon.]
Ambrose slowed slightly as his eyes locked on him.
"...There you are."
Relief hit him first. Then something else.
Something warmer.
He clicked his tongue softly. "Causing a scene as usual..."
[You’re 50 meters away from Devon.]
The moment it happened—Devon froze completely.
The world around him dimmed. The sounds of battle dulled.
That pull...
His head turned sharply, golden eyes scanning. Then stopping right in front of him.
Ambrose.
The stealth cloak wore off right before the Esper looked in his direction. No way was he going to let him see him use a system skill.
Devon’s breath hitched. "...You... how did you...?" The words didn’t even fully come out.
Shock, relief and anger hit him all at once.
Ambrose stood there, chest rising and falling, eyes locked with his. Despite the chaos around them and everything he went through to get here, a small smirk played on his mouth.
"Missed me?"
