Amid Erik's broken, almost deranged laughter, the runic circles created a huge ball of fire and a ball of darkness, which shot downward and collided halfway. The impact triggered a brutal explosion that released shockwaves laden with black fire spreading in all directions, at which moment Erik jumped from the Myst platform and spoke in his ragged voice.
"Hiyori, I don't know if you're willing to listen to me now, but get the girls out of here."
"Hahaha!!!"
At that moment, a laugh no less crazed than Erik's echoed through the place, making everyone turn to look at Tomás, who gripped his sword tightly, then leaped after Erik while announcing with a wide grin on his face.
"You really are crazy, Erik, but I like your style! If we get out alive, join the Bikerea! We need a madman like you!!"
Stupefied, those who remained on the platform watched as the black fire engulfed the golems, melting their surface and sending them flying in different directions. Just then, Chen couldn't help laughing as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world, and he quickly began forming hand signs with both hands while proclaiming loudly.
"Hahaha! I knew you couldn't be right in the head, Erik!!"
"Well, I can't let my sister's good friend die, can I?" Ethan remarked with a somewhat helpless chuckle, then downed a mana potion in one go and created a large number of runes as he jumped after Erik and Tomás.
"Bikereas, to the front!"
At the same time, one of the six youths following Tomás shouted, and the four knights among them jumped after Tomás, while the two mages began conjuring magic circles. For her part, Zoe smiled with visible exasperation, then put her right hand on the hilt of her katana and leaped after Erik, announcing in a firm voice.
"I don't know where you got that nonsense, Erik Verne!! But I am never going to stand behind anyone and wait for them to protect me!! A warrior always steps forward!!"
"We're going to fight to the end!!" Elara declared as dozens of magic circles formed in front of her. She then turned to the terrified Christine and added in a mocking tone.
"Though you can take the chance and run while you can."
Visibly pale and with bluish lips, Christine stared at the star-haired youth who was marching to the front flanked by two wolves while creating more runic circles, her expression full of disbelief. Though her whole body trembled and urged her to flee, she truly couldn't, and she remained frozen on the platform.
"I'll support you with everything I've got!" At that moment, Frank drank a mana potion and created a large number of runes that whipped the wind around him and carried his words to resound powerfully.
While the group of youths on the ground drew the golems' attention and engaged them in close combat—hundreds of illusions attacking from different angles—Hiyori, the fox spirit, stood watching Erik with a look of incredulity tinged with apprehension. She truly couldn't fathom how anyone would willingly give up being at the side of one of the most powerful beings in the universe—a colossal, unstoppable force capable of destroying everything.
(You've just made the biggest mistake of your life, Erik. Even if you get out of this alive, you won't be able to live much longer. Offending an Eternal is something only another Eternal can afford. You're too arrogant and ignorant to know what kind of being you just turned down.)
Hiyori's gaze turned somewhat cold as she looked at Erik, and she quickly moved toward Zoe with no intention whatsoever of listening to him. A lunatic like that didn't deserve her attention or her time, especially now that she had to think of a way to deal with the consequences of that brat's recklessness.
…
"Kaiser, Tiberius!"
After downing several healing potions in quick succession, Erik wiped his mouth with his shoulder and called his wolves, who transformed into lightning and darkness and fused with his machetes.
With his machetes releasing bolts and a dark mist, Erik created more runic circles while channeling his mana through the least-damaged parts of his mana circuit. This formed arrows of electricity and darkness that shot toward the surviving hunters and the golems.
"These golems are weaker and slower!" Tomás, who had sped ahead with impressive velocity, managed to cleave a golem with a single slash and shouted.
"They're also distracted by illusions! Though they can see through them when I try to hide!" Ethan, moving with almost feline agility among the golems, reported loudly.
"It's possible to stop them from firing their beams—you just have to hit them when they're charging!!" The one who seemed to be the leader of the youths following Tomás announced in a serious voice as he and his three companions took down a golem.
"Erik! The burns from the previous explosion are what weakened the golems! You can pierce their defenses with spells if you strike precisely at the burned spots!" Elara called from the sky as several magic circles around her conjured flaming arrows.
Hearing Elara, Erik watched the golems being destroyed one after another with a somewhat thoughtful expression while he took another healing potion. But at that moment, he felt a rather strong presence approaching him, so he quickly leaped to the side while creating two new runic circles—one conjuring fire and the other, darkness.
Just then, a dark figure shot toward him at high speed, holding a dagger in its hand that released a kind of dark mist. Simultaneously, the runic circles conjured a small ball of darkness and one of fire, which streaked toward the dark figure at great speed.
Taken by surprise, the dark figure tried to dodge by moving his body out of the small balls' trajectory, but unfortunately for him, the elemental balls collided with each other less than a meter from him, triggering a brutal explosion. Hastily, Erik created a Myst barrier that protected him from the shockwave, and soon the group could see what had happened.
The lower half of a human body slammed into the opposite wall, with the upper half nowhere in sight, as if it had been erased from existence. Struggling not to let their jaws hit the floor, the group watched the storage pouch on the "corpse" fly toward Erik, who looked equally astonished.
"You're terrifying… That was a Revealed-Peak…" Ethan suddenly materialized out of nowhere not far from Erik, holding his dagger, several runes floating around him with arrows of fog conjured and ready to strike.
"If I told you I didn't even know myself, would you believe me?"
Erik replied a bit dumbfounded after drinking a healing potion. Although he knew the explosive power of fire-and-darkness spells was terrifying from the event before entering the garden, he never imagined it would let him kill a Revealed-Peak so easily.
"Not in a million years—you're a monster." Ethan answered with a somewhat forced smile. At that moment, Tomás, who was up front, spoke seriously.
"We have to push forward. With Erik and the concealment formations, we've got a good chance of surviving this disaster!"
"Erik, avoid attacking and focus on recovering—your black fire is the key to our survival!" Zoe, who had managed to cut down a golem with Hiyori's help, said in a grave tone as she sheathed her katana again.
"Let's move!"
Erik nodded and said seriously, then jumped and landed on Kaiser's back, who emerged from the machete along with Tiberius and grew to a height of about two meters. Soon, Erik created a Myst platform on each side of him and surged forward at full speed while shouting loudly.
"Get on!"
Without a second thought, the Bikereas, Ethan, and Tomás quickly jumped onto the platforms, and the whole group advanced along with the platform in the air, where the team's mages were. Meanwhile, Zoe climbed onto Hiyori's back and followed the team closely, though her eyes couldn't help but look at her contracted spirit with doubt.
It was evident that Hiyori's attitude toward Erik had changed radically, from obeying his every word as if she were a subordinate to outright ignoring him. To the point that the Myst platform where the mages stood no longer moved to the fox spirit's rhythm, but to Erik's. The star-haired youth had switched the anchor point of Hiyori's platform to himself, making the rift blindingly obvious.
[Were you following Erik because of his contracted spirit, Hiyori-sama?] Eyes fixed ahead, Zoe asked through their contract while gripping her katana's hilt tightly, but the fox spirit fell silent and simply kept running.
[…Hiyori-sama… Did I offend you somehow?] Zoe asked in a somewhat apprehensive tone, which led the fox spirit to reply with a slightly regretful note.
[That would have been better than the situation that boy dragged you into, little Zoe… I don't know how this will turn out, but if you manage to get out, the first thing you must do is summon me again and ask me to erase all your memories of what happened in this ruin.]
[What happened?] Zoe asked, visibly surprised. Hiyori replied in a serious tone.
[Don't ask; the less you know, the better. Just don't forget to do what I told you. That's the only way you can gain a small chance to survive this disaster. Though your only fault was being in the wrong place at the wrong time, for the strong, their dignity is more important than life—never forget that.]
[…]
Zoe fell silent, having grasped the message between the lines Hiyori conveyed, which inevitably led her into deep reflection. But after a few seconds, Zoe let out a long sigh and tightened her grip on her katana, then sent a message to her contracted spirit through their bond.
[Hiyori-sama, with all due respect, I don't think Erik is guilty of anything. If anything, once again he risked his life to give me a chance to survive, because that dragoness wanted to force us to die for him. But instead of taking advantage of the situation, he gave us the chance to fight. He's a great man—one I'm willing to give my heart to.]
[You're still too young, Zoe. There are things you don't understand. He is a dead man—maybe in a few days or some centuries later, it doesn't matter. He's already signed his death sentence, and I assure you his death will be horrible.] Hiyori replied in a critical tone, which only put a smile on Zoe's face as she answered confidently.
[I don't think so, Hiyori-sama. Erik is a man destined for great things. Just look at those magic circles made of runes—that's a miracle never seen before. From now on, Erik will only rise to new heights.]
[You're still too young… You've seen far too little to understand how the world really works—how the truly strong really think. Although the boy is truly impressive, none of that matters; he's far too weak.] Hiyori replied with a small sigh. Zoe chuckled softly and answered with confidence.
[Well, only time will tell, Hiyori-sama. But I will follow my heart, and my heart tells me Erik is a man worth following—that his future is limitless, beyond anything anyone has ever seen.]
[We'll see.] Hiyori replied with a hint of mockery in her tone, to which Zoe answered with a small smile.
[When the time comes, I'll intercede for you with Erik so he'll forgive the attitude you're showing him, Hiyori-sama.]
[You're millennia away from being able to joke with me, little one.]
Hiyori replied with an imperious air, though a trace of tenderness could be seen in her eyes. After all, she had known the brave girl since she was a baby. She had watched her grow, and in that time the girl had claimed a small part of her heart.
[Hehe, sorry, Hiyori-sama. I'm just speaking from the heart. Erik is the man my heart has chosen, and I'll follow him from now on. But I assure you he'll even manage to surprise you!] Zoe replied softly, which made Hiyori snort before she ended up quickening her pace in silence.
***
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