Eugene's pupils widened as he stared at the man, his heart pounding violently like war drums on the Night of Vows. His breaths rose and fell rapidly, and his eyes could hardly believe what they were seeing.
The man descended slowly from the top of the building. His feet touched the tiled ground without making a single sound. Moonlight reflected off his features and deep wrinkles, making them appear like grooves carved into the face of time.
"Ha ha ha… Thank you. You've spared me the trouble and hardship of sneaking into that palace."
His voice was as rough as iron's weight, and with every word he spoke, the astonishment on their faces deepened. Eugene glanced at the hand gripping the bag, then at the man holding the box in his other hand.
"Y-You… are you from the gang that attacked Kanfi?"
Ren, Rem, and Fred turned toward Eugene. None of them understood what he meant—except for the old man, who stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter.
"Ha… hahaha… It seems you know what's inside the bag."
His laughter stopped abruptly, and the air around them froze. He continued in a low, dangerous voice. "I was thinking of letting you live… but since you know what's inside the bag…" His expression suddenly changed, sharpening into unmistakable killing intent, like a blade drawn from its sheath. "…I must get rid of you."
Ren tensed, his heartbeat accelerating as though it would burst from his chest. He turned to Eugene, his voice trembling. "Eugene! What is this man talking about?!"
Poof.
An iron chain shot out like a black serpent in the dark, leaving a small cut across Ren's nose. Ren's eyes widened, as did the others', and their blood seemed to freeze in their veins. The old man lunged toward Eugene with lightning speed, the chain whirling around him like an iron tempest. Before he could throw it again—
Boom!
The man was flung to the left as if hurled by an invisible hand. He planted his feet firmly on the ground, then looked at his right hand to find part of it burned. He raised his gaze toward the source of the attack, as did Eugene, Ren, and Rem.
There stood Fred, faint steam rising from his hand.
"Heh heh… So you're a cultivator. Hmm… I didn't notice."
(This is bad… He's a third-grade cultivator and I'm second grade. The gap in experience between us is huge, and so is the difference in abilities.) Fred cast a quick glance at Ren, Eugene, and Rem, who were still trembling. (They're still first-grade cultivators. They haven't even refined their abilities yet, nor grown accustomed to these powers.)
The old man moved swiftly toward Fred, face to face.
"Among them… you're the most dangerous."
But once again, his path was obstructed. A grayish-white mist suddenly appeared, lightly obscuring everything around them like a hazy dream at winter dawn.
"Heh… It seems you're all cultivators!"
The man swung the chain quickly, tearing through the mist and dispersing it. He looked ahead but did not find Fred. Turning behind him, he saw them all standing there.
In that moment, Eugene had summoned the mist, and Ren used his shadow ability to move them from in front of the old man to behind him.
Shhh…
A faint chill ran through Fred.
"What is this strange ability?!"
Ren looked at his trembling hands, his voice betraying his fear. "Forget that—how are we supposed to deal with this person?!"
Eugene smiled briefly, trying to ease the tension. "Nothing… we'll just try to stay alive until he kills us… hahaha."
Smack!
A sharp slap from Rem landed on the back of Eugene's head, silencing him. She glared at him. "I know you're trying to lighten the mood… but not like that."
The old man looked at them with a mixture of astonishment and disappointment. Fred raised his voice, a trace of irritation in it. "Forget that for now!" Then he lowered it. "We need to find a way either to escape… or to knock him unconscious."
The old man straightened his back and raised the staff he carried. The moment he struck it against the ground—
Blue openings appeared in the air, and in the next instant, five iron chains shot out at lightning speed.
"Ha! Watch out!" Ren shouted, terror in his voice.
Eugene ran quickly away from the chain, and the others did the same.
Boom… boom… boom.
They managed to dodge the chains as they struck the ground, leaving deep craters behind. Fred thrust his hand forward, launching a fireball at high speed. At the same moment, Ren used his shadow ability and opened a black portal radiating violet energy.
But due to his inexperience with shadows, the portal appeared directly in the path of Fred's attack, causing the fireball to vanish into it.
Fred looked at Ren in disbelief, anger restrained in his voice. "Ren! What was that?! Fire and shadow are complete opposites!"
Ren tensed, his voice faint and frightened. "Sorry… I didn't mean to."
"Heh… It seems killing you will be easier than I expected."
The old man advanced toward them, the iron chains moving at insane speed. Fred and Ren ran in opposite directions while the old man swung his chains everywhere, like an octopus of iron and fire.
Eugene ran with them, narrowly avoiding chains that smashed into house walls, sending dirt and rocks flying everywhere. He leapt onto an iron pole set above a barbershop, then jumped across windows until he rose four meters above the ground.
He pulled his hand back, and the mist coiled around it until it gathered in his palm, then shot forward like a bullet.
At that same moment, a chain shot toward Ren and nearly struck his foot. He reacted in time, leaping upward and twisting in midair until his head faced downward and his feet upward.
His eyes glowed blue for a moment. He gestured, releasing a dark blue light, opening a small shadow gate to try to relocate the chain.
Ren cast a quick glance at Eugene, who released the mist sphere at that instant. "Ha! Eugene! Wait!"
The shadow gate appeared before the mist sphere, causing it to change course and emerge beneath Rem's feet.
Poof!
"Ahhh! My eyes!"
Fred's attention faltered for a moment at Rem's cry, allowing an iron chain to graze him.
Boom! Fred was flung toward Ren, who had just been about to land. The impact drove them both into a wall.
Eugene's feet touched the ground, his eyes wide. Ren and Fred had crashed into the wall, and Rem had been struck in the face by the mist. Eugene gritted his teeth hard. "Ah… what a mess!"
"Hahaha…" The old man laughed again, a cold laugh like ice. "Do you work in a circus? You're extremely amusing!"
He activated his ability once more, and the chains rose from the ground. Pointing his staff toward Eugene, he spoke with a calm, devilish smile.
"You're the only one who hasn't been hit… and since you're alone and still don't know how to fight… killing you will be quick and easy."
Swoosh… swoosh… swoosh…
The chains launched toward him again at frenzied speed.
(Five chains at once… It seems my death is very near.) Eugene swallowed dryly and began running, trying to avoid them. But they were fast and numerous, leaving minor wounds across his leg and abdomen.
Boom… boom… swoosh… swoosh…
They continued destroying walls and scratching Eugene's body in various places. While sprinting, Eugene planted his right foot firmly on the ground and leaned his body sharply in the opposite direction, narrowly avoiding all the chains.
Swoosh! He launched another mist sphere, and this time, due to the old man's brief distraction, the attack struck just centimeters from his face.
Eugene smiled—but his smile vanished when—
At that very moment, the old man smiled as well. He opened a blue opening identical to the ones that had released the chains and redirected the mist sphere elsewhere.
(He… he transferred the sphere just like Ren does with his shadow gates… My God, how did I forget? He's a third-grade cultivator. Of course he has more than one ability.)
While Eugene's mind was distracted, in that same second, chains appeared from his left, racing toward him. He turned his head quickly, heart pounding violently, sweat pouring down.
(I hit a wall just moments ago… it should've taken a few seconds… how did they change direction so fast?!)
Poof! All the chains slammed into Eugene, fracturing the left side of his body.
"Aaagh!" Eugene coughed up a little blood before being hurled through the air and crashing into an iron pole.
"Didn't I tell you? Killing you would be easy."
The chains moved again toward Eugene, and just before they could strike—
Swoosh… swoosh…
The old man turned his head toward the sound, only to find two fireballs in front of his face. His eyes widened and his brow lifted. "He can still stand?!"
Yet he did not appear tense at all, swiftly redirecting his chains to intercept the fireballs.
Fred emerged from the partially collapsed building.
Tch. He spat a little blood from his mouth. His clothes were nearly completely torn, and his head was bleeding heavily.
"You're quite a strong young man… hahaha."
Boom!
"Aagh!"
Something struck the old man's back. It was not a powerful attack, but due to his age and the force of the blow, he stumbled forward a few steps. The old man looked toward the source, his eyes blazing with fury.
Fred also turned toward the source, and his eyes widened with overwhelming joy. "Eugene! I thought you were dead or unconscious!"
"You irritating brat!" The old man felt burning rage. How could a wounded child, not even second grade, manage to strike him—even if only slightly?
Eugene stood on his feet, blood flowing from his head and injured side. Fred was surprised that Eugene remained standing without moving, his gaze distant as though his mind were elsewhere.
Inside his mind, Eugene spoke to himself:
(Fred and Ren attacked him, yet the iron chains always defended him. And they always chased me wherever I went. So why… why did my attack hit him this time and not before?!)
Clink…
A sound from behind Eugene pulled him from his thoughts. He turned quickly, fear in his eyes.
All the iron pieces in the surroundings were rising into the air.
Fred stared at the old man, who clenched his teeth in rage. A silver light emanated from his hand—the same glow surrounding the iron fragments.
The air around them froze, and an ominous silence fell for a moment before the real battle began…
To be continued…