The three women ran through the village streets. The houses stood close together, forcing them to occasionally pass through narrow alleys.
"Come on, my lady! We have to get out of this village! The ifrit attacking this place are ruthless. They kill everyone they encounter. Their souls are drained and delivered to their king!" Shopia looked terrified.
But before they could reach the edge of the village, a massive explosion struck the road about ten meters ahead of them.
BOOM!
All three women were startled and stopped instantly.
Smoke and dust billowed from the site of the explosion. They stood frozen in shock.
Behind them, a bat-like humanoid creature hovered in the air. It wore red armor and held the strange claw-tipped staff with a glowing sphere embedded in its handle.
"Ha ha ha ha! And where do you think you're going?!" Its voice thundered ominously.
Its eyes locked onto the three women with a terrifying gaze.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The sound of gunfire erupted.
Suddenly, several people emerged from behind the houses lining the street, blocking the path between the three women and the bat-like ifrit.
"Shopia! Get the two of them out of here! Use this!"
A tall, heavily built middle-aged man threw a small spherical object about the size of a fist toward Shopia.
"A portal! Come on, my ladies!" Shopia didn't waste the opportunity. She activated the device in her hand.
A beam of light emerged from the sphere, forming a bluish portal roughly the size of a doorway.
The three women immediately ran into it.
"Don't think you can escape!" The bat-like ifrit shot toward them.
However, the large man leaped into its path, gripping a spiked club and preparing to strike the creature.
BAM!
The spiked club collided with the clawed staff of the bat-like ifrit.
Meanwhile, several other people opened fire on the creature.
A battle against the monster was unavoidable.
But the creature was incredibly powerful.
The gunfire couldn't even injure it. The large man wielding the club also failed to defeat it. Instead, the defenders gradually found themselves overwhelmed.
The bullets couldn't keep up with the creature's incredible speed in the air, while the man with the club could only attack at close range.
Suddenly, the monster let out a deafening shriek.
Its voice was so loud that it seemed capable of bursting their eardrums. Then, a swarm of other bat-like ifrit appeared in the distance, rapidly approaching the battlefield.
"Seize them! I'll pursue those fugitive women!"
The bat-like ifrit leader then flew high into the sky, intending to survey the area. He climbed several hundred meters above the village.
Then he pulled out a strange tracking device resembling a small disk. A holographic display appeared above the device.
The tracker was capable of detecting exotic-energy anomalies and determining the direction of a portal that had recently been activated.
The bat-like monster grinned, its sharp teeth protruding from its mouth as its red eyes stared intensely at the display.
"You can't escape me."
A moment later, he shot away from the village, following the direction of the energy fluctuations produced by the portal according to the information displayed by the tracker in his hand.
---
Meanwhile, Selena, Eos, and Shopia had already passed through the portal.
It appeared to be only a short-range portal. It had transported them only a few kilometers away. They emerged onto a narrow road lined with tall trees on both sides. Most of them were pine trees, while various other species of trees and plants grew along the roadside.
"Quick! We have to keep moving. Lukas and the others are trying to hold them back. Hopefully, they're all right," Shopia said in a state of panic and fear.
She had been with the two girls since they were children. Ever since they became fugitives, she had also been forced to endure one unpleasant ordeal after another.
Now, she felt their chances of survival growing thinner by the minute.
Could this really be the end?
Would they fail to escape?
Would they all die?
Then, in the distance, she spotted a small black dot in the sky. It was moving rapidly toward them.
The dot gradually grew larger.
"We have nowhere else to go. They've found us," Selena said. She stopped running and turned around.
She drew a weapon—a single-edged axe—and raised an oval-shaped silver shield.
"You two go! I'll hold this demon's minion back!"
"But, Selena... that creature is incredibly strong. You could get hurt. I'm not leaving you. I'm not running away again!" Eos replied as she drew a weapon resembling a pistol and a short double-edged sword.
"Hahaha! You won't be able to run anymore! I'll send you to the realm of darkness, and your souls will become offerings to the king!" the bat-like ifrit monster roared.
Its body hovered in the air, its enormous wings beating against the sky.
Its red eyes stared viciously at the three girls, who were standing about a hundred meters away.
"Fear me! Hahaha!"
The bat-like monster suddenly shot toward them.
Its enormous clawed hands spread wide, ready to tear its prey apart. A cruel grin spread across its face as it watched the terrified girls.
The monster charged straight toward them.
Eos raised her pistol and fired.
BANG! BANG!
The bullets streaked through the air.
But the creature abruptly changed its flight path, causing the shots to miss.
Its foot slammed into Shopia's body.
The girl was sent flying through the air.
The monster's massive hand swung toward Eos.
But Selena, standing beside her, swung the axe in her hand.
The creature blocked the attack with the strange staff it carried.
The two weapons collided.
CLANG!
The difference in strength was obvious. The monster was far stronger than Selena. The impact left her hand tingling with numbness.
"Eos, run!" Selena shouted as she jumped backward to create some distance.
The creature growled and pursued Selena.
It swung the staff in its hand. Selena had barely regained her stance when she raised her shield to block the attack.
Once again, the force of the monster's strike drove her backward several steps.
BANG! BANG!
Gunshots rang out from Eos's pistol.
The bullets struck the monster's body.
The creature, which had been about to pursue Selena, stopped. It turned toward Eos.
A terrifying growl escaped its throat.
Then it rapidly shot toward her.
"Eos, run!" Selena shouted as she rushed toward the monster, which was about to attack Eos.
She raised her axe, ready to swing.
Eos saw the bat-like monster turn and pursue her.
She fired her weapon repeatedly.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
But the bullets couldn't penetrate the monster's armored hide. In a matter of seconds, the monster was already in front of her.
Its massive hand grabbed her arm, causing the pistol to slip from her grasp.
Eos desperately swung the short sword in her other hand. But the monster easily deflected the attack, sending the blade flying far away. The monster's left hand lifted Eos off the ground as she struggled violently.
Meanwhile, Selena charged forward with her axe.
She leaped into the air and swung the weapon toward the bat-like monster's head.
CLANG!
Their weapons collided.
But Selena was hopelessly outmatched in strength.
She immediately jumped backward to create some distance. The monster, however, suddenly hurled Eos's body toward her.
Selena's eyes widened in shock. She immediately dropped her axe and shield and tried to catch Eos's falling body.
The two girls collided.
But that wasn't all.
The monster's powerful kick struck both of them.
Selena and Eos were sent flying, tumbling across the ground.
Both girls grimaced in pain. Blood trickled from the corners of their mouths.
"Ha ha ha ha! You're all going to die!" The creature laughed loudly. It seemed to be enjoying itself as it toyed with its prey. Then it shot high into the sky.
Its enormous wings beat powerfully against the air. Its body suddenly accelerated downward toward Eos.
THUD!
A devastating kick slammed into Eos. Her body was sent flying once again, tumbling violently across the ground.
---