Chapter 209
Meanwhile, in an underground space within the evilus base, Vasileios was panicking.
After regaining consciousness, he hurried to check on Adi, who lay unconscious and bleeding from the loss of one of her arms.
Vasileios had to think fast.
Fortunately, he had gained some medical knowledge during the soup kitchen massacre event, so he was not completely clueless about how to perform treatment.
Quickly getting to work, Vasileios used his limited knowledge and the tools at his disposal to stop the bleeding.
However, they faced a new problem.
“How far down are we?” Vasileios muttered, scanning the area for a way up. The others needed to know they were alive.
Suddenly, the sound of explosions erupted from above, causing dust and debris to rain down.
‘What is happening up there?’ Vasileios wondered, instinctively raising his shield to protect himself and the unconscious Adi.
The explosions continued for several minutes, but then a more chilling sound reached his ears—causing fear to consume his mind.
“Help!” Vasileios shouted, his heart nearly stopping.
His beast-like ears twitched as he heard the building above beginning to collapse.
This was bad; it was very bad.
The situation reminded him of a memory he wished to forget.
No one from the Bahamut Familia liked confined spaces filled with dirt; it brought haunting memories of when they lost everything years ago.
Knowing he had no skill or magic that could help him and Adi get back to the surface, all he could do was scream and hope that someone would hear his cries.
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After announcing their retreat, no one objected except for one particular elf who was distraught.
“Adi… Adiiii!” Ryuu screamed, struggling against Lyra, who was holding her back. Vasiliki, both physically and mentally exhausted, signalled for Clair to assist in restraining her.
“Alise, please stop them!” Ryuu pleaded, her sky-blue eyes filled with tears.
“We have to help Adi; she’s right there!” she said, pointing to nothing in particular.
All that seemingly remained of Adi was a crimson stain smeared across rubble and shipping containers.
Michalis felt a surge of anger rising within him.
All he heard was ‘Adi, Adi, Adi.’ No one was mentioning Vasileios.
Vasiliki was doing her best to hold the building steady for their escape, and here they were, wasting her effort.
Weren’t they the adults? Shouldn’t they be making the smarter decision?
If Vasiliki weren’t holding him back, he would have exploded by now with all the pent-up emotions he was trying to contain.
Vasiliki’s ears twitched as she heard cracking noises coming from her ice support.
It could no longer withstand the weight of the ongoing explosions and the collapsing building.
They needed to leave now or risk being buried in the rubble.
“We need to leave now! I can’t hold on much longer,” Vasiliki announced, pulling everyone’s attention away from Ryuu. Quickly grabbing Ryuu against her will, they all began sprinting for the exit Vasiliki had created.
Boom!
With one final explosion, the building started collapsing, levelling everything to the ground.
Columns buckled, supports fell, and the roof came down, trapping anyone still inside.
What followed was a cacophony of stone and silence, drowning out all other sounds.
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Meanwhile, in District Five to the south, a deafening explosion shook the evilus base.
One by one, the Freya Familia escaped through a hole made by their captain’s sword.
“What are the casualties?” Ottar asked, placing his sword on his shoulder and glancing back at the collapsed building.
It was already a pile of smoke and rubble, unrecognizable as the evilus base they had come to destroy.
All around him, the healers of the Freya familia ran to and fro, struggling to comprehend what they had just witnessed.
Allen landed by Ottar’s side, a bloodstained spear in hand.
“Damn, we lost five,” Allen reported, his expression filled with rage.
Despite having taken down the Evilus commander, his anger did not subside.
Five of the finest Einherjar had been lost to the evilus suicidal attack.
Just then, Ottar and Allen’s ears twitched simultaneously as they heard the sounds of more explosions.
“Huh, wait, how long is this going to go on for?” Allen muttered, looking around in confusion, the source difficult to pinpoint.
Ottar’s eyes suddenly widened in shock as realization struck him.
“It can’t be,” he muttered, turning his gaze toward the city.
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In District Nine, at the Evilus base being raided by the Loki Familia:
“Everyone, quick! Get inside Riveria’s healing circle!” Finn shouted urgently.
“Patch up the wounded and regroup quickly!”
A short distance from the Evilus base, in a small square, Finn barked out various orders.
Riveria, on the other hand, was casting a group recovery spell.
Her magic circle stretched seven meters in radius, giving off a pale green glow.
Those who entered its range were immediately healed from most injuries, showcasing why Riveria was currently the most powerful mage in the city.
However, even this seemingly powerful and calm elf wore a grim expression, her face marred with disgust at the evilus current actions.
Gareth, meanwhile, handed his still smouldering shield to a supporter before slumping to the ground in exhaustion.
“To think they would stoop to suicide. It’s a good thing we were prepared for the worst,” Gareth said.
Thanks to Draco’s persistent warnings and Finn’s intuition, the Loki Familia suffered the fewest losses and regrouped the quickest.
Despite this, the Loki Familia was anything but happy.
“You hear that, don’t you?” Gareth said, looking into the distance.
The sounds of explosions still rumbled ominously.
Finn’s eyes widened as his mind came to a realization.
“What happened to us wasn’t a trap, but a signal,” he said solemnly.
He suddenly thought of Valletta, the woman likely masterminding this chaos.
Then he remembered the letter he had received from Draco that morning.
“Sigh, it was never us they were after. Everything makes sense now,” he muttered, eyes closed.
‘Hopefully, that dragon boy has a plan because my preparations don’t seem sufficient now,’ Finn mused.
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The city was ablaze, as if the gates of hell had opened to swallow it whole.
Asfi ran through the streets, filled with panic and fear.
“The enemy’s true target was the city itself. How could we have missed something so obvious?” she muttered, climbing onto a vantage point.
Fire spewed from buildings into the streets and squares, bringing destruction to every corner of the city.
Followers of the evilus appeared out of nowhere, slaughtering any life in their path.
Whenever they encountered adventurers, they did not hesitate to consign their lives to fire and ash, trying to take as many as they could with them.
The screams of men, women, and children echoed from every street; it was pure madness.
Asfi watched everything unfold from her vantage point atop a grand gambling house in the business district.
“Asfi!” a voice called out, startling her momentarily before she recognized the person.
“Falgar!”