The wounded man was against the wall, with no more energy to use his power, but he wasn’t out of tricks. He had one more thing, one last ace up his sleeve. He moved his hand carefully while the devil still laughed at him, making sure he wouldn't notice. In his pocket was the last of the capsules that his companion had made.

A small dark capsule that was ready to be activated the moment he broke it. The remnant of the only friend he had in this world.

The devil stopped laughing and stretched his hands as he looked around the forest. "Where are we? You open the portal to get away, but this is completely different from the desert. I have never been in this world before."

"It doesn’t matter. You can open the portal back up, right? If you do what I said, I won’t hurt you too much." He put his hands together, and a whip made of fire emerged from the palm of his hand.

He cracked the whip against the ground and lit a tree on fire. The devil only managed to take a single step before a barrage of bullets flew at him.

The devil moved one of his arms and blocked the bullets. They managed to pierce his hard skin and make him bleed a little. "What type of projectile is this?"

He grabbed the bullets from his arm and took a closer look. More bullets came his way, but he blocked them with his whip. The fire melted the bullets and sent them in different directions.

"Who are you? Do you want to die?" He raised his voice and moved his eyes around the forest until he found another person. "Another of those new creatures. "You have no idea who I am, do you?"

"I don’t care. You’re in Pix-Dawn Alliance territory now. I want you to tell me more about this world you came from and about this power to open portals." He looked at the wounded man, who was shocked to see another human. "If you surrender, I won’t hurt you too much."

***

Silas decided to show himself because he was the only one who could play the part of a tank right now. Jacob was in the back, hidden in the trees with Nora. Both of them could use their powers from a distance, so there was no need for them to reveal their presence.

He almost decided to stay behind with them, but after hearing about the power to open portals, he couldn’t let the man be captured by the red monster. That red skin and his size. He must be a tolgar, but he has four arms. Cink told me they are very powerful in physical combat and some of them can use magic. I need to be careful.

It was his second encounter with another of the races brought by the System. The Tolgar were very hostile to all other races and saw them as lesser beings. The chances of negotiations were low, but he had to try. Depending on if he’s a player like us or a descendant, this could turn bad.

"Huh, you try to order me around. I’m part of the Crimson Caravan! Se’ky, the master of slaves,"

He had no idea what that meant. It must be some kind of group in another world. I’m already at a disadvantage. I don’t know how strong they are or what kind of group they are.

"You don’t know about the Crimson Caravan. It is all over your face, not like I expected you to know in the first place. I’m just going to break your legs and take you back with the other one over there. Slaves don’t need to know more than to work for us." Se’ky took a single step before Silas used his power on him.

He stole a part of his power, and his skin turned red. He doesn’t have any skills. Does that mean the fire whip is a technique he learned? In that case, I could try to do it.

He tried to summon a whip, but he could only make his hands hotter. He didn’t have time to practice as the fire whip was about to slap him. He jumped back and used his necklace. Silas became invisible.

"Huh, running away. I don’t know what you did to me, but you won’t be able to defeat me." He burned more bullets that came from behind the trees, but the second barrage changed direction and dodged his whip. "What? Impossible!"

Se’ky was confused as to why the movements of the projectiles were changing direction, eluding his whip. It barely hurt, but it was clear that he was fighting more than one enemy.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

"More little pests hidden in the forest. Not a problem!" He shook his whip around, and the flames set the whole forest on fire. "I just need to snuff you out."

Se’ky kept repealing the bullets as the forest burned, Silas close by using his invisibility, waiting for a chance to strike. Nora was using her power to help him find a weakness while he communicated the information.

"He doesn’t have any skills that I can use. He’s pretty strong and fast. I can’t take him in direct combat."

"What about the fire? Can you get close?"

"I’m resistant to fire now. I can feel it on my skin, so I’m able to get close without much trouble. I need you to give your power to Jacob and distract him. I’ll try to end this in one hit."

"Understood, I will switch you to 100% in the moment of the attack." Nora was able to change the direction of her power with great precision. Silas had no doubt she could pull it off.

As Se’ky repelled wave after wave of bullets, he noticed the change in power in a moment. The barrage that was coming was different; it was much more boosted than the previous rounds. Don’t tell me, could it be there are three of them? One who ran away and did something to me, another who can shoot me from far away, and a third one who is boosting his power, making it change directions.

Se’ky dodged by jumping away, but the bullets still pursued him. His whip started to burn more brightly than before and sent all the bullets away with force. His domain of the whip was impressive; it was like another arm. He was focused on defending himself from the bullets, so he didn’t notice the moment the sword pierced his gut.

"Agh!" he exclaimed as something invisible stabbed his insides. The invisibility came undone after the attack, revealing Silas was stabbing him with a green sword. "You!"

Se’ky tried to grab him with two arms, but the attack was not done. Nora changed the flow of her power and gave it all to Silas.

"Aaaah!" He pierced the organs inside and twisted the blade as he pulled it out. An explosion of blood sprayed everywhere. Se’ky was vomiting blood and took a step back from the immense pain. This was no longer a laughing matter.

Not yet! If I can't incapacity you, then I’ll kill you!

He was still using all of Nora’s power. He moved to the side and aimed at the chest of the tolgar. This was the final strike. He made sure to pay attention to the whip. He ducked under the whip and then...

Something hit him in the face. He lost the sense of balance as his brain was bouncing inside his head. He spat blood, trying to think about what hit him. Was it one of his arms? But I wasn’t that close yet.

It took him a moment to notice there was a second whip. Se’ky made another whip and struck him in the face as he dodged the first attack. It was his mistake to think he could only use one whip. Why did he take that for granted?

Silas felt ashamed of having made such an obvious mistake. I’m out of practice. I haven’t fought seriously in over six months. My intuition is rusty. I should have thought about it after I learned I could do the same technique. Stupid, I’m such an idiot!

He didn’t have time to lament his incompetency as Se’ky looked at him with a strange smile. "Disgusting! Why do you look like me? Is that your power, transforming into your opponent? You and your little friends made me use two whips. Not bad, but I will fight seriously now."

He raised the whips into the air and started a flurry of attacks over Silas. The strikes rained down on him from all directions. He tried to defend, but the speed of the whips was too much for him.

"Agh! Ugh!" in the side, the head, the arm, and the legs. The only reason he wasn’t getting grave burn marks was because he had stolen Se’ky’s resistance to fire, but everything else was turning for the worst.

I need to back away from the whips. He has the advantage in the midrange. I can’t beat him in close combat either.

He couldn’t take two steps before the whip slapped him on the face and made him vomit blood. He became a punching bag under the furious attack of the tolgar. Jacob and Nora tried to help from afar, but the whips blocked all the bullets. Despite constantly changing directions, not a single bullet managed to penetrate the defense of the whips.

This was the difference in power. Se’ky wasn’t going to give me another chance. He was still hurt by the wound, but he was about to finish the fight in less than a minute.

Silas’s body was covered with bruises and swelling from the onslaught of attacks. He didn’t have the strength to attack or run anymore. His mind was on the verge of passing out until he noticed the red figure getting closer. He couldn’t react as the hands grabbed him and squished his rib cage.

"Aaaggghhh!" The air left his lungs as the grip got stronger by the second. The bullets kept attacking, but Se’ky was defecting them with his two whips and looked over at Silas.

"See? You think you're strong because you have the power of the System. Don’t make me laugh. You’re an insect when compared to me." He squished Silas more and made him vomit blood.

"Ups, my bad hahaha. Your power doesn’t seem that valuable, and you stabbed me. I’m pissed at you, but I’m not irrational. I can spare you and take you as a slave if you beg me. What do you say?" He loosened his grip just enough so he could breath and beg.

"Ah, go... go for the stomach!" he yelled, and someone jumped on top of Se’ky.

"What?" He had to block with one of his hands. A punch almost hit him in the wound. The impact sent him back several meters, and then smoke covered the area. "What is going on?"

He felt another punch on his arm that caused him to drop Silas. He tried to attack, but the smoke masked their retreat.

He moved the whips and dispersed the smoke cloud. He could see two more enemies.

"You pick a fight with my pupil, bastard. How about you face me!"

"Sorry for taking so long."

Franco and Nadine arrive.