Third
Almost the instant the voice came to an end the howls of beasts shook the skies, penetrating the dense fog in a way that their eyesight couldn't hope to.
The voice itself was clearly from Ossenna, but it was impossible to pinpoint where exactly she was. It was like she was trying to remind them all that she was paying attention to what was happening even if they couldn't set eyes on her.
Leonel winced slightly, the loud howls threatening to burst his eardrums. The distance between them and the beasts shouldn't have been very close. He had already entered the forest once and they were all quite dispersed and he hadn't run into any packs, likely because the nature of Cursed Beasts didn't really allow them to work together. But, for their roars to be so loud despite the distance, Leonel's heart couldn't help but skip a beat when he thought about just how powerful they had to be.
'We need to move. Now.'
Time was of the essence, this was the conclusion Leonel came to. The fact he could only make such a benign and unimpressive deduction spoke volumes all to its own.
Leonel sent a gaze back, communicating with his eyes before shooting forward. He held back his speed to a level that most in their group could keep up with, not wanting to leave anyone behind. Though they now had the armor to sustain and help them, and they shouldn't have any issues maintaining it at these low settings, they were still restricted somewhat in their strength.
The likes of Aina and Myghell could use about 80% now, while the others were at about 60-70%.
Leonel blazed a path into the village, his gaze narrowing when he witnessed the scene ahead.
In the center of the village, several of the most severely injured youth lay writhing on the ground, the Anarchic Force eating away at their weak bodies and paralyzing them from the inside out. It was clearly already too late for them to receive treatment and one after another, they died.
Even further ahead than that, a surging wall of disciples ran for their lives, understanding that they only had a short time to disperse into the forest before the wall that had protected them before became the bottleneck that assured their deaths.
The issue with this, though, was that this small village already had several hundred geniuses who called this place home. Secondly, despite the large scale of the explosion, only about a 20-meter diameter of the black log wall had been destroyed. And, to make matters worse, the residual force and flames of the impact still lay in the pit that separated them from their escape, forming a barrier that no one dared to cross easily.
This resulted in a surge of people rushing from the back and a wall of individuals who hesitated to take a step forward. Even on Third Dimensional Earth, moshpits were the kind of places innocent people went to die, let alone in a situation like this where people were on a high that surpassed seeing their favorite musician. They were all fighting for their lives.
Leonel's gaze shifted from the hole in the wall to the portions of the black log that still remained. It was obvious that many weren't trying to leap over the normal way because of how difficult it was to climb a hundred meters straight up in a Seventh Dimensional world.
'Can they make it?'
Leonel's brow furrowed deeper. He could clear the hundred meters in just a few steps, but what about those following him? It was unlikely.
Leonel's mind worked in a blur, immediately coming up with a solution. His steps diverted, shooting off at an angle and away from the 20-meter gap in the wall.
"Karolus, with me!"
Karolus' expression changed but he sped up until he was shoulder level with Leonel. His tall and lanky body was filled with strength and vitality, especially after gaining the support of Leonel's armor. He was eager to make his mark.
"Together!" Leonel said, reaching out a hand.
In that moment, a crack appeared in space about a meter off the ground. When Karolus saw this, he immediately understood, his own hand reaching out a moment later. With a thought, his own spatial affinity latched onto the ledge Leonel had formed, widening and strengthening it.
Soon, the 'crack' in space had become like a splintered glass stair, stretching out for about two meters.
Leonel accelerated forward, his gaze flickering as he leapt into the air. Even as he did so, his hand reached out again, forming a second crack three meters ahead and two meters higher off the ground than the first.
Karolus followed suit, his brows marred by concentration.
Leonel's foot landed heavily on the first stair, propelling himself upward toward the second just as Karolus reinforced it.
Their group caught on just a moment later, rushing up the spatial stairway in pairs as they rocketed upward. In just a few moments, they soared over the log wall beneath the astonished gazes of many of those who found themselves on the village side.
"Slow your fall downward!" Leonel's voice commanded again, a road of stars appearing beneath his feet as he zigzagged through the air, slowing his descent by several measures.
Leonel's mind continued to work, his breathing becoming more even and his thoughts becoming focused. He knew the ins and outs of the abilities of everyone who followed him now. After all, while they thought they were anonymous thanks to the billboard of numbers, Leonel had already attached them all to faces. Using everyone quickly and efficiently wouldn't be a problem so long as they hadn't held back too greatly.
At that moment, though, Myghell landed heavily a large measure before Leonel had. Clearly, he hadn't taken any measures to slow himself, nor had he felt the need to. Content is property © .
He looked up, meeting Leonel's gaze for a moment. Even without an exchange of words, Leonel already understood.
Without a word, Myghell shot off into the distance, having no intention of waiting for the rest of them. Following Leonel? Was that a joke?
A smile curled Leonel's lip for a moment before a shocked cry resounded and a body flew out from the fog.
Obviously, it wasn't Myghell. But, rather, it was someone Leonel didn't recognize at all.
Leonel landed on the ground softly, his gaze sharp as it pierced toward the direction Myghell had vanished from.
'Wisdom Branch, Third Awakening.'
Leonel's pupils dilated to an extreme, the illusion of an owl's eyes appearing to his back as his vision jumped through the dense fog to land on a group of disciples Myghell had just blasted through.