For every use of [Shadow Skip], I could feel the waves touching my skin becoming hotter. Our escape speed was less than the expanding shockwave’s speed! Sooner or later, it will catch up to us, but before that, I need to increase the distance!
Without minding my remaining energy reserves, I continued spamming the skill. I didn’t know if it was dozens or hundreds of times, but after an instant that felt like forever, we finally got caught up by the blast.
“Gah!”
Pain coursed all over my body as I absorbed the impact of the shockwaves. I placed my back against the blast while covering Fang with my arms and body. It was an almost futile attempt, but it’s better than doing nothing. After all, Fang was not yet done with her recovery.
Soon, the smell of burning meat came from my back. Although I couldn’t see it, I could more or less guess what it looks like right now. After all, I can’t feel the pain in my back anymore. That means the nerves there already got burned clean, passing the 3rd-degree burn level and reaching even the muscle layer.
“… L-Leader…”
Fang, regaining consciousness, whispered my name in a weak voice as the potion bottle that was stuck on her lips fell off before I noticed. Her eyes were foggy as if she wasn’t fully awake yet, but upon realizing my situation and probably feeling the heat surrounding us, her eyes opened wide.
“Leader! T-That wound…!”
Her face turned bluer than it already was after seeing the state I was in, but I held her tighter to not let her get hit directly by the blast. As if understanding her situation, she turned teary as she bit her lips tight, lamenting her powerlessness.
A second later, the wave finally subsided. Losing all strength in my legs, I fell to the ground face-first. Fang, who was in my embrace, got squeezed between me and the ground. Although I wanted to move away, my body refused to move… F*ck. I should’ve kept a potion out for a moment like this…
For some reason, I felt like I was sinking into deep water. Within my hazy vision, I saw Fang’s tear-stricken face as she quickly pulled out a potion from her storage ring. She then sprinkled it all over my back, and almost at the same instant, the pain receptors I lost returned, giving me a sudden burst of pain so intense that I thought I’d rather die.
“…er… Lea… Leader!”
Slowly, Fang’s voice reached my consciousness, which was overwhelmed with an unbearable amount of pain. As soon as I realized that I could already move, the first thing I did was touch my back. 𝒆𝙣𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝙚𝙩
“… Great, it’s healed…”
I’d rather not imagine what my barbecued back would look like, after all. Rather than that, the bigger problem for me now is that my shirt and pants dropped to the ground, as only a fraction of the front half was left after it got burned. I became naked in an instant.
Before I could pick up a new set of clothes, however, a foreboding sense sent tingles down my spine. Looking behind me, the gigantic dragon’s face was opening up again, and within it was another gigantic fireball about to launch.
“D*mn…”
If that gets released again, then I really think we’d die now for sure. I’m almost out of gas, and Fang hasn’t recovered fully yet. Remembering something, I stared at my finger, where the ring from Goddess Zeta was worn. I grabbed Fang and used the ring… But nothing happened.
“Another spatial interference?!”
These God-level beasts really do love to keep things well guarded. I remember the time with the demon shark when we couldn’t teleport out either. There, we needed to find the exit manually and escape.
However, looking around, this place doesn’t seem to have an exit or whatever nearby. I can’t even see a sliver of its unique presence with my eyes. In other words, we’re stuck here until this Dragon King gives up and lets us off.
“U-Uhm…”
Just as I was lost in thought, I turned to Fang, who released a cute and shy voice. Looking at her, she was blushing madly despite her face still being pale. She seemed to sport a mix of discomfort and embarrassment… And the reason was that my big willy was actually pressed tight against her hips when I pulled her close earlier.
“W-We should go, Leader!”
She suggested while trying to switch the topic.
Well, with the threat of an incoming fireball again, it’s really better if we escape fast. Explaining could come later, so I just lifted Fang up and activated the Flame of Evolution before using [Shadow Skip] at max range. I’m running out of energy after all, so I was forced to use it despite my probably low amount of Good Karma in stock.
Unlike earlier, where each jump was getting shorter and shorter, in just one skill activation, we managed to move about five kilometers away from our initial location. A few seconds later, in the area behind us, another atomic bomb-like explosion spread its destructive waves around.
Just to make sure, we did another jump in the same direction, creating a total of 10 kilometers of distance from the explosion. As soon as we reached a safe distance, I disabled the Flames of Evolution and sighed.
“L-Leader! I-It’s… A hard thing is hitting my butt!”
Fang was shouting something, but the wave hit us at the same instant. It was faster than before but completely lost the heat it had previously, which was enough to scorch my entire back. The powerful air currents from the blast made it hard to hear anything else but the rustling of the wind.
Using the brief respite we had, I made Fang hold the third potion and let her drink another one. I also took out a fresh set of clothes and wore them quickly while having difficulty with my “hard for some reason” rod. I had no time to let it rest and relax, so I just wore my pants over it, even if it was extremely uncomfortable.
Looking up at the Dragon King, who was preparing another large fireball, I frowned deeply. We managed to survive the first two blasts, but if this continues, we’ll be the first to dry up. My Good Karma value was just too low to last long enough.
Just as I was about to hit my head to make it forcefully churn out ideas, Fang grabbed my shoulders.
“Leader… I’ll try and handle this big oaf while you go and figure out our escape route…”
Her expression when she said this was a very serene one. As if a soldier who had already prepared to lay down his life to protect his land, not fearing even death itself.
“… What are you planning…?”
As I got a bad feeling from her unwavering gaze, I couldn’t help but ask. However, Fang just stayed quiet and didn’t say a thing, which further deepened the foreboding feeling that I was getting.
Her expression, for some reason, overlapped with Fatima’s face after we beat the Void Beast. That made me have a bit of a panic attack, shaking Fang’s shoulders wildly.
“Don’t tell me you’re going to sacrifice yourself?! NO! THAT’S NOT ALLOWED! I WON’T ALLOW IT AS LONG AS I’M ALIVE!”
Power just entered my voice naturally, and I was almost shouting at the end. However, Fang just gave a gentle but sad smile as she glanced toward the Dragon King.
“As things stand, we would just die slowly here. If we don’t do anything about that avatar, then there’s no way we could both survive.”
“Yeah, but sacrificing yourself to save me is still not fine!”
“LEADER! *sigh* Think logically, please. It’s either you survive, or we both die. And I’d rather die than let you fall alongside me!”
Fang’s gentle smile finally crumpled, turning into an expression of sadness, despair, and resolve. She’s definitely planning to sacrifice herself, and I know only one skill that she could use that ignores the power gap between the user and the enemy.
“… You’re going to use [Soul Eclipse]?”
“…”
Although Fang didn’t answer directly, her silence says it all. I quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her close, staring straight at her wavering eyes.
“… Then I wouldn’t let you risk your life alone. I’ll be using the Flame of Regression to burn off all your Bad Karma to increase your chances of success.”
“…! L-Leader, no! That’s dangerous!”
“And so is what you’re planning to do!”
Without waiting for her input, I quickly ignited the Flame of Evolution over my right hand. It went well without a hitch, but when I tried lighting up the Flame of Regression on my left, as usual, it failed.
*RROOOOOOAAAAAAAAAR!*
Just as I was about to try once more, the Dragon King let out a loud and reverberating roar. The entire space started shaking as if in response to it, and soon, all the volcanoes around started erupting violently and simultaneously.
The ocean of blood receded before forming a gigantic tidal wave, or tsunami.
The earth shook violently as cracks appeared as if to swallow everything into a deep and dark chasm.
The entire space was raging, rejecting our very presence, just like a visual representation of the Dragon King’s thoughts.
Time is running out.
