Dino was going to continue his dissing of Eren when he suddenly felt a heavy mana sense swept over him. He felt like his heart had stopped beating and the world around him had lost its colour.
Ron wasn’t in any better condition either. He felt the same effects as Dino, but unlike his friend, he could actually feel the level of threat coming from that effect.
‘D-Rank?’
Ron couldn’t gauge the strength of the one who had used their mana sense on them just now so he immediately assigned the threat to the highest-ranking entity he was familiar with.
But soon the intensifying fear Ron felt from the incoming enemy made him change his initial estimation. He had beads of sweat on his forehead as he came to a new possibility:
“C-Rank! It’s a motherfu*cking C-Rank mana beast. Dino, my friend. We are fuc*ked!”
Eren didn’t wait as soon as he sensed that dreaded mana sense washing over him. He made use of Reen’s enhancement of his body and ran the Blitz Steps to his fullest potential. His body stats had also been strengthened because of the demon’s beast active fusion.
So Eren ran again, this time leaving two baits behind him. Now that the arrays had been activated, butcher operated them through their controllers. And made them stay invisible while retaining the effects they had on dual berserkers.
The old beast came first and saw Dino and Ron both staying within the disputed territory. A territory between it and the young mana beast who was trying to expand its influence. So it focused on Dino first because he was closest to it between them.
Then came the second beast.
Dino pissed his pants after he saw the second mana beast of the same rank making its appearance. He tried his hardest to control his bladder. But the second beast’s hostile mana sense just made his body act on his own.
Ron wasn’t in any better condition either. He was on his knees, still unable to move. He didn’t understand what was happening to him right now. Why did they end up here, in front of two mana beasts whose rank they couldn’t comprehend for real?
Ron understood that Eren had used both of them as baits. The mana beasts were very perceptive. They didn’t know what the array or its layout was. But they could sense the dangers getting radiated from it all the same.
That’s why Eren needed bait in the form of Dino and Ron to make the beasts’ basic instincts take over. Instincts to kill the intruders in their territories first before worrying about the consequences.
These instincts had made the beasts challenge Reen’s control over them at the time of their mana senses’ confrontation. Eren knew that Reen’s status as a demon beast wasn’t high enough for them to ignore their territorial instincts.
So the beasts would certainly not care anything about two puny F-Rankers. And they would try to eliminate the other party at all costs.
And that’s what happened. The beasts growled at each other as if coming to a ceasefire. They then focused their attention on their prey.
Both the beasts stepped into their killing arrays, a moment Eren was waiting for from afar. He activated the trapping mechanism for the arrays at their full strengths.
The beasts were just a few meters away from their prey when they felt their bodies getting devoid of the ability to make use of their mana. Both the beasts felt something was wrong as they tried to bolt from their positions.
But their struggles weren’t fruitful. Especially the old beast that was already injured. It felt like it couldn’t move at all.
The beasts tried all their methods. They even tried to eliminate the berserkers in front of them, thinking eliminating them was the key behind their liberation.
But just like Dino and Ron, the beasts too had lost the ability to employ mana or make use of their mana sense.
Two sets of prey were tra[ped. Just as Eren wanted them to. He came out from hiding at that time and reached the area between the two arrays to observe the arrays’ functioning.
Eren had two array controllers in each of his hands. He tossed them in the air and did some juggling acts as he paid attention to the beasts’ movements.
Eren had to admit that the huge sum he had paid for these arrays was worth every Extol. He wouldn’t have even thought of messing with two C-Rank beasts on his own in his current ranking status if it wasn’t for these arrays.
Eren was also worried about the arrays’ operability. The cynic in him thought that there was a chance that he might get duped. Of course, he wasn’t doubting Jack. but those who provided Jack with these products.
So when he saw that the arrays were working just the way they had been advertised, Eren felt some relief. He was about to press the detonation button on the arrays when he heard a faint voice coming from Ron.
Ron was struggling hard to breathe because of his proximity to the C-Rank beast. He was sure that the beast wouldn’t have to do anything as he would have passed out in its presence long ago if the array hadn’t suppressed its mana.
The way he saw it, Ron had only one way to get out of his situation. Talk with the one who had put them in the very situation. That’s why when he saw Eren approaching them, the sane berserker tried to have a word with him.
“Err… Eren Idril. We are sorry for targeting you. We really are. Look, you can take everything that I own in my ID stone as a form of compensation.
These arrays you have used are clearly C-Rank arrays meant for the mana beasts. You… you must have spent a fortune on them… I’ll see to it that you get that money back with my connections… And I can…”
Eren shook his head and cut him off with his reply:
“Offer’s tempting, Ron. Not going to lie…
But I don’t like to leave loose ends behind if I can help it.”