Chapter 34: Three Minutes
Chapter 34: Three Minutes
[Sync progress: 81%.]
The blue vortex behind the stone pillar had half taken shape.
The air in the small plaza grew heavy. The lines on the transfer device kept lighting up and then dimming. Just a little more time, and the gate back to the real world would fully open.
But no one was really looking at the gate.
Victor looked at Ethan.
Nolan looked at Laira.
Mira looked at both sides, her hand gripping the compass so tight it turned white.
Ethan stood beside Laira, his right hand still resting near his pocket. His face was pallid, his shoulders slightly lowered from the dull ache in his left arm. But his gaze was still calm.
Too calm.
That made Nolan even more uncomfortable.
A Black Iron tier 5 who had just been seriously injured, yet dared to stand before two Gold students with that kind of expression.
Nolan said in a low voice: "Victor."
Victor didn’t answer.
But his hand had already gripped the metal band at his side.
Laira immediately looked over.
Her amber-red gaze turned cold.
Ethan said softly: "Laira."
Laira didn’t take her eyes off Victor. "I know."
Right after, Victor crushed the metal band.
Crack!
A crisp sound rang out.
The band broke into four pieces. From inside, silver energy chains suddenly shot out, piercing through the air, charging straight at Laira.
Laira immediately raised her hand.
Dark red flame blazed up.
But the silver chains didn’t collide directly with the flame. They split apart in midair, forming a small magic array, then pressed down on the space around Laira.
Boom!
The air froze.
Laira’s flame stalled for half a beat.
Just half a beat.
But at this level, half a beat was enough.
Victor shouted: "Nolan!"
Nolan had already raised his gun.
No hesitation.
No warning.
Not aiming at the legs or shoulder.
The muzzle locked straight onto Ethan’s head.
Bang!
The silver magic round tore through the air.
The distance was too close.
Ethan saw the streak of silver light shoot toward him.
In that moment, time seemed to slow down.
He knew he couldn’t dodge at his current speed.
His Black Iron tier 5 body wasn’t enough.
The moment the Eye of Truth tried to activate, the pain in his eyes flared up. The wound on his left arm immediately turned scorching hot too, the Void Fire stimulated, like it wanted to crawl out from under the suppression.
Not enough time.
Not enough power.
Not enough of a body.
But he had one more thing.
Ethan’s right hand crushed the talisman in his pocket.
The black-red talisman shattered.
[Partner Resonance Power activated.]
[Duration: 180 seconds.]
[Warning: The user’s body does not meet the conditions to bear the load.]
Boom!
Dark red flame blazed up from within Ethan’s body.
Not like the gentle flame Laira had once used to protect him.
This time, it was brutal.
Scorching.
Vicious.
Like a dragon crammed into a human body not yet solid enough.
Ethan’s eyes flashed amber-red for an instant.
The magic round was less than a foot from his forehead.
Ethan tilted his body.
Not a perfect motion.
Not graceful enough.
Even a little clumsy.
But the speed far surpassed the limit of Black Iron.
The silver round grazed past his cheek, leaving a streak of hot blood.
Nolan’s eyes went wide.
"Wha—"
He didn’t finish.
Ethan had already appeared before him.
A sweeping kick.
No technique.
No finesse.
Only raw power to a terrifying degree.
Boom!
Nolan’s body was kicked flying out like a sandbag.
He slammed hard into the half stone wall behind him, his ribs giving off a crackling sound of breaking. The energy rifle nearly fell from his hand, but he still gritted his teeth and held on tight.
"Damn it!"
Nolan coughed up a mouthful of blood.
On the other side, the silver chains were still locked around Laira.
Laira was forced to stand still in place.
Not because she was weak.
But because this tool wasn’t trying to defeat her.
It was only stalling.
Locking her reaction.
Locking the distance.
Locking the moment she wanted to return to Ethan’s side.
Laira said coldly: "You want to die."
The flame around her body blazed up violently.
The silver chains began to turn red, giving off a piercing shriek.
Victor saw that scene, his expression changing slightly.
He knew this thing couldn’t hold Laira for long.
But he hadn’t needed long in the first place.
Victor raised his energy shield and charged straight at Ethan.
Boom!
The blue shield rammed into Ethan’s chest.
Ethan immediately stepped back.
The power he’d borrowed from Laira was terrifying, but the body was still his body. His muscles weren’t hard enough. His bones weren’t strong enough. His energy channels weren’t wide enough. Each time he moved too intensely, his whole body felt like it was being torn apart from the inside.
Victor was Gold.
Even without a Partner like Laira, even without an overwhelming bloodline, his level foundation was still far higher than Ethan’s.
Ethan gritted his teeth and used his right hand to block the edge of the shield.
Crack.
The bone of his wrist gave off a faint cracking sound.
Victor saw that and immediately roared: "You can’t take it!"
Ethan didn’t answer.
He raised his knee and slammed it hard into Victor’s stomach.
Boom!
Victor was knocked back half a step.
But the energy armor on his body immediately absorbed most of the impact. He gritted his teeth and chopped his energy sword down at Ethan’s shoulder.
Ethan tilted his body to dodge.
The blade cut through his shirt, leaving a long streak of blood across his chest.
Hot.
Painful.
But not enough to make him collapse.
Ethan spun, his right elbow striking straight at Victor’s face.
Victor raised his shield.
Boom!
The impact made both of them fall back.
Ethan felt the muscles in his right arm like they were being ripped apart. Blood flowed out beneath the skin, dyeing his sleeve red. He panted, but his gaze still stayed locked on Victor.
Behind them, the transfer device gave off a sharp chime.
[Sync progress: 96%.]
[Space stable.]
[Opening gate.]
Mira said in a trembling voice: "Stop! Victor, Nolan, that’s enough!"
No one listened to her.
Nolan braced against the wall and stood up. His face was pallid with pain, but his gaze grew even more vicious.
He looked at Ethan being pressed by Victor, then raised his gun again.
Mira saw that motion, her expression immediately changing.
"Nolan!"
Nolan didn’t look at her.
He pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Ethan was dodging Victor’s shield ram.
Not enough open space.
Not enough time.
The Eye of Truth only managed to catch a streak of silver light in his field of view.
He tilted his body to the limit.
But the round still lodged in his right shoulder.
Thunk!
Blood spurted out.
Ethan’s body staggered back a few steps.
A freezing cold pain spread from his shoulder blade down his arm. The dark red flame around him wavered, nearly going out for a moment.
Laira saw that scene.
Her eyes immediately blazed red.
"Victor!"
It wasn’t Ethan calling.
It was Laira.
Her voice was so cold it made the whole plaza feel like it was being burned by fire yet still frozen.
The silver chains around her body gave off a cracking sound.
Victor changed color.
He no longer hesitated.
If Laira broke free completely, both he and Nolan would die.
Victor charged at Laira.
He wanted to pull her into the gate’s range.
Just get Laira through the gate, just leave the Anomalous Coordinates, and the Hale family would have a way to handle the rest.
But he’d barely taken two steps when Ethan blocked his path.
His right shoulder bleeding.
His left hand nearly crippled.
His whole body covered in tears from the backlash.
But Ethan still stood there.
Victor roared: "Move!"
He raised his shield and rammed straight at him.
Ethan didn’t dodge.
He channeled all his strength into his right hand.
The motion was very ugly.
No proper stance.
No high-level combat skill.
Just like a person pushed to a dead end, using all his strength to throw out a single punch.
But a portion of that strength came from Laira.
Boom!
Ethan’s fist slammed into the edge of the energy shield.
The blue shield shattered in chunks.
The arm Victor held the shield with bent backward at an abnormal angle.
Crack!
The sound of breaking bone rang out very clearly.
Victor screamed, his whole body falling back.
But Ethan was no better off.
The five fingers of his right hand were nearly crushed. Blood surged out between the finger joints. The bones of his hand hurt so much his vision darkened in the blink of an eye.
[Duration remaining: 117 seconds.]
[Warning: Body load exceeded.]
[Muscles are tearing.]
Ethan didn’t look at the warning lines anymore.
He only looked at Victor.
Victor clutched his broken arm, his face contorted with pain.
Nolan staggered over and pulled Victor toward the transfer gate.
At this moment, the spatial vortex finally opened completely.
[Sync complete.]
[Transfer gate open.]
[Duration: 20 seconds.]
Twenty seconds.
Not enough to keep fighting.
Even less enough to seize Laira when she was about to break the lock.
Victor understood.
Nolan understood too.
They had failed.
If they stayed, when Laira broke free, the only result was death.
Victor said through gritted teeth: "Go!"
Nolan looked at Ethan unwillingly.
His gaze was full of hatred.
"This isn’t over."
Victor didn’t answer, pulling him toward the spatial vortex.
Mira saw that and immediately ran after them.
"Wait for me!"
Nolan heard her voice.
In that moment, he turned his head.
His gaze changed very quickly.
Mira had seen everything.
She saw Victor use the Temporary Bond Lock.
She saw Nolan fire first.
She saw them try to kill Ethan.
If she returned, just one word from her, and his honor, the honor of the Greaves family, and everything that happened today would all become a stain that couldn’t be erased.
She couldn’t be allowed to return.
That thought appeared very quickly.
So fast it almost needed no consideration.
Nolan raised his gun.
Mira froze.
"Nolan?"
Nolan pulled the trigger.
Bang!
The silver round fired straight at Mira’s chest.
Mira couldn’t dodge in time.
She had never thought Nolan would really kill her.
Just as the round was about to hit her, a figure lunged from the side.
Ethan.
He used his shoulder and the burned-off stump of his left arm to push Mira out of the round’s path.
Thunk!
The round lodged into the burned-black upper part of his left arm.
The Void Fire that had been suppressed immediately flared up.
The purple-black glow flashed beneath the charred flesh.
Ethan let out a very low groan, almost forced back into his throat.
Mira fell to the ground, staring at him in horror.
"Ethan!"
Ethan didn’t look at her.
He gritted his teeth, using his crushed right hand to brace against the ground so he wouldn’t fall.
Blood dripped down drop by drop.
The dark red flame around him began to waver violently.
Behind them, the silver chains on Laira’s body finally shattered.
Crack!
One piece.
Two pieces.
The entire Temporary Bond Lock was incinerated to ash by the red flame.
Laira stepped out of the locking ring.
In that moment, the whole plaza seemed to sink into a sea of fire.
Nolan saw her break free, his face immediately turning pallid.
He didn’t dare fire again.
Nor did he dare say anything more.
He only retreated into the spatial vortex with Victor.
Before vanishing, Nolan still threw back one line through gritted teeth.
"Ethan, you wait."
"This isn’t over."
Victor said nothing.
He only looked at Ethan with a gloomy gaze, then pulled Nolan deep into the vortex.
Mira wanted to get up and run after them, but the vortex had begun to contract.
[Duration remaining: 3 seconds.]
"No..."
Mira’s face turned pallid.
She’d barely taken one step when the gate collapsed.
Boom!
The spatial vortex vanished.
The blue light went out.
The small plaza immediately returned to quiet.
Victor and Nolan had left.
Mira was left behind.
Ethan still stood in the middle of the plaza, one shoulder shot through, his right hand crushed, the burned-off stump of his left arm now with another silver round lodged in it. The dark red flame around him gradually went out, revealing a face so pallid it was almost drained of blood.
[Partner Resonance Power forced termination ended.]
[Warning: Body seriously injured.]
[Warning: Void Fire losing control.]
Ethan looked at the lines of text before him.
Then, his legs gave out.
Laira appeared before him in the blink of an eye, reaching out to hold him.
Her voice trembled with anger.
"Ethan."
Ethan leaned against her, his breathing so weak it was almost cut off.
But he still opened his eyes.
His gaze swept over the spot where the transfer gate had just vanished.
Then looked at Mira sitting frozen on the ground.
Ethan said hoarsely: "Leave here first."
Laira held him tighter.
The red flame around her blazed up, but this time not to kill.
But to force down the Void Fire on Ethan’s arm.
Mira looked at Ethan, her lips trembling, unable to say anything.
Laira turned to look at her.
Her gaze was so cold it nearly made Mira stop breathing.
"Follow."
Mira immediately nodded.
Laira lifted Ethan up.
Her dragon wings spread open.
Right after, she carried Ethan and flew out of the stable plaza, leaving behind only the darkened black stone pillar and the shattered transfer device on the ground.
In the Anomalous Coordinates, the gray wind rose again.
The space behind them began to warp.
The traces of the betrayal were quickly swallowed by the chaotic layers of space.
But Ethan knew.
This truly wasn’t over.