Chapter 168: Chapter 165
Stirred awake by the loud noise of chatter, Asia opened her eyes to find herself somewhere unknown. Perhaps it was a simple empty store room. Her mouth was gagged, arms and legs bound tightly with metal cuffs with no hope of freeing herself.
With no hope of escaping, she could only pray that Ray would save her as she never doubted that Ray would definitely save her. But, she also didn't want to be helpless and just wait.
She wanted to do something that could help Ray. But her own power is limited and at most she could attempt weak magic that would do little to aid her situation since unlike other companions of Ray. Asia never was granted Ray's power since she wished to be a normal human which backfires for her right now.
Instead, she could only pray and wait for rescue. However, while waiting, Asia could hear a discussion outside the room. She could also identify one of the voices as being her kidnapper.
"This is not part of the deal!" Someone said and followed by a loud smack to voice out his anger.
"Indeed, to kill a Great One that hadn't learned how to wield its power is one thing and to fight one that already knows how to wield its power is another." Another voice pointed out calmly.
"I'm out of this mess. How do you expect a handful of ragtag Tier 1 Hunters like us to win against a Great One that can already wield its power that even a Tier 3 team of Elite Hunters would consider a one sided slaughter?" Another voiced out his decision to pull out from the mission.
"Hmn. Wait a moment. Indeed this would look akin to suicide. But trust me, I am not blindly trying to lead everyone to your death. Allow me to reveal to you a secret." The kidnapper said.
"Don't waste your breath. Nothing could ever convince me to change my mind." The earlier Hunter snorted and the sound of footsteps indicates he was leaving.
"Even if he is a RAY?" The kidnapper said before the footsteps came to an abrupt stop.
"What did you just say?" He asked while several gasps were heard.
"I said, he is a RAY." The kidnapper said with a faint chuckle afterwards. "Imagine the power we could get if we consume him. Or we could claim his bounty. With enough money we could live forever in riches, never needing to hunt anymore."
What followed next was a collective silence that lasted a minute before someone talked.
"Even so… how are we going to fight it? Just relying on our power alone is definitely insufficient."
"Death is fleeting for us Hunters. But if we die here, we will never have the opportunity to reach this world anymore, especially when none of our Dreams are tethered to this world."
"Don't worry, that is why I prepared an offering to Flora." The kidnapper said before the door to the room Asia was hiding was suddenly flung open.
Asia squeaked in fear and almost jumped when the door was forcefully flung open with her ears still placed on it to eavesdrop on their conversation.
Her kidnapper stared down at her with a kind smile that hid a sinister smirk behind it.
"Oh, you are already awake. That's made everything much easier." He bent down and his gloved hand grabbed a fistful of Asia's blond hair before pulling her up while she bit down on the gag in her mouth and cried in pain.
"I see. She is definitely an adequate offering. With it, our master, Flora will tether your Dream to this world which serves as our rally point." Another Hunter guessed his intention.
"Indeed." The kidnapper said before Asia was dragged away by him under the watchful gaze of the other Hunters relishing at the opportunity they had seized.
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Floating above the bottomless crater, one figure wreathed by reddish black energy and another figure with mangled body which nearly smothered black flame barely seen in small patches around the open wound.
The figure with the mangled body offered little to no resistance while his enemy viciously attacked, trying to annihilate him. But suddenly, his head hung low. His arm flicked and caught the next punch effortlessly.
The previously smothering flame suddenly reignited vigorously as his mangled body that is barely holding on was rapidly regenerated. The flame even burns the reddish black energy away which causes his opponent to widen his eyes and regain some clarity that pierced through his rage induced madness.
"Yo, Sirzech."
His enemy tore his eyes from his fist and stared straight into the eyes.
"You! Return my Grayfia! You tricked her! Tricked me!" Sirzech snarled angrily.
"Grayfia? Oh, her… Sorry. I don't think it's possible anymore." Ray replied with a smile and genuine expression of helplessness as he shrugged his shoulders before saying. "I accidentally devoured her and she is kinda dead right now."
What came next is not his rage laced words. But a punch containing all his anger unleashed and condensed into a single attack.
Ray watches everything around him slow down into a crawl as he muses at another ability he acquired aside from Ravel's Phenex Clan Regeneration power. This is Sakuya's Time Manipulation power.
Looking at the attack that is the only thing moving in this time-decelerated domain which tells how fast the attack really is if it can still move when it has slowed down a lot.
Now, he could dodge the attack since he could still move at normal speed despite everything else having been slowed down. But Ray didn't want to. He instinctively felt like blocking the attack since it was pathetically weak that dodging isn't necessary.
As time resumed at normal speed. Sirzech fist carrying the condensed power of all his Power of Destruction he could muster, hit Ray squarely in the face.
But instead of dealing any damage, the fist stopped a few inches before his face as if it was stopped by a protective barrier. However, what happened instead was the result of Sirin's Space Manipulation and Ophis' Infinity.
The space between the fist and Ray was divided infinitely and as a result, the attack could never reach Ray.
Staring at the fist that hang a few inches before his face. Ray tilted his head slightly to look at Sirzech's face.
"You know. I really don't have time to deal with you. Especially not when Asia is still in danger. But I am grateful for your power. It would be a fine addition to my arsenal." Ray said before his left arm transformed into a monstrous draconic and eldritch creature that swallowed Sirzech whole minus his fist that was trying to punch Ray.
Once Sirzech was dealt with, Ray snapped his finger and the mirror dimension instantly shattered to reveal the real world.
As opposed to a peaceful town with a blue sky hanging overhead. The town was engulfed in fire with a reddish orange sky hanging overhead. Monsters overrun the streets as humans die in droves. But, his attention is on none of them.
His face turned to a certain direction and frowned. The bond between him and Asia was purposely concealed. He couldn't trace her direction and neither could he find her whereabouts.
"It's useless to look for her."
Ray turned to the direction of the voice and saw a Hunter that was previously disguised as Serina.
His face showed no anger. At least not yet. He is curious what their purpose is and unlike the people he interacts with before. He couldn't read or scour her mind for an answer as her mind is protected by a higher power than the current him.
They both stared at each other for a moment. Each sizing up one another until the Hunter made the first move and threw something with her right hand while her left reach under her feathery suit and pulled out a pistol to shoot the objects she threw which exploded with a blinding light like a second sun suddenly appeared in front of his eyes.
In the next moment, he felt a dreadful shiver wash over him like a predator is staring at him.
When Ray looks up, there's a pale red moon hanging in the sky. His surroundings shifted to a small hill filled with luminous white flowers reflecting the eerie moonlight surrounded by few more Hunters that made their appearance.
Looking to the top of the hill where a withered ancient tree stood, he saw the Hunter that kidnapped Asia while the unconscious Asia was bound to a cross and open wounds littered her body as a result of a ritual which slowly draining her blood dry.
"He is finally trapped here! Attack!" The kidnapper shouted.
The other Hunters summoned their weapons and attacked upon receiving their cue except for the kidnapper who stood guard next to Asia.
When Ray ignored the Hunters and immediately used his Space Manipulation power to bring Asia to safety, he saw the pale red moon above shone its eerie radiance before his attempt to save Asia was snuffed out.
Ray shows a puzzled look as his power definitely activated but it was interrupted. As if someone prevents him from using his power. The same could be said to his durability which had been significantly lowered that a casual attack from the Hunter could cut into his flesh when normally even Divine Weapon can't put a scratch on his skin. Yet, his invulnerability was stripped off him along with much of his power inside this space.
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