The geometrically constructed shields rotated and unfurled, expanding the instant they were touched by the laser to form a solid barrier. In the process, they sliced cleanly through a nearby wall, leaving behind a smooth, flat cross-section.
One by one, the shields shattered, unleashing magical shockwaves that bisected the surrounding buildings as effortlessly as slicing a cake. Yet even so, they failed to halt the purple laser.
“Zzzzt—!”
That was the relentless sound of shields breaking apart, only for new ones to spring up in their place, ceaselessly shielding Rakudo from fatal harm—until the final layer…
Rakudo had no time to dwell on it. He was panting heavily, his chest and lungs burning as if they might explode, but he pressed on relentlessly toward their rendezvous point.
Rounding a corner, Rakudo detonated delayed explosives on the wall behind him and the one diagonally across. Chunks of ruined masonry flew in all directions as he streamlined his body into a desperate sprint away from the laser. In the nick of time—as the last shield crumbled and the laser’s aftershock pulverized the hapless building into rubble like scattered breadcrumbs—Rakudo escaped unharmed.
But misfortune had claimed its toll: his right arm was gone, replaced by a geyser of blood.
“Damn… am I really this lucky? To actually survive… heh heh heh…”
“Rakudo, we’re leaving. Move!”
“Y-Yes!”
Rakudo hauled himself to his feet, sparing no glance for the spurting blood. He simply cauterized the wound with the heat from an explosion, searing away some of the demonic energy while the swollen flesh sealed the vessels and stemmed the loss of body heat.
Gritting his bloodied teeth, his face smeared with soot, he staggered upright and kept running.
This time, though, he was certain he’d dodged it. Because…
Not far off, the brown-haired girl knelt on the ground, intricate geometries of white triangles and polygons spinning ceaselessly beneath her.
At her side stood a tall, upright old man in a gray coat, hands clasped behind his back, strolling toward Rakudo with a faint, ambiguous smile.
The din of explosions and fire did nothing to mar that wrinkled, gaunt face. Rakudo’s first impression of the elder perfectly matched the timely aid he’d received amid the crisis.
Spry in his old age… or rather, this man named Klaus had never truly aged.
“Rakudo, next time, keep an eye on the ground beneath your feet.”
…
Xuefei showed no interest in the newcomer.
The moment she sensed another powerful human aura, she soared into the air without a word, extending her right hand to weave the simplest of spells—channeling her boundless internal magic outward in a torrent.
Her left hand, meanwhile, continued scanning for survivors to shield. Xuefei was utterly convinced that slaughtering humans posed no challenge at all.
The magical laser pierced the ashen world like its sole splash of color. Explosive debris dissolved into dust, drifting down like snowfall onto her shoulders, only to slide off her skin as if repelled by some incompatibility.
Then, unexpectedly, the laser veered off course.
After a muffled thud, it missed Rakudo entirely.
Piecing it together, Xuefei flew forward to confront the interference firsthand. Deadlier still, Terminus Fire now flickered along her arm and fingertips. To human eyes, her petite silhouette brimmed with peril.
But when an aged yet resolute voice rang in her ears, Xuefei’s assault ground to a halt.
She descended into the space between two clock-studded buildings reminiscent of school halls, landing amid the stone pavement and the shattered remnants of a fountain. It formed a corridor of moderate width. The laser had sheared off the corner of the rooftops, preventing the massive structures from facing off directly. What truly stunned her, however, was the figure before her eyes.
“Miss Evil Dragon, this old man begs you to spare us.”
“Klaus?”
“To think the Evil Dragon knows this old man’s name—I am deeply honored.”
Xuefei furrowed her brow. Shock no longer began to cover it.
How was this old man here?!
Rewind had turned back time, nudging the loose cog of the first playthrough and steering the Camiran Continent’s history into unfamiliar territory for Xuefei.
Klaus—that was her master’s name.
For an instant, she plunged back into memories from ages untold…
Back then, freshly transmigrated to the Camiran Continent, she’d been a wide-eyed novice fumbling through the Human World. Bestowed the title of Hero, yet the despondent king—lost in other pursuits—had offered her scant reward: a bit more rest for her thrifty mother, and…
“Hey, little brat. Starting today, this old man will teach you how to fight properly. This old man sees you’ve got quite the personality on you. Why don’t you come down here and spar with me?”
“I’m not interested.”
“Then this old man has a real headache. If I can’t complete the King’s mission, I’ll be kicked to the curb. Sure, this old man doesn’t even like booze all that much, but who wouldn’t crave a life of wine, women, and song?”
Xuefei glanced at Klaus and paused in her mending. The guy who had pissed off some gang and was running for his life had nearly lost the Holy Sword because of it.
“I know who you are—Klaus, right? Like I said, I’m not interested. I don’t have the time, and you couldn’t beat me anyway.”
“Ho ho, this old man has never met a young punk this cocky before. Probably because the kids at the Royal Academy treat this old man with respect. Ahem…”
Xuefei shot the old man a surprised look.
This body of his? And he wants to fight me? He’d be lucky not to get knocked over by a stiff breeze.
Back then, Xuefei wasn’t all that powerful yet, but she was still a powerhouse at the tail end of Mortal Tier 7th Layer. That was the main reason she could stand up to pursuit from multiple gang organizations.
The human limit was Mortal Tier 8th Layer—the absolute peak of Mortal Tier. Her physical cultivation had already surpassed nearly every human out there. With the Gods’ help, she could soon shift her focus to soul cultivation. But if she kept hanging around the Human World, she probably wouldn’t see much more growth.
After all, Mortal Tier Third Layer was the ceiling for humans back in her old world. Sprint champions, marathon legends, top-tier strongmen—they were all barely scraping Mortal Tier Second Layer.
So what if this old coot was at Mortal Tier 8th Layer?
Still, one thing really piqued Xuefei’s interest.
Under the Hero’s unique Omni-Vision, the old man’s combat stats flat-out refused to show. Or rather, it wasn’t that they wouldn’t display—it was more like a glitchy error code flickering nonstop. It could be some deliberate trick to hide his real power… or maybe Omni-Vision was bugging out from all the overuse lately.
Xuefei leaned toward the latter. After all, she hadn’t encountered anything yet that could fool Omni-Vision with raw physicality alone.
“Come on, then,” Xuefei said curtly. She even planned to give him a one-handed handicap.
Then, with a wretched scream, “Xuefei” was instantly flattened by Klaus and plunged into a sleep as deep as an infant’s.
