"Lightning Arts: Lightning Field."
Electric arcs surrounded Ray, forming a shield-like shape.
"Even with your speed, can you escape this?" Ray asked, slowly walking toward them.
Roger frowned, eyeing the lightning surrounding Ray.
"Let's find out." He extended his sword, and the next moment, a blinding light flashed, completely blocking everyone's vision.
In the next instant, Roger screamed at the top of his lungs, his body trembling like a fish out of water.
Roger's screams grew louder, drowning out the surroundings as he collapsed to the ground, his skin fried.
"I told you, even with your speed, do you really think I wouldn't have a solution?" Ray said, slowly walking up to him.
He cancelled the Lightning Field and caught the miserable Roger by the neck, lifting him up.
"I don't believe it," Roger gasped, looking at Ray with a mix of resentment and fear in his eyes.
"If you don't believe it, then die." Ray coldly stated, his killing intent radiating from his body.
Just as he was about to tighten his grip, the ground trembled, and a pole appeared between them, striking Ray's hand.
Even Ray felt a slight pain and released his hold.
"Cough, cough," Roger sputtered, his breathing ragged.
"Thanks, Elyon," Roger said, standing up and glaring at Ray with resentment.
"Oh?" Ray eyed the massive pole. "I didn't expect you to have some potential, Elyon," he said with a hint of admiration.
"Hmph." Elyon snorted. "Don't you want to join our organisation?"
"You're not worthy," Ray replied, shaking his head dismissively.
"There are many people in our organization, even S-class Awakeners. If you join us, you'll be at the forefront," Elyon tempted.
"Not interested. The only thing I'm interested in is increasing the human population again. This apocalypse might really end us."
"Pfft." Seraphine, who had been quietly observing, almost laughed out loud, barely holding it in.
Her expression turned strange; she knew exactly what Ray meant. He'd said the same thing to Gina and Melissa once, late at night. She'd overheard it while sneaking—well, not eavesdropping, just... passing by.
"Do you mind, Seraphine?" Ray gave her a look.
"Fine," Seraphine responded coldly, though she was still trying to suppress her amusement.
"How are you planning to increase the human population?" Elyon asked, eyeing Ray suspiciously.
"By making babies. For this, I'm even willing to sacrifice my own body," Ray said with a completely straight face.
"What?" Elyon's eyes widened in disbelief, and even Roger, struggling on the ground, was momentarily stunned.
"You…" Roger began, but before he could say more, Ray's fist was almost about to connect with his face.
Just as the blow was about to land, a blinding flash of light erupted, Roger, seizing the opportunity, pulled Elyon back to safety.
"You really are a slippery eel," Ray muttered with a scowl, his eyes narrowing at Elyon.
"Elyon, we need to get out of here. I might not be able to touch this guy, but that doesn't mean he can touch me," Roger sneered at Ray, a disdainful look on his face.
"You think you can leave?" Ray's voice was cold, and with a powerful stomp, he propelled himself forward, his speed blinding.
In an instant, he was in front of them, blocking their escape.
"Lightning Arts: Lightning Field," Ray whispered, his eyes narrowing in concentration as the mutation energy within him surged, forming a crackling barrier around him.
Electric arcs danced wildly, surrounding the two men as they screamed in unison, the searing pain of electrocution tearing through their bodies.
Roger managed to withstand it slightly better, his body convulsing but still functional.
Elyon, on the other hand, was not as fortunate. His body was fried to a crisp, the intense electrical current pushing him to the brink of death. His skin blackened, and his breath came in ragged, shallow gasps.
But Ray didn't relent this time, his killing intent flaring as he prepared to end them.
At that moment, the bodies of the two men melted like candles, transforming into two terrifyingly large cats. The cats hissed at Ray, their eyes filled with menace.
Ray casually punched both cats, killing them instantly. However, the next moment, he found himself surrounded by a horde of ferocious cats, all hissing and baring their fangs at him.
"Oh?" Ray raised his brows, activating his Analyser skill to assess the situation.
"I found you," Ray sneered, casually punching the ground repeatedly.
In the real world, Ray had vanished from the scene, allowing Elyon and Roger to barely escape death.
"Thank you," Roger managed to voice out, his breath ragged.
A figure, entirely dressed in a black cloak that concealed their form, stood nearby. Only a pair of red eyes peeked out from the darkness, giving off a particularly dangerous aura.
"That person should be coming out from the place; we should leave right now." The cloaked figure's voice was unidentifiable by gender, but the fear in it was unmistakable.
"I don't believe it, I can beat him," Roger gritted his teeth, the stinging pain from his burned skin making him scream in agony again right after saying it.
"You can't beat him, even with your speed. You can't even get through his skin," the cloaked figure reminded him calmly. "Let's go."
"Hey, did you guys forget about me?"
An icy energy suddenly permeated the entire area, almost freezing everything in its path.
"Hmph, they escaped," Seraphine muttered, disappointment flashing in her eyes.
At that moment, Ray materialised back at his previous location, immediately sensing the cold in the air.
"Hmm, they ran away?"
"Yeah," Seraphine replied, her tone light.
"Did that figure in black take action?"
"How… how did you know?" Seraphine asked.
"My eyes, I could see it, but they're a bit tricky. The cloaked figure has an S-class skill. Initially, I planned to deal with these two and then go after the other one, but I underestimated her." Ray shook his head with a sigh and started heading back.
"Are we going back already? We're not chasing them?" Seraphine asked, still eager to continue the pursuit.
"There's an S-class Awakener involved. Even for me, it's troublesome to deal with, and I can't find any traces left behind."
"Alright," Seraphine nodded, understanding the situation.
"Wait, what about King? Weren't we going to hunt him down?"
"That guy… I can't find any traces of him. Either those other people took him away, or he managed to escape again." Ray's tone was light, almost dismissive.
"Forget it." Seraphine sighed in disappointment. "I really wanted to kill that bastard myself."