Eugene lifted his gaze toward the mass of metal lurking behind him, and terror seeped into his depths like frozen water through his veins. A violent shiver swept over him, stopping his heartbeat for a brief moment.
"I should have killed you a long time ago."
The old man flicked his hand downward in a swift motion, and in the next instant all the iron fragments fell like a collapsing wall.
"Eugeeeeene!" Fred screamed, fear wrapping tightly around his voice.
"Do you know your screaming is annoying?"
The old man and Fred turned at once toward the source of the voice, astonishment etched across their faces as if they had witnessed the impossible. Eugene appeared sitting on the ground behind Fred, with Ren beside him, drenched in sweat.
"I'm alive. No need to worry."
"How?!" The old man needed a few seconds to process what he was seeing, his gaze shifting between Eugene and Ren before his mind returned to the previous moments of battle. His expression darkened as he muttered, "I see… It seems you're a bigger problem than those two."
Smack!
Rem's palm came down hard on the backs of Eugene's and Ren's heads at the same time.
"Hey—what's wrong with you?" Ren turned toward her, only to see sparks of fury blazing in her eyes.
"Where did your brains go? You made me feel like my eyesight was failing!"
Eugene quickly pointed at Ren. "It's his fault—hit him!"
"Wait, you're the one who attacked—"
"Watch out!" Fred shouted in warning.
In the next instant, Eugene kicked Rem with astonishing speed, knocking her to the ground just as an iron chain sliced through the air above her head like an arrow, smashing through the walls and pillars behind her.
"Ha… That attack almost killed me!" Rem looked at Eugene, then at the destruction behind her.
"Stay sharp!"
The old man attacked again, but this time Eugene, Rem, and Ren reacted quickly, darting in different directions to avoid the descending chains.
As Ren ran, his heart racing and fear flooding his eyes, his foot caught on a large stone and he fell hard to the ground.
"Reeeeen!"
A deadly chill ran through Eugene the moment he imagined an iron chain separating Ren's head from his body. He was not ready to lose someone else—not after losing his talent, his village, his mother… and the disfigurement of his own body.
At that moment, from the opposite side, Fred's eyes glowed a golden-red hue. Light surged through the veins of his arm as he unleashed a massive fireball.
Boom!
Eugene's, Rem's, and Fred's eyes widened—the chains had aligned themselves together to block the attack! The old man gritted his teeth, veins bulging and sweat beading across his forehead as he shouted, "Damn it! Did they discover my weakness?!"
Ren stared at the chains, replaying the previous moments of battle in his mind. Something strange began to take shape in his thoughts. Eugene and Rem rushed over and helped him to his feet.
Eugene released the mist in the form of light drifting clouds, letting it sweep quickly across the area to obscure Fred from the old man's sight. A shadow darted through the fog—Fred taking advantage of the distraction to retreat and rejoin them.
"How do we deal with this person?" Eugene asked, tension clear on his face.
Fred looked at him. "If I had a path to survival, I would have taken it already."
Rem noticed Ren's distant expression. "Ren, why are you spacing out? Are you thinking of something that could get us out of here?"
Fred and Eugene turned toward Ren as he spoke quietly. "Just now… the chains withdrew toward the fireball even though they were about to kill me."
Eugene frowned. "So what? He moved them to protect himself. That's normal."
Ren replied calmly, though deep tension lay beneath his voice. "No, it's not normal. The attack wasn't strong enough to kill him. So why pull the chains back when he just said I was more dangerous because I can relocate things?"
Ren's words reignited Eugene's earlier observations. "And before that, the same thing happened—the chains shifted toward Fred while they were positioned to kill me. They changed direction quickly, almost as if they could see my movement!"
Fred added, "And he used a heavy metal mass to try to kill Eugene, even though he has iron chains that consume less energy. The chains are faster and deadlier. It doesn't make sense to prefer a slow, heavy object over multiple rapid attacks."
Rem began weaving their words together in her mind.
Meanwhile, the old man was in a state of agitated fury. "How… how can a group of children make me waste all this time and energy and still not kill them? How, how, how?!" The question echoed within him, rage wrapping around him like a cloak of fire.
Rem's eyes widened as realization struck her. "Wait…"
The others looked at her. Ren spoke, hope flickering in his voice. "W-What is it? Did you figure something out?"
She lowered her voice so the old man would not hear. "I think the chains… aren't directly controlled by him. They move on their own!"
Eugene raised an eyebrow. "You mean they're a separate entity? Or some kind of magical artifact?"
She shook her head. "No… I don't think so. I noticed the chains moved toward Fred several times, even when they could have killed you or Ren. But they weren't actually moving toward Fred… they were moving toward his attacks."
Understanding flashed in Fred's eyes. "That means the chains follow heat! Like when Eugene said they redirected toward him when he changed direction quickly—even though the old man was distracted. And judging from his expression, he panicked when he saw the chains abandon Ren to block my attack."
A faint smile formed on Ren's lips. "If that's true… then…" He looked at Eugene. "The mist ability is the perfect solution, since mist is made of water particles."
They all smiled at that—until Eugene shattered their optimism.
"Hold on, don't get excited. I've already used more than half my energy reserves. With someone this strong, I doubt what I have left will be enough to kill him—or even knock him out."
Disappointment and fear crept across their faces. Rem spoke sharply, tension and anger mixing in her voice. "If you had slowed down and not drained your resources, your energy would still be enough to get us out of here!"
Eugene raised his eyebrow irritably. "It wouldn't make a difference. We'd die either way! And besides, if someone had told me that earlier—"
Rem shot back angrily, "They did tell you! But apparently your listening skills were nonexistent at the time!"
Ren felt a headache forming. On one side, they were facing certain death. On the other, his friends were arguing. He pressed his fingers to his ears, his face flushing red—
"Stop arguing like children! This isn't the time for it!"
Ren exploded at them in anger. Eugene and Rem froze in stunned silence. It was the first time Ren had ever raised his voice like that—at least as far as Eugene knew, the first time he had ever truly lost his temper.
Ren ran a hand through his hair, eyes fixed on the ground. "Sorry… I was just tense."
But Fred's voice cut in. "I think I found a way to get rid of him—at least for a while."
They all turned toward him.
"The human body has specific points and areas. If you apply pressure to them correctly, you can make someone lose consciousness."
Hope began creeping back into their hearts.
"So all we have to do is distract the old man. Rem will handle that. I'll use the mist to disable the chains. Then I'll open a shadow gate to transport Fred—since he's the most experienced—and he'll strike one of those points."
They looked toward the old man, who lifted his head and reactivated his chains, sending them hurtling toward them once more. But this time, Eugene spread the mist across the area.
"Ha!" The man's pupils dilated for a moment.
Suddenly, a small stone shot out from within the mist at blinding speed. The old man caught it in his hand, inwardly puzzled. At that instant, a golden aura surrounded the rock. Before he could comprehend what was happening, its weight increased dramatically—until it equaled twenty kilograms.
The old man bent forward under the sudden heaviness, a strained groan escaping him. "What is this?!"
Then, a violet beam appeared behind him. He turned his head in alarm. A teleportation gate had opened—and Fred stepped out of it, only a few paces away from striking him.
The old man smiled a cunning smile…
To be continued… End of Chapter.