Bloodline Evolution: I Can Choose Opposing Paths-Chapter 132: Hang On Until Then

Aren barely managed to dodge an incoming black ice spear by rolling to the side just as it plunged into the ground right where he was.

Using the momentum, he snapped up to his legs and was already sprinting at the man once more. This time, there was no more testing or probing—he was trying to end this fight as quickly as possible.

His gauntlet blew by the man’s face as it pretty much snapped his head back. Then Aren followed up with another strike to his ribs, where he can physically feel the flesh caving inwards from his strike.

Aren kept on the pressure, chaining each strike into the next to try and overwhelm him through sheer momentum alone.

For a brief moment, it sort of worked. The Defiler was forced backward with every hit, his body bending under the impacts with no time to channel any Arts.

But...something was wrong, and he could feel it too. That’s when Aren focused on the wounds themselves and finally saw it.

Every dent he created in the man’s body pulled itself back into place almost instantly. Flesh that had been crushed just a second ago stitched itself together in an uneven layer immediately, even before the next strike even landed.

Even deeper blows, where Aren managed to leave big bruises, were already gone the next time his fist came down again.

His eyes narrowed as he exerted even more power, lightning infusing every strike as he launched a combo of hits.

If one hit wasn’t enough...simply hit more.

Left jab, right hook, right uppercut.

But...he never landed the uppercut. Just as Aren went for it, the man caught his punch right then and there. The man looked at him with a faint smile on his lips.

"...Are you done?"

Aren’s eyes widened as black flames ignited around the man’s body. He tried to move, but his hand was caught, and the man was stronger.

Shit...I can’t dodge this!

BOOOM!

A massive wave of dark fire burst outward from the Defiler’s body, expanding in an instant and swallowing everything in its path.

The heat surged violently, distorting the air as it rushed over Aren before he could fully disengage...before swallowing him whole as well.

"AREN! NO!" Luna screamed in desperation, hand outstretched as she stumbled forward.

The flames raged for a moment longer before slowly beginning to die down. What remained was a scorched patch of ground, blackened and cracked from the sheer intensity of the blast.

The Defiler exhaled, loosening his grip as he released Aren’s hand, already turning away as if the outcome had been decided.

"...Pathetic."

His gaze shifted toward Luna instead, dark flame beginning to gather once more as he stepped forward.

"You’re next—"

But that was when, a noise came from where he just turned. A sharp crack split through the heat as three arcs of pressurized water broke through.

"Dragon’s Claw—!"

The arcs tore straight into the Defiler’s body, leaving three bloody gashes on his chest as the momentum of the attack sent the man crashing backward into a pile of rocks.

Luna stumbled a step closer, her eyes still locked on him, wide with disbelief. "How...how are you even standing right now?"

Aren didn’t answer immediately as the faint sound of hissing filled the space between them.

Luna’s gaze dropped to his arms before she saw it. Water clung to it in a thin layer, constantly flowing across his skin. It moved quickly, just fast enough to absorb the heat, evaporating in a burst of steam, before being replaced just as quickly.

"...You used water?"

"Yeah..." he nodded. "Let the heat transfer before it could reach my skin and burn me."

"That’s..." she trailed off, shaking her head slightly, "insane ether control...something on the levels of High-ranked Mystics."

Aren didn’t respond, partly because he couldn’t, but mostly because...the rocks began to move again.

Shit...can’t this guy just stay down?!

He looked at the situation once more. Luna’s arm was a darkened red, a sign of a bad burn that needed to be treated soon. While the frost aura she usually had around herself was almost completely gone.

Aren wasn’t any better. The skin along his side was also darkened where the flames grazed him, and the water he used to cycle the burn wasn’t able to fill the gaps fast enough. Now that the adrenaline died down, Aren stumbled as his legs almost gave out.

Luna barely managed to catch him, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as she propped him up. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

"Thanks..."

Aren’s gaze shifted slightly to the side. Daniel was still there with the other members, kneeling with his lance embedded onto the ground. But Aren could tell he was running low as well.

What used to be a solid barrier was now riddled with cracks, desperate to keep the rotten ether outside.

We need to end this fast. But the Defiler...he’s not even close to done.

Luna seemed to come to the same conclusion, glancing at Aren. "...We can’t keep this up."

He didn’t respond, his gaze slowly moving down his right hand until he reached something...the dampener.

This looks really bad...

No, no...I can’t. If there’s a group of Defiler’s here. Who knows how many others could be lurking nearby?

Aren calmed himself as he let the idea go, thinking about other alternatives, other plans of how they can get out of this alive.

We can’t run...most of us are injured and the Defiler can easily catch up.

We could call Professor Sterling...but transmission signals in the Wildlands are super dodgy.

Fuck...we’re out of options.

Aren’s thoughts were still racing when a voice cut through. Not through his ears, but directly into his head.

—Aren.

His eyes widened almost instantly as he looked around for the source of the noise.

Psychic Element?

—Can you hear me?

The voice was faint, like something pushing through layers of interference just to reach him. It felt...forced and uncomfortable, not the sign of a veteran Mystic’s Psychic Element. So there was one other person he could assume it was from.

Stella?

There was a brief pause before the voice came back, clearer this time.

—Yeah. I’ve been trying to reach you for a while. Are you okay?

Aren didn’t even bother answering that.

Instead, his gaze flicked toward the Defiler, then back toward Luna, then briefly to the cracked barrier behind them.

Do you have your team with you?

—Yeah. We just reached the upper ridge near the Lagoons. We saw the explosion and—

Leave.

...

—What?

You can’t help here. If you come down...you’ll all die a meaningless death.

—...Then what do we do?

Go to the Highlands and find a woman with wine-red hair. Tell her that her students are in trouble.

Stella didn’t question it. She knew exactly who he meant.

—...Got it.

—Hang on until then.

The voice faded from his head.

Aren sighed.

"Yeah...we’ll just have to hang on."