Ex rank talent Awakening: 100\% Dodge rate-Chapter 292: DYING IN HIS ARMS

Dual Blade rushed toward the variant, knowing that a single well-placed strike to its heart would be enough to end it. Any defense the creature had around its core would likely be useless once his blades connected.

Chris, not to be outdone, teleported to Cain, quickly pulling him away from the battlefield and toward the healer. But they weren’t the only ones to appear before the healer. The variant, as if anticipating the move, emerged beside them as well—delivering a deadly blow that struck both the healer and the unsuspecting Will, putting them out of commission in a blink.

Enclosed within a dome of darkness and possessing the ability to manipulate shadows, the variant could appear anywhere within the dome at will. It had deliberately avoided using any shadow abilities earlier, allowing the others to grow accustomed to its standard movements. Then, in the climax of the battle, it shattered that rhythm—unleashing its true potential to deadly effect.

Now, only Jessica, Chris, Dual Blade, and Lilith remained standing, each of them wounded or exhausted, but still capable of fighting. Yet, they all understood the grim reality: the odds were stacked against them. Their chances of survival were razor-thin.

"We need to escape. We can’t win this," Cain said weakly, his voice strained as Chris held him. "You can leave me. I have a trump card that’ll keep me alive, but the others don’t. Chris... you have to teleport as many people away as you can. I’ll stall the monster with my undead."

Chris gave a firm nod in response, his eyes filled with determination.

Summoning what remained of his strength, Cain called forth his last undead, commanding them to swarm the variant in a final act of defiance.

Lilith was momentarily stunned. Watching the variant materialize beside her—striking down Will and the healer—jolted a deep, unwanted memory from the recesses of her mind. The fluid use of darkness, the speed, the bloodlust—it all reminded her of someone she wished she could forget. A woman named Rebecca.

Her expression twisted into one of bitter regret. She hadn’t expected the variants to wield darkness in this manner. Although their control over it was still a far cry from the terrifying precision Rebecca had once displayed, it was enough to shake her. Especially now, having lost her former demon lord powers and only recently acquiring a new devil bloodline, she was unsteady. Untrained. Every memory tied to her past strength had become useless baggage. She was still adapting, still learning how to fight from the ground up.

"Cerberus!" she shouted, her voice strained with frustration.

In response, her three-headed summon erupted into the battlefield. Each head opened wide, spewing hellfire toward the variant in a blazing cone as Lilith swiftly pulled back to create distance.

She had made up her mind. This battle was pointless. Winning wasn’t an option—they had to escape.

"Chris, bring everyone to me!" she ordered. The message left her lips as a whisper, but thanks to the system’s communication feature, it echoed directly in Chris’s ears with perfect clarity.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Lilith darted forward and, in a blink, retrieved Will and the healer from under the nose of the occupied variant. With a thought, she cast them into her personal Hell Realm. There, within her dominion, she effortlessly shaped a safe zone to shield them. In that realm, her will was law.

Chris, witnessing the act, immediately teleported to Dual Blade, grabbed him, and then blinked to Lilith’s side.

But the variant noticed the change—and so did Augustus.

"Kill her first!" Augustus snarled, his voice brimming with hatred and urgency.

In response, a crimson pool began to spread beneath the variant’s feet. From it, blood warriors emerged, their forms monstrous and twisted. They lunged at Cain’s undead, clashing violently, buying the variant the space it needed by removing the undead from its path.

"Change of plans, Lilith. I’ll teleport you directly to each of them!" Chris said urgently, understanding it was now a race against time.

He appeared beside Cain with Lilith, and just like before, Lilith acted swiftly—sending Cain into her Hell Realm with a wave of her hand. Now, only she, Chris, Jessica, and Brian remained.

"Flame Wall!" Jessica shouted, casting a blazing barrier around herself. A ring of intense fire erupted around her, offering a brief moment of cover and protection.

Jessica’s spell created a dilemma—forcing Chris and Lilith to make a choice on who to prioritize.

They teleported to Brian—only to be intercepted. The variant was already there, as if predicting their next move. With a swift motion, it hurled a blood spear toward Lilith at an insane speed, too fast for her to dodge or for Chris to teleport her away in time.

"Wimp!" a familiar voice snarled.

Cerberus reappeared—leaping between the blood spear and its master. The hell guardian had forcefully triggered its own summoning circle, returning just in time to shield Lilith from the fatal blow. The spear struck it instead.

Lilith’s eyes filled with tears as she watched her loyal summon fall.

But Cerberus didn’t turn into a shadow slave like the others who had died. Instead, its body shimmered, forcefully pulled back into its own realm. It wasn’t truly dead—just dismissed.

Now, only three remained: Lilith, Chris, and Jessica. The variant, visibly growing impatient, locked its piercing gaze on Lilith.

Lilith didn’t flinch. Gritting her teeth, she grabbed hold of Chris, and together they vanished—reappearing beside Jessica, still protected within her wall of flame.

Chris was instantly sent into Lilith’s Hell Realm the moment they arrived.

Jessica, seeing them appear, dispelled her flame barrier. With Lilith now close, she knew what the next step was.

Lilith reached toward her, intending to send her away—but the variant had anticipated that too.

It appeared right before them, relentless. With only Jessica left, it was obvious where Lilith would go. It was a calculated ambush.

The variant drove a blood spear forward, aiming directly for Lilith’s chest. It held onto the twisted belief that if she was the one causing the disappearances, killing her might bring the others back.

Lilith was caught off guard. She froze.

Her body tensed, her mind blank, struggling to respond. The pressure, her unfamiliarity with her new powers, and the lack of instinctual defense all played a part. If it had been her old powers—those she had mastered—her reflexes would have protected her. But now...

Desperate, she crossed her arms over her chest, trying to soften the blow—but the impact never came.

"Jessica... what did you do?" Lilith whispered in disbelief.

Standing between her and the variant was Jessica—impaled by the spear.

"I wasn’t fast enough to cast a shield... and I can’t let you die," Jessica murmured, her voice strained. "You need to live... if the others are going to survive."

The corrupted blood from the spear surged through her, ravaging her body and heart, rapidly draining her HP.

"Flame Wall..." Jessica whispered, casting the spell she had been preparing. But this time, it wasn’t to protect herself—it was to protect Lilith.

The variant’s eyes narrowed in frustration. His plan had been foiled again. Enraged, he formed a blood dagger and plunged it into Jessica once more, snuffing out the last remnants of her HP.

Jessica collapsed to the ground. Her vision dimmed, her breathing faltered, and the last threads of consciousness began to fade.

As she lay dying, a strange peace washed over her. But within that peace was a sharp ache—a deep pain in her heart. Images flickered in her mind: a man’s face, the one who always haunted her thoughts.

"Greg... I guess this is goodbye," she whispered in her mind, just as her eyes closed.

But before darkness fully took her—she saw him.

Boom!

The variant was sent flying by a devastating punch.

Standing where it had once stood was a man, his face contorted in rage and grief.

"Jessica!!" he screamed, fury bursting from his voice as he cradled the limp body of the woman he had just lost.

"You came... the others will be safe then..." Jessica said—not with her lips, for she could no longer move them—but from somewhere deeper. Though her body was broken, her thoughts resonated with Greg. She knew he heard her. Even in silence, he understood.

In that moment, she felt their souls entwine. Their thoughts. Their hearts.

With peace and love surrounding her, she closed her eyes—passing from the world in the arms of the one she loved.

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