Chapter 431: Chapter 200: Dead End
In the silent Great Rift, Aimou extended her hand, gripping the cold railing, inching her way up the cliff. Compared to this dim and strange world, her silhouette seemed incredibly small, yet it was filled with hope.
Aimou couldn’t remember how she left the Alchemy Workshop; she only remembered pushing open the door and skillfully preparing what she needed.
As if driven by some force, she blindly moved forward, and when she came to her senses, she had already arrived outside, advancing towards the place she and Bologue had agreed upon.
She no longer thought about superfluous matters, casting all worries aside, focusing solely on moving forward, while the Constant Motion Core operated steadily, emitting a hum like joy.
Continuing to climb upwards, based on her previous Time Reversal experiences, it wouldn’t be long before the King’s Shield Guard would launch an offensive; they would notice the power of the Fantasy Species and come after her.
Thinking of this, Aimou looked down at the Fantasy Species on her chest, its glow had dimmed, as if it had reached its limit.
If they failed again this time, the power of the Fantasy Species itself would be depleted, and next, it would begin to consume her own strength.
The glowing roots penetrated the Constant Motion Core, entwining around the Philosopher’s Stone, and Aimou knew clearly what would happen.
But this time she was not worried, Aimou believed that Bologue could handle everything, as if he were the embodiment of a miracle.
Along the aerial corridor heading upwards, Aimou’s pace quickened, and finally, she broke into a run.
Her footsteps echoed crisp and clear on the cold corridor, like a deer strayed into a forest of steel.
Looking back now, Aimou found it all unbelievable, with many doubts emerging in her mind.
Since the King’s Shield Guard could detect the fluctuations of the Fantasy Species, why hadn’t Teda noticed? If he had been aware, there was no way she could escape from the Alchemy Workshop...
Aimou couldn’t continue thinking as a sudden Ether reaction rose up in the distance, alerting her.
Seconds later, thick roots climbed along the cliff, easily snapping the steel and coiling towards Aimou.
Ether’s radiance surfaced on Aimou’s body. She nimbly leaped, crossing the broken corridor before the roots could reach, and upon landing on the opposite platform, turned to release the Fire-Calling Staff.
Blazing flames swept through the entwined roots, the fire burned the wood, yet failed to hinder its action. The inflamed branches swelled like dancing fire snakes, pressing towards Aimou.
Amidst the flames, the figure of Gold emerged, sending a chill through Aimou’s heart.
Since Gold had appeared, the others must be around too.
Aimou couldn’t understand. According to the previous five Time Reversals, even though she would be discovered by the King’s Shield Guard and chased, they usually took some time to find her. But it was different now, in this sixth Time Reversal, the King’s Shield Guard acted much faster.
"Get out of the way!"
Aimou raised her hand, a strong Ethereal Shock released from her ring, sweeping away the approaching roots and branches like a storm clearing obstacles.
In the sky full of debris, without waiting for Aimou to take another step forward, another surge of Ethereal Shock boomed towards Aimou, like the echo of the previous strike.
Aimou raised an Ethereal Barrier, but under the assault of this torrent, her body couldn’t help being thrown into the air.
In mid-air, Aimou saw an unfamiliar figure; it wasn’t Fast or Gold pursuing her this time.
Kronin watched Aimou from afar, high with Ether surrounding him. He was one of the four Prayer Believers in this action, from the Origin School.
Relying on his sensitivity to Ether, Kronin swiftly identified Aimou’s location and coordinated with Gold to pursue.
Aimou began to fall, but before the fall completed, she twisted her body and flung a grappling hook towards the other side of the cliff.
In the Great Rift, the grappling hook was a very convenient tool; to avoid accidents, Aimou had specially equipped it for this action, unexpectedly finding it useful.
After maneuvering to the cliff wall, Aimou leapt upward again, sprinting through the corridors, with roots trailing closely behind her.
An intense feeling of unease struck Aimou’s mind. She realized something was off. The King’s Shield Guard had sustained five Time Reversals without changing their actions, but now in this sixth Time Reversal, their approach had altered.
Could they have realized the Time Reversal too?
Aimou wasn’t sure, nor did she have time to speculate. The main goal now was to protect herself well.
The power of the Fantasy Species was nearly exhausted, making it highly possible it couldn’t support another Time Reversal. Aimou had to find a way to last until the rendezvous point.
Aimou had to get it no matter what, for she feared the disappointed look that Bologue would have if she couldn’t meet him there.
"Such a bothersome fellow!"
Aimou turned her body and threw an alchemy bomb at the two pursuing figures. After a brief delay, a thunderous explosion erupted.
The cliff shuddered, and the extending corridor quaked violently, collapsing one by one.
Two figures streaked out of the dense smoke, one ahead of the other. This was within Aimou’s expectations; she didn’t think such a simple explosion could affect two Prayer Believers.
But the fact was that the alchemy bomb was originally prepared for Bologue.
En route, Gold suddenly felt his consciousness clouding; the explosion wasn’t its primary lethal force—the truly deadly part was the poisonous smoke that spread afterwards.
Fortunately, the two didn’t inhale much of the toxic gas, and its effects on them were minimal.
By this time, Aimou had climbed up to the surface, pushing onwards with all her might. As long as she escaped the veil of the fog, she would be out of the Great Rift’s range, and then it would be easy to reach the pastry shop according to her memory.
Behind her came strong Ethereal reactions, roots and Ethereal shocks ceaselessly crashing down like falling artillery shells, exploding beside Aimou and leaving pits on the ground.
Aimou seemed to advance on a battlefield enveloped in smoke, yet she didn’t feel frightened. Instead, her mood was extremely relaxed.
The Ethereal Barrier shielded Aimou’s body, and the dust and debris that came with the wind struck her, creating ripples that flashed and extinguished constantly.
Aimou’s stride became even lighter; she completely ignored the constant din as enormous roots burst forth from the ground, causing the entire surface to begin fragmenting and collapsing.
Numerous branches seemed like countless outstretched hands reaching for Aimou. Just when Gold thought he was about to control Aimou, the ring erupted with a strong Ethereal shock.
Using Aimou as the epicenter, the intense Ethereal shock spread in all directions. This power couldn’t entirely defeat the Prayer Believers’ assault but could delay them for a while.
Aimou and Gold widened the gap between each other again. Seeing this, Gold was anxious, and Kronin beside him had no solution; as a Condenser from the Origin School, his release of Secret Energy was greatly restricted and not adept at such pursuits.
In the chase of Aimou, Gold was the Hunter, and Kronin was more like a hunting dog pointing out the direction for him.
The prey was gradually escaping, Gold fully unleashed Ether, and countless branches sprang from the soil; he knew the task must not fail.
The action to seize the Immortal Heart had long been planned, but just as the operation was about to start, they suddenly received orders from the Shadow King, bringing Kronin over to Gold’s location to pursue Aimou together.
Thinking about these matters left Gold deeply confused; their intelligence had not mentioned the Fantasy Species at all, yet the Shadow King seemed to know everything, issuing the pursuit order as soon as Aimou fled.
The area buffering the Great Rift and the street was dilapidated and bleak; under the separation of fog and fences, bizarre and twisted buildings piled up here, the ground muddy and frozen in winter, bumpy as if running over the spine of a monster.
Aimou dashed out of the fog and onto the streets of Opus, just as she saw in the previous Time Reversal.
The morning Opus was unusually serene; people hadn’t woken up yet, only some distant engine noises could be heard, with scattered cars driving on the streets.
After arriving in the city district, Gold and Kronin restrained their aggressive stances; inside the Great Rift, they could attack without scruples, as Order Bureau power rarely regulated that chaotic place, but it was different inside Opus.
This was the Order Bureau’s territory, and no one knew if there might be Field Staff living nearby who wake up seeing people fighting—it would be terrible.
Gold had to retrieve Aimou quickly. Preparing to use some unconventional methods, he saw Aimou stopped at a distance.
Aimou glanced at the pastry shop beside her, no disappointment here, she finally reached this point, now she just had to wait for Bologue to appear.
But the two guys behind her didn’t seem to want Aimou to wait easily.
"Have you reached a dead end?"
Kronin saw Aimou stop and thought she had given up resisting, mocking aloud.
Aimou turned around; she wasn’t prepared to intertwine in words with her opponents. Speaking with Bologue had already proven her point—Aimou wasn’t good at convincing opponents verbally.
But in terms of physical persuasion, Aimou could try it out.
Aimou showed no fear, raising her fists like a boxer as the Constant Motion Core operated rapidly, steam venting from behind her.