‎Talia roughly dragged, half-carried Lucian away from the clearing.

‎Lucian gritted his teeth, bearing through the agony of the sudden jarring movements.

‎"Come on, surely you can move much faster than this!" Talia hissed.

‎Lucian rolled his eyes despite the agonizing state of his body.

"You think I'm having fun?"

‎The dark spectral wolves slowly stalked forward as though they knew the prey could only get so far.

‎Talia skilfully shot at the wolves in front of them, clearing a path.

‎The wolves she'd shot down dissolved into a dark mist, materializing again a moment later.

"Crap!"

‎The path she had cleared was quickly barred once more.

‎The ghostly creatures slowly surrounded them, shutting off any path of escape.

‎Lucian sighed.

"‎Your bullets are obviously not having any effect; stop wasting your ammo."

‎"Then what do you suggest we do?" she snarled.

‎A mischievous grin appeared on his face, his eyes gleaming in the darkness.

"‎Wait for it..."

‎Frowning, Talia threw him a disbelieving look.

"Is he actually losing it?"

‎In the next moment, a bolt of radiant red lightning streaked through the air, landing in the midst of the spectral pack.

‎The solitary bolt erupted in an explosion of light and sound, triggering a chain reaction that unleashed a conflagration of similar bolts of electricity.

‎ The violent current coursed through the creature's bodies, disintegrating them on the spot.

‎Talia's eyes widened in disbelief

‎"What the hell was that?"

‎Her head whipped around, staring into the distance.

‎" Wait, Amanda!"

‎ Lucian grinned smugly.

‎" The cavalry has arrived. And not a moment sooner.

‎ In the next instant, Cassius burst onto the scene, activating his ability.

‎Samantha used the small distraction to gesture to Talia and Lucian.

‎ The muscular youth quickly transformed into a seven-foot monster with sharp claws and wickedly curved fangs.

‎ The biological type, Talented dove into the pack of spectral beings with a primal ferocity.

‎His claws ripped through them with ease, decimating entire swathes of the wraith-like creatures within seconds.

‎A few moments later, Lucian frowned slightly. He'd come to a startling realization.

‎" Not like this, we can't beat them like this," he whispered.

‎Talia shifted, supporting more of his weight.

‎He winced slightly, gritting his teeth.

‎Lucian glanced at her.

‎Talia stared at the unfolding chaos with a distant look in her eyes.

‎" I'm sure she has come to the same conclusion."

‎Turning back to the battle, his expression darkened.

‎" Worse still, this little scuffle might attract more attention to us."

‎After a while, the entire group realized the same thing.

‎ Even after being brutally dismembered, mauled, and even disintegrated, the eerie creatures simply rose once more.

‎ Upon death, the dark monsters unraveled, turning into tendrils of mist.

‎Mere moments later, the mist coalesced into ethereal forms once more, giving the seemingly undying creatures figure and form.

‎Despite their seeming invulnerability and the phantom state of their bodies, the creatures could in fact inflict harm.

‎Cassius found out firsthand when one of the creatures latched onto one of his limbs, its teeth sinking deeply into his fur.

‎Cassius roared, flinging the creature into the air.

‎In the next moment, his fist collided with its snout, sending it flying several metres away.

‎Dark blood rolled down his forearms, falling to the ground in tiny rivulets.

‎Despite his enhanced healing, the wound wasn't closing up.

‎Paying it no heed, he charged forward, tearing through the nearby creatures.

‎A chorus of howls filled the night, the sound echoing for miles.

‎

‎ " We're only postponing the inevitable. We need to get out of here," Lucian thought grimly.

‎" Cassius!"

‎The giant furred creature snapped out of his battle-crazed state, turning to Lucian with a savage gleam in his eyes.

‎"Stop, we need to get out of here now!"

‎ Cassius' eyes gleamed with intelligence.

‎ A split second later, he ran towards them, scooping Lucian and Talia up in one fluid motion.

‎Samantha and Amanda followed behind him, dashing frantically up the slope.

‎Amanda turned, releasing a concentrated burst of electricity from her fingertips.

‎The wolves behind them disintegrated on the spot, leaving behind dark swirling mist.

‎" That should buy us some time," she yelled.

‎" Put me down, I'm much faster than Samantha. You should carry her instead."

‎Cassius slowed just enough to set her down, then swiftly darted back, grabbing Samantha.

‎A split second later, he raced back up the slope on all fours, quickly overtaking the two girls.

‎"Lucian, they're catching up."

‎The spectacle turned into a full-blown chase. The spectral wolves pursued them relentlessly, only slowing down from the constant bombardment of Amanda's lightning.

‎Red bolts of lightning illuminated the night, painting the sky with vivid crimson bursts of light.

‎Lucian feverishly racked his mind for a solution.

‎" Shit, shit, shit."

‎His eyes feverishly darted around searching for any possible path of escape, but found nothing.

‎"Shit, is this how it really ends?"

‎In the next moment, the ground opened up before them.

‎" Stop!! "

‎Cassius tried to stop, but the momentum carried him through the dark hole.

‎Talia and Amanda followed, gasping in surprise.

‎In the next moment, the ground cracked, almost as though Tenebris was yanking, swallowing them whole with the pack of spectral wolves.

‎In the next moment, they fell through the air.

‎Lucian and Samantha clung tightly to Cassius' fur.

‎" Talia, Amanda, try to fall closer to him and grab on," Cassius roared.

‎Amanda flailed wildly in the air, her body spinning out of control.

‎Talia took a deep breath, calming herself, then changed the trajectory of her fall.

‎She fell towards Amanda, yanking on her wrist.

‎Screaming hysterically, Amanda began to sob.

‎"I don't want to die, I don't want to dieee!!!"

‎In the next moment, she passed out cold.

‎Talia let out a sigh. " I can do this, I can do this. Just keep calm and everything will be fine."

‎She changed the trajectory of the fall, aiming for Cassius's large frame.

‎A few moments later, she latched onto his fur while tightly holding onto Amanda's hand.

‎The air howled around them as they descended.

‎" Do you have a plan?" she yelled.

‎Cassius laughed, the sound rumbling out as a deep guttural growl.

‎" Of sorts," he replied.

‎" It just might kill me, the whole plan is hinged on my healing factor. "

‎Talia's eyes widened in realization.

‎"You don't mean?"

‎Cassius nodded, his beastly head rocking back and forth.

‎" I'll try to take most of the impact when we land. It should leave you relatively unharmed and buy some time for you to escape. "

‎After what seemed like an eternity, they were still falling.

‎Lucjan had almost regained his strength.

‎His body wasn't twitching anymore.

‎Raising a hand to his face, he slightly flexed his fingers.

‎" What the hell?"

‎"Hey guys, how long do you think we've been falling for? "

‎Amanda's eyes fluttered open at this point.

‎"Where am I?"

‎Gancing down, she noticed the free fall and promptly fainted again.

‎Talia and Lucian chuckled in amusement.

‎" More than an hour at this point," Samantha quietly replied.

‎" How can you tell? " Talia asked in surprise.

‎"Call it a gut feeling. "

‎" Guys, I think I see something, get ready."

‎In the next moment, Cassius grabbed onto Lucian and Samantha in a rough bear hug.

‎He quickly drew Talia and Amanda to himself, then turned his body around mid-air.

‎Gritting his teeth, he braced for impact.

‎" I'm probably going to regret this," he inwardly thought.

‎But the impact never came.

‎After a while, Lucian quietly whispered, his voice breaking through the suspense.

‎"Cassius, open your eyes, look."

‎Cassius slowly opened his eyes and then gasped in surprise.

‎His ability deactivated at that point, his figure shrinking back. The fur on his body fell away, dissolving, and the claws receded, reverting to normal nails.

‎" What's happening? Is that light?"

‎The five youths and the spectral wolves were suspended in space, floating a few metres from the ground.

‎Before them, an ancient city sprawled in all directions as far as the eye could see.

‎Dark pillars rose from the ground, emitting a strange light that illuminated the whole city as though it were daytime.

‎Several gargantuan statues akin to colossal sentinels stood spread throughout the city,

‎"What is this place? How are we even floating?"

‎Lucian's eyes gleamed with excitement.

"This is it! An actual lost civilization in Tenebris!"

‎A heartbeat later, they were falling again.

‎"Oh shit!"

‎Samantha and Amanda landed awkwardly on Cassius, knocking the air out of him.

‎Cassius groaned weakly, shoving them away.

‎Lucian flipped through the air, landing smoothly with Talia following suit.

"I can't believe it..." Talia quietly whispered.

‎A moment later, they rose to their feet.

‎A dark smile appeared on Lucian's face.

‎"Don't look now, but we've got company."

‎The spectral wolves slowly rose off the ground, baring their fangs threateningly at the small group."

‎Lucian furtively glanced at Cassius.

‎" I don't suppose you've enough energy for another transformation, do you?'

‎Cassius weakly shook his head.

‎"I need to rest for a bit first..." Lucian chuckled lightly.

‎" Well, the way things are going, you're probably going to rest in the afterlife."

‎

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