Alwin watched from within the safety of the protective shells, eyes wide as the fused Chi Ren and Jin Ren chased after Commander Cooper and his wife. The large bird's legs pounded against the ground as he bounded forward, wife in wings. But the distance between them was shrinking fast.

The fused Elders caught up to the running couple.

A flaming hand shot out, seizing Commander Cooper by the bone-armored shell encasing his body. Instantly, smoke hissed up. Fire bloomed. Bolts of lightning flashed across the Elders' fused arm, arcing into his feather.

He screamed.

Mrs. Cooper didn't hesitate. She activated Inverse Shell.

Commander Cooper slowed to a crawl along with the fused Elders. Lightning froze in midair, jumping lazily between fingertips. Fire crawled up his bone-shell armor with reluctance. Even the smoke inched its way up into the air, as if gravity told it no.

Mrs. Cooper moved freely. She hopped off her husband's wings, landing in a blur beside the attackers.

The fused Elders still held onto Commander Cooper's armor, but that changed when she deactivated Shellington Skellington.

Commander Cooper's armor of boned shells crumbled to dust between their fingertips. Their fist now clenched air, as Commander Cooper was free.

This time, it was Mrs. Cooper to carry her other half. She picked up the large bird bridal style and started running away. Behind them, the fused Elders continued to move like they were wading in syrup. Their fingers uncurled with glacial reluctance as they watched the couple run off into the blazing remains of Tentative Camp.

As the distance between them increased, Mrs. Cooper's breath grew labored. She panted. Her pace slowed, as ironic as that was.

Commander Cooper turned his head at a sluggish pace and nodded with painful slowness. Mrs. Cooper understood the message and placed her husband on the ground. As she did so, she activated Shellington Skellington, causing a ribcage of shells to appear over Commander Cooper.

High above, the ghostly turtle shell grew even fainter before it disappeared, along with it, the effects of Inverse Shell.

Commander Cooper picked up Mrs. Cooper and sprinted away just as the Elders resumed their natural speed, their bodies jerking forward in sudden acceleration.

"Crimson Gold Fusion Technique: Heavenly Thunder, Demonic Flame Step."

Lightning pulsed out of one foot that ascended to the skies, while deep red flames blasted out of the other, plunging into the ground and turning the soil black. The fused Elders disappeared in a blur and reappeared right next to Commander Cooper.

They grabbed him by the collar of Shellington Skellington. Behind them, reality caught up with the technique. A deafening boom of thunder split the air, and a massive geyser of fire exploded out, carving a trench deep into the ground.

"Don't think that this is enough to get away from us," the fused Elders snarled. "We're going to rip you apart limb from limb. And that's only a fraction of the pain that the members of our sect had to experience."

They raised their hand up into the air. Fire erupted from their palm. A lightning bolt answered from the heavens, striking it.

Before they could reach out and touch Commander Cooper, Mrs. Cooper acted.

Inverse Shell made its appearance once again. And once more, the same sequence of events played out.

Shellington Skellington ignited in flame and cracked with lightning, only to vanish in an instant as Mrs. Cooper deactivated the skill. She traded positions with her husband, lifting the great bird into her arms, bridal style. Or perhaps, husband-style, in this case.

She ran. Only to quickly lose steam.

Again, Inverse Shell disappeared, and her husband picked her up. The fused Elders burst forward in a blur of elemental speed, catching up before Alwin could even blink.

Again, she invoked Inverse Shell. Again, everyone's movements except hers slowed.

And again. And again. The cycle repeated.

But each loop was shorter.

Mrs. Cooper was unravelling. Her strength was being sapped away with every cycle of this desperate game of keep away.

This was bad.

Alwin knew this as he watched from the safety of the protective skills that Mrs. Cooper had set up for him and Cooper Trooper. The Selfish Shellfish were becoming less selfish. Crabs and lobsters gently rubbed their pincers up and down Cooper Trooper's Shellmet, as if trying to comfort him, even though he didn't understand the weight of everything happening around him. He giggled, oblivious, clapping his hands as faint echoes burst like bubbles around him.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

The giant clam he was stuck in was opening. More and more light seeped through the widening cracks.

Mrs. Cooper was losing energy. Sooner or later, she wouldn't be able to use an Inverse Shell to escape certain doom. The next burst of speed by the fused Elders might be the last.

Alwin had to do something, but what could he even do? He had promised Mrs. Cooper to stay out of the way.

But what choice did he have?

If he didn't do anything, then Cooper Trooper would grow up in a world without both his parents. Even if he did get involved, what good would it do?

All it would accomplish was paint a giant target on him and Cooper Trooper's Shellmets.

Oh, if only he hadn't convinced Mrs. Cooper to join the fight. Maybe Cooper Trooper could've grown up with one parent. This was all his fault. Now, he was doomed to be orphaned on the day of his birth. If only he hadn't given them the layout of the Crimson Gold Sect, maybe the Elders wouldn't have been so mad that they'd seek revenge.

C'mon, Alwin, think.

If he couldn't do it, maybe Niwla or Winal could. He turned inward and consulted them.

"The chances of us actually accomplishing something worthwhile are practically zero," Mind Niwla said.

Winal just shook his head. Even with his new Tier three evolution, he didn't think it'd be possible to overcome the gap between them and the fused Chi Ren and Jin Ren. It was too wide. Too steep.

It'd take a miracle for things to turn around.

And all Alwin had was a ridiculous idea that may or may not make things even worse than they already were. Was it even worth trying it out? Best case scenario, he managed to distract the fused Elders enough for Commander Cooper and Mrs. Cooper to finish the job. Worst case—and most likely scenario—he and everyone would die.

He looked through the widening slit in the giant clam to see the blurred figures of Mrs. Cooper and Commander Cooper running for their lives. Both staggered under the weight of exhaustion as the fused Elders bore down on them again.

So, what should he do?

The smart option would be to stay here and run away once the coast was clear. But Alwin wasn't smart. He couldn't allow the Coopers to perish.

That was how selfish and senseless he was.

He summoned a pair of Spirit Hands and used them to remove the Shellmet and place it over Cooper Trooper for double the protection. Next, he ordered them to pry open the giant clam so that he could squeeze himself out.

The whole time Niwla was protesting. It was tantamount to suicide. And even worse, Alwin was breaking his promise with Mrs. Cooper.

Still, he ignored the part of him that nagged that it was a horrible idea.

Instead, he got the Spirit Hands to force the shell of the giant clam shut, so that not even the tiniest speck of light could sneak its way inside.

Alwin didn't just have a plan. He had the concept of a plan. In other words, he was winging it—which might not be the best idea when he didn't have any wings to his name.

Now, he was about to break another promise.

A flash of light engulfed him. His jelly-flesh hardened. Carapace emerged, crimson and gold/ Sparks danced across his exoskeleton as fire and lightning surged through his body. And most importantly, wings appeared.

He was in Crimson Gold King Ant form. Winal wasn't in charge.

Alwin had broken the agreement between them. But in his defense, Niwla half broke it first. So, it was okay for him to do so.

Alwin needed this form to pull off his concept of a plan. The wings weren't needed at all, other than so he could say he was winging it.

If only simply switching forms were the answer to all of his problems. He still needed the cooperation of Mr. and Mrs. Cooper. That was especially hard given the circumstances they were in.

They were adults, so he was sure they'd be able to figure something out. This was him not pushing the responsibilities of his selfishness over to them. To do that, he needed to send over a message.

Going there himself was asking for a death wish, so the Spirit Hands would have to do it for him.

But the repeated flip-flopping of speed due to Inverse Shell was bound to cause some headaches. Good thing, the genius Alwin had already figured out a way to use it to his advantage.

In front of him, Spirit Hands were summoned out, along with a huge Fire Blast that burned brighter than before. This was because of his Crimson Gold King Ant form, which boosted the power of Fire Elemental Spells. The two of them were Mixed together to form a pair of blazing red Flaming Spirit hands. They'd help to rush over to the Coopers when things were moving normally.

And when everyone's speed was all wonky, well, he didn't really have a skill that'd purposely slow down one's speed. But he did have the next best thing. A spell that was naturally slow.

The Ice Spies had made an appearance once again.

Their slow rolling would be perfect when Inverse Shell was active. Which it currently was.

The Flaming Spirit Hands got on at a ludicrously slow pace. Once they got on, the Ice Spies started rolling. It was like placing an object atop a bunch of rolling logs. When the Flaming Spirit Hands were about to fall off, the Ice Spies in the front would move to the back, and the cycle would continue.

When Inverse Shell wasn't active, the Flaming Spirit Hands took over. They grasped the Ice Spies in between their fingers and rocketed forward at breakneck—break-finger—speeds.

But fire and ice didn't exactly mix well. As the seconds drew on, the Ice Spies were gradually melting, leaving steaming trails behind them.

Thankfully, they made it just in time. The Ice Spies had been reduced to mere puddles on the floor as the Flaming Spirit Hands waltzed into the party.

As Commander Cooper was busy being grappled by the fused Elders, the Flaming Spirit Hands were signing out a message for Mrs. Cooper to read.

Alwin didn't think this part through.

What if she didn't know sign language? But she seemed to understand his message as she snapped her head toward him at supersonic speed.

She seemed to agree with his plan as she started sprinting toward him. But the red fury pouring out of her said otherwise.

Whatever.

And how they'd hold the fused Elders down for long enough for this to work?

That was their problem.

Right now, Alwin was moving on to phase two of his plan, Spirit Bombs.

A lot of Spirit Bombs.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.