Aelira and Rudrean decided to hunt a few more Dark Reaper Tigers for extra money since hunting them turned out to be easy with the 2-star Absolute Plasma Spear spell.
In the next two hours, they hunted three more Dark Reaper Tigers and also found some magical 1-star flowers of Ice and Wood attributes, which could also go for some money.
The sky was getting darker, and four moons were visible in the sky at different angles.
Both of them were flying with Super Pyrodrive Wings at a moderate speed, enjoying the wind and view. The city was roughly 410 kilometers away, but if they decided to go at full speed, they would arrive there within five minutes.
"That guy must have arrived at the academy, right?" Rudrean asked.
"Most likely…" Aelira sighed as she nodded, and then she clenched her fists as her eyes ignited. "But if he thinks he can throw his weight around in the academy, then he is mistaken."
"We are stronger, and we'll get even stronger for the next two days." Rudrean smiled. "We'll impress the academy so much that they will be forced to rely on the potential we have shown them."
"Yep."
Suddenly, both of them felt faint vibrations from above and looked up, only to be shocked.
"Wha… what the-" Rudrean was tongue-tied.
"No way that's a meteor shower, right?" Aelira was dumbfounded.
There were hundreds of lights shooting across the sky, quite fast, vanishing in a blink after appearing.
But suddenly, their hearts turned cold as they saw all the lights bending downward and shooting toward this planet.
Not on top of them, but far away.
However…
BOOOM!! BOOOM!! BOOOM!!
A planet-encompassing earthquake began occurring.
Rudrean and Aelira could feel the vibrations intensifying in the air.
They looked in the direction where the lights fell and could feel it.
Both of them quickly used Magic Suit, protecting themselves, and also conjured Flame Construct: Crimson Pyrofort.
Two seconds later, the waves came and hit them like a mountain.
The atmospheric pressure with the movement of wind was so strong, and the waves kept pushing them back each time they were hit.
'Phew, we are not in danger, at least.' Aelira sighed in relief. 'But what the hell just happened?'
'Those might not be asteroids, but maybe magic attacks?' Rudrean speculated.
'But they are so powerful, it caused a planet-wide earthquake, and this planet is eighty-seven times bigger than Earth…'
'Yeah, it's crazy.'
'Wait, more?!'
Aelira and Rudrean looked on with horror as more lights appeared in the sky and shot down.
At that time, Aelira and Rudrean felt their hearts would jump out of their throats. They remained frozen for only half a second before both of them looked at each other in panic.
And then both of them acted.
Grabbing each other's hands, they used Super Pyrodrive Wings at full speed.
ZOOOOM!!
Just two seconds later, the lights fell several kilometers away from them.
BOOOOOOM!! BOOOOOM!! BOOOOM!!
The air and atmosphere within a couple of hundred kilometers suddenly changed.
The Super Pyrodrive Wings suddenly snuffed out like a tiny flame blown away by the air.
A force so strong that their organs shattered hit both of them as they fell like mangled kites and crashed down.
Their barriers and whatever defense they had were ruined instantly as their vitality reached critical, and they fell like ragdolls.
Their limbs were broken and bent unnaturally, while blood poured out from many places.
Aelira had fainted, and Rudrean's barely opened eyes saw only confusion and fear.
Thinking wasn't possible, but he acted out of necessity.
Phoenix Flames covered him and Aelira a second later, but right after he did that, his eyes rolled upward, and he also fainted.
The surroundings were destroyed as if an apocalypse had occurred.
BEEP!
The cards in their pockets beeped as a voice rang out.
[Emergency! Please evacuate to the nearest bunker!]
[Emergency! Please evacuate to the nearest bunker!]
[Emergency! Please evacuate to the nearest bunker!]
Just a kilometer away, a figure burst out of the ground, covered in hazy white light that made the person appear completely blurred, but a trail of crimson oozed from two spots on the body.
'…Those bastards don't care about their own planets? If I went toward a populated place, millions would have died…'
The light dimmed, and the figure seemingly vanished from the senses.
'The poison won't go away easily, it seems. I have to hide here and find someone to smuggle me out of this place like before. Curses! I am not liking my chances… sigh.'
'Hmm? What kind of magic pulse is that?'
After looking in the direction of Aelira and Rudrean for a second with surprise, the invisible figure suddenly appeared next to the duo, who were covered in Phoenix Flame that was slowly healing them.
'Interesting.'
The invisible eyes looked at Rudrean.
'Both of them are alive.'
Suddenly, the figure looked in the north direction and frowned. 'Darn dogs.'
In the next moment, the invisible figure vanished.
And so did Aelira and Rudrean.
Two seconds later, a group of people in sleek full-body armored suits, wielding colorful melee weapons, arrived.
One of them sniffed strongly. "Three auras. But two are merely Foundation-rank ants."
"The blood on the ground is theirs."
"Where's our target?"
"She vanished again like usual, but we know her tricks now. Secure the planet and set up the towers. The artifact she has can't teleport her away, it can only let her stay hidden. Once she exits it, we'll know her location."
"Reinforcement is coming as well. She won't escape this planet alive."
"What about the poison? Any chance it will get the job done?"
"No. It will keep her weakened for one more month. That poison was concocted by the Alchemy Sovereign of the Hunan Clan. It's specially made to weaken the target for a long period of time."
"So we'll get her soon, I suppose. According to the information we got, the artifact can't keep her hidden for more than seven days, right?"
"Exactly. It can only stay active for up to seven days before needing a cooldown of one day to become active again."
"If she comes out, it will be during the next seven days, so stay sharp."
…
Two hours later, Aelira and Rudrean opened their eyes in a mysterious place.