413 A Repeat At A lesser Capacity
Like it was some demonic summoning, Gudzil and Jane soon found themselves staring at a small towering mountain in the distance, one made of a thick black substance and surrounded all through by black fumes.
"What is that?" Gudzil asked, his throat somehow parched and it was only when he looked to Seth for an answer that he realized both he and Jane had stopped their strides and had been left a few steps behind by Seth.
"Darkness," Seth answered, his voice reaching the two people behind him and just as he spoke, the small black mountain before them imploded, its makeup spreading everywhere for miles and transforming into a thick black fog.
Unlike with the previous explosion, which had blinded and disoriented him, Gudzil perfectly retained all his five senses this time, his body staying in prime health, yet, in the end, none of this could help him make headway in understanding what was happening beyond his immediate surroundings.
Other than his body, which he could just make out after narrowing his eyes, the only other thing Gudzil could see was black fog, a situation in which Jane also found herself.
Other than the fact that it was black and impenetrable by their spirit sense, the fog was just as calm and freely flowing as normal fog.
As seconds passed, the urge to scream filled Gudzil, but he held himself back, yet soon, doubts began clouding his mind, and he soon found himself having a debate on whether to scream for help or not.
Counting from the time the mountain exploded to this moment, it was getting to about a minute, but just before it could hit that one-minute mark, the black fog that had descended on the entire area began to rapidly clear, dissipating just a tad slower than it had come.
As their surroundings once more began coming into view, Jane and Gudzil felt a bit of relief, not wasting a second to begin searching for Seth, but before their eyes could locate him, it happened to fall on their surroundings, and they both could not help their eyes from widening, their mouths slightly opening, and their bodies shuddering in fear.
Just some seconds ago, they had been in a city, standing on paved ground, surrounded by trees and buildings, and not too far ahead, a towering gate and gate tower, but now, all this was gone.
The floor, which had once been tiled, was no more, just plain brown earth left in its wake, and as for the buildings and trees, well, they no longer existed.
For up to a kilometre and more, all that Gudzil and Jane could see was a flat barren wasteland, and this change wasn't just in one direction but in all directions, as even the intimidating gate, which had been a symbol of power, was no more.
Looking at the change around them, the simple way to put it was that nearly half of Arilirt city had been turned into a flat barren wasteland.
"Screeeech," the sound of a bird suddenly went blasting into the ears of the stunned duo, having their eyes refocus and look towards the blue creature that was looking at them haughtily and unhappily.
"Ahhh, it's you," Gudzil exclaimed, his nerves still tense and for his effort of recognition, all he got was a screech from the bird, and then it turned away from him, looking to the sky.
Smiling wryly at being scolded or perhaps ignored, Gudzil looked to the beast's back, easily spotting the individual he knew should be there.
"All right, enough dawdling from the two of you, get on," Seth said, his figure sitting atop the head of the beast.
Hearing Seth's words, Gudzil and Jane quickly got their legs in, moving towards the mysterious man before them. As they moved, they subconsciously bent their backs, their eyes filled with respect, and their breath light but rapid, unable to help but feel tense as they moved closer and closer towards Seth.
It was one thing to be a powerhouse, but wiping out half of a rank B city in less than a second was nearly unheard of, this feat only being surpassed by whoever had wiped out Maamion city some months ago, turning the place into a crater.
Gudzil knew Seth was powerful, the man being able to tame beasts as he wished, but his recent feat just alerted him to how much of a monster the man he had been travelling with was.
"I have been travelling with a god this whole time, he is most likely at the peak of the Kaiser level. A 3rd stage solid Kaiser."
As Gudzil had this thought, he looked toward Jane, wondering what her reaction was, but was surprised to see that the woman was a few steps behind him and that her face was as tight as ever.
"Damn, what goes through that damned kidnapper's head," Gudzil thought as he upped his pace.
While Gudzil was flabbergasted by Seth's act, Jane, whose hand firmly clutched onto the woman on her shoulder, though surprised by Seth's act, was far from shocked.
As a close confidant of the president, Jane was aware that Seth was the one who had wiped out Maamion city, and other than being surprised at the ease with which Seth had repeated the feat, though, at a lesser capacity, Jane's eyes were filled with respect for him.
Jane's mission to Arilrt City was to get the woman she had on her shoulder.
The national tournament provided a window and with the governor of the city also going through a breakthrough, it made the window a perfect one.
Though, in the end, Jane had succeeded in abducting the girl, in the end, a rank B city was no pushover.
After engaging in several fights as they tried to make their way out of the city, Jane found herself quickly losing her teammates, the last batch sacrificing themselves so she could escape.
With her body all weak and Qi depleted, though she still pressed on, with the many obstacles still before her, Jane knew that she was going to die on this very day, and well, that was until she met Seth.
Though knowing him as an anomaly, a man who could kill Kaiser-level cultivators while at the Soldier stage, she had no sure idea of the relationship between the president and the man.
Jane had initially thought Seth had been sent to help her until she heard his weird but simple questions.
Though the issue of Seth's alliance with either the president or Alcie did come to mind, knowing that Seth could kill her if he were against her, the woman made known her problem and sought help, a decision she at the moment was very happy she had made.
Now every immediate problem had been solved, and all that was left was to leave, a process which the beast before her was going to make possible. Yet, as Jane moved toward salvation, her spirit sense barely picked up on a Qi signature, and by the time her brain could understand the message, the owner of that signature was beside her, his presence omnipotent and freezing her in place.