Chapter 316 The Trap Has Sprung

"Lee Seng!" Tiffi's voice shouted. "Shifters have appeared! He needs help!" Manny and the others made work of the goblins as they flew at them in large numbers.

"Liz, deal with the ranged ones!" Manny ordered. Purple lightning flew out, changing and killing melee and ranged goblins.

"Got it!" Liz answered. She stood near the techs as they panicked and tried to protect themselves. Evan and Olivia flanked the Techs and Liz in, keeping Goblins out as Ritsuka held the rear.

"This was the best formation we could come up with?" John shouted. He was clearly scared as he swung a pole straight at a loose goblin. "We're gonna die! We have to run!" Pure darkness flew all around the group as swords flew out, piercing the goblins.

"We need to get Lee Seng!" Ritsuka shouted.

"What about us?!?" John shouted. "Your priority is us! Not some Fox troublemaker!"

"John shut up!" Lisa severed a goblin in half, her arms turned into swords. "You aren't making it any easier!"

"Goblins aren't nothing usually, right?" Caleb asked. "They're only trouble if they're like this, right?" Caleb shot out gunshots at the goblins. He gulped as he pressed his back into his teammates. "We'll be fine. We trained hard to be able to take out goblins, right!?!"

"Manny, you need to get the techs out!" Marcus told him. Manny grunted as he kicked a goblin backwards, landing on his feet and reading himself.

"Is Lee Seng okay?!?" Manny asked.

"He's fine! I can barely see anything due to that light."

"That doesn't tell me he's fine."

"Get the techs out now!" Tiffi shouted. The map was suddenly altered. "He's trapped!"

"Fuck, who caved it in?" Marcus asked.

"Shifters!" Lee Seng's voice shouted. The loud rumbles of earth spooked the group.

"Dammit, we have to pull out! I ain't waiting for these kids to kill us!" John shouted. He began to turn and run. Caleb turned and followed.

"You guys! We're gonna die if we don't go with them!" Lisa shouted.

"They're leaving!" Evan grunted.

"Ritsuka, Evan, follow them!" Manny ordered.

"What about Lee Seng?!?" Ritsuka shouted.

"Olivia, Liz and I will hold the goblins off and try to get to him!" Olivia pushed past the scared techs and slammed her fist into a goblin who was going for John.

John screamed as he came to a halt. He began to mumble some incoherent words.

"Arrows!" Liz shouted.

p "Dammit it all to Hell." Evan threw himself in front of Olivia. "Kinetic Expansion!" The shield with it's orange hue suddenly expanded creating a huge wall that shot up and blocked the arrows and any incoming goblins.

"Let's go!" Evan shouted.

"Go, go? Ye-yeah, go!" Caleb shouted. He pushed John forward.

"Can you remove the wall?" Olivia asked. "I should stay and help!"

Evan shook his head and pulled her to go.

"Once the wall is up I can't remove it. Sorry but you have to go with us for now. We could use more people to make sure they're safe. We can come back!"

"Evan sealed us in!" Liz shouted.

"Yeah, I know!" Manny flipped backwards, an arrow sailing straight into him. "Argh!" Blood spilled out of the shot as he slid. Liz moved up. The goblins behind them were dead or trapped on the other side. She and Manny had to clear out the large horde before it was too late.

"Manny, are you okay?" Liz asked.

"Fine." Manny pulled the arrow out. More blood spurted out of his wound as he quickly healed it. "You three get them out and come back! Tiffi, Marcus, let the others know what's happening."

"Already ahead of you! There's backup coming now!" Tiffi informed them.

"ETA?" Evan asked.

"3 minutes to you and the techs. 5 minutes tops for Manny and Liz." Tiffi answered.

"Ah, well then." Manny rolled his neck. He raised.his fists in the air and watched the horde in front of them. "This is a wonderful day."

"Fine, I'll make it quick." The air around Liz charged. Her eyes began to glow purple as she shot up into the sky. "Be careful, Manny. I've made some progress with this form but it's still dangerous and I can't guarantee you won't be hit."

"You're gonna use that here?" Manny became worried. He backed up as he heard line goblins pouring from the holes. He swung and knocked the goblins away. "JUST DO IT!"

"Already ahead of you." Liz smiled. Purple electricity covered her body. The pins on her hair fizzled into nothing as her hair began to take on a psycho-electric look. "Die!" Electricity flew everywhere with one flick. It bounced all around the walls and instantly thinned the horde.

Lightning flew straight for Manny as he died bombed out of the way.

"Liz can't control it for long either." Manny rolled to his feet and barely dodged another stirke of electricity. Liz screamed as she tried to pull the energy back into her.

"It's…! Not…! Going…!" Liz strained. A large boulder flew and slammed into her, forcing her out of her form and flying straight into Evan's barrier.

"Liz!" Manny shouted.

"Well, well, well. Don't we have some puny maggots who actually put up a fight!" A masculine voice chuckled. Manny's eyes looked at the end of the darkness. Stepping out was a man who was covered in little to nothing. He smiled as the earth shuffled and responded to his presence. "Guess I didn't get unlucky. I got two to play with. Well, maybe one after she got knocked out!"

Olivia and Evan hung behind the techs as Ritsuka kept ahead of the techs. The large Black Void swarmed around him and the techs, automatically piercing any goblins as they Moved forward.

Olivia slammed her hands and froze goblins as they continued forward. A new shield had appeared on Evan and he was using it to deflect and redirect energy at the ranged goblins.

"I like it when they run!" A woman's voice chuckled. An earthen wall flew up in front of Ritsuka. Ritsuka quickly pulled the darkness around him in and shattered the wall.

"Go!" Ritsuka shouted as he pushed the techs through. He followed them. Evan and Olivia scurried over, earth flying up to block them.

"Nuh uh!" The woman shook her finger. "You're playing with me!"

"Shifter!" Olivia shouted. A woman with dark brown skin and earth attached to her chuckled.

"They even know what I am, ha! These humans are interesting. Maybe I'll keep her head as a prize. The scrawny male doesn't seem that interesting." The female shifter flicked her finger. Earth spikes shot forward towards Evan. Evan raised his shield, earth slamming and forcing him and Olivia backwards.

"So weak. I wish they would've let me toy with the fox. He seems more appetizing than these puny humans." The female Shifter casually spoke.

"Evan, are you alright?" Olivia asked.

"Yeah, fine." He nodded, standing. His shield glowed a bright blue color. "You think you can freeze her long enough for me to get a hit on her?"

"I don't know if it'll work on a B-rank monster though!" Olivia told him.

"Well, we just gotta wait about four minutes for back up. Let's try our best!" Evan sprinted forward. The female shifter tossed earth at Evan. Evan managed to dodge, closing in on the distance. The earth begins to shake below him as Olivia managed to find a link.

"Got you.' Olivia spoke. The female shifter suddenly became stiff. The grasp she had on the earth suddenly slipped.

'What's happening?' The female shifter asked. She tried to move her body but it wouldn't move!

'We're low C rank at best.' Olivia thought. 'We would be better off if Liz and the others were here. Evan and I have to give time for the others to get back to the base!'

The shifter's body let up and she immediately flung earth straight at Evan. Evan raised his shield to block it when the ground began to shake. In a flash, Evan was shot up into the sky as another set of rocks flew at him.

Evan shot backwards, slamming into the ground as the Female shifter pulled more earth around her. Stones and dirt floated around her as the blue skinned shifter smiled.

"And now it's just you." The shifter raised her hand and rocks and dirt flew at Olivia.

Olivia jumped out of the way. The grind shifting and slamming into her side. She was sent flying into the wall. The wall grabbed her and tightened around her and Evan.

"Such a shame it's just puny humans. What a waste of time. They said interesting ones would come. Lies."

"Remember, Olivia." Grandma Ok's voice whispered in her head. "It doesn't matter what path you take. As long as you do what you think is right, that's all that matters. Don't go to Capitol City to find your parents. Don't prove them wrong. Prove to yourself that you are capable. You are stronger than you think you are, dear."

Everything around Olivia started to crack into tiny pieces. They all began to dissolve, releasing Olivia. Her eyes glowing bright as the female shifter gave her a curious look.

"You got put with me, Shifter." Olivia smiled. The broken down dirt and stone swirled around her. They shot out and grabbed Evan's hold. The Shifter watched as it dissolved, Evan falling to the ground. "As long as I live, you won't get to leave."