"Not this time!"
Those were the words Morgana spoke before she jumped back and grabbed Emery's arm. Despite the powerful force threatening to tug at her as well, she still held onto his arm unwilling to let go.
They had been separated from each other many times. That time she was captured by the divine knight and when she fell during the battle at Camelot. She had waited for the moment they could be together again. Now that she had finally met him, she refused to leave him, let alone when in danger.
Understanding her thought clearly, Emery couldn't help but feel touched.
"Let's survive together!"
The two of them tried to fight against the blood torrent, but it was to no avail. Their bodies were pulled helplessly into the blood sphere. Nevertheless, Morgana still refused to let go of her hold on him, and thus the two embraced each other while within it.
When the blood sphere was consumed by the Primal Beast as it broke out of the arena, the two of them were among several others who were now trapped in the pool of blood within the beast creature.
It was a terrifying situation, with magus-level individuals growling in pain as they were slowly dying, unable to do anything.
Feeling their energy was also being drained, Emery immediately spoke to Morgana through their shared connection. "We have to get out or else we're screwed!"
Alas, the two of them couldn't even move their bodies at the moment. As for trying to extricate themselves, it was simply an impossible task. Still, he wouldn't give up so easily.
With their bodies tightly intertwined in each other's embrace, Emery couldn't help but think about channeling the Khaos power within her and casting a spatial spell once again to get out.
However, he soon threw the idea away when he tried and found out the siphoning power of the blood pool affected the flow of spirit energy in his body, making it nearly impossible to cast any spells.
Even though he was trapped inside the beast creature, Emery could feel the intense battle going on outside. Because of that, he also discovered something worrying. The more attacks the beast sustained, the more energy it sucked from his body.
It didn't take long before he reached a point where he felt he could no longer hold on.
At this point, Emery knew he needed to do something fast, otherwise they would meet their end. He quickly racked his brains. Spells were out of the equation, so he tried to think of anything that might help their situation.
Then an idea came to mind.
Knowing their situation was dire, he immediately told Morgana and she promptly gave her support.
Together, the two of them quickly concentrated on combining their energies, which were then transferred to Emery so he could cast a skill he hadn't been able to use since he lost his dark core.
About a minute passed, claws shot out from between Emery's knuckles and the innate ability of his Fey Warlock was unleashed.
[Spirit Devour]
The ability might not allow them to break free, but it was enough to siphon back the energy the creature took from them, which ensured they stayed alive until someone was able to stop the beast and rescue them.
****
While Emery was trying his best to stay optimistic despite the predicament, the battle outside between the beast creature and the 9 grand magus didn't seem to show any promise.
Despite its shiny appearance, the cocoon was covered in a protective layer that not even Philips' Tier 7 sword artifact could pierce through. This unexpected situation forced them to return to their original plan of draining the beast of its strength.
It had been 30 minutes since the Primal Beast had broken loose and rampaged through the Silvermane City and the group of 9 grand magus were still unable to stop it even though they worked together. Moreover, they weren't even able to successfully get the creature away from the city.
As a result, a quarter of the city was now in a state of total destruction, devastated by the rampaging creature and might of the grand magus. Even so, the Primal Beast didn't seem to be slowing down. In fact, it seemed to only be getting stronger.
"This is just pointless! We should probably let it calm down first!" Crytex the Ironcrest Patriarch shouted, unwilling to fight anymore.
Unfortunately for him, the scene that was unfolding before his eyes did not suggest the creature planned on calming down anytime soon. On the other hand, some of them clearly looked exhausted from the intense battle and needed rest.
It was right at this moment that a group of one hundred people, consisting of magus and non-magus, appeared. They were seen fearlessly charging toward the beast, loud shouts filling the air.
"Attack! Save the city!"
The one leading these people was one famous rebel leader, Tidus the Chain Breaker.
An ear-piercing shriek of agony echoed through the air as the man shot up into the sky like a bolt of black lightning, striking the Primal Beast with such force that its massive body shook.
Such a powerful attack made the others watching realize the rebel leader had just made a breakthrough and entered the Grand Magus realm. As if proving their guess, a domain of crackling lightning could be seen surrounding his entire body.
"Come here! Come at us!" Tidus shouted loudly as the hundreds of warriors stood bravely behind him.
As it turned out, the huge number of people that the group boasted managed to attract enough interest from the creature as it turned around and aimed its attacks at them.
The ground shook violently as the beast creature charged towards the group, but undeterred, Tidus led his men to attack back. At the same time, they were also gradually moving away from the city, mile by mile.
"The chain breaker did it!"
"We are saved!" shouted the people who just went through the catastrophes.
In the end, the Chain Breaker managed to do what none of the others could, even though the price he had to pay was the death of more than half of the people he brought along. Not only that, his actions also gave the nine grand magus much needed time to recover from their condition.
"We must keep it out of the city! Attack!" General Talbots shouted once again leading the other grand magus.
Now that the Primal Beast was on the very outskirts of Silvermane City, all the grand magus no longer had to hold back for fear of accidentally killing civilians. They all brought out their utmost strength to take the beast down.
Being the strongest, General Talbots led the assault and smashed the beast with his warhammer, sending it hurtling across the ground.
Warwick joined and cast powerful Earth spells [Planar Binding], multiple dark rocks swiftly restrained the beast's movement, while the others quickly followed suit by attacking and casting their spells, inflicting numerous wounds and holes on his body.
A huge flame that soared through the sky engulfed the creature entirely the moment Philips Corvin cast the Tier 7 spell [Inferno].
After rounds of ferocious attacks, they saw the creature fall. However, their smiles were cut short by the sight of all the wounds rapidly regenerating once again.
"This is impossible! Impossible!"
"Please my lord, return to your senses!" Warwick shouted, trying to affect the beast using a mental attack, but apparently, he was simply not strong enough.
When the Primal Beast rose to its feet once again and let out a deafening roar of fury, a feeling of despair overwhelmed them, the group's attention was distracted by the sound of a spaceship entering orbit.
Some gasped as they recognized the spaceship's shape and crest visible on its body.
****
A minute ago, a spaceship could be seen hovering in the dark void, just outside the atmosphere of a certain planet.
"Silvermane City, This is Taurus 011 of Zodiac City, we request permission to land."
Receiving no response, the female officer in charge of communications reported the situation to the commander on board. A renowned figure with long white hair, King Alduin of the Zodiac City.
The man turned to the golden-haired wolf half-blood figure standing beside him and said, "Is this normal, Lucius? Are they all so preoccupied with the Royal Hunt?"
Shaking his head, the golden-haired figure said, "No, no. This is actually what I'm afraid of. Something must be wrong. We have to descend right away!"
At those words, the Zodiac King sported a frown as he said, "I hope we are not too late." Turning to the female officer, he ordered, "Vida, bring the ship down."
"Yes, my king."
Seconds later, as soon as they entered orbit, the ship picked up an anomaly. They quickly focused on that and everyone on board was shocked at the sight of a huge beast seen rampaging in the area.
King Alduin instantly stood up from his seat. Realizing what was at stake, he didn't wait for the ship to land and immediately jumped out.