Chapter 171 Protect

Chapter 171 Protect

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Until now, Sylas had refrained from scanning them. If he continued to do so in a situation like this one, he would be more than a little suspicious. At that point, they would wonder about what he was hiding.

The fact his scan had failed was enough for them to move him up a tier of confidence.

Both siblings turned back towards the rapidly approaching compound, and Bloom spoke.

"We will protect your safety."

"How?" Sylas asked, coming to a stop.

The two continued to rush forward.

"We are Level 9's, no one here can threaten us. Let's go."

Sylas' eyes narrowed. 'As expected, they don't know I saw their Level already. It seems I made a good decision not using Madness.'

After some hesitation, Sylas continued to rush after them. Maintaining his skepticism, he kept his kunai close to his body. Usually, they would be surging ahead to protect the two, but since they were supposedly going to protect his safety, he left it up to them and observed.

Bloom pulled her spear from her back and Mark's shield erupted with a surging light.

A group of special ops rushing out of the building were blown back by a shockwave.

Bloom pressed a foot into the ground, her body bending almost like a bow before she erupted with more speed than Sylas had ever seen from her.

Right then, he felt her Comprehension more clearly than ever before. The spear became like an extension of her arm, its blade controlled as deftly as her fingers.

The special ops didn't get the chance to stand from the ground. A single pierce struck their throats from afar, an odd, sharp, Aether energy curving through the skies like shooting stars beneath the night sky.

Mark took the vanguard and Bloom followed up after a glance toward Sylas.

The look seemed to say that this was where the real mission began, but one way or another, Sylas could only follow.

An uncomfortable sweat began to build on his body. Breathing in the air was becoming laborious and it must have been at least 50 degrees Celsius if not worse.

'There's a glow coming from them,' Sylas noticed.

The sibling duo was covered in a hardly perceptible sheen of silvery blue.

'Aether?'

They were using the Aether to protect themselves from the heat. Sylas wasn't sure if it was a Skill, or if it was something else. For now, he soldiered through.

Mark landed below and kicked out. The door he faced this time was several levels thicker and more reinforced. But Sylas sensed the activation of a Skill and his foot was suddenly surrounded by a rush of Aether.

BOOM!

The door's core mass caved in, crumpling like aluminum foil before it flew off its hinges.

'That's right,' Sylas thought to himself, 'the sheen of Aether on them can't be a Skill or else I would have sensed it interface with the surrounding Aether. It must be a special application of the energy...'

He wouldn't have noticed this if not for his Extricate experiment last night, but now he was certain.

The heat suddenly became unbearable. If not for Sylas' 91 Constitution, he would have already begun to suffer burns. Right now it felt like he had brought his hand a little too close to the stove, except with his entire body.

It was definitely over 60 degrees Celsius. Even the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth was barely above 55. Whatever was going on here was on another level entirely.

Sylas had no choice but to try and mimic what Bloom and Mark were doing. Although he realized that this might be another test, he really had no other choice.