Chapter 362 Rescue Mission

"Stop it, you two," Satoshi calmly asserted, standing between the two and intercepting their intense gazes. There was already one chaotic match happening in the area and it would be a real pain dealing with it— having two chaotic matches would be a headache.

"Sigh~ all right then. There's no way I'm going to waste my energy fighting you and then getting stomped on by Satoshi."  Luke Skyrunner shrugged as he smiled. While he was confident that he'd be able to go head-to-head with Satoshi in a serious match, he was uncertain whether he'd come out victorious or not. It would be a pretty close match though— or so that's what he assumed would happen.

"I guess, right now we have to deal with those two. We can hold off on our match later." Yun Zhe acquiesced and the challenge was withdrawn. For some reason, the two of them reached an agreement after hearing a mere few words from Satoshi.

Just then, their peaceful exchange was interrupted by a scream coming from Kim Jin Seok. At that moment, the three of them turned their heads, only to see that Kim Jin Seok was already tied up and pinned to the ground with thicker vines coming from Link's arm. He grunted and struggled, but it was all in vain as the vines continued to constrict his movements and squeeze him even tighter.

"Well, that was surprising. And here I was, thinking that Kim Jin Seok would win. He's stronger than Link, after all." Yun Zhe clicked his tongue, he was obviously disappointed that his predictions were incorrect.

"He underestimated him so much. Link is a formidable opponent, and his craziness is just one of his core strengths. However, Kim Jin Seok's level-headedness overlooked that, and now he's suffering the consequences." Luke Skyrunner heaved a sigh. He had already foreseen that Kim Jin Seok would lose this match way back when he acted so smugly during their two-versus-two match.

The fight was inevitable since their personalities clashed, but Kim Jin Seok should've easily won such a match since he was way stronger than Link. No matter where one looked at it, it was fairly apparent that Kim Jin Seok brought the downfall upon himself.

Satoshi and Yun Zhe couldn't agree more with Luke's comment. Link was supposed to lose, but right now, he looked so comfortable as he overpowered Kim Jin Seok with minimal effort. As he floated in the air with his wings of branches and leaves flapping, he held Kim Jin Seok down with the vines protruding from his hands.

The vines then received more energy from Link, and they were commanded to activate their life-force drain skill which enabled them to suck the life out of Kim Jin Seok. Kim Jin Seok screamed as he felt something excruciatingly painful envelop his body. In his weakened state, there was no chance he'd be able to struggle free from the vines.

One moment, he was on the winning side, the next moment, the scales of the match had tipped in Link's favor. And now there was nothing he could do but resign.

Link was not having it, however. He saw the path to victory and he was willing to take it... even if it meant murdering Kim Jin Seok in cold blood. In hindsight, it was Kim Jin Seok's fault for riling Link up. And now that he was out of control, there was no one there who could stop him from killing the Korean.

Just like what happened to Jessie and James during their match against Link, Kim Jin Seok started shriveling up as the vines continuously drained his energy. As seconds passed, he got weaker and weaker until he could barely lift a finger.

"Um..." Satoshi trailed off as he glanced toward Luke Skyrunner and Yun Zhe who were still watching the entire thing transpire... both of them unfazed by the contorted face Kim Jin Seok was wearing as he let out a dying scream.

"You have that tamed beast of yours right? Was it a Celestial? Yeah, it was a Celestial Tamed Beast." Yun Zhe said out of nowhere as he addressed Satoshi. He was still staring at Link and Kim Jin Seok as he spoke.

"Yeah," Satoshi responded, not knowing why Yun Zhe asked something off-topic.

"Good, now we wait." This time, it was Luke Skyrunner who spoke. Somehow, he was on the same page with Yun Zhe while Satoshi was left hanging as to why he was asked the question.

"Shouldn't we stop him? I mean... at this rate he's going to kill Kim Jin Seok. It would leave a bad taste in my mouth if we were to see him die."

Nodding their heads, Luke and Yun Zhe smiled at each other before they stepped out in the open. "We'll go deal with that crazed maniac over there. You stand by and swoop in to save that shriveled-up human over there, all right?" Luke Skyrunner said.

"Remember, he's still got the Crimson Dagger. He'll be forced to use that once we attack him." Yun Zhe continued as he integrated with two of his tigers.

"You don't need to tell me." Luke Skyrunner then summoned a tamed beast that looked like a staff with dark energy. One look and Satoshi knew that his tamed beast was an Unearthly Type. "On my count of three. One... Three!"

Since they were already out in the open, Link already knew that he's already found some company. He didn't let go of Kim Jin Seok though since both Luke Skyrunner and Yun Zhe didn't seem like they were going to attack him. But then again, he was cautious enough to put his guard up just in case they attacked. Hence, he summoned his Crimson Dagger.

"I knew it." Yun Zhe muttered.

As soon as Luke Skyrunner screamed 'three' at the top of his lungs, he raised the dark staff he was holding at the top of his head and immediately integrated with it. In a split second, Luke Skyrunner's clothes changed, and he was now wearing a black tuxedo and a top hat. The staff he was holding turned into a twisty-looking cane with a glowing purple orb on top of it. A sinister energy seeped out of the orb, and a low ominous sound of wailing could be heard from within.

"Crimson Dagger, Stretch," Link commanded, pointing the Crimson Dagger towards Luke so he could pin him to the ground.

With a wave of his hand, Luke Skyrunner smiled as he let the Crimson Dagger hit him squarely on the chest. Satoshi was about to scream since Luke Skyrunner didn't bother dodging, but what happened next made him drop his jaw in surprise.

As the Crimson Dagger stretched all the way toward Luke Skyrunner's chest, it passed through as if Luke Skyrunner was just a hologram. The Crimson Dagger stuck to the ground with a thud, cracking the barren ground as it continued to stretch. Meanwhile, Luke Skyrunner just stood there, unfazed, while the Crimson Dagger passed through his body.

"Yun Zhe, you better do your end of the deal, all right." Luke Skyrunner calmly requested as he walked away from the Crimson Dagger. At the same time, Link ordered his Crimson Dagger to retract, confused as to why it just passed through Luke Skyrunner as if he was some sort of ghost.

"All right then." With a grunt, Yun Zhe jumped up and swiped at the vines that took Kim Jin Seok captive. While Kim Jin Seok had a hard time cutting those ropes, Yun Zhe did so without even breaking a sweat. He swiped at the vines and tore them off as if they were paper.

For the first time during the entire time he was tortured, Kim Jin Seok could finally breathe. If it weren't for his tamed beast and his considerable control over his dual beast integration, he would've died by now. Fortunately, he managed to hold on for dear life until his rescuers appeared. He heaved a sigh of relief as he closed his eyes. He was this close to death, but now he would survive.

What he didn't know, however, was that both Luke Skyrunner and Yun Zhe have been there ever since the match commenced. And of course, while his life was drained out of him, the two of them were watching as if they were watching a sports show on the sidelines. They could've jumped in a little earlier so he won't have to suffer, but they chose not to.

After all, at the end of the day, it was Kim Jin Seok who brought the situation upon himself. Both Luke Skyrunner and Yun Zhe wanted him to learn his lesson so he won't repeat it in the future. Then again, the two of them just wanted to see him suffer since he deserved it— as to whether their behavior was evil or not, one could only wonder.

"You all right?" Satoshi finally caught up to Kim Jin Seok, summoning Sera with him so he can replenish his energy— just enough so he won't die, of course.