Chapter 180: What Happens In The Breach, Stays In The Breach
So far as they did not leave this point, that is. It was risky, but he had been doing breaches far too long to know the right time to leave and how far not to veer off the exit point in a situation like this.
In fact, between he and Ethan, he probably knew how long it truly was before the portal started to dim and close fully, causing a full collapse.
Arael’s black mass of shield was getting bombarded by continuous sprays of Anselam’s bullets.
Thankfully, the bullets were designed for flesh. Against a structure that had solidified to a density rivaling the hardest known metals, they couldn’t penetrate.
Then suddenly, the bullets stopped, replaced by the consistent punches of the transformed vampire.
Razalon’s vampiric form loomed over the barrier. He had red skin with bat-like wings spread wide behind him. His muscular frame strained as he drew back his fists and punched again.
Coupled with the fact that Razalon was a combat class, the extra strength buff he received from his bloodline trait of transformation made him formidable and unfair even against other combat classes who were at S-tier peaks.
Transformation was the trait of the Gerach Family, one of the seven vampire families.
In a single punch, cracks formed on Arael’s barrier of solidified ink.
Razalon delivered one more punch after a loud roar, and would have broken through the barrier of ink in the next strike.
But just as his fist was about to land on the barrier a third time, Arael’s wings glowed. She imbued her ink with flame properties, and when the vampire’s fist connected, it got burned.
His fist managed to punch through a hole, but at the same time, he was forced back with an agonizing roar.
Right then, Ethan took the opportunity. He channeled mana into the short blade, and his body vanished in a burst of smoke. His reappearance was midair, behind the assailants themselves.
Of course, they too had quickly turned to the sudden appearance behind them in the air, with the exception of the vampire who had stumbled back while reeling from Arael’s flames.
And Ethan’s first action, being positioned where he could see all three, was to swing his left arm downward, hurling and releasing the short sword in his hand, the Arrancar, as it traveled toward Harold.
At the same time Ethan hurled his blade, Anselam had already fired a bullet, aiming for Ethan. But thankfully, Ragnarok, which was no longer in Ethan’s hand but floating by his side, quickly acted.
Due to its sentience, it could automatically protect its wielder without needing to be handled. Just before the bullet hit Ethan, Ragnarok swiped, deflecting it off to a different corner.
Harold had quickly lifted his hand toward the incoming sword. A magic circle formed, setting up a shield spell that would protect against the blade.
But the blade phased through the shield spell, with exactly only one second remaining to its timer. And just as Harold’s eyes widened in shock, its solidified form pierced through his skull.
His head jerked backward, and as his body proceeded to fall, but before it landed completely, an invisible force pulled the Arrancar from his head and back toward Ethan’s waiting palm.
This was done using the space element spell, Ars Levavius.
His other summons, alongside his team, quickly regained composure to the yelling voice of Ethan above. "LET’S GO! NOW!"
The Gerach vampire had just seen Harold fall with widened eyes and quickly turned to act against Ethan.
But, what he failed to realize was that Arael’s ink wall had retracted and shifted form into several large spear-like projectiles.
And in that moment he turned, these projectiles, with flame properties, struck and pierced through him from behind.
Multiple spears impaled his torso, wings, and shoulders. Razalon roared in agony, staggering forward as smoke rose from the burning wounds.
The ranger, seeing that everything had gone sideways, turned left and took a quick dash toward the exit.
Joe quickly acted in that time, lunging forward to the original point Anselam had just left. From there, he pointed Katarina toward the escaping ranger.
Anselam had almost made it through when suddenly a bullet struck him from behind at blazing speed, far past the sound barrier, and it pierced through from behind just as his body managed to make it through in the last moments.
It was a no-scope shot.
-
A few moments later, the team had all left through the portal with some seconds to spare.
And they were heaving hard breaths.
"That... was close" Aliyah said in between breaths.
In front of them was Anselam, who had taken a bullet to the back, and which, unfortunately for him, had cracked through a vital bone in his spine
. He was dragging his body slowly, blood smudging and trailing as he moved forward in pain.
The portal then began dimming. It was the final closing moment.
Hayley noticed this, and her face turned into a deep frown as she quickly dashed toward the ranger on the ground.
With one hand, she grabbed him by his neck and hurled him toward the portal. The screaming man passed through, his body spinning midair.
The ranger was hurled with such force that he kept flying, slamming into the Gerach vampire who had almost made it out of the breach, despite the agonizing holes made on his body.
Razalon’s eyes widened in shock as a body slammed into his face, sending them both backward. Then the portal shut, and the vampire screamed, "Nooooo!!!"
Then the ceiling and the walls crumbled on them.
"That’s where y’all fuckin’ belong!" Hayley yelled, seeing the portal close.
The other members of the team laughed, and Ethan had a smile on his face. Then exhaustion hit him, and his eyes shut as his body was about to fall.
But Percival noticed and quickly stepped in to grab hold of him before he fell. "I got you, man. I got you."