Chapter 75: Thirty seconds
Twelve meters left.
Ten meters.
Eight meters.
Ruo Yan watched him getting closer and closer. When she saw blood running down from Ethan’s shoulder and back, the composure on her face vanished completely.
"Ethan, go back!"
He didn’t answer.
Another wind blade slashed into his right shoulder. Blood sprayed out instantly, and Ethan’s body was knocked sideways.
He braced his hand against the ground, coughed up a mouthful of blood, then immediately got back on his feet. His left ribs sent a sharp stab of pain through him. They were probably cracked.
Ethan kept going.
He was only five meters from Ruo Yan.
In the Eye of Truth’s field of vision, a single white line of light appeared among the hundreds of gray chains.
[Temporary Escort Clause.]
[A valid participant may temporarily share their verification mark with a foreign unit.]
[Condition: Maintain direct physical contact.]
[Duration: Thirty seconds.]
[Cannot be used in the central inheritance zone.]
This wasn’t a way to destroy the rules.
Just a gap the labyrinth’s creator had deliberately left behind.
Ethan lunged forward immediately.
A gray chain shot up and coiled tight around his left hand. The Primordial Armor let out a cracking sound, the red lines across its surface flickering on and off.
Ethan activated Decomposition.
The section of chain wrapped around his arm instantly dissolved into tiny particles of light, but a large portion of the Primordial Armor was also eroded away, exposing the arm beneath.
A wind blade sliced through at once.
Blood sprayed from his left arm.
Ethan gritted his teeth and kept moving forward.
Laira had already started counting.
"Eighteen."
Her flames forced the two Gold-rank puppets back, but the energy cores throughout the hall were also glowing brighter. If she kept ramping up her power, the defense mechanism would fully awaken.
"Nineteen."
Ethan finally reached Ruo Yan.
She looked at the wounds covering his body, her lips trembling slightly.
"You really are a fool."
Ethan extended his right hand. "Maybe so."
Ruo Yan stared at the hand in front of her but didn’t take it right away.
"You don’t need to save me. I’m not your Partner, and I hold no value for your cultivation. Why did you still come in here?"
"I know you’re not my Partner."
"Then why?"
Ethan looked at the chains still tightening around her body. He had no time left to explain. He grabbed Ruo Yan’s hand directly.
The moment their hands touched, the verification mark on Ethan’s body transferred to her instantly.
Boom!
Every chain froze in place.
[Escort confirmed.]
[Foreign unit temporarily under protection.]
[Time remaining: Thirty seconds.]
Ethan pulled Ruo Yan to her feet.
"Run."
Ruo Yan was still stunned, but her body was already moving with him. She pulled her three wooden puppets back toward herself as well.
At the same time, Laira’s voice rang out from beyond the circle.
"Twenty!"
She turned to look inside. When she saw that Ethan had Ruo Yan’s hand, the killing intent in her eyes eased just slightly.
But the reclamation process wasn’t over.
The moment Ruo Yan was temporarily recognized, every spatial wind blade immediately redirected toward the two of them.
Ethan pulled her along the path the Eye of Truth had mapped out.
"Left, three steps. Then stop."
Ruo Yan didn’t ask questions. She gripped his hand tight and moved exactly as he directed.
A wind blade swept past right in front of them.
Ethan immediately yanked her hard to the right.
The next wind blade struck the already damaged section of the Primordial Armor. A chunk of it shattered away on impact, and the force knocked Ethan off balance.
Ruo Yan pulled him back.
"Which way?"
"Right."
Ruo Yan sent one of her puppets charging forward. Its wooden body blocked an incoming wind blade head-on.
Crack!
Half of the puppet’s shoulder was sheared off.
But that split second was enough for Ethan and Ruo Yan to clear the most dangerous stretch.
Only ten seconds left.
The edge of the circle was right in front of them.
At that exact moment, one final chain burst from the ground and shot straight at Ruo Yan’s back.
Ethan saw it.
He pulled her into his arms and spun around.
The chain slammed into his chest.
Boom!
Ethan was sent flying out of the circle. Ruo Yan was dragged along with him, and they tumbled across the stone floor one after another, but their hands never came apart.
The instant Ruo Yan’s body fully crossed the boundary, the light within the circle went dark.
The chains vanished.
The retrieval puppets all stopped at once, then returned to the four pillars.
The great hall fell silent immediately.
Laira appeared at Ethan’s side in a flash. She pushed Ruo Yan to one side, then knelt down and carefully lifted his head.
"Ethan, look at me. Where are you hurt?"
Ethan coughed dryly, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "I’m not dead. Two ribs might be cracked. The rest are surface wounds."
Laira looked at his blood-covered shoulder, back, and arm. Her orange-red eyes slowly turned cold.
"I should burn this place down."
Ethan took her hand. "No need."
"You’re hurt this badly and you’re still saying no need?"
"Killing the ones who built this labyrinth won’t make my bones heal themselves."
Laira pressed her lips together, clearly still furious. But she didn’t release any more power, only carefully propped Ethan up against herself.
Nearly a third of the Primordial Armor on his left hand was gone. The remaining lines of light flickered on and off as it began absorbing surrounding energy to restore itself.
Ruo Yan sat not far away.
She looked at the hand Ethan had just held. The warmth still lingered, completely unlike the cold of those chains moments ago.
Once in her life, she’d had an Awakened bonded to her.
That person had once promised to always keep her by his side. Had once told her she was his most important Partner. But after discovering that the resources needed to nurture her were too great, he had quietly severed the bond and left her behind.
Ethan had never promised her anything.
He wasn’t her master, either.
But when the rules tried to erase her like an ownerless item, he walked in.
No bargaining.
No asking what benefit she could bring.
No demanding she pay a price.
Ruo Yan lowered her head. Her three wooden puppets slowly gathered around her. One had lost half an arm, another had its shoulder cut away, but all of them were still functioning.
She placed her hand on the head of the wounded puppet, then looked up at Ethan.
"Why didn’t you leave me behind? All you had to do was not interfere, and none of you would’ve been in danger."
Ethan was leaning against Laira. He was silent for a few seconds before answering. "Because I don’t like leaving people behind."
"That’s it?"
Ethan looked at her, his expression still perfectly calm.
"I’ve been left behind too many times. So I know that feeling isn’t a pleasant one."
Ruo Yan said nothing more.
But the hand resting on the puppet’s head tightened, ever so slightly.
In the distance, Aldren watched Ethan and Ruo Yan, then shifted his gaze to the inspection circle that had just gone dark.
He let a faint smirk cross his lips.
"Interesting."
His voice was so quiet that almost no one heard it.
But Ethan still turned to look at him.
Aldren immediately restored his gentle smile, as if he had never said a word.
Right at that moment, a heavy sound echoed from the far side of the hall.
Crack!
The stone wall slowly split apart, revealing a massive door. Purple light from within immediately spilled through the gap, illuminating everyone’s faces.
At the same time, several new lines of information appeared before Ethan’s eyes.
[Partner unit has no soul anchor point.]
[Temporary escort privileges are only valid in standard zones.]
[The central inheritance zone denies entry to all units without a complete bond.]
[To proceed further, a new soul anchor point must be established.]
Ethan read the text before him, then turned his gaze toward Ruo Yan.
She was still bent over repairing her puppet, completely unaware that the door that had just opened would not allow her to pass through.
Deep within the space beyond the door, a skeleton clad in a black mage’s robe slowly raised its head.
Two green soul flames ignited in its hollow eye sockets.
It had been waiting for its successor for far too long.