Chapter 102: Dying star
She smashed through a wall, rebounded off a jagged pillar, and fell limply, but before she could crash into the stone ground, a blur of silver intercepted her.
Neal appeared and he caught her mid-air, flipping to absorb the impact, both of them skidding hard across the dust-blown field. His boots dragged deep trenches into the dirt before they finally stopped.
Sairi wheezed, clutching her ribs. Her lip was bleeding.
"Damn... bastard got me."
"You’re lucky I was watching," Neal muttered, gently setting her down behind a collapsed wall.
Sairi leaned against a broken pillar, wiping blood from her lip. Neal crouched beside her, eyes fixed on the approaching monster. Its newly transformed, humanoid form moved with terrifying grace, every step felt like a drumbeat of doom.
"We can’t beat this thing," Sairi muttered. "Not head-on. Not like this."
He glanced toward the others. The melee team stood behind cover, ready to teleport if given the signal. The casters were shaking, mana reserves almost gone. The support mages held the teleportation anchors steady, but the magic was straining under pressure.
"We don’t need to," Neal replied. "Just get everyone out alive."
Her eyes narrowed at him. "That thing’s going to kill you all... My class doesn’t give me raw power, I’m just human, kid. No special bloodline. No mutation. Only levels. I can’t buy you time anymore."
"I don’t need time," Neal said, standing up, brushing dust from his shoulders.
"I need one chance."