Chapter 493: Collapsing Circle

Eva POV

She was running for her life. Mana and aura were empowering her body like never before. She didn’t think she had ever pushed it this far before. Definitely not against another Tier 3. The boy was a demon wearing human skin.

She had so many questions and not enough time to answer them. She was too busy trying to survive and get away. The first surprise came when he reacted to her attack with alarming speed. His barrier was the next surprise. She could understand if the barrier had been able to defend against her first attack, but the same barrier had been able to withstand her second bolt. A bolt that was specifically created to ignore mana-based defenses.

That meant he had created the barrier out of a second energy source as well. It could have been aura, or even kinetic energy, she believed that she had sensed something like that when he had been chasing her. It was hard to tell because she had never come across such a barrier before.

After that, the surprises kept on coming. He had somehow found her despite being shrouded by the cloak that her master gave her. She didn’t know how he managed that. She also had zero clue how he moved so freaking fast.

She thought the flying device was something he used to supplement his speed, but she was wrong. He was much faster on the ground than flying around on the board. Despite putting everything into her skills, he would have gotten to her if he had a few more seconds.

It was only thanks to Riven that she had been able to get away safely. The mage prodigy and her good friend had summoned a literal firestorm, smothering the other boy in it. She was still baffled by how he created such a powerful attack in the blink of an eye, even after all these years of knowing him.

She finally stopped herself as she slid next to Riven. Her friend looked as calm as ever; several large barriers were already deployed around him, ready to intercept any attacks that might come his way.

She looked back at where the firestorm was still raging, but she wasn’t able to sense anything within it. The flames blocked her vision, and the mana was too dense to perceive through. The heat of the attack tickled her skin, even though she was so far away.

Riven wasn’t subtle, that was for sure. He probably picked it up from his master, who was notoriously flashy and was known to love massive spells.

“Is he dead?” She asked Riven after several seconds of the firestorm continuing.

“No, he is still alive,” he said with a frown and furrowed his eyebrows into sharp lines. An even larger explosion blasted out, and the flames started to rise even further in the sky. Only then did he seem content.

The firestorm ebbed away, and what was left was a barren patch of dirt that had been scorched black. Smoke was floating from the surface, and the stones on the ground were glowing red from the residual heat.

However, to her shock as well as Riven’s, a naked boy was standing in the middle of this barren patch of land, lit up by the flickering flames. Not only had he survived, but he looked almost entirely okay. Except for his lack of clothes and some reddened skin, there were no signs of any real damage.

What was even more disturbing was the smile on the young man’s face. It was a feral smile that was full of excitement and… hope?

Eva felt an uneasy sensation ripple through her stomach. But she didn’t get time to think about it because their opponent’s form blurred, and she was barely able to track him.

However, she wasn’t able to react in time. An earth-shattering blow slammed into Riven’s barrier. The cool-minded mage showed concern for the first time at the immense blow. His barrier held up for a brief moment, but that was all it could do. A crack formed, and that was enough to compromise the shield’s integrity.

The dense collection of mana shattered, and Riven grabbed Eva, teleporting the two of them away. They made it just in time, too. The monster’s fist had passed through the same spot they were occupying, blasting a troll-sized hole into the hard ground.

While still holding onto Eva, Riven blasted himself upwards into the sky. Once they were high enough in the air, they both stared down at the naked boy. She averted her eyes in embarrassment now that she had time to realize what she was staring at.

The black haired youth stared up at them with a bright smile, but suddenly frowned and looked down at his body. A brief look of panic crossed his face, and a new set of clothes appeared on him before he let out a relieved sigh. Eva copied him, for different reasons.

Only when he had dressed himself properly did he look back up at them. Despite being brutally hit by Riven’s firestorm, he seemed fine. Better than fine, in fact. He looked like he had just experienced a good night’s sleep.

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“What do we do? How did he survive that?” She asked Riven. However, the chiseled face of the future archmage was etched with confusion as well.

“A powerful fire resistance skill? Honestly, I don’t know. But he is dangerous. I think he’s the one whom my master said I should pay attention to,” Riven admitted, and he pulled out his staff. Eva’s eyes widened. Riven never took out his staff unless he was taking things seriously. The staff was a reward from a Challenge Rift and was very powerful as well as soul-bound to Riven.