Kian didn't manage to dodge the plasma and it destroyed the left side of his body. Of course, his injury healed by itself quick since his Aegis was an enhanced version of the previous generation. Unfortunately for him, Lily and I had made our move.
"Ugh!"
He cast a look at me just when my multi-colored flames slammed into him. Seeing that, Lily didn't waste any time to subdue him with both hands.
"Get away from me!" yelled Kian.
My flames disappeared when Kian manifested his Aegis crystals. With his right hand covered with it, he touched the graphite underneath, causing ripples of black to swallow both of them.
"Lily!"
I dashed towards the spot where the graphite had swallowed them; when Lily punched a hole through it. She dragged Kian out and slammed his head onto the ground a few times, crushing it. We knew he wouldn't die from that, so she formed three pink crescent blades from her arms.
"What--"
The ground shook violently, and Lily stumbled.
"Everyone!" said Jessie through my earpiece. Her voice was muffled for a few seconds, perhaps because of a bad connection. "There's something massive coming your way. It seems to be an amalgamation of peach Aegis crystals, and it's moving fast . . . Ugh, how can this be?"
I put a finger on my earpiece. "You're telling us now?!"
"I was about to, but the connection went down for a quite some time. It's crushing everything underneath it. Also, it made a hole at the city's defense. Nothing can stop it!"
"Where did it come from?" I asked hurriedly.
"From outside of Moscow. That thing came all the way from Finland, and it seems to have an average speed of eighty kilometers per hour. Though, it might have been faster before it arrived at the city."
"That fast?! What--"
The ground shook uncontrollably; when a deformed mountain of peach Aegis crystals came into view. It toppled down four-story buildings around the crater with no effort at all. Within a blink of an eye, it descended down the crater and stopped, blocking the entire sky above.
"What in the world--" gasped Sofeea.
Kian hardened his whole body, causing his skin to have a gray look. He then ran towards the gargantuan mountain. He formed his own crystals underneath his feet and climbed towards the mountain's peak as if there was an invisible staircase there.
Before anyone could do anything, he punched the top of the peach mountain and pulled a blonde man out of it. He then proceeded to pull out a brown-haired woman wearing a white overcoat.
"Ivar and Mara?!" I exclaimed.
The mountain suddenly vibrated, causing a minor earthquake in the area. Carrying those two Pillars on his shoulders, Kian looked at me with sad eyes. He said something, though no one could actually hear him from that height. Tears streaked across his cheek before he vanished behind the peach mountain.
A monotone voice in my head pulled my attention. "Ava. I think he said something along the line of, 'Felicia and I miss you so much. May fate bring us together in the future, and perhaps, we can become a family again.' I believe he said these words."
"Everyone misses me, huh," I said out of annoyance.
"What did he mean by family?" asked Aegis.
"Those Pillars are always spouting nonsense. Don't get too absorbed in what they said, Aegis."
"Hmm. But Felicia and Kian seem different. From what he just said, it could be that they are--"
"Aegis! That thing is moving!" I muttered.
The mountain shot out countless spikes out of its colossal body, and I threw my flames up in the air. Lily, on the other hand, swiftly carried those who were alive on her shoulders, except for Hope and Freya. After that, those three moved behind me in no time as I formed a barrier made up of multi-colored flames. Hope had Jennifer on his back.
My earpiece spat out a muffled voice and I focused on what Jessie would say. It took a minute, but the voice finally came through.
"That crystal thing is out of control," said Jessie through the earpiece. "Our helicopter is just above you guys. We can't land as long as that thing is there."
I clicked my tongue. "My flames will form a barrier large enough to cover this side of the crater, and then you can land just behind us."
"Understood."
Lily helped me out by converting the vast portion of the ground in front of us into pink crystals. A few seconds later, it formed a wall high enough for protection, and so that Jessie's helicopter could land safely. I then made a layer of flames in front of the wall to reinforce our temporary defense.
When the helicopter's door was opened, we hastily boarded it.
"That thing is really huge," I mumbled after we are far up in the sky. "Did Ivar do that?"
Everyone else was silent, and I regretted saying anything. I glanced at Hope who had Jennifer in his arms the whole time. I knew she was no longer here with us, but it was too sudden. My mind hadn't fully grasped the hard truth yet, that she was not alive anymore.
Jennifer was attached to Hope the most; everyone knew it. I could've sworn she was extremely obsessed with him. However, for the longest time I had known her, she was a nice person, through and throughout.
My heart was wrenched as the memories I had of Jennifer rushed into my mind.
"Jennifer . . ." muttered Hope.
He closed Jennifer's eyes and held her tight in his arms.