The known strongest Hunter was currently in front of him, standing and watching the lion like it was nothing yet instead of relief, Izik felt anger. Everything crashed into him like a damn wall that burst and now the water was raging. The exhaustion, the terror, and the shock. They were all like huge angry waves ready to engulf and destroy everything in their path.
"Why didn't you save them!?" Izik shouted. He felt the painful scratch on his throat. Inna continued to cry, hugging him tightly. Izik pressed his hand protectively on the back of the child's head. "We're far from it! You should have protected them!" The anger in his words tasted bitter. It coated his mouth and Izik felt disgusted.
"You're saying I should have chosen them instead of you?" Xanthe sounded almost amused.
"They're closer to that monster! You should have saved them!" Izik gritted. He was breathing heavily. Shaking from disbelief and rage. Gently, he placed Inna down and told her to take care of Sara first.
"Why would I?" Xanthe kept his sharp red eyes on Izik. The lion roared behind him summoning powerful gusts of wind.
Izik ignored the Hunter as he desperately ran to where the kids lay... unconscious.
"They're no one to me," Xanthe's cold words were like needles into his skin. Izik wanted to yell at him and tell him that he was no one to the Prince as well. The only connection they had was they studied at the same school.
And that one stupid kiss.
His guts twisted at the sight of blood but he forced himself to continue. He fell to his knees next to James who was bleeding and unconscious. "James!" Izik called, pulling the kid into his arms.
He's not breathing, Izik's brain stupidly supplied. No. Why is he not breathing?
"He's dead," Izik turned to look at Xanthe who stood behind him. The Crown Prince candidate didn't even look at him or the kid as he raised his arm, snapping his fingers the lion who Izik didn't notice had gotten close exploded. Xanthe snapped his fingers once more as the huge chunks of debris began exploding. The loud booming sound shook the dungeon.
Izik remained on the ground just staring at him while Xanthe continued to create blast after blast, making all the running gigantic lions explode. He continued to blast them into small pieces until they're nothing but ashes.
This guy was quick to deduce that no matter what he did, the lions will just reform their shape so he was exploding them until there was little to none that remained.
Red, orange, and yellow lights filled the sky together with dark smokes. So, this was the power that everyone talked about.
It's true that seeing how Xanthe use his powers was mesmerizing but it was not enough to satiate the anger and grief that Izik felt as he tightened his hold on James. The smell of rust filled his nose. The child still felt warm. Maybe... Izik turned to look at James, hopeful. Tears welled up in his eyes. His vision turned blurry. He bit his shaking lips.
The more he carried in his arms, the more he felt heavy.
"I'm sorry," Izik tried his best to not cry only for fat tears to roll down his cheeks. "I'm so sorry."
Izik understood it wasn't his fault. He did everything that he can. He ran till his lungs gave in. There were numerous times that he was in danger but he pushed through.
He even risked his life for an artifact yet his failure lay in his arms, unmoving, in the shape of a nearly seven-year-old child.
At some point, he also knew that Xanthe just made a choice. A choice he would never understand and he doesn't want to understand. Xanthe was the most powerful Hunter there ever was in their Empire. He shouldn't have made any choice, he should be able to save all of them without making any choice.
His attention was snatched by the window that popped before him
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[ ⚠️ WARNING ]
[ Critical level reached. Huge risk of Falling. ]
[ EXIT × ]
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Izik turned to Xanthe who stood there like he wasn't suffering from the maddening pain of his mana being terribly unbalanced. The Crown Prince candidate looked at him; their eyes met.
Xanthe simply raised an eyebrow at him while Izik looked away roughly wiping his tears before he glared back at the Hunter who just once again raised an eyebrow at him.
Izik tried his best to read the information behind the warning window but before he could even digest any of the information on Xanthe's window, the Crown Prince candidate spoke.
"We need to leave," the Hunter declared.
Izik kept his eyes on him the red window flashing yet Xanthe looked like nothing was wrong with him.
Had he always been on the edge of Falling?
Was he really too used to this kind of pain?
Ah, he remembered the rumors of how not a single Guide was compatible with the Hunter. No matter the class of the Guide.
Huge cracks began to appear on the ground. Izik was quick on his feet as he gathered the kids in his arms before he ran to Inna and Sara. Xanthe wordlessly helped him by carrying the other three kids. Izik stopped himself from saying something as they both began to rush to the exit.
The dungeon gate was at the end of a wide and long bridge lined up with statues of knights covered in fighting clothes with think hoods covering their head. They were all holding their swords in front of them with both hands.
Witnessing huge lion statues came to life, Izik looked at the warriors warily. However he also knew they can't possibly stay there as the dungeon grounds were collapsing.
The moment Izik stepped on inside the bridge, loud cranking sounds erupted in the air. The warriors moved in synchronization raising their sword in the air before they took a step forward and made a sharp turn towards them. Izik could feel his exhaustion but he placed Inna and Sara down, behind him, telling them to stay where they were.
Preparing himself to fight, Izik stared at the warriors before him. His ability Perspective activated as a window popped before him.
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[ 🔎 Dungeon Gatekeeper ]
[ → The warrior tasked to protect the dungeon and its treasures. ]
[ Class: Mythical Creature
Level: 50
Size: Normal
Element: Light
Special Ability: Reformation ]
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Izik clicked his tongue. The gatekeepers were definitely smaller than the lions however their level was definitely higher compared to his that sat at 0.
What bothered him the most was the fact that they also have the annoying reformation ability that the lions had. Fighting them would not be enough, they have to be completely destroyed or it was useless.
Beyond the bridge was the dungeon exit. Just few meters away. Izik couldn't bring himself to give up now. The new Guide turned to Xanthe who stood next to him like they were not facing what seemed to be an army of marble gatekeepers.
The warning window continued to flash before him, annoyed Izik managed to removed it as he stared at Xanthe Soleil's status before him.
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[ 👤PROFILE ]
[ Name: Xanthe Soleil
Age: 17
Designation: Class S Hunter
Mana: ???
Level: ??? ]
[ Active Skills 🗡️ ] | [ Passive Skills 📜 ]
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Izik was beyond surprised by the fact that he can't see most of the Hunter's stats. Why were they hidden? Were all the stats of other people hidden? Or was that only Xanthe?
He continued to check the window.
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[ 📊 Stats ]
[ Strength: ???
Speed: ???
Agility: ???
Intelligence: ???
Dexterity: ???
Vitality: ???
Weapon Mastery: ???
Magical Abilities: ??? ]
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Really?
Izik wanted to scream. What's the point of seeing his profile when everything else was hidden? The warning window popped up again and Izik became worried especially when his eyes landed on the end of Xanthe's profile.
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[ • This user is currently under several LIMITING SPELLS
• This user has reached a CRITICAL LEVEL and is on the verge of FALLING ]
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/Limiting spells?/
What does that even mean?
Were the limiting spells the reasons he couldn't see Xanthe's stats? Why was he under limiting spells, to begin with? And who put those spells in him?
The questions kept piling up much to Izik's frustration.
He was thrown back to reality when he heard Xanthe's words before he moved with a blinding speed, "If you are just gonna stare then stay back."
Izik followed him with his eyes. He didn't even see him drew his sword. A frown made it to his face as he watched Xanthe class swords with the gatekeepers.
The warning window kept popping up and Izik thought if the Hunter fell, that would be a bigger problem than the gatekeepers.
Gritting his teeth, Izik threw his dagger as he began to fight the gatekeepers. The chain of his dagger wrapped around a gatekeeper's neck and Izik yanked him that caused him to topple down with a thud.
Fighting marbles that came to life was trickier than fighting a real person but somehow his weapon managed to surprised him with how durable they were that they could even penetrate the stone gatekeepers.
"You're useful somehow," He heard Xanthe said, kicking a gatekeeper to the ground. The gatekeeper shattered into huge chunks.
"Thanks," Izik sarcastically replied. If Xanthe thought that's how you compliment someone then he needed more practice.
"Duck."
Izik's body moved instinctively to follow the command as Xanthe swung his sword over his head destroying a gatekeeper's head. The crack and the sound of falling pieces of marble on the floor, made Izik shiver.
"Focus." Xanthe reprimanded him with a glare. "Or get out of the fucking way."
Izik forced a smile, veins popping on his forehead. "My bad, your highness."
Ah, maybe one day, he will be able to fucking kick this Prince ass.