"Marley, watch out!" Yelled Idonea as she killed several beasts lunging at her while looking toward the sky, only to see a creature leaping toward Marley from the top of the whirlpool of monsters.
Hearing Idonea's warning, I obliterated any surrounding monsters with a wave of my spear before looking up, spotting a beast lunging right at me with its maw wide open, infusing Qi into my spear and causing the blade's tip to shine. With a thrust from my spear, it caused a long, skinny pillar of Qi to launch from the tip of my blade as it headed toward the falling beast, piercing right through it with relative ease and killing it.
"A Divine." Murmured Sarah as she closely huddled toward Marley.
"Idonea, I think it's about time to leave; we can't allow ourselves to get surrounded by endless monsters with Divine levels of strength. If that happens, we'll quickly tire out." Stated Marley with a frown as she gazed upon the swirling mass of monsters, which were close to blocking out the very heavens.
"I know, I'm ready wherever you are. I've got His Highness's crystal ball on standby, just in case." Replied Idonea as she nodded her head while holding a crystal ball filled with purple Qi, which would occasionally morph into a curved wave.
"I just hope Their Highnesses are close; it's been roughly three days since we started waiting." Muttered Marley with a frown as she embraced Sarah while killing the various beasts that were beginning to slowly creep into their territory.
"On the count of three, we'll head straight for the opening in the sky above; make sure to stay close together; getting separated will put us both in a very disadvantageous situation." Said Idonea as she glanced at Marley while slowly nearing her, only stopping once their backs almost touched.
"1…2...3!" Yelled Idonea; the instant after, both she and Marley powerfully launched toward the sky as they killed any monsters that attempted to intercept them.
With me being in the lead, I used my spear to clear a path of us as we flew up through the whirlpool of monsters, though because of that, the opening up above started closing faster; it wasn't because they figured out our plan or anything, after all, they're mindless creatures without any soul. It was because now that our positions were changing, they kept climbing atop each other as they attempted to get to our height, which caused the opening up above to close faster.
'Idonea, get ready; we're going to have to force our way through the top; we aren't going to make it before it closes.' Said Marley via divine sense as she began infusing Qi into her spear once more, though this time, not only was the spear glowing but so was herself along with Sarah.
'Got it.' Replied Idonea via divine sense as she also started infusing Qi into her sword, causing it to emit a reddish glow.
As the last bits of light from the heavens disappeared, the monsters up above started pouring on top of us, yet I simply swatted most of them away, and those that passed me were killed by Idonea, who was right behind me. The closer we got to the top, the more monsters that fell on us; some of them were even Divines, though since we weren't aiming to kill them, they gave us no problems. Seeing the peak grow closer and closer, just before we collided with the countless monsters blocking our escape path, we finally unleashed the attacks we'd been saving for this moment.
'Spears Ascent.' Said Marley internally with a solemn expression as the Qi that covered her spear, herself, and Sarah glowed brightly before colliding against the mass of monsters, killing all that happened to get in the way of her charge.
'Wave of Devastation.' Thought Idonea as she slashed toward the monsters above her, prompting her glowing sword to launch a large reddish sword wave that obliterated any monster caught in its path.
With our combined might, the group of monsters were hardly a hindrance, and before we knew it, we emerged out of the swirling mass of seemingly infinite monsters as we bathed in the heaven's rays; though just because we managed to escape doesn't mean we're free from harm's way.
Looking at the monsters below us attempting to climb up to us, I grunted in annoyance as I wasn't even given a few seconds to relax before being forced to fight again.
"Do you still know which way is south and north?" Asked Marley while glancing at Idonea as they continued flying higher into the heavens.
"No, but it should be rather easy to tell; just look at the monsters below us." Replied Idonea with a shake of her head as she pointed south, where the monsters were running from.
"Ugh, they aren't truly endless, are they?" Muttered Marley with a frown as she gazed at the ocean of monsters healing north.
While looking at the ground below us, which was being covered by the infinite horde of monsters, I suddenly felt my back get violently attacked, causing me to recoil forward.
"Fuck, nearly entered the void." Muttered Marley as she looked behind her, only to see an endless black expanse with thousands of white dots.
"Pay attention to your surroundings, Marley; this isn't the time to be zoning out. This is as high as we can go; we must move." Remarked Idonea as she glanced at Marley before shooting off toward the north, following the monsters.
Clicking my tongue, I followed behind Idonea as he headed north, neither of us having any plan other than getting away from our current location; if monsters of Divine strength are starting to appear, it's only going to be a matter of time before a Divine Lord, Divine King, or even a Divine Emperor monster appears.
I followed behind Idonea for several minutes before; suddenly, I started feeling nervous; I didn't know why I felt this way, but I trusted my instincts and scanned my surroundings, only for me to come up with nothing.
"Idonea, something does-" Said Marley with a frown, but before she could further explain, a flying creature suddenly appeared above them as it dived directly for Marley or, more specifically, Sarah.
Although the monster was only as strong as a late Divine cultivator, his appearance caught me off guard; not only was it because of the beast's incredible speed as it dived for me, but the fact that it emerged from the void above us. Unfortunately, with how close we were to the void, from the instant we noticed it, the beast's sharp talons were less than one meter away from ripping Sarah to shreds.
With no time to even think of a solution, I reacted on pure instinct as I twisted my body above Sarah's, protecting her from the monsters; immediately after, I felt a painful sensation as the monster's large talons pierced through my upper body, destroying many of my organs, even damaging vital organs like my heart and lungs.
The pain was tremendous, but it couldn't compare to undergoing cauldron boiling, so with a relatively clear mind, I used my free hand to grab my spear in a reverse grip before stabbing it through the head. However, to my surprise, the monster managed to dodge my attack, well not completely, as my spear had lodged itself deep into its body, but I was initially aiming for the head.
"M-MARLEY!" Yelled Sarah with shock and disbelief as she viewed Marley while her blood dripped onto her body.
"Dammit! Sarah!" Remarked Idonea in anger and frustration as she launched a wave of devastation toward the monster, which attempted to fly away, but Marley held it down, ultimately causing it to die.
With the beast now dead, I almost fell to the ground as I felt its talon exit my body, revealing a rather large hole in my torso, one that was thick enough to put someone's leg through.
"M-MARLEY!" Yelled Sarah with teary eyes as their roles switched; now it was Sarah embracing Marley.
"Marley, quickly consume this." Said Idonea as she didn't even give Marley any time to answer before shoving a pill into her mouth.
'I-I've got no stomach; how do you expect me to consume this?' Replied Marley via divine sense with a light smile, though her words only caused Idonea to frown intensely.
Seeing her unphased expression, I chuckled internally before chewing the pill since, while a stomach isn't required to consume pills, their effects will be significantly reduced, so the next best option would be to chew them like I'm doing right now.
Feeling the warm, soothing Qi flow through my whole body as it dispersed the pain, I couldn't help but release an involuntary sigh.
"I-I-Is she going to be fine? S-She w-won't die r-right?" Asked Sarah hesitantly in concern while slightly crying as she glanced at Idonea, who was intensely frowning.
"She'll be fine; don't forget she's a talented cultivator. While this injury is rather bad, as long as she conserves her Qi and rests, she can survive for some time." Replied Idonea as she glanced at Marley before looking at where they came from, only to see a large red wave nearing them.
"Unfortunately, we can't give her time to rest; come on, let's go." Added Idonea with an ugly expression as she lifted Sarah over her shoulder while picking up Marley with both arms before flying north, gaining distance between the massive wave of monsters.