Chapter 19 A Close Call

The situation turned south with shocking speed. A low rumble echoed through the temple, unsettlingly reminiscent of an ancient structure on the verge of collapse. The air thrummed with a rapidly intensifying energy field. Hao Ren activated his shield and saw it immediately overlaid with sparking light—this was far beyond mere radiation; the place was nearly a furnace!

Nangong Wuyue was the only one present capable of protecting everyone on a large scale. She conjured a magical, misty shield to temporarily withstand the energy and charged toward the long hall's exit. Hao Ren finally witnessed just how fast a snake could move—the siren girl's tail swished in waves across the floor, propelling her forward at almost the same speed as Vivian's flight. Though the method of escape was a little alarming…

Under the cover of the mist shield, the group raced toward the exit. Hao Ren couldn't resist one last glance at the enigmatic statue at the hall's end. It was rapidly crumbling, white dust swirling off it like a whirlwind and dissipating into the air with a faint glow. Vivian's likeness on the statue was becoming increasingly blurred. Hao Ren thought he saw a detached, indifferent smile on the decaying face, but the image vanished like a hallucination. The real Vivian stood beside him, tugging his sleeve. "Stop looking and run! I'll stand there and let you stare at me all you want when we get back!"

Vivian's tug sent Hao Ren stumbling. The last thing he saw before leaving the long hall was the statue's outer shell completely disintegrating, revealing an inner, glowing humanoid structure. The core appeared unstable, like a glitching hologram.

The "projection" flickered and disappeared as the statue completely crumbled.

The group sprinted through the deep corridors, past the empty outer hall, and hurried back the way they had come. Everything around them was collapsing. The temple echoed with a deeper rumble now, joined by an unsettling grinding noise. The ancient stone structures were finally meeting their end after millennia. Whatever secrets the temple held, Hao Ren figured he wouldn't be able to decipher them now. The concentration of strange energy in the air was increasing rapidly, a threat far greater than the collapsing walls and roof. Hao Ren could even see faint white lightning spontaneously appearing in the air around him. If they didn't hurry, they'd be roasted alive by the energy field before being buried by stones!

Yizaks was already surrounded by a fierce shield of flames, his body seemingly enlarged, his clothes replaced with a shrunken version of his demon armor. The three-meter-tall demon looked like a fiery giant as he ran at the front of the group. He wasn't afraid of the energy field, so he pulled Hao Ren, who could also withstand the energy storm with his shield, to clear the path ahead, smashing through walls as they sprinted toward the exit.

Finally, they saw the temple's imposing doors, but they gaped in astonishment at the scene outside.

The entire dimension was filled with white, fragmented lightning. The energy currents in the sky, which had been flowing slowly, were now thrashing wildly, lashing at the sea of clouds below. The surging energy collided everywhere. The environment outside the temple was no better; in fact, it was worse.

The entire dimension was charging up.

Looking at the sparks filling the sky, Hao Ren immediately thought of something being microwaved: "What the hell is going on?"

"We have to get out of here," Hesperiana said, spreading her massive bat wings. "Run towards the spatial exit!"

She ignored the broken stone steps and flew directly to the cloud path on the other side. But Hao Ren looked at the people around him, worried. Those with wings could fly across; those without could temporarily withstand the energy storm and jump. But Becky and Nangong Wuyue were a problem!

Becky's human body couldn't withstand the increasingly intense radiation. She had to stay under Nangong Wuyue's protection, but Nangong Wuyue's massive, clumsy snake body couldn't carry her across the broken steps.

"How about I wrap Becky up in my tail, we combine into a ball, and then the big guy throws us over?" Nangong Wuyue said quickly. "The rest of you can hold out for a while. After we get to the other side, I'll open the mist barrier again."

Becky looked at the sea of clouds, terrified. "What if he throws us off course, or we roll too far and fall!"

How could they still be thinking about such things at a time like this?

Finally, Hao Ren remembered that his data terminal had a teleportation function. He took out his PDA and threw it towards the other side. "Take us over there!"

But the data terminal zoomed back. "Cannot teleport! Strong vertigo during teleportation. Nangong Wuyue cannot maintain the barrier under those circumstances. Becky won't last two seconds in the energy storm!"

High attack, low HP magic swordsman, indeed. Becky must be regretting not investing her talent points in defense.

Hesperiana, already on the other side, began jumping up and down. She could only last so long in the energy storm. Seeing this, Nangong Wuyue quickly wrapped herself around Becky, instantly forming a snake ball, and shouted at Yizaks, "Just throw us!"

Without a word, Yizaks grabbed Nangong Wuyue's tail, swung her around twice, and threw her towards the other side—thankfully, he didn't miss, but he did knock Hesperiana over.

Leaving the protection of the mist barrier, the fur on Lily's tail withered visibly. She yelped as if burned and darted to the other side. Hao Ren and Yizaks followed closely behind. Finally, the group escaped the temple without further incident and ran back to the mountaintop along the cloud path.

But they were dumbfounded by what they saw:

The light membrane connecting to the mortal world had vanished.

Hesperiana jumped up high, her voice shocked and fearful. "The spatial gate is closed!"

"Something happened to the people outside," Gane realized immediately. "Someone wants to trap us here!"

"Who do you have such a big feud with?" Hao Ren glared at the two vampires, who answered in unison, "That's too many to count!"

The spatial gate closed. The energy storm in the dimension intensified, and Nangong Wuyue's complexion worsened. The scales on her tail were rapidly losing their luster. The range of the mist barrier had shrunk until it barely protected everyone except Hao Ren and Yizaks. Even the professional support was running out of steam.

The energy storm outside was already deadly. Except for Hao Ren and Yizaks, even Hesperiana wouldn't last a few seconds. Even with Nangong Wuyue's mist barrier, they were only benefiting from her racial talent, which granted her a defensive skill. With her own strength, she couldn't hold out for long.

Vivian might be able to endure longer with her raw power, but the energy storm showed no signs of stopping. Instead, it was gradually strengthening.

Lily tugged on Vivian's sleeve and shouted, "It's all your fault for talking about hunter-stewed Cerberus! I'm really getting cooked now!"

"Wait, I have a way," Hao Ren said, pulling out the data terminal. He gave Gane and Hesperiana a subtle look. "Actually, I recorded something earlier…"

The data terminal emitted a faint blue light. The space began to distort in the light, and a light membrane leading to the mortal world was forcefully opened.

Hesperiana stared at Hao Ren with her mouth wide open. "You did this while pretending to observe the altar…"

Hao Ren awkwardly looked away. "I didn't mean any harm. I just wanted to have something for emergencies…"

"Now is not the time to discuss this," Gane waved his hand, giving Vivian and Hao Ren a deep look, his meaning clear. Then he stepped into the light membrane leading to the outside world.

The group finally escaped the hellish dimension and returned to the front of the Parthenon's main hall.

But the place was a mess. The bodies of dead vampire elites lay strewn about, a shocking sight.

Seeing this, Hesperiana and Gane's expressions turned ugly. Those lying here were their most trusted old subordinates!

"Mistress…" a weak voice came from nearby. It was the male vampire Hesperiana had sent to negotiate with the Lucas family. He leaned against a temple pillar, struggling to raise a finger towards the altar where the opening ceremony had been held. "Bessemoth… Bessemoth stole the key…"