After shooting Veronica another six times just to stay safe, Lloyd also drew to the same conclusion.
While Lloyd didn't know it, something about him had changed at that moment. His voice had changed slightly, his every word sounding slightly more disconnected and distant than the last, and his mind became slightly more calculated and less emotional.
He was still nothing like null; however, in a way, his very ego grew and further from Null.
Lloyd's care for those he loved grew, yet at the same time, his trust in others dwindled.
His aura had also changed. Before, it was almost warm and soft, yet now it felt more jagged and sharp.
Stepping toward a certain direction, Lloyd expanded his senses once more before using [Void Step] to travel several meters. Yet, no matter how much effort he put into attempting to find Felix, he couldn't sense his energy signature, nor could he feel his life energy.
"The fight between Veronica and me completely changed the landscape of this dungeon. I can't even retrace our steps because the land around us was either scarred permanently or scorched beyond recognition.
The worst-case scenario made his chest hurt and his sweat run cold. However, for now, he had to stop worrying about those he couldn't find, and start caring for those that were still with him.
Taking another [Void Step], Lloyd appeared before Tina's unconscious body.
"It's okay... It's going to be alright." Lloyd whispered while slowly carrying her to his chest.
He didn't know how using [Void Step] with a human would affect them, especially when their condition is as bad as Tina's.
Despite deactivating her final spell, the damage had already been done, and half her hair had remained silver. He was no expert when it came to healing, so even though he could feel her life force being much weaker than her earlier counterpart, he did not have the knowledge necessary to diagnose her, or at least see how badly she had destroyed her life force.
Null was no help, either. He cared for no one but Lloyd and himself, and the only reason he cared for Lloyd was because Lloyd was the dominant personality and the fact that he shared a body with him.
Picking her up, Lloyd summoned his shadow wings; unlike before, where [Shadow Wings] were just an ability he could use, he felt like he now had much more control over them after all his abilities had combined to create [Shadow Manipulation].
Flapping his wings, Lloyd held Tina gently, allowing her to lean on his chest as he shot through the sky at Mach speeds.
Lloyd tried his best to keep Tina as comfortable as possible, yet despite it being slow, he could feel her life force weakening. She needed urgent care to stabilize her condition.
Every second felt like torture for Lloyd. He blamed himself for everything despite it not all being his fault. Tina had already sacrificed a large portion of her life force for him, so if he let her die, he would never forgive himself.
Dozens of questions passed through his mind throughout the flight.
"Why didn't I kill Veronica straight away?"
"Why did I hesitate to kill her in the end?"
"Why didn't I activate void channel straight away?"
Every question seemed to have an answer that indirectly blamed him for what happened with Tina.
"Halt! Do not move a muscle. State your name, age, and class. We will then conduct a search-"
"Move."
Lloyd's voice boomed in every direction. Despite it being low and seemingly neutral in tone, his words were as heavy as a mountain and as powerful as the force of a dungeon's collapse.
The men before him were simply peak first commandment individuals. They were not expected to fight any of the monsters, yet most of them had classes that were helpful when it came to doing recon.
Only one of them was a half-step second commandment, yet before they could see how strong Lloyd was by scanning him with their magical senses, they felt his killing intent-laced words smash into them with the aura of someone who could only be in the second commandment or higher.
Lloyd shot past them without any more problems occurring. Of course, they did not wait another moment after they regained control of their bodies to inform their commanders of an oncoming second commandment human holding an injured woman.
It took a few more minutes for Lloyd to finally reach the spatial tear he had come from, yet when he reached it, it no longer looked like a 4-meter-tall tear in space. It now looked like an open wound. As if someone had stuck their fingers into the tear and expanded it to the size of a football pitch laying on its side.
The time it took to get to the spacial tear was definitely a lot less than it was when they walked for 3 months, but that was mostly because they were walking in a general direction, only on days while stopping every now and then to fight monsters.
When he was within a couple miles of the large spatial tear, several individuals shot into the air before flying toward him at speeds that were definitely moving much faster than anything he could do, even while using [Void Channel]. Even then, it did not seem like they were flying at even 10% of their maximum speeds.
Several men in military clothing shot out of the forest below him and quickly surrounded him from all sides. Unlike the ones from before, all those around him now were at least at the initial stages of the topaz seal or higher.
Landing on the ground softly, Lloyd wrapped his wings around his front to protect Tina while expanding his shadow in all directions.
Several eyes seemed to peek out of the shadows every now and then, yet when the soldiers blinked, the eyes disappeared as if they had never existed in the first place.
"I am in no mood to play this game with you people." Lloyd muttered.
"The girl needs urgent help." Killing intent began to ooze out of Lloyd once more, this time to the full extent of his rage.
"If you do not let me pass...
I will not hesitate to slaughter all of you."
A cold shiver ran down all of their backs, and even though most of them didn't believe that a boy that seemed to be just as strong as them could kill all of them, they also felt confidence behind his words, as if he was stating a fact rather than just a blind threat.
His killing intent encapsulated the entire area as it merged with his [Monarch's Aura] to create a truly suffocating aura.
However, just when Lloyd was about to place Tina into his shadow and create himself some shadow claws, he heard a familiar voice that made his killing intent instantly disappear.
"Lloyd?" Olivia Elrod's voice ran through everyone's like the sound of a river echoing throughout the woods.
When Lloyd finally found the courage to look up and into his mother's eyes, he felt an ache where his heart would have been.
His mother slowly descended to the ground, and so did the other four. There stood his parents and his older sister, with Benjamin and Layla standing a couple of meters behind them, yet wearing the same expression as his parents.
"God... Fucking... Damnit"
After shooting Veronica another six times just to stay safe, Lloyd also drew to the same conclusion.
While Lloyd didn't know it, something about him had changed at that moment. His voice had changed slightly, his every word sounding slightly more disconnected and distant than the last, and his mind became slightly more calculated and less emotional.
He was still nothing like null; however, in a way, his very ego grew and further from Null.
Lloyd's care for those he loved grew, yet at the same time, his trust in others dwindled.
His aura had also changed. Before, it was almost warm and soft, yet now it felt more jagged and sharp.
Stepping toward a certain direction, Lloyd expanded his senses once more before using [Void Step] to travel several meters. Yet, no matter how much effort he put into attempting to find Felix, he couldn't sense his energy signature, nor could he feel his life energy.
"The fight between Veronica and me completely changed the landscape of this dungeon. I can't even retrace our steps because the land around us was either scarred permanently or scorched beyond recognition.
The worst-case scenario made his chest hurt and his sweat run cold. However, for now, he had to stop worrying about those he couldn't find, and start caring for those that were still with him.
Taking another [Void Step], Lloyd appeared before Tina's unconscious body.
"It's okay... It's going to be alright." Lloyd whispered while slowly carrying her to his chest.
He didn't know how using [Void Step] with a human would affect them, especially when their condition is as bad as Tina's.
Despite deactivating her final spell, the damage had already been done, and half her hair had remained silver. He was no expert when it came to healing, so even though he could feel her life force being much weaker than her earlier counterpart, he did not have the knowledge necessary to diagnose her, or at least see how badly she had destroyed her life force.
Null was no help, either. He cared for no one but Lloyd and himself, and the only reason he cared for Lloyd was because Lloyd was the dominant personality and the fact that he shared a body with him.
Picking her up, Lloyd summoned his shadow wings; unlike before, where [Shadow Wings] were just an ability he could use, he felt like he now had much more control over them after all his abilities had combined to create [Shadow Manipulation].
Flapping his wings, Lloyd held Tina gently, allowing her to lean on his chest as he shot through the sky at Mach speeds.
Lloyd tried his best to keep Tina as comfortable as possible, yet despite it being slow, he could feel her life force weakening. She needed urgent care to stabilize her condition.
Every second felt like torture for Lloyd. He blamed himself for everything despite it not all being his fault. Tina had already sacrificed a large portion of her life force for him, so if he let her die, he would never forgive himself.
Dozens of questions passed through his mind throughout the flight.
"Why didn't I kill Veronica straight away?"
"Why did I hesitate to kill her in the end?"
"Why didn't I activate void channel straight away?"
Every question seemed to have an answer that indirectly blamed him for what happened with Tina.
"Halt! Do not move a muscle. State your name, age, and class. We will then conduct a search-"
"Move."
Lloyd's voice boomed in every direction. Despite it being low and seemingly neutral in tone, his words were as heavy as a mountain and as powerful as the force of a dungeon's collapse.
The men before him were simply peak first commandment individuals. They were not expected to fight any of the monsters, yet most of them had classes that were helpful when it came to doing recon.
Only one of them was a half-step second commandment, yet before they could see how strong Lloyd was by scanning him with their magical senses, they felt his killing intent-laced words smash into them with the aura of someone who could only be in the second commandment or higher.
Lloyd shot past them without any more problems occurring. Of course, they did not wait another moment after they regained control of their bodies to inform their commanders of an oncoming second commandment human holding an injured woman.
It took a few more minutes for Lloyd to finally reach the spatial tear he had come from, yet when he reached it, it no longer looked like a 4-meter-tall tear in space. It now looked like an open wound. As if someone had stuck their fingers into the tear and expanded it to the size of a football pitch laying on its side.
The time it took to get to the spacial tear was definitely a lot less than it was when they walked for 3 months, but that was mostly because they were walking in a general direction, only on days while stopping every now and then to fight monsters.
When he was within a couple miles of the large spatial tear, several individuals shot into the air before flying toward him at speeds that were definitely moving much faster than anything he could do, even while using [Void Channel]. Even then, it did not seem like they were flying at even 10% of their maximum speeds.
Several men in military clothing shot out of the forest below him and quickly surrounded him from all sides. Unlike the ones from before, all those around him now were at least at the initial stages of the topaz seal or higher.
Landing on the ground softly, Lloyd wrapped his wings around his front to protect Tina while expanding his shadow in all directions.
Several eyes seemed to peek out of the shadows every now and then, yet when the soldiers blinked, the eyes disappeared as if they had never existed in the first place.
"I am in no mood to play this game with you people." Lloyd muttered.
"The girl needs urgent help." Killing intent began to ooze out of Lloyd once more, this time to the full extent of his rage.
"If you do not let me pass...
I will not hesitate to slaughter all of you."
A cold shiver ran down all of their backs, and even though most of them didn't believe that a boy that seemed to be just as strong as them could kill all of them, they also felt confidence behind his words, as if he was stating a fact rather than just a blind threat.
His killing intent encapsulated the entire area as it merged with his [Monarch's Aura] to create a truly suffocating aura.
However, just when Lloyd was about to place Tina into his shadow and create himself some shadow claws, he heard a familiar voice that made his killing intent instantly disappear.
"Lloyd?" Olivia Elrod's voice ran through everyone's like the sound of a river echoing throughout the woods.
When Lloyd finally found the courage to look up and into his mother's eyes, he felt an ache where his heart would have been.
His mother slowly descended to the ground, and so did the other four. There stood his parents and his older sister, with Benjamin and Layla standing a couple of meters behind them, yet wearing the same expression as his parents.
"God... Fucking... Damnit"
