489 Chapter 489: Survival in the Museum (2/2)
While he withdrew, Melina made use of her momentum to carry her forward, and she spun about before she aimed for her opponent's face while he was still in the midst of adjusting his balance from the evasive maneuver he performed earlier.
Bam!
”I got him!”
Melina couldn't help but be delighted at the success of her attack. However, she froze when she heard James chuckle under his breath.
”That was actually pretty impressive. You've got the skills, kid.”
”…eh?”
Melina's eyes widened when she saw that James had caught her attack with his bare hand, his fingers unaffected by the holy mana that blazed along the length of her pole. He smirked as he looked down on her.
”It's just too bad that your opponent happens to be me.”
Before Melina could react, James punched her in the gut, sending her flying a few meters away. At the same time, he crushed the makeshift sword with his fist and dropped the dented, ruined metal on the ground. The now useless weapon rolled about, acrid fumes pouring from its wreck, while Melina crashed heavily onto the ground, coughing uncontrollably.
”Ugh!”
Blood dribbled from her mouth as she struggled to sit up, but she could only clutch her midriff and curl into a fetal position from the sheer pain.
”Melina!” Adrian shouted. And then he spun toward James, vengeance in his eyes. More Sakura petals billowed about him as he directed the razor-sharp blossoms toward his enemy. ”Why, you…!”
”Oho!” James did his best to avoid the petals, jumping back. A few of his Jack O'Lanterns lurched forward, but they were cut apart by Adrian's maelstrom of petals or clubbed aside by his makeshift sword. ”You're also not bad yourself, kid. You remind me of your cousin, Cecilia. Certainly, I wouldn't be able to beat someone of her caliber.”
He then smirked.
”However, you're still far from her level, kid.”
”I won't forgive you for hurting Melina!” Adrian shouted as he charged at James, swinging his sword upward. James beamed before raising his hand and conjuring several tendrils of shadows. Dark shapes erupted from the ground and engulfed Adrian's pink cloud of Sakura petals.
”!!”
Adrian almost didn't dodge the shadows in time, arresting his jump midway and twisting his body to the side. One of the shadows grazed him, drawing some blood, but he responded with a swing of his sword, cutting several of them apart and then summoning a bunch of vines to combat them. The green vines entangled with the black shadows, the tendrils coiling around each other and turning the space into a writhing mess.
”Yikes, I really can't underestimate you.” James chuckled as he dodged another storm of Sakura petals, protected by his shadows. Adrian charged at him again, determined to at least score a hit. Spinning about, James lashed out with his whip, the length of cursed black leather lashing out and slicing through Adrian's makeshift sword.
”No way?!”
Adrian somehow jumped back after narrowly escaping being sliced apart by the vicious whip, but James suddenly appeared in front of him.
”Yes way. Don't make me kill you, kid. Otherwise we won't be able to perform the ritual.”
He then punched Adrian in the gut and sent him flying. The poor guy landed next to Melina, a few paces away from her, blood gushing from his mouth. He struggled to get up, only to fall back onto the ground, unable to endure the pain.
”Ugh…damn it…!”
”Sorry, kids. But this isn't a fairy tale. The good guys don't always win, and the bad guys get their way most of the time.”
James approached the prone forms of Adrian and Melina, smirking. He raised a hand and gestured for his subordinates to move forward.
”Grab the two of them and bring them to the site. Then conduct the ritual. Don't waste any more time.”
”Yes, sir!”
A few of the masked kidnappers hurried over to comply with their boss's orders. James himself strolled toward the kids, his whip trailing after him. He resisted the urge to lash out at them for taking up so much of his time.
”!!”
He stiffened for a moment and glanced up at the exit before instinctively jumping back. Clicking his tongue, he changed his orders.
”Retreat, all of you!���
”Huh?” his subordinates looked at him blankly. Both Adrian and Melina raised their heads, looking confused at his sudden reversal.
”??”
None of them expected what came next. The doors were blown apart by a furious blast of mana, and I jumped in through the storm of debris before landing on the ground. Drawing both Hei Yue and Bai Ri, I barely gave a glance to the fallen forms of the kidnappers who were too slow to evade the explosion.
”Ah…” Both Adrian and Melina brightened up when they saw me. ”Brother Richie/Sensei!!”
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