CHAPTER 39

I was brought out of my thoughts by the sound of growls, roars, and screeches rapidly approaching our location.

I smirked. "So you finally decided to appear."

The beasts continued to make noise without leaving the fog. I could see their shadows moving through the fog from time to time. The "ceasefire" between our two sides lasted for a couple of minutes before the beasts' growls suddenly stopped.

!!!!!

Suddenly, I felt a sense of danger. I jumped back just in time, as the fog began moving towards our direction. However, it was to no avail - our entire team was soon covered by the fog.

CLANG!

I blocked a claw attack with my armor. I had equipped it earlier when I heard the beasts growl. I looked around but couldn't see the beast that attacked me anywhere. The fog was too thick, so I could barely see my teammates.

"Guys, are you there?" I asked, but I didn't receive any reply.

I continued to defend against the continuous attacks of the beasts while keeping watch for any signs of my partners.

I also couldn't sense the locations of my avatars. The miasma property of the fog seemed to negate that ability. The grey heart elixir was only made to negate the emotional aspect of the fog - there was no known method of negating the other aspects of it. I didn't know how long the elixir would keep me safe. I should quickly find the others and get the hell out of here.

"Damn, this is going to hurt like hell," I said to myself.

[PUPPETEER'S AUTHORITY]

My body stiffened as pain assaulted my body. I'd copied this ability from Anya (The familiar queen), but the name and some of the abilities had been changed a little, probably due to the difference in our status and race or something like that.

Even with all the changes made to it, my body still couldn't handle the power of the primal essence.

My already damaged mana circuits were put under even more strain as they struggled to contain the power about to explode within me. I continued to expand my area of authority as much as I could until I found one of my avatars, probably the last one I wanted to find. It was Jenna.

SIGH!

I walked up to Jenna, who almost threw a bolt of lightning at me, thinking I was one of the monsters. I could smell the scent of burnt flesh, though I couldn't see the source. All the monsters that attacked her must have been fried by lightning. After arguing back and forth for a couple of minutes (as usual), we headed southeast. I could feel one of my avatars in that direction, but I had no idea who it was. I was forced to cancel my authority before I could find out.

I enjoyed the feeling of roasting monsters with lightning as we moved forward. I should use this method to inflict pain on Rose the next time I see her. Oh, how I long for that day.

In a dark, metal room, a feminine figure was floating in the air, releasing a dark and ominous aura from her body as she meditated. Claw marks continued to appear on the ground, and the walls continued to cave in. Everything around her continued to distort and display abnormal traits. This continued for a while until the woman suddenly shivered.

We continued walking and throwing bolts of lightning at monsters for a while, until we came across something that surprised me. Multiple beasts of different shapes and sizes were standing around, not making a sound. The most noticeable trait in all of them was their grey fur and feathers that matched the colors of the fog. But the strange thing was, the fog in this area was very thin. No, that wasn't it - the fog seemed to avoid this area.

The beasts all stood still, making no movement or sound, like soldiers at attention. I wondered what caused this phenomenon as I poked some of the beasts and even zapped them, but I didn't get any response from them. That was until I heard a sweet yet demonic sounding voice.

"Now let's move on to our next lecture," the voice said. "We shall talk about the reasons why no one should separate me from my husband."

"HUSBAND!!!" Me and Jenna shouted at the same time.

We were both caught off guard by the sound of a low growl. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Suddenly, a huge shadow emerged from the fog, its red eyes glaring straight at us.

WHACK!!

"Husband!!"

I felt like I'd been hit by a truck as she flew into my arms and refused to let go of me. That's how I ended up carrying a lazy vampire all around while searching for the rest of my team.