His eyes widened in surprise as Ray covered the distance between them in a blink of an eye.
He wasn't expecting this at all, making him unable to evade the kick which Ray had sent to his face. Even if he saw it coming, he doubted he would've been able to dodge it.
"BAMM!!"
He was sent flying through the hoarding into a building.
Ray brought his gaze back to the fat man who found it hard to gulp when this happened.
"Sir, please, let's just leave," Sophia voiced out from the distance.
Jane's face was pale and she was being supported by Sophia who looked better, but had a worried expression.
Ray looked around releasing a sigh before walking towards both of them.
Jane had a hint of fear in her eyes which would've been worse if it wasn't for the calm expression he had on his soothing face.
When he reached both of them, to their astonishment, he lifted them placing them on his shoulders. They hadn't fully processed what was happening when he blasted forward.
He covered them in his aura as their bodies could most probably not be able to handle the speed he was moving at. This showed how much he had grown from when he coated the staff with his aura.
***************************
A loud sound reverberated from the other side of the street as the armored man walked towards the area he was sent flying from, with rage in his eyes.
"WHERE IS HE!!" He screamed, but Ray was already long gone.
The fat man cried in relief and swore in his heart to have his revenge when he heard the most infuriating question he had ever heard in his entire life.
"Boss! Boss! Are you alright?"
"Y-you bas..." Unable to express the rage he felt he ended up falling unconscious.
****************************
After less than a minute, Ray arrived at the area where he had left the woman and she hadn't moved a single inch from that position.
"Sophia!" She exclaimed watching Ray drop them.
"Mum!" They both ran into each other's arms.
"I was so scared." They both sobbed. "I know. I'm sorry for letting you go alone. I hope you weren't hurt." She scanned her daughter's body.
"No mum. I was saved right on time." She looked back at Ray who just stood watching them, with a charming smile.
"Oh my! Jane, I hope you're also alright?" She hugged her daughter's best friend.
"I'm fine aunt. Just like Sophia said we were saved on time."
With a smile on her face, she looked towards where Ray stood to offer her gratitude but she was surprised to see that he was no longer there.
"Huh?" She looked around in confusion but only herself and the two girls were present. Ray, his bike, and his bag were all gone.
Jane also had a similar expression but Sophia kept staring in a particular direction. It seemed like she had seen him leave.
She was in contemplation for some time before making her mind up.
*****************************
What Ray hadn't noticed was that two men had seen all this in hiding.
"That evil viper! How the hell did he get so strong? Bob, what do you think we should do?" A fat man with long brown hair asked in worry.
The reason he asked this was because Ray had never used this form of his aura sword art in public.
He had climbed through the rankings with only his first and second forms. Surely he was going to rise up the top 200 rankings once more.
Bob was in contemplation for some seconds. "We can't back down now. If that was his most powerful attack, which I think it is, then there isn't much of a problem. Besides Chub, if we can't get rid of him how are we going to free the ladies from their delusions, especially the angel."
A smile appeared on Chub's face. "Now that's the spirit. We need to come up with something."
"Yes, yes. I'm already making some preparations." Bob said with an evil grin.
******************************
After cycling for some minutes, Ray finally arrived at the ninth base.
He got off and put his bicycle in a safe place before hanging his bag and walking into the base in hopes of not seeing Fiona.
As always, he drew numerous attentions but walked as though they were inexistent.
"Epsilon Ray. We've been expecting you."
He turned around to see a woman about twenty-four years approaching him.
She had long jet-black hair and dark eyes. Her skin was pale but she didn't look weak or exhausted. She was beautiful and was sure to have many admirers.
She was clad in formal clothing which suited her well, making her look attractively sharp.
When looking at Ray she didn't have a hint of fear. This didn't come from the fact that she was a powerful aberrant, as it was obvious that she was a regular human.
This young woman was the secretary to Fiona, which automatically made her respected and feared by most people in the base which includes Sentries.
"I'm aware of that, something held me up," he signed. "Is she around?"
"I believe she went looking for you."
'Huh! She went looking for me. Damn, I need to leave as soon as possible.'
Ray cleared his throat. "Are we leaving or what?"
She smiled internally when she heard this as she knew what kind of situation he was in.
She began working for Fiona about a year ago which was around the same time Ray joined the Sentry. So she had witnessed most of his time spent with Fiona and how their relationship came to be.
"This way." She began walking as he tagged along behind her.
They got to an exit and when they walked through, Ray could see Sylph seated looking as lovely as always, but what mostly caught his attention was the black limousine.
"Huh? Are we using that?" He asked in confusion.
She gestured towards the limousine as a smile appeared on Ray's face.
Although he felt a little suspicious as this treatment was too special for their levels as Sylph was also an Epsilon ranked. But he ignored this due to the excitement he was feeling.
He had always wanted to travel in something like this since he was a kid, and currently that riding vehicles in Euthopia was rare, this wish seemed more distant, but here it was.
With a smile on his face, he began strolling towards the limousine but stopped halfway.
"If Fiona comes back tell her that I'll return when things...…cool off. And I'll be of service if the building goes up in flames."
"I'll make sure to do that." She nodded. "I suggest you take the other door."
Ray turned around not understanding why she would ask him to do so, but believing that there must be a plausible reason he did as he was told.
"Aren't you coming? We don't have all day," he said to Sylph who watched everything in amusement with a poker face.
Ray opened the door entering into the limousine.
"Woooo!!" He exclaimed making himself comfortable when he noticed that he wasn't alone.
He shifted his gaze to the side to see a stunningly beautiful young lady with fiery hair who slowly shifted her eyes to him with an evil grin.
"SHIT!!"
"BOOOOOMMMMM!!!"
Ray blasted out of the vehicle and by the way he was spiraling mid-air, it wasn't of his own doing.
He crashed into different multiple things before he could regain his footing.
Fiona walked out of the limousine towards Ray.
'I've been conned.' Ray glared at Fiona's secretary who had an innocent smile on her face.
'Even my so-called partner was part of this. She's betrayed me when we haven't even gone on our first mission.'
Now he understood why she suggested that he took the other door of the limousine, so he won't be sent flying into the base through the walls.
The area he ended up in was quite spacious with barely any buildings.
'This was a setup from the beginning.' He realized. 'Was she that angry.'
He watched as she inched closer to him. Her eyes were closed and her expression somewhat calm, but the aura being released by her along with the slight twitching of her eyebrows indicated that she wasn't just angry, she was furious.
"Fiona wait, why don't we just talk, there's no need for violence." He tried reasoning with her but was responded with a snort.
"There's nothing to discuss, and this won't be a fight, no, it would be a beating." Her eyes flickered open as flames seemed to ignite within them. "I would've given you your silly weapon but it won't make a difference."
The closer she got to him, the more the temperature increased.
A sigh escaped his lips as a golden aura surrounded him. He knew she won't listen to anything leaving him with two options, get beaten, or fight back, and deep down, he wanted to see how much he's improved.
"That's more like it."