Impact

Witnessing such a phenomenon taking place in front of him, out of nowhere, he couldn't help but feel startled.

Those semi-transparent crimson layers that had encased them appeared almost similar to a wall of fire.

However, before he could even acclimate himself, he found himself entrapped by those fiery walls in the blink of an eye.

It was almost as if they were a bird trapped in a cage.

"What is this?" Lucius asked, his tone laced with curiosity and fear.

"The only way to find out is by getting near it," Blake answered, unfazed by its appearance.

Though Blake couldn't see it, he could still feel its presence due to the mana condensed in it.

Based on those high concentrations of mana he could sense, it spelled nothing but danger.

But right now, even if it spelled danger, they had no choice but to take their chances by trying to escape it if they wanted to live.

If they remained still inside the zone, the only ending awaiting them would be death.

But instead, if they took their chances and rushed ahead, who knows they might get lucky and escape this encirclement?

Hearing Blake's response, even though his intuition warned him against the proposition put forward by Blake, he couldn't bring himself to deny him.

"We'll die anyway even if we do nothing then might as well do what you say," Lucius mumbled while shifting his perspective from those fiery walls to the massive structure that was looming over their head. 

By now, they could vividly feel the pressure of that massive structure pressing on them. It was almost as if suddenly the gravity around them was starting to get heavier. 

Hearing Lucius's response, a subtle smile blossomed on Blake's face. He was impressed by Lucius's cool-headedness and courage even in such a dire moment. 

"Then, hold tight boyo..."

No sooner had he said those words, he slightly caressed his familiar, gently moving his hand around its neck as if giving his familiar some kind of signal. 

Then with a sudden burst of speed, the griffin increased its pace as it darted toward the fiery walls. It was so sudden that Lucius nearly got blown away because he couldn't grab onto Blake on time. 

Luckily, he did manage to hold tightly, otherwise he might have fallen. 

Now, he was thoroughly convinced about the speed of the griffin. If it didn't move this fast then how could he justify those ridiculous stats he had seen earlier?

In the blink of an eye, they traveled quite far and covered a lot of distance. However, due to its sheer speed, he could barely keep his eyes open. It was just too fast for him to open his eyes. 

"Brace yourself boyo, we're about to crash," Blake spoke, sounding a bit skeptical as he calculated the time of their collision with the fiery wall. 

Considering the speed they were moving, it should have been impossible to hear him. Yet, for some reason, he still could audibly hear him. 

But, there was no time to act surprised or curious. Right now, they had a bigger matter pressing on hand— the collision. 

Their fate and their survival depended on this moment. 

If it was a solid surface then their end was inevitable. Considering the speed, they would for sure get squashed upon collision if the surface happened to be a sturdy solid substance that couldn't be penetrated even with their magic. 

However, even if their end was inevitable and even if such a scenario were to take place, he could only put his trust in Blake. Though Lucius wasn't the kind of person who liked to put his trust in others, right now, he was utterly helpless and had no other choice but to do so. 

Tightening his grip around Blake's waist and moving in closer to him, he held onto Blake tightly as he braced himself for the impact. 

At this moment, the other sleeve of his long shirt which he had tied against his waist due to his decapitation came undone under the pressure of the wind. Fluttering freely, it billowed with the wind as they rushed toward the fiery wall. 

Swoosh!!

Then, the moment they made contact with the fiery wall, they simply slid inside it and passed through it, unimpeded. It was like getting sucked inside a pond. 

"Wha..t was that? Argh..., it felt like I was sucked," feeling a little lightheaded, he questioned while rubbing his temple while his eyes remained closed. 

He tried to open his eyes, but everything felt blurry. 

"Where..., are we?" He asked with great difficulty whilst still rubbing his temple and trying to adjust his vision. 

For sure, he was asking Blake since he was the one who was present with him. Yet, the only response he got was silence. It was almost as if there was nobody present with him.

It was ghastly silent around him that the only sound he could hear was his own breathing.

Not being able to hear any response got on his nerves and he felt even more irritated, "Sir, why aren't you responding?" he asked, raising his voice. 

But still, there was no response.

"Sir...?!"

Mumbling such, he abruptly turned his head around only to find himself alone in a completely unknown location. Then again, he looked around him, trying to find Blake. But, no matter where he looked, he didn't see a single soul. 

This made his heart palpitate as his heart rate spiked. Perspiration started accumulating in his forehead and his eyes became frantic. 

"Sir, where are you? Are you there?" he kept on calling Blake, hoping to get his response. 

Yet, no matter how hard he tried to find him or call him, he couldn't find him nor could he hear any response. After countless tries, he realized that he had been separated from Blake and the griffin. The thought of being alone in such a strange place terrified him.

How was it possible for them to separate when they had rushed together at the same time?

Even if they did pass through the wall, shouldn't he be on the other side of the wall? So, why was he sent here? What about Blake and the griffin? Did they too get sent to a completely different location? Or, was it only him?

He couldn't be sure of it. 

But, even if he were all alone, separated from Blake, he couldn't do anything about it. And, neither would panicking in such a situation do any good to him. 

Drawing in a deep breath, he then tried to calm himself. It took him multiple breaths to do so. Then, as he calmed himself, he started to look around him. Until a moment ago, he had neglected his surroundings due to the matter regarding Blake's disappearance. 

But, as he calmed himself down and started to look around him he found himself in a dimly lit spacious room, illuminated by the flickering lights of torches, surrounded by countless grotesque stone statues.