659 The Birthday [3]

"Wha—"

Varian instinctively stepped forward and stood in front of Sia and Amanda.

The next second, the wall of the room broke apart. The broken pieces blazed in mid-air and shot out in all directions.

As the one with the highest combat instincts, Varian was the first to respond despite being an unawakened.

His body moved on its own and he pulled down both Amanda and Sia.

His vision spun and the next thing he knew, he was on the floor as a piece of flaming tile flew inches above the bewildered Sia and the confused Amanda.

His gaze darted to the broken wall as his heart gripped.

The wall of his room, the one filled with the records of his personal heroes was gone. A cloud of dust was all that was left.

In the dust, a pair of red eyes shone and a large silhouette appeared.

Varian felt a sense of terror fill every fiber of his being. He desperately wanted to run away.

But hearing the ragged breathings behind, he gritted his teeth.

He picked a piece of the broken brick and hurtled it toward the creature as he yelled. "Run!"

Hearing his shout, both Amanda and Sia came to their senses. Their instincts too warned them to run away. But they joined the fight right away.

A mad howling sounded and the creature—red-furred, two-meter tall—a giant flaming wolf was about to pounce on Varian.

But suddenly, its pupils constricted and its movements slowed down.

Right then, the broken brick that Varian threw reached its left eye.

Varian's eyes glittered in hope. Even though the creature seemed to be at the peak level 2, if it lost one of its eyes, then things would be easier.

Like all the monster hunting novels he read, blinding an enemy was the best way to—

A fireball shot up in front of the wolf and melted the brick into ashes. Then, it shot straight at Varian.

"Varian!"

"Var!"

The anxious shouts of Amanda and Sia reached him but Varian couldn't avoid the attack.

Due to Sia's mind power interfering with the process, the fireball was indeed slow, but it was still too fast for an unawakened Varian.

He could only watch as it reached him at a ridiculous speed.

Right when he thought it'd hit him in the chest and burn his heart to crisp, the fireball slammed down on the ground in front of him.

"!"

Varian's eyebrows jumped and he turned to see Sia panting with a clenched fist. Her other hand was pointing in his direction.

The gravity power…

Without another word, he sprinted and reached a position relatively remote to the flaming wolf's field of vision.

As he picked up another stone to hurl, the sound of thunder reached his ears.

"Mom?"

Amanda's awkwardly conjured lightning ball reached the flaming wolf. The creature merely twisted its body and dodged.

She was a non-combatant awakener and wasn't even regarded as a threat by the monster.

With a roar, the beast's fire sense noted the two beings that posed a threat.

The brown-haired girl's combat sense wasn't great. She likely never had a real battle with monsters—which was the case with almost every youth her age.

Despite that, she wielded two powers and posed it a deadly threat.

The other option was the boy. Even though he had the best combat instincts, his powers were lacking to hurt it. If he had a weapon, he could've been a bigger threat.

Moreover, the two women seemed to care about him from the way they shouted. Even though it wasn't very intelligent, the wolf was able to sense the kinship between them.

So, with a growl, it shot a dozen fireballs at the boy.

"Stop!"

"Don't!"

Amanda ran towards Varian using all her strength. But there's no way she could make it in time.

On the other hand, Sia used her gravity powers and diverted all but one fireball.

But that one fireball, despite being slowed reached him.

All Varian could see was a blur and in the next second, his body started to burn.

"Arghh!" His painful scream made the hearts of Sia and Amanda ache and their eyes reddened in grief.

"Var!" Amanda finally reached Varian.

Seeing her son's burnt skin and bleeding chest, her heart ached and rage boiled in her heart.

All the fear in her heart vanished. She stared the flaming wolf in the eye and conjured a lightning bolt.

The flaming wolf not only didn't back down, but it instead sprinted towards them.

"Die!" With a voice filled with hatred, she cursed.

Amanda's lightning bolt shot at a speed far surpassing her earlier attack.

"Woo?" The flaming wolf was caught off guard and was about to dodge.

With its speed, it shouldn't be a problem. But a numbing mind pain and chaotic gravity restricted its movements.

"Roar!"

The wolf shrieked in pain as the lightning bolt hit it in the shoulder.

A numb feeling spread to its upper parts and blood spilled on the ground.

"I…" Amanda felt a feeling of weakness spread throughout her body and she collapsed onto her knees.

She wasn't a fighter and the earlier attack completely drained her.

"Roar!" The flaming wolf's calm eyes turned bloodshot and it bolted towards the woman on her knees.

Sia's eyes widened as she realized she could only delay the creature, not stop it.

"Wait!"

She yelled as she ran after the wolf.

With her current powers, she could either boost her own speed or slow down the wolf, not both.

"You beast!" Her words were like needles that prickled the wolf's brain.

"Roar!" The creature's eyes grew erratic as it felt a terrible pain in its head.

Sia did this to provoke the creature and make herself a target.

But the wolf was already furious and her actions only made it more bloodthirsty. It ran towards its nearest target.

Amanda.

Despite the gravity path restricting it, despite its mind aching, the wolf was quickly closing the distance between them.

"Eat me!" Sia shouted in tears as she ran after the beast. Her speed wasn't fast enough.

"I have more aura!" Her heartbreaking cry echoed in the poor neighborhood.

Under Sia's teary eyes, the wolf lunged forward.

Amanda's body froze as her face paled.

Right when she thought she was going to die, she felt a pull from her leg and rolled to the side.

In her place was Varian. The right side of his body was completely burnt. His flesh was charred and bones showed in some places.

Yet he managed to save Amanda at the last moment.

One would wonder how he was even conscious despite such terrible injuries.

But Sia didn't wonder.

Nor did Amanda.

When they saw Varian swapping places at the last moment, their hearts froze.

"Roar!" The wolf's mouth reached Varian in the blink of an eye.

On his knees, Varian was powerless to stop his impending death.

"Varian!" Sia was just a step away from the wolf, but the distance was like an uncrossable moat.

Sia raised her hand to stop her worst nightmare from happening, but she was helpless as the wolf's teeth touched Varian's skin, about to tear his throat.