Chapter 159: Collapse and Resolve

Ethan reappeared near the edge of the mountain forest.

He immediately placed Evelyn back inside the Survival Space.

His gaze swept over the ground ahead.

Twenty meters away, a patch of vegetation looked slightly different from the surrounding area.

The Underground Casino was beneath it.

Its entrance had been concealed beneath a camouflage covering.

Ethan raised his sword.

Five consecutive Spatial Cuts flashed through the air.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The disguised alloy entrance was sliced apart.

A large opening appeared in the ground.

He rushed toward it.

Behind him, the Eagle King released its fifth lightning attack.

The blue-white bolt tore through the night.

Ethan barely managed to squeeze through the opening.

BOOM!

The lightning struck the entrance.

The surrounding rocks shattered, and a mass of rubble collapsed over the opening.

Dust filled the underground passage.

Ethan coughed and brushed dirt from his face.

There was no time to waste.

He switched on his flashlight and hurried deeper into the casino.

The underground corridors were dark and silent.

The air reeked of blood, disinfectant, and damp concrete.

He followed the corridor until he reached the room where the women had been hiding.

Wendy was sitting in a corner, holding Kate in her arms.

Her head was lowered, and her shoulders shook with quiet sobs.

When the flashlight beam fell across Ethan’s face, she looked up.

For a moment, she seemed unable to believe what she was seeing.

"Ethan!"

She scrambled to her feet.

Tears immediately filled her eyes.

Ethan glanced at Kate.

Her golden wings were stained dark red. Blood still seeped from the corners of her mouth, and her chest rose and fell so faintly that he could barely see it.

She looked terrible.

"Wendy, bring her here. We need to leave."

He reached out and grabbed both women’s wrists.

"Don’t resist!"

A flash of spatial energy surrounded them.

The three vanished.

---

Ethan reappeared inside the Underground Casino’s outer passage.

He immediately placed a Space Anchor Point nearby.

Then he locked onto the anchor inside the Air-raid Shelter.

He didn’t have time to check whether the Eagle King was still above ground.

Space Teleportation activated.

But before the transfer could finish, a violent rumble shook the underground structure.

The Eagle King had launched another attack.

BOOM!

A lightning bolt struck the ground above the casino.

The reinforced concrete ceiling cracked.

Chunks of concrete and soil began falling from above.

Another explosion followed.

Then another.

The entire underground structure trembled as the Eagle King’s lightning tore through the earth.

Ethan felt a sharp burning pain across his back.

One of the lightning strikes had caught him just as he was disappearing.

His skin tore open.

Blood filled his mouth, and he coughed violently.

For a brief moment, his vision blurred.

But the teleportation completed.

His figure disappeared as the Underground Casino collapsed behind him.

The ceiling gave way.

Concrete, steel, and earth crashed down, burying the entrance and everything beneath it.

---

The Eagle King circled above the ruins.

It released several furious screeches, its golden eyes fixed on the collapsed ground.

It had sensed the humans.

It had attacked repeatedly.

Yet they had escaped again.

After circling the ruins for several minutes, the creature finally spread its enormous wings and climbed into the night sky.

Its silhouette gradually disappeared among the clouds.

By then, Ethan had already reached the Air-raid Shelter.

He staggered as he appeared beside the Space Anchor Point.

Aria and the others immediately rushed toward him.

"Ethan! What happened?"

Ethan waved away her questions.

"There’s no time. The Eagle King has reached King-Rank. Its lightning attacks can destroy buildings and penetrate deep underground."

He quickly explained what had happened.

The women exchanged worried glances.

He then teleported Penny and Evelyn out so they could reunite with their loved ones before returning to the Survival Space.

He might need to get Kate treated immediately.

---

Inside the Survival Space, Kate was laid on a bed in one of the villas.

Debbie and Tessa stood on either side of her, continuously channeling their Healing Abilities into her body.

Soft white and green light spread across her wounds.

Her breathing was still weak, but it was gradually becoming steadier.

Wendy sat in a corner with her knees drawn against her chest.

She stared at Kate without blinking.

Even after reaching safety, she couldn’t stop trembling.

The sight of Ethan entering brought her attention to him.

His back was torn and bloody, and his clothes were stained with dust.

Daisy immediately hurried over.

"Ethan! Your back!"

Before he could answer, she began treating his wounds.

Ethan winced slightly as the healing energy spread across his injured skin.

Nearby, Stella approached and nervously tugged at the corner of his shirt.

"Sister Kate... she’ll be okay, right?"

Ethan looked toward the bed.

Kate’s golden wings were slowly recovering. The worst of the bleeding had stopped, and her breathing was becoming more regular.

He nodded.

"She’ll be fine."

Stella finally released a breath she seemed to have been holding for hours.

Her eyes grew red again.

"Thank you..."

Ethan looked at her.

"You don’t need to thank me. You did the right thing by coming to find me."

He turned his gaze back toward Kate.

Then his expression became serious.

"But things are getting worse."

He remembered the Eagle King’s lightning tearing through his defenses.

He remembered how Time Stop had failed completely.

And he remembered how close he had come to being killed despite having several powerful Abilities.

"The mutant beasts are becoming stronger. Even a Quasi-SS-Rank powerhouse like Kate can be seriously injured by one of them."

His gaze swept across the women.

"We can’t afford to remain at our current strength. Everyone needs to improve as quickly as possible."

After his wounds had been treated, Ethan left the villa.

He teleported to the life crystal stone.

Sofia was sitting cross-legged in front of it, quietly recovering her energy.

He watched her for a moment.

During the pursuit, her Water Manipulation had blocked a lightning attack that would otherwise have killed him.

Evelyn’s vines had also bought him precious seconds when his own defenses were failing.

Without their help, he might never have reached the Underground Casino.

He looked down at his hands.

The encounter had exposed a weakness he could no longer ignore.

His abilities were powerful, but they weren’t enough to guarantee his survival against creatures at the King-Rank level.

And the Apocalypse wasn’t going to become any kinder.

Ethan clenched his fist.

’Next time, I won’t be forced to run.’