Chapter 40: Sentinel’s Abilities

Everyone outside froze. For several seconds, no one moved.

Lumi stared at the dark entrance, her heart pounding as she waited for Evan to appear, but he didn’t come out.

Meanwhile, inside the dungeon, Evan stood among the remains of the Anomaly.

The creature had finally stopped moving.

Its massive body had been blasted apart by the force of Evan’s final attack, leaving only fragments scattered across the stone floor. The Crimson Veil surrounding the area had also been destroyed, its crimson petals burned and scattered across the ground.

Evan remained standing in the middle of the destruction, but barely.

His breathing was heavier than usual, and electricity continued to flicker weakly around his body before disappearing again.

He looked down at his hand.

His fingers trembled slightly.

’Damn it.’

He had used far more power than necessary.

The Anomaly had continued regenerating because of the Crimson Veil, and Evan had eventually realized that trying to wear it down would only waste his energy. So he had stopped holding back and released enough power in a single attack to completely destroy the creature and everything around it.

It worked.

The Anomaly was dead.

But the moment the power settled, Evan felt the familiar instability beginning to creep through his body.

His energy circulation had become uneven, and every breath felt heavier than it should have.

It wasn’t enough to trigger another Rampage yet, but his body was already showing the consequences of forcing himself this far.

Another Rampage less than a week after the last one had taken too much out of him.

Evan slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath, forcing his breathing to steady.

He couldn’t go outside like this.

If his power became unstable again while everyone was gathered around him, there was no guarantee he would be able to control it.

And this time, Lumi was outside.

He glanced toward the other Sentinels standing nearby. They were in no better condition than he was, some leaning against the dungeon walls while others were checking their injuries, but they were still capable of moving.

Evan straightened himself as much as he could.

"Get out... now..."

The other Sentinels looked at him in confusion.

One of them frowned. "Sir?"

Evan’s breathing grew heavier as another surge of electricity flickered across his arm.

"Just get..." He clenched his fist, forcing the unstable energy back down. "The hell out!"

The Sentinels exchanged uneasy looks. They finally understood what he meant.

Evan wasn’t ordering them out because the dungeon was unsafe anymore. He was ordering them out because he was becoming the danger.

The Sentinels exchanged uneasy glances before quickly making their way toward the dungeon entrance.

One after another, they emerged from the darkness, some supporting injured teammates while others immediately checked their equipment and reported the situation to the waiting medical team.

Darian stepped forward. "What happened inside?"

"The Anomaly is dead," one of the Sentinels reported, still breathing heavily. "Evan destroyed it."

Lumi’s eyes immediately brightened. "Really? That’s good to hear..."

She then craned her neck toward the dungeon entrance, anxiously looking inside as though she could somehow spot Evan through the darkness.

"Where is he?"

The question came out almost as a mumble, but the nearby Sentinels heard her.

"He..." One of them hesitated before answering. "He asked us to leave first."

He paused, glancing toward the dungeon behind him. "His power is unstable at the moment, probably because he forced too much power into his final attack to destroy the Anomaly."

Lumi’s expression changed immediately.

"Then... I will go." She turned and rushed toward the dungeon entrance.

"Miss Pei." Darian’s voice stopped her.

Lumi paused and turned around.

Darian had already walked toward her, his expression unusually hesitant. "Are you sure?"

"Hm?" Lumi raised her eyebrows in confusion. "Sure? I’m his Guide. I need to Guide him..."

Darian stared at her for a moment before following her a few steps and lowering his voice.

"Miss Pei..." He glanced around to make sure the other Sentinels weren’t paying too much attention before leaning slightly closer.

"If he loses control again..." He paused, clearly struggling to phrase what he wanted to say without making the situation even more awkward.

"You know which method works better, right?" He blinked at her, hoping she understood what he meant.

Lumi stared at him blankly. "Method?"

Darian’s mouth twitched. He really didn’t want to spell it out. "The one that... worked last time."

Lumi’s eyes slowly widened.

"Oh... got it." She nodded with determination, as though she had finally understood something important. "A light tap is enough, right? As long as it’s skin to skin..."

Darian furrowed his brows in confusion.

"Err..." He cleared his throat and suddenly looked away, clearly regretting having brought up the subject in the first place. After a moment, he leaned closer to Lumi’s ear and lowered his voice.

"Miss Pei..." He paused before whispering, "A kiss is better than a slap..."

"Ah..." Her cheeks slowly reddened. "Understand..."

Darian nodded, trying very hard to keep a straight face. "Good."

Lumi looked toward the dungeon entrance again, then took a deep breath as she prepared herself to go inside.

Darian watched her for a moment before adding, "Just remember, don’t force yourself to do anything you’re uncomfortable with. Your safety still comes first."

He pressed his lips into a straight line smile. It was not like he wasn’t afraid to send Lumi to Evan, but based on two of Evan’s previous rampage incidents, Lumi was the best option. Their contact was enough.

Lumi nodded. "I know."

She took another step forward, but then stopped and glanced back at him.

"Mr. Darian..." Her voice was slightly lowered.

"Yes?" Darian tried to straighten his body despite the pain in his shoulder.

"What if a kiss doesn’t work this time?"

Darian stared at her.

Lumi’s brows were slightly furrowed as she continued, clearly thinking about the problem seriously.

"You know... if an Anomaly can evolve and adapt, what about a Sentinel’s power? Could Evan’s power also become resistant to the way I Guide him?"

For a moment, Darian simply looked at her.

Then the corner of his lips slowly lifted. "That is... actually a pretty adorable question."

Lumi blinked hard.

"Hmm..." Darian couldn’t help chuckling. "You’re taking what happened with that Anomaly and applying the same logic to Evan."

Lumi nodded seriously. "Isn’t that possible?"

"No." Darian shook his head. "Sentinel abilities don’t work that way."

"Oh..." She looked slightly embarrassed, as though she had just asked a silly question.

Darian quickly added, "It’s not a stupid question. You don’t have much experience with Sentinels or Guides, so it’s normal for you to make comparisons like that."

Lumi looked at him, "I just don’t want to make things worse."

Darian’s expression softened.

"I know." He glanced toward the dungeon entrance before looking back at her.

"And considering you somehow became the Fated Guide of the Empire’s strongest Sentinel without even knowing how Guiding works, I’d say you’re allowed to ask as many questions as you want."

Lumi’s lips parted slightly before she smiled in shyness, "Thank you..."

Then she turned back toward the dungeon entrance, her expression becoming serious again. "I’ll go check on him."

Darian watched her hurry toward the entrance and sighed quietly.

"Just be carefull..."