Chapter 69: The Top Three

Evan and Lumi finally stood in front of the Hell Dungeon.

Taking a deep breath, Lumi could feel how chilly the atmosphere was. The air itself seemed heavier than usual, carrying a strange pressure that made her skin prickle.

A barrier formed by several A-Rank Sentinels stood in front of the Dungeon entrance, their powers linked together to reinforce the remaining containment field. Beyond them, the massive entrance of the Hell Dungeon loomed in the distance, surrounded by emergency personnel and countless warning signs.

Lumi instinctively moved a little closer to Evan.

"So this is the Hell Dungeon..." Her voice was quieter than usual.

Evan glanced at her. "Don’t get too close to the barrier."

Lumi nodded. She looked toward the dark entrance again, her expression becoming serious. "Is it always this cold?"

"No." Evan’s gaze remained fixed on the Dungeon. "It was called Hell for a reason."

A small smile appeared on his lips as he noticed the anxiety on Lumi’s face. "It is usually hot. Leon probably overused his power."

"Huh?" Lumi’s eyebrows raised. "His power?"

"Ice." Evan glanced at her. "If it were mine, you would see electricity around me. Leon’s is ice."

"Oh... really?" Lumi’s eyes widened. She really hadn’t noticed it the last time.

Then again, she had been too injured to pay attention to anything around her, especially while Evan was in the middle of a rampage and trying to kill everyone in sight.

"That’s probably why it’s so cold now..." she murmured.

"Probably." He looked straight ahead. "Adding that loose-screw power of his, it might be hellishly cold inside..."

Lumi tilted her head, looking at Evan in confusion.

"Raphael is wind..."

Lumi’s eyes widened. "Wind?"

She looked genuinely impressed, her gaze shifting toward the Dungeon entrance as though she had just discovered something amazing.

"So the top three Sentinels all have completely different powers..."

Before Evan could answer, hurried footsteps suddenly came from inside the Dungeon.

A Sentinel stumbled out from the entrance, his uniform covered in dust and blood. He immediately spotted Evan and rushed toward him.

"Young Master Caesar, hurry up! We couldn’t handle it anymore!"

Evan’s expression instantly turned serious. "What happened?"

"There are four S-Rank Anomalies that we had detained before. Somehow, they suddenly broke free!"

The Sentinel struggled to catch his breath. "I really don’t know how it happened, but Young Master Valen is completely out of control now!"

Lumi’s expression changed. "Raphael?"

The Sentinel nodded frantically.

"He’s fighting all four of them at once, but that’s not the worst part..." He glanced nervously back toward the Dungeon. "His Guide can’t reach him anymore."

"What do you mean she can’t reach him?" Evan asked, frowning.

"Ah..." The Sentinel scratched his forehead awkwardly. "Not like she can’t physically reach him. They just keep arguing with each other, and she can’t get through to him at all..."

Evan turned toward Lumi. His expression had become completely serious. "Are you ready?"

Lumi blinked, then nodded. "Mm."

Evan stepped closer, lowering his voice so only she could hear.

"If I enter a Rampage..." He paused, making sure she was listening. "And if you can’t reach me at the first time..."

Lumi’s expression slowly changed.

"Run." He finished his words.

Her eyes widened slightly.

"Don’t try to approach me. Don’t wait for me to recognize you, and don’t assume you can pull me back just because you’ve done it before."

His gaze remained fixed on hers. "If you can’t reach me, you run as far away from me as you can."

Lumi quietly swallowed. "But—"

"No." His voice was firm. "This time, I need you to listen to me."

Lumi stared at him for a moment before slowly nodding. "Okay."

Evan’s expression softened slightly.

"Good." He reached out and gently squeezed her hand. "Then stay close to me until I tell you otherwise."

*****

The moment they reached the inner sector, chaos greeted them.

The entire area looked as though it had been torn apart. Chunks of stone were scattered across the ground, the walls were covered in deep cracks, and flashes of ice and wind tore through the enormous chamber.

"Watch out!"

A massive Anomaly suddenly came flying through the air. It was thrown straight toward them.

Lumi barely had time to look up.

Evan reacted instantly. He shoved Lumi aside, sending her stumbling safely out of its path, before stepping forward and catching the incoming Anomaly with both hands.

The force of the impact pushed him several steps backward.

Evan gritted his teeth.

Then, with a sharp twist of his body, he slammed the Anomaly violently into the ground.

The floor cracked beneath it. Dust exploded into the air as the Anomaly struggled beneath Evan’s grip.

"Stay behind me." Evan’s voice was calm, but his eyes had already turned cold.

Lumi stared at the scene in shock.

And then another gust of wind tore through the chamber.

From somewhere beyond the dust came a familiar voice.

"Get out of my way!"

Raphael.

His voice sounded nothing like the playful man Lumi knew. It was wild, dangerously excited, and very, very close to snapping.

"Ah—damn! This loose screw is too excited!"

Evan glanced around, searching for Leon. He finally spotted him at the far corner of the chamber, with Reeta kneeling beside him.

"How’s he?"

Reeta shook her head, her face pale with worry. "Miss Walker is trying... He’s not responding..."

Evan’s expression immediately hardened.

Before he could say anything else, a violent gust suddenly tore through the chamber, forcing several nearby Sentinels to shield their faces. A massive crack appeared across the frozen ground as another Anomaly slammed into the wall. 𝖋𝙧ⅇ

Raphael stood in the middle of the chaos, surrounded by swirling wind, his eyes looking completely different from the playful Sentinel Lumi had met before.

Evan’s turned to look at Lumi, "Stay close."

Lumi nodded, but her attention was already drawn toward Leon.

Miss Walker was still kneeling beside him, one hand pressed firmly against his chest while Reeta remained nearby, her face pale with worry.

Then Miss Walker suddenly looked up. Her eyes searched the chaos before finally landing on Lumi.

"Miss Pei!" She raised her voice over the chaos. "I need your help!"