Previously, when Zavi began to slightly understand the place he had been dragged into, and repeatedly witnessed those unpleasant events, he was approached by a figure that resembled a human, yet did not appear human, its entire body colored black. That figure told him about the mysteries of the hidden supernatural world, the real world, and the restless spirits wandering within it.
When his consciousness returned to his body, he realized that, in truth, humans were merely vessels, nothing more. Receiving power was not a blessing at all. Possessing abilities that were different, unique, and came with an equivalent price. Even someone's mere existence in this world could threaten the survival of ordinary humans, dragging them by force into the abyss of the supernatural world, even if that person had never once touched anything occult.
Forcing them to do this and that, stripping away their right to live and their freedom.
That phenomenon had spread, not only in Norn, but also across various parts of the world, including kingdoms, nations, and even aggressive empires.
Prefence, one of the fifteen existing supernatural abilities, is possessed by Miss Felina Ronatte and Miss Veranica Holdun, sharing a similar role and category with powers like Prisoner, Disturber, and Suppression.
After observing Miss Felina's actions more closely, Zavi finally realized that she was hiding something and possessed a troublesome unique skill when she could not move, a ritual of 10 and 5 symbols.
'I just realized how agile that woman was earlier, maybe she was the one who defeated that horse. But I don't know the actual truth.' When his gaze shifted to the left, he found that the demonic horse had disappeared as if swallowed by the earth.
'Was that her doing? Without an ability yet that strong? This is very strange. Is she an expert in using spells and forbidden artifacts? Earlier she performed complex movements with both her hands, which I couldn't understand.'
Zavi thought in confusion, then stepped toward the right side of the road's edge. His blue eyes were fixed on the two who stood silently on the left side of the road, and he saw that Zuhen showed signs of physical weakening from the box jellyfish sting he had created.
His body was hunched, his legs trembling, his teeth clenched tightly, and one of his hands gripped his clothes as if holding back unbearable pain.
"Tell me what your goal is," he said hesitantly, preparing to grab both of his wrists in anticipation of a sudden attack.
On the other side, Felina supported Zuhen's hunched and trembling body with a worried and anxious expression. She feared losing the person closest to her again and again.
Her eyes closed for a few seconds, then she immediately lifted her gaze, her blue eyes locking onto Zavi. Her brow furrowed, not out of anger, but remaining calm under any condition even though she knew the situation had shifted from their previous plan.
However, deep inside, she could not accept it. Her fingers began to tighten against each other, followed by her jaw hardening. "You damn bastard. How dare you hurt him..."
Her sharp, cold, and rising voice, almost like a threat, echoed briefly along the stone road. Felina began raising her hand quickly, making a motion as if drawing a bow and aiming forward, toward Zavi.
A blue light emerged from the tip of her finger, shrinking into a needle and shooting forward at high speed, piercing through the surrounding air. It headed straight toward Zavi, at a distance of twenty meters, enough to make it impossible for him to dodge.
The needle shattered, replaced by a faint pale blue light that quickly enclosed Zavi's body just before it could strike him.
He was confused and had no time to evade, it was too fast.
An invisible cylindrical circle began to trap him from within and, in a fraction of a second, released a barrage of tiny needle-like particles, like dust, raining down across his entire body.
Panic immediately took over his mind. His body jerked backward, there was no blood, no wounds, but the attack seemed to damage his body from the inside. Destroying cells from within, halting blood flow, and his chest felt as if it were being crushed from the inside.
'Damn... what is this?' His fingers clenched tightly, the muscles in his neck tensed further, trying to break through the pale blue barrier to escape the endless assault striking his body.
"G-Get out... q-quick!" he said, his voice hoarse, mixed with pain and panic.
A sharp, restrained breath followed the command as it escaped from his trembling mouth.
The wolf should have already vanished due to Zuhen's earlier attack, and the others had disappeared due to the invisible protection or perhaps struck by something else?
Within seconds, two hunting wolves formed, their eyelids glowing, blackish-purple wrapped in a grayish-white aura.
"Attack him..." Even as the pain gnawed at his mind and body, Zavi chose to keep fighting, he knew that soon his consciousness would fade due to the effect of the pale blue barrier that restricted his movement, continuously firing invisible tiny needles.
But before that, he had a backup plan that might save his life and defeat both of them.
Prefence, an ability known for having protection and rapid attacks that ignore the opponent's defenses. If a user of that ability fights against mid-tier and above Receivers and contracted Hollow, then it can be assured that Prefence becomes useless.
Unless the user is at mid-tier or above, and it is combined with spells, talismans, or special-grade artifacts. Its activity is extremely fast in penetrating a person's body, capable of destroying internal organs or even worse targeting a person's soul in a fraction of a second, no matter how strong the enemy is.
As Felina observed the two hunting wolves colored blackish-purple shrouded in a grayish-white aura approaching her at high speed, her gaze changed, the air around seemed to tighten under that serious and cold stare.
Felina straightened her arm, a few seconds later she clenched one of her hands. She bit her lip after seeing Zuhen's worsening condition. "Is your body alright?" she murmured anxiously. "Do you still want to continue that plan?"
'Tch... That man was going to help, but why is he attacking us instead?' Felina thought irritably.
Zuhen's mouth remained tightly shut, his jaw hardened as if holding back something unspoken.
There was no immediate answer.
Felina closed her eyes briefly, then opened them along with a snap of her fingers as if realizing something.
The snapping sound echoed briefly along the quiet road.
Slowing the movement of the two wolves before a shimmering blue barrier appeared, enclosing them from within and restricting their movement.
The wolves tried to break free but failed. Their mouths opened slightly followed by threatening growls. Then they howled loudly enough to deafen all three of them and make their heads spin as if something was boiling from within – Active Control.
Zavi, who fully controlled the wolves' movements, was shocked. His eyes widened, his pupils shrank as he recalled the wolves' ability.
'This is bad... this isn't what I planned.' Zavi thought in panic, then moved his hand toward them while wearing a panicked expression and furrowed brow.
'Come on, speak damn it...' The words got stuck in his throat, every time he tried to speak, only a heavy burst escaped his throat.
He wanted to tell them both to destroy the wolves immediately, but his effort failed.
Within minutes, he could no longer breathe normally, and he did not know what would happen next.
Both of them saw it. Zuhen slightly did not understand the meaning of that movement. He focused on feeling his ears and head pounding intensely, and the pain was worsened by the loud howls of the two wolves.
His eyes narrowed, his brows furrowed, his lips trembled as he spoke with his remaining strength when he understood. "F-Felina... Stop now. Those wolves have lost control..."
The sentence was never finished, the poison had spread throughout his body. Although it did not spread as fast as before, it was enough to paralyze his nerves and muscles as he had no time to avoid it.
And fortunately, the box jellyfish had already been forcibly withdrawn by Zavi because
Realizing that the condition of both sides was completely unfavorable, Zuhen thought of trying to transfer the poison spreading through his body. Although he knew the risks, he still did it with one condition, exchanging it with half of his body's spirituality.
His mouth moved as if speaking something, but the words never came out and were not heard at all by Felina, who stood alert with a serious expression facing forward.
As I thought. You are a strong woman, Felina... Zuhen gave a faint smile. Then tried to stand with the help of his hands, although his head was still throbbing from the previous effect.
"Sir?" Felina said in disbelief. "Did you really do that again?"
Zuhen gave a faint smile. Then he tried to stand with the help of his hands, although his head was still throbbing from the previous effect.
"Sir?" Felina said in disbelief. "Do you really intend to do that again?"
Although she knew that Zuhen had previously used a technique to transfer injuries, which were transferred to the body of the demonic horse he had defeated earlier. However, the effect of that technique would still burden the user's body and cause long-term consequences.
Zavi, who observed from a distance, was shocked. Knowing that Zuhen's physical condition now appeared fine as if the previous events had never truly happened.
Feeling his body recovering on its own after performing the injury transfer technique, Zuhen raised his hand above his head, directing it toward Felina who stood upright beside him and said in an almost weak tone. "It seems my legs are in poor condition."
Felina glanced without turning her head. As she held his hand, a cold sensation slipped through the gaps between her fingers, shooting to her head, making her body jolt slightly. "Thank you for protecting me earlier," she murmured, her expression difficult to read. "Would you be willing to do that again?"
There was no answer, only the corner of Zuhen's lips lifted upward, not a smile, but a reaction of surprise at what stood before him.
The two wolves had disappeared, followed by the fading of the pale blue protection. Zavi had regained control over them after his body was freed from the confinement of that pale blue barrier.
'It seems I'm going to have some trouble,' Zavi thought while covering his mouth.
A cold sensation pressed against his shoulders as he saw around five demonic horses standing still, staring at him without blinking, their blazing red eyes burning.