CHAPTER 58 — THE SIXTEEN-MINUTE HUNT
The moment he stepped into the crater, silence pressed against Leylin like a living thing.
It lasted less than a second, but in that second, he felt everything, the lattice dome above, faint and pulsing like a heart, the way the threads of energy trembled with surveillance, the deliberate, measured presence of nine figures scattered around the perimeter.
Demigods. Anchors.
Leylin's pupils narrowed. He did not need to think, he understood the setup immediately. The dome wasn't just a barrier. It was a cage. One designed to delay him, to shape him, to measure him.
Crimson Six's lips curved into a thin smile. "Good," she murmured, almost to herself.
Leylin's gaze lifted. The lattice shimmered faintly, layers upon layers of reinforced threads. Even for him, breaking through would take time. Sixteen minutes. That was the clock.
The demigods moved in perfect synchronization, each wielding something different. A spear, twin curved blades, a war hammer, chains of black steel, a staff humming with domain energy. Not randomly chosen, everything here was deliberate. Everything had a purpose. Delay, containment, measurement.
Leylin did not flinch. He let them approach, letting their presence fill his awareness like threads in the air he could almost touch. Then he observed the floating screen by Crimson Six.
Elira. Bound in crystal-thin chains. Blood siphoned into glowing vessels. Leylin's chest tightened, but not from fear, calculation, focus, the kind that sharpened his senses. Every drop of blood was a resource. Every resource was leverage.
A spear lunged first, cracking the air with a deafening crack. Leylin tilted his head. The shaft skimmed past him, and his hand moved almost lazily, catching it midair. The demigod blinked, just for a heartbeat, before Leylin twisted the spear, snapping it like dry wood.
Taking a single step forward,He vanished. A shockwave tore through the crater, slamming the demigod against the lattice. Nine others moved at once, weapons swinging, chains lashing, divine power colliding in arcs of motion. Leylin did not rush. He moved with intention. Step, counter, pressure, release.
A chain snaked toward his arm, he stepped into it. The demigod who cast it fell across the ground like a ragdoll. Another blade flashed, Leylin leaned, and a rib cracked behind him.
Every strike, every dodge, every calculated counter was a sentence, a story of motion. He was not just fighting, they were revealing themselves, showing their style, their weakness, their rhythm. Leylin absorbed it all.
And then he stopped.
Not his opponents. Not his attack. The lattice beneath his feet hummed faintly, unnoticed by most, but he felt it. He pressed a palm against the stone. The Envy Core pulsed in his chest, not outward, but into the ground itself.
The battlefield shifted. Shockwaves raced downward, tearing fractures into the stone, disrupting the lattice from below. The dome wavered, pulse stuttering like a heartbeat caught in rhythm.
Crimson Six's smile faltered, just for a fraction. "Ah," she whispered. "So you noticed."
Leylin rose, green light flickering in his pupils. "The anchors," he said, calm, deliberate. A single word, but it carried the weight of his understanding.
The demigods froze, their attack pausing midair. Crimson Six clapped softly. "Very good," she said. "Most would spend the entire sixteen minutes fighting the guards. You, you attack the prison."
Stone cracked again beneath Leylin's feet. The dome quivered, just enough.
Nine demigods moved, not to kill, but to stop him from touching the ground again. Leylin vanished, shockwaves of force shattering the battlefield in every direction. Steel clashed, stone erupted, divine energy collided.
Above it all, Crimson Six watched.. Silently
Her lips curved into a smile again. "Interesting. Very interesting, but you still don't know the full power behind the barrier."
Her gaze flicked to the image of Elira, suspended and bleeding. "Run, Leylin," she whispered softly. "Run as fast as you can. Let's see if sixteen minutes is enough to break a system."