Luna gasped as she felt the force pressing against her chest, threatening to drive the breath from her lungs.

  She staggered, struggling to keep her balance on the treacherous path. She reached a point where her legs had no more strength left and she dropped to her knees.

  Len fared no better. Her ice sword flickered with a cold blue light as she strained against the unseen force. Her face was set in a grim expression of determination, every muscle in her body straining as she resisted the crushing weight. She wasn’t doing a great job because every step forward felt like she was lifting the heaviest element on the earth.

  The gravitational force here was not to be played with.

  Storm Rider, however, seemed almost unaffected by the increased gravity. There was no sign of struggle on her body or face. Her flame javelin burned brighter as she gathered more energy into it. And when it was ready, she released a sharp breath as she thrust the weapon into the air.

  The fiery projectile shot forward, piercing through the oppressive force with a burst of heat and light.

  For a moment, the crushing pressure lessened, giving Luna and Len a chance to catch their breath. But the reprieve was short-lived. The mountains trembled again, and the air seemed to ripple with dark energy.

  Luna could feel the malevolent presence closing in around them, the very atmosphere charged with danger.

  When she felt the breath return to her lungs, she didn’t wait behind. She ran past Storm Rider, carrying only her sword because that’s all she needed for this.

  The crushing force was something she had seen before. Yes, it was by no doubt that it belonged to Darkness as part of gravity manipulation.

  The closer she got to the source, the heavier the world felt. The mountains trembled more and more to the point where she almost lost her footing because of how intense the tremors were.

  As she ran, the narrow path grew wider and even worse more rocks had fallen in it, blocking some parts. That wasn’t going to be a problem for her.

  She dismissed the Sun Ember and punched the larger rocks out of the way. They shattered immediately and paved a path for her.

  In less than three minutes, she made it to the end of the path. She froze when she saw what was leading to all this chaos.

  ‘Crap crap crap crap!!’

  Standing in the center of what looked like a black field of rocks and snow, a giant beast made from the same black rock as the mountain moved with all its intensity. Its massive eight black legs moved and created craters with each step, thanks to the gravitational force field the human ahead was creating.

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  Other rock spiders surrounded it, but those were already dead, and their bodies were scattered across the field. Only the large one seemed to have survived the small human’s assault.

  Darkness was an ant in comparison to the creature’s size. She had her hand out, her nose bleeding after pushing her power past its reasonable limits. Her short dark hair was now longer, her armor in pieces, and her complexion covered with open bloody wounds that had frozen due to the intense cold.

  ‘I can’t resist this gravity for long. I can’t wait for the others.’

  With that thought, Luna dashed towards the rock creature at an incredible speed. She slid down the basin-like rock surface and landed in the black field. She wore a cautious look, trying to analyze the situation.

  But…Unfortunately.

  Her luck struck and the stone spider noticed her presence right away. Its black head moved and its line of black eyes all landed on the dark-haired girl like she was carrying some beacon.

  Darkness also turned, her expression breaking into a confused one.

  “Luna?”

  She lost control over the gravitational field and the mountain creature broke into a frenzy and attacked Luna. The entire ground shook as if the earth was responding to its madness.

  Its roar tore apart the howling wind. It was so powerful that every stone in its path was reduced to nothing.

  Luna saw the blast and cut in between the force with a downward slash that could split the heavens. It cleared the path for her and she didn’t hesitate to attack the giant creature.

  She brandished her weapon, striking one of its stone legs.

  Kang!

  The Silver Jian bounced off the creature’s armor—which wasn’t surprising considering Luna didn’t channel any qi into it.

  Before she could move, the same leg moved faster, and she was hit. The strength of its blow catapulted her off the ground, sending her flying straight into one of the black walls at the edge of the field.

  Her hands quickly lost their strength and her sword dropped to the black floor with a loud clang. She then vomited an entire mouthful of blood as her body was sent into a wave of excruciating pain.

  The Qi had protected her, but because she was a First Gate user, Luna’s defense wasn’t the best in the first place. At least she wasn't a mushy pile of scattered flesh and blood.

  For a moment, the world was a blur before the iron taste of blood pulled her back to her senses. The world slowly cleared and the first thing she saw was the stone creature rushing at her with pure madness and rage in its eyes.

  Luna quickly ignored the pain she was feeling and pulled herself out of the small crater made by her body. She landed on the rocky floor on her chest.

  She coughed more blood as she tried to move her body. But she was too late. Her sword was still too far away and the creature’s shadow was already looming over her.

  Just then, Darkness roared and punched the earth. Her ability activated and the crushed force returned—this time more powerful—and everyone in its range was pushed to the ground….

  The cursed creature, however, didn’t get pushed to the ground like Luna. It stayed standing and remained still as it couldn’t withstand the increased gravity.

  The rocks and corpses of the smaller rock creatures exploded from the might of Darkness’s power as she drew out every single drop of energy she had left.

  Before it could let out a defiant roar, one of the beast’s eyes was destroyed by a flying javelin that exploded once it pierced into its head.

  ‘She’s here.’

  Just then, Storm Rider appeared from the same path Luna had used to get here and attacked the creature without hesitation.

  She jumped into the field and the ground cracked from her force.

  She looked around and smirked. Then suddenly, the surface of her palm glowed and a ring of golden flames appeared just above her fingers. The flames began to spin in a circular motion until they looked like a fire saw.

  The creature saw this and roared, hoping to destroy her. But a barrier appeared instantly and the creature’s attack bounced off.

  ‘This is supposed to be a High level Cursed Tyrant? Too weak.’

  She threw the spinning ring at one of the rock creature’s legs and it successfully severed it. The creature cried in pain as its acidic black blood splattered everywhere. Wherever it poured, the rock sizzled.

  At the same time, Darkness freed the world of her power and immediately stepped into motion. She manifested a jian with the zenshi she had left and attacked the crying beast.

  From above, Len, who had shown up as a fog above the creature, transformed back to her physical form and landed atop where she thrust her longsword and her ice started to spread. It didn’t spread quickly, but it moved across its tough armor at a stable speed.

  Luna, on the other hand, sucked in the pain and mustered the strength to stand. She picked up her weapon as the creature turned its attention to the three women.

  It was moving once again now that Darkness’s ability was off.

  “Crap.”

  With that thought, she joined the dreadful battle. This was a winnable battle since they had someone as powerful as Storm Rider on their side.