Little Jack lunged out just as Derrick swung the Axe of Hurricane, moving so fast that an afterimage remained where he had stood.
Of course—he wasn't unlucky enough to throw himself directly onto the axe.
The blond-haired figure twisted through the air in an utterly unrealistic manner, changing from a leap toward the Axe of Hurricane into a launch that used it to spring farther and more fiercely forward.
This gave Joshua time to react. He leaped back sharply, and Little Jack's savage attack struck nothing but air.
Jack rolled across the ground and scrambled back up, intending to repeat the same move, but it was already too late.
Derrick swung the Axe of Hurricane again behind him. Before that, Demon Hunter Colin had already dropped to one knee and plunged his straight sword, coated in silvery-gray ointment, into the ground.
The entire altar area brightened instantly, as if it had been drenched in the purest dawn.
Derrick looked toward the source of the light. Colin pulled his sword from the ground, and his figure split eerily into overlapping afterimages scattered around the altar.
Each figure raised its sword at the same time, merging with the surrounding dawn and blooming with brilliant radiance.
Straight swords carrying the dazzling brilliance of dawn encircled Little Jack.
Within the blinding light, the black-and-red figure rapidly evaporated and was obliterated by the storm-like assault, leaving behind only the brightly lit hall.
Derrick closed his eyes against the piercing light.
Derrick shook his head to clear it. When he opened his eyes, he saw a bonfire burning quietly before him.
He heard Demon Hunter Colin's calm voice: "Set out after fifty flashes of lightning."
In the underground region of the divine palace, Derrick was running for his life alongside the others. The hall shook