The little girl was very close to Angel. When she struck, she was swift as lightning. Even though Angel's reaction speed had greatly improved, evading an ambush at such close range was no easy task.
That strange, inhuman hand was just about to touch Angel.
Then came a crisp clang.
A crimson chain locked around the monster hand's wrist, scattering sparks.
Bobota had acted. However, his strength had now fallen almost to the level of an elementary apprentice. He could only hold it back for an instant before a terrifying force surged back through the chain and struck him. His entire body flew backward, crashing heavily more than ten meters away.
Yet that instant of obstruction created enough time for Angel to react.
Not only did Angel successfully evade the ambush, he even took the chance to counterattack.
The little girl was kicked violently away and slammed into a distant tree. The tree snapped at its waist, while the little girl slowly slid down and collapsed onto the ground.
"Are you alright?" Angel lightly tapped the ground with his feet, and his figure instantly appeared beside Bobota.
Bobota's cloak had been thrown open, revealing gaunt cheeks stretched over bone and an unnaturally pale face.
"I'm fine," Bobota said quietly.
Angel used 'Detect Injuries and Illness' to inspect him. Only after confirming that Bobota was unharmed did Angel turn his gaze toward the culprit in the distance. By then, her mutated monster hand had changed back into a thin, pale human hand. She sat limp on the ground, looking somewhat bedraggled.
Yet that hair-raising laughter still drifted out from beneath her hair.
The little girl's hair hung loose and wild, hiding her face from view.
But that horrifying laughter, along with the hand that had suddenly turned grotesque earlier, draped her