Ripples spread like waves across the black mass of negative energy.
The ripples overlapped, forming great folds.
When those folds piled up to their limit, the black negative energy at the very center began to fade, and then-
Boom!
With an ear-splitting explosion, a white shock wave burst outward from within, like a sharp sword leaving its sheath.
Feeling that familiar edge, Qin Ran raised an eyebrow.
Smoot!
Qin Ran had seen Smoot use this move more than once.
But that was not why he raised his eyebrow.
Wailing and despair.
Fear steeped in death.
Thanks to the environment saturated with negative energy, Qin Ran clearly discerned something unusual behind Smoot, trailing his razor-sharp Sanctuary Force.
Qin Ran immediately went on full alert.
The Mystery Side people who had arrived a step earlier, however, paid it no mind.
Their faces remained unruffled, their expressions calm.
When they saw Qin Ran's reaction, the people who had only just recovered from the shock he had given them immediately adopted expressions that seemed to say, "So that's all there is to him."
Those expressions were very subtle.
Yet, as luck would have it, they were just noticeable enough for the people around them to see.
Everyone exchanged knowing glances.
It seemed the shock Qin Ran had given them earlier no longer mattered.
After all, when faced with a "crisis," they were far calmer than the so-called Deathbird.
And when O'Hara and Eisind also grew wary, the smugness on their faces deepened further.
They lifted their chins and puffed out their chests, as though they had already surpassed both the Deathbird and the Sanctuary's High Deacon.
Only Feili was different.
With his blind trust in Qin Ran, Feili had quietly gone on alert as well.
His hand had already closed around the lifesaving magic