Chapter 279 Moving Forward
Sirius closed his eyes and sat down. His heart calmed down as he started to run his blood essence through his body. The procedure had taken a significant toll on his body and he needed to make up for it.
While he rested himself, Hailey was completely different. Her senses were slowly coming back to her and she was finally coming to reality. Strange memories appeared in her mind, the unbearable pain and the whole process kept on flashing in front of her eyes.
Hailey looked at her own hands and felt something different. She felt like a stranger to her own body. Clenching her fists, she felt a newfound strength flowing inside her.
Feeling physically stronger than ever, she smiled. Looking up, she saw Ray and Adrian standing on the side while Sirius was meditating with his eyes closed.
As for Elina, she was half asleep by now and was barely concentrating on her moves. Taking the chance, Hailey stood up and started walking towards Sirius.
Even though she didn't remember it all, she knew enough that Sirius was to blame and given the new found strength she had gained, she decided to take her revenge.
Her feet touched the ground as she blurred and appeared in front of Sirius. Her hands were raised as she involuntarily transformed. Whitish fur appeared over her body as she increased in size.
Her muscles got firmer and leaner. Claws extended out of her fingers while her eyes turned purple. A strange hazy mist surrounded her as she looked down at Sirius with much hatred.
Bringing her claw down, she tried to slash at Sirius but just as she was about to do so, her hand stopped. Inches away from Sirius's skin, her body paused and didn't go any further in.
She looked at him with shock as her body betrayed her orders.
Sirius slowly opened his eyes. The connection between him and Hailey had informed him of the situation and he was aware of it all along. He just let her attack so she could see that things have changed.
Seeing him open his eyes, her mind was suddenly diverted. Submissive thoughts came to her as she looked deep into his eyes that glowed yellow.
A sudden urge of pulling him closer and making out with him came to her. She wanted his kids. Shaking her head, she got herself out of those thoughts. Her transformation was over and she was back to being a human.
With her face flushed red, she looked at shyly and tried to put on a strong front as she asked, "What did you do to me?"
"Well, I just followed orders," Sirius replied coldly. He stood up and turned around. Walking towards where Ray stood, he left her behind as she tried to sort out her thoughts.
"You done?" Ray asked, slightly worried about Sirius as not only was Sirius his best ally but a close friend as well and he didn't want his friends in trouble.
"Yeah, I am fine. Just dealt with the beta," Sirius replied.
"ohhh…" Ray nodded as he turned to Hailey and looked at her. She was standing in her place like a statue as she tried to process the whole turn of events.
"Guess she will come to accept it sooner or later," Said Ray and turned to Adrian as he spoke, "We shall get moving. There isn't much time left and I don't feel good about waiting more,"
"Yes," Adrian nodded and raised his hands. Darkness covered around them as he disappeared.
"Where did he go?" Asked Sirius.
"Well, he went away to gather everyone. Also, I find him quite approachable this time. Last time we met, he acted a bit strange and reserved but right now, he seems quite easy going," Ray asked.
"Yeah, he did change quite a lot. Well, I don't see anything wrong in it," Sirius replied.
"Well, I was just curious," Ray muttered absent mindedly and spoke, "Lets move on now," He said and then started walking out.
"hmm…" Sirius nodded and turned around as he saw Hailey looking into nothingness. She seemed lost and Sirius understood her plight very well.
Walking to her, he grabbed her hand and slowly started to drag her along with him. He had turned her and she was his responsibility.
On the other hand, Ray nudged Elina and woke her up. She rubbed her eyes and looked around to see Hailey. Not finding her there, she jumped in shock and asked Ray, "What happened? Did I not stop her and you all had to kill her? Well, even though she deserved to die but sorry. I didn't fulfil my duty,"
"Calm down Elina. Nothing like that happened. Even though you failed to keep watch, Sirius was prepared. He has her under his control and is keeping watch on her. So you don't worry and just concentrate on what lies ahead," Saying, Ray turned and tapped the ground twice.
The wind was stirred and he disappeared into the air. Elina kept starting in the empty air, listening to Ray's words comforted her mind and presence.
She felt at peace as a warm feeling spread through her body. Hugging herself, she walked towards the gathering place slowly.
Meanwhile,
Everyone gathered around as they whispered amongst each other. They were curious about the upcoming strategies and their next move. They were all strong but their leaders were even stronger. They had seen Ray's strength and were quite confident in him.
Somehow, Ray seemed to overcome any hurdle and stand tall in front of them. This was something about Ray that made them admire him.
Just as they were thinking about the next move, the wind stirred as a man appeared in the middle. He looked calm and collected. His visage was cool and he had this unusually strong and sensible vibe around him.
Ray looked back at them with a smile on his face. He knew that they all trusted him and he had uphold his trust.
Using mana to enhance his voice, he spoke, "I thank you all for believing in me. It is due to your help that we got this far and hopefully, we will soon get to the portal room and leave this place,"
Speaking, Ray looked into everyone's eyes as he realized that they all shared the same sentiment. They all wanted to leave the place and finally have some time with peace.
Ray stayed silent for a moment before he started speaking once again, "I have made a new team plan. The support team will be called here to join us as we will push forward in an offensive manner because from what I estimate, we don't have much time before something worse happens,"
"Also, we have to think of the people back at the infirmary. We need to support them too. No one knows the situation back there as communication is limited. Therefore, I request you all to comply with us and give it your all," Ray finished speaking. He brought out a piece of paper that had names written on it.
After that, he announced names and put everyone in three different teams. The teams were arranged in a balanced way and their formation was also same.
This was Ray's method of countering with any strange occurrence or event. At least, there would be enough people in each team to defend themselves.
After explaining it all, Ray turned around and faced the following hallway. It was the path ahead and they had to move forward.
Ray raised his hand as the Void Sword appeared out of a portal, he grabbed the sword and took a step forward. Planting his feet firmly, he twisted his torso and slashed the sword as it left a deep greyish arc up ahead. The arc travelled forward as it cut through the hallway until vanished into mid air.
The others looked at Ray in confusion. Seeing the attack and the aura it left behind, they were expecting something big but it was just so dull.
Just as they were about to turn around from disappointment, a small spatial crack appeared. The space got distorted as a small pitch black hole was created.
They all felt their bodies align differently. Like their balance and center of gravity being changed. They felt themselves aligning towards the small hole.
They saw the hole expand as a great suction force was created from within it. Around the hole, droplets of blood gathered as they particles were sucked into it.
They all finally realized something. Ray's attack just now had killed the trolls that came in it's way and did so with such efficiency that the trolls had no chance to move and that the aftereffect of the attack resulted in a black hole that sucked in the dead matter left behind from his attack.
This made them fear Ray even more but above that, they respected him. Not just for his strength but the calmness that came with it.
Ray turned back at them and looking straight in their eyes, he spoke, "So everyone. We have started the offense and hopefully we will keep it this way and move forward," With that, wings opened up behind him as he flew in the sky.
His sword was in his hand as he flew forward. The others felt encouraged and with their confidence shooting through the roof, they all ran along in their formation and followed Ray to attack.