CHAPTER 85: CHAPTER 85 - HOPELESS

Falling through the air, dozens of thoughts raced through Logan’s mind.

The panther’s jaws were still clamped around his torso, its teeth punching through his armor—only stopped by the thin skin suit underneath.

Gritting his teeth, Logan plunged his glaive into the creature’s skull and unleashed a surge of fire, melting its brain from the inside.

At the same time, Livia broke free by blasting the panther with a light beam at close range.

The dead panther’s body twisted in the air, its body finally going limp. Its jaws loosened around his torso, allowing him to break free.

But it was all too late.

They were still falling.

The frozen lake below was getting closer each second.

Logan barely had time to brace before they hit.

A loud crack rang out across the lake.

The impact knocked the air out of Logan’s lungs as the ice shattered underneath them like glass and plunged them into the freezing water.

Thick clouds of steam swirled around him as the water boiled away in seconds.

Logan’s body screamed in agony as he hit the bottom of the lake, countless ice shards cutting through his flesh and bones.

His eyes fluttered open, only to shut again as pain overwhelmed him.

The pain was unbearable.

’...Breathe.’

His eyes opened again, water and smoke blurring his vision.

He blinked once. Twice.

Everything was a distorted blue and white.

His vision cleared just enough to catch a glimpse of silver hair in the distance.

’Livia,’ he thought, the phoenix flame rampaging through his body.

The cuts and bruises on his body slowly healed as his core started to ache.

His heart beat wildly as he saw her float limply in the water, bubbles rising from her open mouth, her eyes closed and her face pale.

The pain in his limbs slowly vanished as Logan saw her, replaced by adrenaline once again.

He kicked off the lake bed, a piece of bone still sticking out of his leg that had been broken by the fall.

He wrapped one arm around her waist.

Then, he began to rise.

’Almost there.’

The water boiled around them as he breached the surface with a gasp.

Gasping, Logan tore through the surface, sucking in air like his life depended on it.

Holding the unconscious Livia above water, he slapped her face.

"Fuck..." he said, tilting her head back.

He pinched her nose shut and pressed his mouth against hers, forcing air into her lungs.

She remained limp in his arms.

Logan grit his teeth, adjusting his grip before punching her stomach.

A sharp cough burst from her lips as she spat out water, followed by desperate gasps for air.

"That’s it," Logan said, letting out a sigh of relief.

Deep down, he silently thanked his phoenix affinity. They would have both died if the fire hadn’t evaporated the water in his lungs and healed his body.

Pulling Livia out of the water before throwing himself onto the thick ice, Logan looked around—panting, shivering, steam rising from his skin with each breath.

Dozens of glowing eyes stared at them from the surrounding cliffs and ridges. Snow panthers.

More than a dozen, all between D and C-rank.

They weren’t attacking—yet.

Just observing them from a distance.

Looking down at Livia again, who was slowly regaining her consciousness, Logan noticed her eyes twitch, then flutter open slightly.

She winced, feeling pain all over her body.

"W...What happened..." she murmured, her voice barely audible.

"We fell into the lake," Logan said softly, while glancing around grimly.

Livia blinked, her gaze focusing. Then she coughed, spitting out a bit of water.

"The panthers...?" she asked.

"All around us," Logan said grimly. "Watching our every move."

Her eyes widened slightly as she turned her head, seeing the countless panthers surrounding them.

"Divine one..." she whispered, unable to stand up.

"I don’t think he’s going to help us here," Logan said, slowly rising to his feet. "They haven’t attacked us yet... but they will."

He knew he couldn’t go on any longer.

His core was aching immensely from overusing his mana. Even his Flaming Body technique had faded the moment they surfaced.

Silence fell between them as some of the panthers roared.

"Can you still go on at the same speed as before?" Livia asked, voice shaking.

Logan shook his head, unsure.

"I... don’t know," he admitted, breathing heavily.

Livia grit her teeth, her hand trembling as she reached for her rapier.

"You better be able to," she said weakly. "I’m pouring everything I’ve got into this."

"What..." Logan said, his eyes widening.

"Just go when I tell you to," Livia said, aiming her rapier to the sky.

Logan’s mind raced as he searched for any way to recover his mana.

Finally, he settled on one.

Livia’s rapier began to shine an intense bright light at the tip, so much so that it blinded him as he looked at it.

Sending a tiny mana thread into his space ring, Logan pulled out two fire mana stones.

’I’ll regret this in two seconds... if I’m still conscious,’ he thought, determined as he crushed the stones.

He had no idea if his core would be able to stand the foreign mana rushing through his body, but he had no other option at this point.

’Either this works, or we both die here,’ he thought, gritting his teeth as countless fire mana threads aggressively pushed through his veins.

Livia’s eyes began to flutter as the concentrated light above her rapier grew larger.

"Don’t waste it," she said, her voice barely a whisper.

"Go now," she whispered, before collapsing.

A brilliant light shot up into the sky.

Logan immediately closed his eyes, preventing the light from burning them.

He grabbed Livia’s arm and slung her over his shoulder as the foreign fire mana burned through his body.

The panthers roared wildly, all blinded by the sudden bright light that exploded in the sky.

’There,’ Logan thought, dashing towards the closest exit from the valley.

The bait’s stench had been washed away by the water. Now, he just had to get them out safely.

He dashed forward, crossing several hundreds of feet in no longer than a minute.

Behind him, the blinded panthers roared in fury.