Aren turned around, rushing toward the crystal, but the mana tracked again, using multiple spikes from every direction to attack Aren.

Aren gritted his teeth. Using his shadow sense and his martial art, he moved. His body flowed like the wind as he skillfully avoided every attack fluidly and accurately. It was like a dance in the middle of death.

The man saw this, so he decided to attack even harder now to ensure that Aren didn't reach there. Spikes shot out of the ground all around Aren, even from the walls, and came down hard to stab into him.

He was about to pull out a move to survive, but then he looked up and saw Athena inside the coffin, and she winked at him. He took that as a sign and didn't do anything. Instead, he went low to the ground.

Athena's third eye opened, and immediately, chaos raged forward, shattering the coffin instantly and sending a terrifyingly powerful blast that shattered every single spike, then slammed into the man. His body was thrown back so hard, he bounced off the ground like a ball.

He finally came to a stop with one knee on the ground. He was about to attack again, but the next moment they were surrounded by a ton of city guards, weapons drawn and ready to attack.

Everyone froze in place.

The man looked around, and more than twenty guards were there now, so there was no way he could do anything now. He clenched his jaw in anger.

"Tch, I guess for now you can stay together," he said, then suddenly, a massive pillar formed of crystals shot him high into the air. The tower kept growing and growing.

The guards saw that he was trying to get away and immediately started attacking the tower. A few actually rushed up the side, running fast, while some unleashed attacks to the top of the tower.

Seeing all the attacks coming, the man was forced to cover himself in a capsule of crystal, and when he was high enough, he leapt off the tower.

The guards unleashed a barrage of attacks at him, but he took out something that looked like a small, smooth purple stone and then cracked it. Instantly, multiple purple glows showed around the entire district where the fight had happened, immediately pulling the attention of all the guards and everyone around.

"Run, run!" Aren yelled, and they all started running. The purple glass got brighter, and in the next moment, explosions ripped through the area. Houses were blown to smithereens in seconds.

Using that distraction, the man completely slipped away from there. The guards were too busy with the explosion situation to even try and find the man. He was gone.

After the explosions ended, the dust and smoke finally began to clear.

Aren and the group were revealed standing beneath a dome of energy, one that Zero had created to shield them from the blast.

"We need to move," Aren said immediately.

"Yeah," Aiden agreed. "Before the guards drag us in for questioning."

Without looking back, they left the area. Guards were already rushing in to deal with the aftermath, flames burning into nearby houses, debris collapsed onto people, and chaos spreading through the streets.

The group moved quickly, heading straight back to the inn where they were staying.

Once inside, they gathered into a single room, Aren's room.

Everyone sat down.

Aren, Kira, and Athena took the bed.

Zero sat cross-legged on the floor.

Aiden and Raze leaned against the wall.

A heavy silence filled the room.

No one spoke for a long while.

Finally, Kira broke it.

"What was that about?" she muttered.

"Someone wants Athena," Aiden said plainly.

"Yeah, but that doesn't make sense," Kira replied. "Why?"

Aren turned to Athena.

She met his gaze for a moment, then looked away, guilt flickering across her face. It was clear she was blaming herself, thinking her presence had dragged the group into danger.

Aren noticed immediately.

"You don't have to feel guilty, Athena," he said calmly. "What happened wasn't your fault. And even if it was, all of us would still stand up for you."

She looked at him again, surprised.

"The real issue," Aren continued, leaning forward and interlocking his fingers, elbows resting on his knees, "is why someone is after you. What do they want?"

He paused, then added, "That guy was strong. Really strong."

"Yeah," Raze agreed. "High-level Awakening, no doubt."

"Each of us got a chance to attack," Aiden added, "but even when we pushed him back, he still controlled the pace. The whole fight changed only after Aren broke out of that cube."

"Whoever he works for is powerful," Kira said quietly. "You don't send someone like that unless you're serious."

She looked at Athena.

"If we weren't there, you would've been taken. It seemed he had ways prepared," Kira said. "Do you know anything? Anything at all that could explain this?"

Athena shook her head.

She didn't know anyone who would want to hurt her. She barely knew anyone at all. The people in this room were her world now, her family.

That made it worse.

So who could want her badly enough to send someone like that?

And why?

The room fell silent again as everyone sank into thought.

Finally, Aren spoke.

"Whatever the reason is, we can't let them get their hands on her," he said firmly. "And we need to figure out what they're after."

"How?" Aiden asked. "We don't have connections in this city."

Aren clenched his jaw.

"We'll find a way," he said. "For now, we lay low. Keep Athena safe."

He looked around the room.

"I think we should avoid the pig's pot until the tournament starts. I'll also start looking around for whatever information I can find as to why they want Athena.

For now, I'm sure we are safe. He won't attack for a while since he saw it wasn't that easy. He'll have to make a better plan," Aren explained.

"Yeah, but there is a week to the tournament. He might want to do whatever he wants before the city is extremely crowded, so he might come again soon," Zero said while staring at the floor.

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