Chapter 122: 122. Ron's Decision
He cursed, seeing the beams of light coming towards him and once again disappeared from his location.
Orion, who witnessed all of that, finally knew who the anomaly was that the monster had been searching for the whole time.
He already felt that this guy appeared to be hiding something from them but that was a different matter.
However, him being the anomaly was a surprise to him.
When he saw the beams of light moving towards the two of them, he suspected the masked girl to be an anomaly because of how secretive she was about her identity.
But now he had been proven wrong.
The anomaly was none other than Ron.
He could see that every time Ron changed his location, the beams of light would follow him relentlessly, as if they were determined to keep him within their sight no matter where he went.
But it was a different experience for Ron, who kept teleporting to one place after another. He felt that these two beams of light were not merely chasing him; they were hunting him with a precision that sent shivers down his spine.
He didn\'t know what to do with these two beams of light. They just couldn\'t leave him alone and kept following him.
\'What should I do?\'
He understood that he couldn\'t keep teleporting like that all the time because if he were to do that, then his mana would eventually come to an end and that was the worst-case scenario he wanted to avoid the most right now.
His mana was too precious for him right now, considering they were facing something so strong that could kill them in an instant. He felt that in this situation, his talent would definitely come in handy but he would need mana for that.
Therefore, he was unwilling to waste his mana like that.
"Ron!"
At that moment, he heard someone shout his name. Turning around, he saw that it was Ryfin in the distance.
However, his attention wasn\'t on him but on a swirling blue vortex beside him.
"Teleport here!"
He heard Ryfin\'s words and finally understood what he wanted to do.
"Alright, I am coming."
He shouted at him and teleported in front of him. This caused the two beams of light to instantly change their direction as well.
As Ryfin saw Rom appear beside the swirling vortex, he turned his attention towards the two beams of light that were heading towards them.
"Teleport at the last possible moment," he said, turning to Ron. "That way, the two beams won\'t be able to change their direction and will enter my portal here."
Ron nodded and prepared himself for that. He understood the task was a little risky but if he wanted to lose the two beams, then this was his best chance.
Looking at the two beams of light that were zooming towards him, he took a deep breath and calmed himself down completely.
He understood that he would have to teleport at the last possible moment before the two beams could hit him. It was a difficult task and he would have to prepare himself well for that.
"Let\'s do this."
He muttered to himself as he awaited the arrival of the two beams of light.
It took only a few seconds before the beams of light were upon him.
He concentrated hard and paid his full attention to the two beams of light.
Buzz!—
He could hear its buzzing sound when it appeared in front of him but he still waited.
Less than a second later, the two beams of light were just an inch away from his stomach.
\'It\'s time.\'
At the exact moment, he disappeared from there, causing the two beams of light to directly enter the swirling vortex behind him.
A moment later, he appeared again in front of Ryfin, seeing the beams of light disappear into the swirling vortex.
"You said that it was a portal so where is it leading to?" He asked Ryfin after he calmed himself down.
"Look there," Ryfin said, pointing at the huge monster in the distance.
Ron turned around and was surprised to see a similar swirling vortex at the feet of the giant monster.
At that moment, he also saw the two beams of light come out of the swirling vortex and collide with the leg of the monster, but the monster didn\'t even react to it.
Its eyes were always on Ron the whole time and Ron also noticed that and because of it, his face became black.
He couldn\'t understand why he was the anomaly and the fact that he didn\'t understand the term \'anomaly\' irked him even more when he was targeted by an Apocalypse-level monster just because he was deemed an anomaly.
"Extermination failed. Initiating combat mode."
The voice of the monster again rang out in the desolate Aethelgard City.
But this voice sounded nightmarish to Ron, its chilling tone sending shivers down his spine as if it emerged from the darkest recesses of his own fears.
"No, no, no."
A moment later, the thing he feared the most came true.
He saw that the monster started moving in his direction. Seeing that, panic gripped him as he desperately searched for a way to escape, his heart pounding louder with each passing second.
However, he had nowhere to escape. They were trapped in Aethelgard City, which had now turned into nothing but ruins.
The sound of the mammoth\'s footsteps rang heavily in his ears, each thud reverberating through the ground and amplifying his terror.
\'What should I do?\'
He understood that he stood no chance against the monster and the only option he had against the monster was to teleport to a place where the monster couldn\'t find him.
But he also doubted if there was such a place where the monster couldn\'t find him.
However, at that moment, he recalled what Orion had mentioned to them previously. He said that the monster was looking for the anomaly but since it couldn\'t find it, it wanted to destroy the core of the planet itself to kill the anomaly.
\'It can\'t find me if I hide in the underground or is there something else I am missing?\'
He couldn\'t understand how the monster didn\'t detect him last time.
\'At that time, we were still under the influence of the trap!\'
He finally realized the missing piece. The monster couldn\'t find him previously because he was under the influence of the mirrors—he was in the domain of the mirror world.
\'But if I hide there, it would target the core of the planet.\'
He weighed his options heavily as a hint of hesitation flashed before his eyes. He knew he would have to decide between himself and the core.
In the end, he gritted his teeth and disappeared from the area completely. He cared for his life too deeply. One might say he was a coward, and he wouldn\'t deny it. If running away could save his life, so be it, even if he had to risk the lives of every individual living on the planet Sadola.
For he carried the hope of too many, the burden of countless dreams and aspirations resting on his shoulders. His survival was paramount, for without him, the fragile glimmer of hope for a brighter future would be extinguished.