"Damn...what the hell just happened…" Damien muttered as he tried to get up.
"Big Brother, are you okay??" Valentina worriedly asked as she got up and pulled him up.
"Yes, I am fine. What—" But his eyes were startled by the amount of destruction that happened in front of him.
There was not even a stage anymore, and the smell of burnt bodies permeated the air. The explosion killed those who were performing on the stage, not leaving behind even a single trace of their bodies.
Most of the audience were either dead or severely injured. Only those with higher cultivation and sat farther away from the stage managed to survive with heavy injuries.
The explosion was a self-contained explosion that only spread a couple of meters but a deadly one and killed everyone who got within its blast radius. But the ground within the blast radius was completely destroyed and even those who were outside the blast radius felt muddled from the shockwaves.
People were running helter-skelter as many ran back to their homes while some were crying near the dead corpses while others wailed in pain. It was a totally chaotic scene, and the merchants even abandoned their shops after packing up their valuables. Some didn't even care about their things and ran away from the central square.
After all, they didn't want to wait and see if another explosion would happen or not.
Damien had a perplexed expression as he mumbled, "Who did this and why?"
Damien couldn't understand who attacked this place out of nowhere. This place wasn't much of a significance, and there was nothing to steal too.
*BLINGGG*
A city-wide alarm suddenly sounded out as some of the people froze on their spots.
Their mouths trembled as they shouted, "It's the Forsaken!! They are here!! Run!!!"
Damien looked up and saw some grey cloaked figures jumping towards the ground from the roof. They blended well with the night and their movements were fast and nimble.
Damien also saw the Xeton patrol guards rushing towards the central square with their weapons out.
Damien saw that the two groups were about to clash, and he didn't want to stick around and get himself involved in this trouble. He didn't care to think further about why the Forsaken were here or their agendas.
"Come, let's go, Valentina. It isn't safe here." Damien held Valentina's hand and dashed towards his villa's direction, which was fortunately in the opposite direction.
"Luna, what the hell was that explosion?" Damien mentally asked as he ran.
"It was from an ethereal formation that was already laid near the stage. I only noticed it when it got activated. The activation was very subtle, and one wouldn't even notice it unless they knew about it. Of course, these Forsaken people must have done it." Luna casually said.
'Did I just witness a terrorist attack...just my luck...phew.' Damien wondered what would have happened had he not got Luna's warning. Even if he used his speed instantaneously after noticing the explosion, he would have at least lost a leg or two and would be lucky even to survive.
He took to the alleys to not attract any attention towards him and increased his speed as much as he could. He also heard another explosion resounding from the direction in which the imperial palace was located.
Damien wondered how big of an explosion it must have been for him to notice it from this far away.
He then realized that the explosion in the center square must have been a distraction to distract the guards and everyone's attention. He was sure the Forsaken must have planned something big as people said they hadn't made a move for a couple of years.
However, as he was speeding through one of the alleys, he noticed many grey cloaked figures with masks whizzing past him.
He wasn't able to detect their cultivation levels at all and realized that their cultivations were all way above him.
'Oh, shit…' Damien stopped running as many cloaked figures surrounded him from all sides, closing away all exit paths he could take.
He tightly held Valentina as he quickly scanned his surroundings for a way out.
"Careful, they all are at least in the Sky Ethereal Realm, and there are also two in the Peak Levels of the Heaven Ethereal Realm!" Luna warned.
'Why the fuck are they after me?' Damien was surprised hearing their power levels. He wondered what these people wanted from him as he never even involved himself with them, nor did he have any enmity against them.
After learning their powerful power levels, Damien speculated that he was an important target to them for some reason otherwise why would they go this far for him who was only at the Nascent Ethereal Realm.
He saw a cloaked figure with an azure mask slowly coming forward and two tall figures with sky blue masks standing behind the one with the azure mask. All others had black masks, and they all stood still on their spots without making any movements.
However, their demeanor seemed as if they were ready to pounce on Damien if he tried to escape.
The figure wearing the azure mask spoke in a monotone voice which obviously seemed disguised, "Damien Godwin, I am sure you must have heard of us, The Forsaken. We apologize for introducing ourselves in such a situation. Circumstances are not in our favor, and some things had to be done quickly. My name is Triton, and I need you to come with me. Don't worry, we don't mean no harm, and we will also make sure the lady in your arms safely reached home."
Damien asked as his brows furrowed, "And what if I refuse?"
Triton sighed and said, "I hope you do not, as we would have to use force otherwise."
"Damien…" Valentina faintly muttered as she tightly clutched Damien's clothes, preparing herself to fight in case Damien gets in a fight. She had no idea of the cultivation levels of the people who surrounded them. Still, she could faintly sense that they all were more powerful than her or Damien.
Even though he knew chances were pretty slim, Damien quickly thought of using Piggy as a distraction to escape. But an overbearing pressure descended on him, which restricted his movements completely.
Now, even if he lets out Piggy or Misty, it would be completely useless as he won't be able to escape the aura from a Peak Level Heaven Ethereal Realm practitioner.
The same pressure descended on Valentina as well, making her unable to use her ethereal arts. The two stood still on the spot as if they were statues.
"Don't resist. Let them take you away. They won't kill you." Luna said in an assuring tone.
But she muttered to herself in an amusing tone, "Interesting…"
Damien was surprised that Luna wanted to let them kidnap him. However, he trusted her words and didn't do anything else.
Triton suddenly flashed forward and touched Valentina's forehead, making her go unconscious before she could even react.
"Don't you dare touch her!" Damien coldly shouted as he worried about what Triton did to Valentina.
Triton caught Valentina and said in a calm voice, "Calm down. She's merely unconscious. We won't harm her just as we promised. We will leave her somewhere where her Master could find her."
Before Damien could say anything else, Triton touched Damien's forehead as well, making his mind go dark.
"Master Triton, we must quickly leave. We have already wasted enough time going after this boy. And who knows Alchemist Azrael might come after us if we hold on to his personal disciple for too long."
"I know, Blake. But we already made use of a barrier to make sure she didn't send any distress signals, and it is not good to directly knock him out without talking to him."
Triton beckoned at two of the black-masked figures.
"Yes, master Triton? Please give us your command." Two womanly voices sounded as they deeply bowed.
Triton passed the unconscious Valentina to them and said, "Carry her to somewhere safe, possibly near where she stays. But don't get too close. Her Master might be around."
"Of course, master Triton."
The two women carried Valentina and swiftly disappeared into the shadows.
One of the sky blue masked men picked up Damien as Triton said, "Tell others to regroup. It's time to leave."
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