After he moved with great speed, the particles of many trees split as his body collided with them. Aric regained balance by somersaulting and using the soles of his feet to stay in a slanted position on a tree close by. As a result of the sheer force, the tree broke too.
Simultaneously, swiftly navigating through the leaves, he noticed the imminent fall of the tall tree and quickly flipped to land on the next one beside him.
"That was close!" he let out regaining his momentum.
With momentum regained, Aric continued his relentless pursuit through the treetops. The massive trees in the forest made it extremely easy for those who had Awakened to maintain balance on the treetops.
As Aric arrived on the tree beside him, he twisted his feet tying to gain advantage to propel him forward.
Immediately, he took his stance and leaped out of the tree. The gigantic tree fell down moments after as he flew with a breathtaking speed.
He launched himself forward with great momentum towards the direction of the demon leader.
After propelling himself forward, the man flew through the air with breathtaking speed, his body blurred as he closed in on the demon leader. The force of his movement caused the trees to tremble and the ground to shake beneath him.
He moved at an incredible speed, causing destruction in the environment due to the impact of his force.
The demon leader advanced to meet him too. Both of them brandished their weapons and screamed.
*Hhhhhhhhhhhh*
As the blow landed it shook the entire forest. They began to exchange blows midair.
"You think you can defeat me? What gives you this courage? You're barely in the S rank class, fighting against an SS Class. Do you really think you can defeat me? Hahahaha!" he taunted, easily countering each of the man's attacks.
The S class rank is a rare achievement, but it pales in comparison to the higher SS rank class. The difference is not even considerable.
"No matter my rank, I will fight and defeat you. I don't care if I die in the process. No one will harm my baby and my wife while I'm alive… Ahhhhh!" Aric declared, he was determined to fight till the end.
In an instant, he disappeared into a mist, blending with the dark night. Reappearing behind the demon leader, he aimed a swift strike at his head, his daggers poised to strike with deadly precision. But the demon leader was no ordinary foe. He smirked, as if he had anticipated the attack, and effortlessly countered the strike with his swords, not even bothering to look.
"Assassins and their petty moves," the demon leader smirked, countering with his swords without even looking. It seemed as if he didn't care about the ongoing fight.
Aric spun rapidly and aimed his daggers at the demon leader's neck.
The demon leader easily evaded the blow by bending. The man persisted in his attack, moving swiftly on the treetops. He flipped backward, preparing for his next move.
"I told you, your attacks mean nothing to me. While we speak, my men are closing in on your wife. Stopping me won't save you from losing the baby," the demon leader taunted, laughing as he looked at the man.
The words of the demon leader filled him with anger and the sense of helplessness, knowing he couldn't prevent the harm that could come to his wife and baby.
"As long as I'm here, you won't lay a finger on my wife," he responded.
"Mystic Arts!" he exclaimed, his hands moving in a mysterious manner.
The Mystic Arts were typically employed by Divine Sentinels as a self-destructive measure against stronger opponents…..
"Are you mad? How could you use the mystic A…" Before he could finish his sentence, a golden energy radiated from Aric
The golden light transformed the dark night into a bright afternoon-like environment.
*******
Stella, heavily pregnant, had managed to escape the dense forest, running far away from the demons.
As the night brightened, Stella turned to look in the direction where her husband might be. Realizing the Mystic Arts signature move, she screamed out,
"Noooooo!" Stella clasped her hands on her stomach, crying bitterly, knowing that her husband had just activated the mystic arts self-destruct technique.
*****
Without wasting any more time, the demon leader dropped to his knees, preparing to vanish. However, the man's body became engulfed in radiant gold energy, expanding rapidly. In the nick of time, he exploded, the energy spreading across a wide distance, obliterating all life forms around.
The echoes of the self-destruction reverberated through the devastated forest, leaving a profound impact on its surroundings. Even a lesser-ranked self-destruction has the potential to eliminate a higher-ranked opponent.
The only factor that affects the strength of self-destruction is if the person is three ranks higher. The chances of anyone surviving the attack was low.
********
After the destruction of the entire forest region, Stella was fortunate enough to have survived. Her husband had sacrificed his life to protect her and their baby.
Now, she found herself in a nearby town, one of the few that had remained unscathed by the demons. Stella arrived at the residence of midwives at the perfect moment, as her water broke. The houses in the city were simple hovering structures, resembling bungalows rather than luxurious buildings. This was one of the reasons they had managed to evade detection by the demons.
Dehydrated and exhausted, Stella arrived at the residence of midwives at the perfect moment, as her water broke.
"Push! The baby is coming… Push! We're almost there," the midwife urged, her hands was near Stella's body as she held the head of the baby that were out.
"Hmmmmmm! Eeeerh! I can't bear it anymore… Hmmmmm!" Stella screamed, feeling as if the weight of the world was on her.
"The baby is almost here. Just one more push… Push!!!" the midwife encouraged.
"Hmmmmmmmmmmm…!"
"Eya! Eya! Eya!" the cry of a baby filled the room.
In the midst of pain and exhaustion, Stella pushed through, and the cry of a baby filled the room.
"Congratulations, you have given birth to a boy," one of the midwives said, holding the bloody baby in her hands.
The woman, visibly exhausted, smiled as she looked at her baby in the midwife's hands, then closed her eyes.
Overwhelmed by pain and fatigue, Stella fell into a deep sleep.
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