CHAPTER 410: DAMN YOU, NED

After covering the remaining distance, Idan and Arabel descended in front of the group.

"Sister?" called Idan, noticing his sister among them. He cancelled his Alpha of Fire transformation, returning to his true form.

"Idan! Thank God you’re okay!" — Irene rushed to hug him. Idan hesitated, hugged his sister back, and then turned to Arabel.

"Oh, Dan, I’m sorry, because of everything that happened, I forgot to tell you that your sister is here with Esma," Arabel apologized guiltily.

Idan didn’t say anything, but only hugged his sister tighter, feeling her concern for him.

"Little sister!" — Esma rushed to hug Arabel, who was still in her Ice Valkyrie form.

Arabel happily hugged Esma back, but then asked in a stern voice: "Esma! Didn’t I tell you to get out of here?"

"Ah, sister, it’s all about those two outsiders who blocked our path. It took me a while to deal with them, and then this strange barrier appeared that does not allow us to pass," Esma began to justify herself.

The others watched their interaction in silence and with great interest.

Irene released Idan and began to examine him, checking for injuries.

"I’m fine, Sister," Idan said with a smile, stopping her.

After confirming that he was really okay, Irene focused her attention on Arabel and walked towards her. By that time, Arabel had also canceled her transformation into an Ice Valkyrie, which surprised everyone else very much.

"I’m so glad you’re okay, Arabel," she said, hugging her. Arabel was a little embarrassed, but eventually returned the hug.

At that moment, Esma appeared in front of Idan.

"Is it just me, or have you become more handsome again, Idan?" she asked, carefully studying his face.

"Ha ha ha! Do you think so?" Idan replied with a slight smile. "It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, and maybe you’ve forgotten how I look?"

"I have a good memory, Idan. I’m sure you’ve become even more attractive," Esma said confidently.

"So this is Irene’s younger brother Idan and Arslan’s older twin sister Arabel," almost everyone present thought, looking at the couple Idan and Arabel.

"Has Arslan been in touch yet?" Arabel asked Irene after the hug, wanting to know the news about her brother.

"No, — Irene shook her head. "The last I heard, Rumbus City was attacked by a wave of beasts. Thanks to the awakened local military and the sudden support of a group from the Red Fox Guild, the city was defended. Nothing else."

Arabel frowned, and then muttered: "He’s probably still busy with the portal."

"With the portal?" asked Irene, hearing her mutter.

"A lot of things have happened, Irene, up there in the North," Arabel said.

But before Arabel could finish speaking, everyone heard a loud sound like the crunch of broken glass.

After a short pause, a deafening boom rang out, which almost deafened everyone.

BOOM!

Everyone, including Idan and Arabel, fell to the ground, covering their ears.

Following the rumble, a powerful pressure descended on them, pinning everyone to the ground. Only Idan, Arabel and Esma were able to stand on their feet.

Their gazes were fixed on the center of the barrier, from where a dark ray shot out with great speed. He broke through the dark barrier as if it were ordinary glass.

As soon as the barrier fell, all the awakened ones felt their connection to their Systems being restored.

And immediately after that, all of them, including Idan and Arabel, received a warning.:

[Run away. Get as far away from the rift as possible.]

Then, for a moment, everyone felt the gaze of a powerful being upon them, which made them freeze in fear. It was as if death itself was looking at them. But that feeling quickly disappeared, along with the pressure that was pressing down on their consciousness.

Everyone started to come to their senses and immediately started running away, as advised by their Systems.

Everyone except Idan.

"Damn! Damn! Damn!" cursed Idan, feeling the pressure that had fallen on him begin to increase, and the gaze of the being looking at him became more and more hostile.

Idan immediately guessed who it belonged to, the Queen.

Arabel, who, like the others, had gained her freedom, immediately noticed that something was happening to Idan.

"Dan?" she called to Idan, but he didn’t pay any attention to her.

The ground began to shake.

BAM, BAM, BAM.

These sounds were followed by deafening booms coming from the center of the hill. Turning around, Arabel saw a wave of dark energy approaching them at great speed, like many tentacles.

Arabel’s heart sank with horror.

She didn’t even have time to react before the wave reached them and crashed down.

From the shock wave, everyone who tried to escape flew away, receiving numerous injuries.

It was only thanks to Esme, who managed to create protection, that none of the awakened ones died.

Arabel, who was closest to Idan, suffered the most serious damage and flew to the side.

Arabel fell to the ground with a thud and, overcoming the pain, looked to the side where Idan was still standing.

But what she saw made her freeze in horror.

Several dark tentacles wrapped around Idan and dragged him to the center of the hill. The rest of the tentacles, as soon as Idan disappeared, followed him, as if they had only one goal — to grab Idan.

Arabel did not hesitate to take on her Spirit Form and with a wave of her hand, she threw everyone in their spatial storage outside.

Following the tentacles that had already grabbed Idan, Arabel pulled out the Soul Contract, touched it with her Soul Force, and the contract disintegrated, taking effect. Then she sent a message to Esme.

"Esma! Keep an eye on these three," she said, pointing to Essora, her younger brother, and Milla. "Don’t let them escape and don’t let anyone take them away!"

Without another word, Arabel ran after the tentacles at full speed.

The tentacles dragged Idan with great force towards the giant rift that had appeared in place of the portal.

"Fuck!" — Idan exclaimed in desperation, trying to free himself from the tentacles. He even took on his Spirit Form, and under the influence of the element of light, the grip of the dark tentacles loosened. But before Idan could free himself, new dark tentacles wrapped around him, replacing those that had begun to disintegrate.

"Damn you, Ned," Idan managed to shout before he was dragged into the rift.

"Idan!" Arabel exclaimed, watching him disappear inside the rift.

As soon as the dark tentacles disappeared into the rift, it began to tighten and shrink rapidly.

Arabel, exerting all her strength, slipped inside at great speed before the rift could close.

As soon as the rift closed, there was dead silence.

Esma, Irene, and the others stared in horror at the center of the hill, realizing that Idan and Arabel had disappeared into the depths of the rift.