Frostfire Legacy

Chapter 188: Under Siege! (1)

With Magnus's approval, the entire party walked back to Aster's place. Everyone was alert along the way; they knew the "eyes" watching Lory might be observing them from nearby.

Thankfully, the worst-case scenario didn't occur. Everyone arrived at the Twister Hotel safely!

"Here are your room keys."

With Magnus's permission, everyone was given individual rooms, the cost covered by the government.

To simplify security, all six stayed on the same 28th floor. However, Aster's room was 2869, at the end of the floor's right wing, while the girls were packed between rooms 2801 and 2805, at the opposite end of the 28th floor.

'Is this for my safety too?' Aster wondered. 'Or is it for some other reason?'

Common sense would dictate that having their rooms closer would be easier to defend, yet they were placed at opposite ends of the floor.

"... I can't imagine what Magnus is thinking," Aster sighed.

Still, he was relieved they were staying in separate rooms. If they had decided to sleep in his room again, he would have lost his peaceful sleep.

After a short, warm shower, Aster lay down on his bed, preparing to sleep. That's when it happened.

"...!"

The building shook as if an earthquake was occurring. Indeed, it was happening; yellow bands appeared around the room, and a marquee flashed "Earthquake Warning: Magnitude 6.3" in red and white.

Aster quickly dropped to all fours, crawling into his large, sturdy closet for cover. There, he waited for the shaking to stop, his heart pounding with worry.

Thankfully, the earthquake faded shortly after. However, aftershocks might occur, so Aster quickly ran out of his room and headed to where the girls were staying.

"Star!"

"Leader!"

Cassy and Kali were already outside their rooms, wearing thin nightclothes. Aster didn't have time to ogle them and quickly moved to the other three's rooms. "Liz, Tina, Lory! Are you alright?!" he called, knocking loudly on their doors.

About ten seconds later, Tina appeared, dressed similarly to the other two.

"What's wrong, darling? Perhaps you came to leave your mark on my body?" she asked with a hint of sleepiness in her tone.

Aster ignored her teasing and moved to Liz's door instead. Cassy was already there, knocking nonstop, but there was no response.

'Did she get stuck? Or did she lose consciousness after getting hit by falling objects?'

Several scenarios crossed Aster's mind, but his fears were quickly dispelled when Liz groaned from inside. "Ugh... What's up...?" Liz grumbled, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

Seeing that Liz was still wearing the underclothes of her usual attire, she must have gone to bed as soon as they arrived. Aster felt relief, seeing she was safe, before turning to the last room, where Kali was still busily knocking on the door.

He approached, but just as he reached the door, he felt something was amiss. "This presence is...!"

With his level 41 senses, he could tell there was "something" inside Lory's room. "Lory!" he roared before kicking the door open.

As soon as he did, he found a man wearing a deep-hooded mantle standing with his back facing them. Beyond him stood Lory, who had a few wounds on her body, bleeding.

"Fuck...!"

Aster moved without preparation, running to the man and sending a kick toward his head. However, as if he had eyes on his back, the assailant ducked before turning around and moving as if to grab him.

*Whoosh!*

Right then, a flash sped past Aster.

A small figure, with pure white fur, slammed against the man's face, pushing him back. "Argus!" Aster gasped, almost forgetting about his buddy. "Great job!"

With the opening, Aster managed to land a solid kick to the man's side, sending him crashing into the left-side wall. "Cassy, heal!" And without wasting a moment, he chased the man once more, not planning to let him stand back up.

While moving, Aster wondered about one thing. From the feedback of his kick, he could tell that the man he kicked wasn't "human," quickly narrowing down the suspects to one.

'How did the Anti-Human Movement bastards come here without alerting the security?!'

He was confused but had no time to ponder. In the middle of thinking, he arrived before the hooded figure once more and raised his fist, punching without telegraphing his movements.

"GRAAAH!"

But his fist was caught by the man's claw-like hands. Aster felt pain in his fist before quickly sending a kick, flicking the hand holding him away. He jumped back before looking at his hand and frowned. As he expected, the claw made several deep incisions on his hand, almost cutting some of his fingers off!

"Damn it...!"

Due to adrenaline, there was no pain, but the numbness of his fist was unnerving.

"Secundi Sirreo fen Cura! Area Heal!"

Thankfully, Cassy's support came at the perfect time. The range covered both him and Lory, healing their wounds in moments. But of course, the opponent wouldn't just watch as they healed.

"GRAAAAGH!"

The man jumped forward, his mantle flapping wildly with the wind pressure, revealing his body. A mix of humanoid and wolf-like features. "A Lycan!" Aster growled before crossing his arms, blocking the incoming claw attack. It was a futile attempt to block, resolving himself to take moderate damage, but it ended up unnecessary.

*ARF!*

With the loud bark, the entire room suddenly flashed with a red light. A powerful arc of red lightning appeared, coming from Argus, and hitting the man mid-air!

The current was so powerful that the man's clothes and fur turned to ashes in seconds before his entire body gradually faded to dust.

*Flash!*

And with Argus killing a high-level enemy, everyone rose one level simultaneously!

"..."

Aster surveyed the place but couldn't find any other traces. At least, there was nobody else within Lory's room. He turned to check the girls, who had already gathered to pull Lory to her feet, and moved to the door.

"... First, let's go to the lobby. If an aftershock stronger than the earlier earthquake happens, it could be dangerous," Aster commanded with a serious tone.

But just as they were about to move out, something flashed from outside the window. Aster turned to it by reflex, only to see a five-meter-wide fireball approaching them at bullet speed.

"EVERYONE, GET DOWN!" he shouted, but it was already too late.

A powerful explosion occurred, washing everyone's sight with a bright flash of light.