Aetonth would occasionally let Grey attack him and escape, before giving chase after letting him rest for twenty minutes.
Grey on the other hand didn't find it odd since he felt Aetonth was probably chasing them because it wanted its crystal back.
Unknown to Grey, the continuous back and forth battle was gradually increasing the elemental essence in his body since he had to refill it after each battle. At this rate, it wouldn't take long before he would break through to the Fifth stage of the Origin Plane.
Another two hours passed, but because of the battles, Grey was still over two hours away from his friends. He estimated that they would've gotten to the array by now since it was over three hours already. Even if they hadn't gotten there, they wouldn't be far from it.
He unfortunately couldn't use the Fusion State anymore, so he had to run quickly.
Another one hour went by, and he was attacked by Aetonth twice in that one hour.
Compared to the first time, Aetonth noticed the human seemed to have been able to notice more openings. Now, it wouldn't take up to five minutes before Grey would be able to send out an attack that would hold him down for some time, allowing the duo to escape.
In comparison to Grey, Void was quicker in spotting openings, hence making the work easier for the duo. He was also the one who for some reason always gets beat up the most during each battle session.
_____
At a valley, some miles away from Grey's current position.
Four youths could be seen walking calmly close to a stream. They all put up dignified expressions as they slowly conversed on their journey except for one who had a serious expression and seemed to be lost in thoughts.
"It's a shame Peter died in here, he had been very loyal to me all this while." The young man leading the group said.
He was none other than the twelfth prince of the Qilin empire. Amongst his entourage was Neil, as well as some of the surviving youths from the Royal Academy.
Their group of eight had been reduced to four. But they all felt lucky since they weren't the ones who died.
"How are you so sure he died? There might be a chance he came out after we left." One of the two youths said.
"Hmm, there's also that possibility. After all, we all thought Neil died as well, it was only after seeing him did we realize he came out first." The second youth said.
The youth called Peter in question was the youth from the Starlight Academy who Grey killed in that secret place, but there was no way for them to know about this since none of them entered that place.
Neil didn't say much and just continued walking silently, this almost six months he had spent here had thought him a lot of things about life. He had come face to face with death a couple of times, and on some occasions, he felt he would truly die. But help would always come from unexpected people, people he was confident that if he saw them in the same predicament, he wouldn't help them. He might even watch from afar as their enemies killed them.
There was even that time when they were planning on dealing with Alan and Damian who saved their lives just because they didn't come on time. He felt their way of thinking had been very childish.
He had always thought the people from the Lunar Academy were the enemies, that was what the Royal Academy made him believe. But it seemed like he was wrong, totally wrong. Yet, why would the Royal Academy say they were the enemies if they truly weren't?
His head was all messed up from many questions, but there was one thing he was sure of. That was not to pay kindness with evil.
Roar!
A roar suddenly brought him out from his thoughts.
"What was that?" The twelfth prince asked while staring behind them.
"I have no idea, but I don't think it's coming this way." The first youth who spoke previously said.
The others nodded and continued on their previous pace.
Neil on the other hand looked behind them more thoughtfully. He didn't know why, but there was a voice in his head telling him to run. Seeing the others were walking, he continued as well but prepared himself to run regardless.
_____
At a forest.
Grey was running quickly, he originally thought he was the type who enjoyed battling. But against Aetonth, he was dead tired. The fear of not knowing if he might be able to escape every time he fought against it made him not want to encounter it anymore.
He felt grateful that he had been able to escape all this while, but he didn't know if he could escape the next time they meet. There was also the issue of his friends. They would be scared thinking he might have died since he hadn't arrived yet.
'There should be a valley there, it's faster than the normal route I planned on taking.' Grey said pointing towards his left.
He had studied the map properly and remembered most of the places to pass through when going back to where the array was located.
Because he was in a hurry, he forgot about this valley. It was only now that he got close to it did he recall it.
Without further delay, he turned around and headed straight for the valley where the twelfth prince's group was walking with Aetonth hot on his tail.
Grey soon got to the start of the valley. Looking behind him, he could visibly see Aetonth getting closer and closer.
He charged straight into the valley, hoping to exit it before Aetonth caught up. According to his estimate, taking this path would cut off at least forty-five minutes from the time needed to get to the array.
'There are people up ahead.' Void was the first to sense the group.
'Oh, they better not get in my way then.' A cold glint flashed across his eyes.
He was already angry from the chase, if these people try to delay him, he didn't mind making them regret it. Even at the cost of allowing Aetonth to catch up to him.
The group's figures soon appeared ahead of Grey.
Neil who was walking in the back of the group looked back, and he was surprised when he saw someone running in their direction. He didn't see Aetonth immediately so he decided to take a proper look at the person.
The others noticed he stopped and also took a look. Disdain appeared in their eyes even when they haven't seen who the person was.
It didn't take long before Neil's expression changed. He immediately started backing away.
"Run if you know what's good for you!" He said before turning around.
The twelfth prince caught his hand before he could runoff.
"Why are you running, isn't that the boy from the Lunar Academy?" The twelfth prince asked.
"Yes, now let me go. Just a piece of advice, when next you see him running, you run for your life as well." Neil shook off the twelfth prince's hand and made a break for it.
Grey who was almost close to the group was taken aback when he saw someone running, but he quickly recognized it was Neil. This was the third time he had encountered him while being chased, to think he would run away the moment he saw him running as well.
