"It's a trap!"
Ron couldn't help mumbling to himself after he connected a few dots of the entire event in his head. But Dino was already rushing towards Eren before he could warn his friend about a possible risk involved in approaching their target.
"Dino, you meathead, just stop right there…"
Ron tried to warn his friend about something. But Dino felt like he had waited long enough to take care of this wretched person.
"Ron, if you want to back out for the fear of possible repercussions from anyone from LA, then go ahead and retreat. I'm not going to…"
Dino was saying this while travelling at an even faster pace than before. Ron was right behind him. Eren was almost right within their berserk's charge range.
Dino retrieved his berserking potion from his storage space. He was a little hotheaded, yes. But he wasn't stupid enough to think that he'd get rid of the close combat expert in front of him without breaking a sweat.
There was a chance he would have to pay the price of underestimating Eren he couldn't be able to pay. That's why Dino decided to go full throttle from the get-go to confront his opponent.
Dino came closer. He was just some meters away from Eren now. He was about to drink the berserking potion when he heard the latter say his next words.
"Reen, now."
Said Eren and commanded Reen to spread her mana sense and make hostile contact with the two C-Rank beasts in the vicinity. He also made her fuse with his body and elevate his BTP value to that of an E-Ranker.
Then he ran his mana through the pebble-like item that was inscribed with runes. This was the controller of the killing array that was currently standing inside. And Dino was now within the array's area of effect as well.
All Dino felt with his mana sense was that Eren's stats had suddenly shot for stars after he heard him say something to someone named Reen. He couldn't know Eren's BTP value but the managed signature he gave off at that time enabled Dino to understand that his opponent was not an F-Ranker anymore.
"What the holy fuck? How can you break into E-Rank just like that? I knew there was something fishy going on with you. Hahaha! Ron, here's another reason for us to proceed with our plans. This guy is a treasure trove of secrets. Secrets we can use and get benefitted from."
Even after knowing about Eren's transformation, Dino didn't stop his advance. Eren had to admit one thing about the guy. He had selected the right path as a ranker. It's just that his choice in choosing his enemies was something he found faults in.
Eren retreated from the opposite side and suddenly chose a cross-sectioned path. That inspired Dino to chase his opponent even more. But what happened next took the berserker some time to register in his head.
Dino saw Eren's legs getting coated with a mass of slime. And then that mass of slime coated his entire body in the next moment completely before getting absorbed in his body and changing it. It looked like the skin of Purple Lightning Snake.
It seemed that Eren was using the Beast Contract spell. But Ron and Dino both knew the spell wouldn't alter the caster's BTP value and make them change upscale their rank.
And then Eren just disappeared from his initial position and appeared at a distance that was outside the array's area of effect. He showed his real speed equipped with his time-element spells, allowing the dual berserkers to understand that the chase was just a ruse.
Eren didn't mind that his true agility potential was discovered by his enemies. It was too late for them anyway. He then pressed on the centre of the array's control with his mana-imbued fingers. And the whole array let up instantly.
Dino saw the ground beneath him had been lit up with intricate inscriptions he couldn't comprehend. He was confused before a slight shadow of worry crept up from behind in his head.
Dino tried to advance towards the perpetrator of this weird phenomenon. But there was now one problem. He couldn't channel his mana through his body anymore. And his charge soon came to a halt when his feet were stuck to the ground.
The inscriptions had climbed up on Dino's legs, making him freeze in his tracks literally. He was meat on the chopping block because of his current situation.
Dino started cursing Eren. Then he started calling Ron for help. But he soon found his best friend Ron….
He was retreating. He had started retreating the moment he saw the array lit up. By now Ron had come to realize that Eren wasn't someone they could mess with.
The guy's combat potential was one thing. His lightning element spells could also be managed. But he had practically planned this whole event even before they did after he saw the array setup.
And that wasn't all. The conniving bastard could alter his body stats to make himself an E-Ranker. Ron could bet his left kidney on an assumption that this wasn't all Eren had in his arsenal.
But it was all too late. Eren soon caught up with the retreating Ron and grabbed him by his neck from behind. Eren had also changed his stature for better control, and that had made it easy for him to lift Ron in the air by his neck.
Eren then dragged the smart berserker towards the second array he had laid not far from the first one and thrown him inside the array's area of effect. Then he retrieved another array controller and activated the array with its help, putting Ron in the same boat as his friend.
"Eren, listen to us. I don't know what you are up to. But let me be very clear about a few things. We only meant to scare you. Not permanently injure you or kill you. I'm sorry it had to come to this. But we can always start again…"
Ron immediately changed his strategy and tried to talk practically with Eren. but his plans were interrupted by his very own friend:
"Ron, you scaredy-cat. This is just some trapping array. Why are you acting like you are going to die by this wretched rat's hand? Trust me, this conniving bastard doesn't have it in him to…"
Dino was going to continue his dissing of Eren when he suddenly felt a heavy mana sense swept over him. He felt like his heart had stopped beating and the world around him had lost its colour.
This was the effect of a high-ranked entity consciously making its presence known.
AN: Beast Contract Spell and Purple Lightning Snake have been explained in chapter 101.
