"That explosion just now!!"

Whitman hurriedly turned back to the direction where the eruption of fire was sounding from. This was when Rya had used a fireball.

"Master!" He called but Li Mingwu was far gone. Thus, Whitman was torn between following Li Mingwu or going to the explosion he just heard now.

Both choices had something to do with his extermination goal. He needed to stay with Li Mingwu one way or the other to keep tabs on him but he was also very sure that Eric would be in that direction.

If he went for Eric and Li Mingwu ends up defeating the boss monster of the gate before they can regroup. This was a delicate matter and a tough decision to make.

He sighed and turned back, abandoning Eric.

'I have to keep following Master, I can't lose sight of him' Whitman strengthened his resolve.

But Li Mingwu was standing right in front of him–he was so shocked that he almost fell.

Li Mingwu was staring at him with his eyes squinted.

With a step backward, Whitman was being very cautious.

'Why the hell is he looking at me like that?' If anything, Whitman was sure Li Mingwu cannot read thoughts. It'd be crazy if that was possible.historical

"How strange." Li Mingwu commented stroking his long white beard gently. "You used to be like an open book. I can always see right through you but a lot about you has changed in the few years I have not seen you. Makes me wonder if it is okay to trust you."

Li Mingwu was very sensitive, which was why Whitman had taken extra precautions. He never even spoke of this to anyone, even Eric didn't know of it directly, their communication did not pass 'a powerful foe he has to defeat', and judging by the use of his power, Eric knew exactly what he was to do.

"I will not betray you, everything I have done is in your best interest." Whitman re-stood his ground and bowed.

"Of course, is that not a given? It's not like you can defeat me anyways." Li Mingwu stroke his beard and walked past him.

"Let's go and save your comrades. I sense very ominous energy from there." He said.

Li Mingwu's personality irked him very much, but it wasn't like there was anything he could do. The strong shall rule.

–

It happened so fast.

It wasn't like Eric was an impressive fighter, to begin with, he was a C-rank hunter. If fact, there was nothing special about him. However, that was the reason he worked harder than anyone, to meet the chief's expection‐this, he reminded himself daily.

When all was lost, Alec Whitman gave him purpose, when no one would save him, Alec Whitman stretched forward a saving hand. That was all Eric needed.

It didn't matter how cunning the chief can be Eric wanted to please him, Eric wanted to be useful to him and to be used by him. And for that reason, he trained harder than anyone in the association, such that combat-wise he was almost on the same level with an A-rank.

But there was that limitation of C-rank on him. He would have easily been able to overcome it if he used his ability but there was a strict warning from Whitman since the first day they met.

"Never use your ability before anyone."

Eric had made it thus far without making use of his original skill. Of course, he had also learned a few other skills from runes but they only could amount to little.

Eric watched Rya's head fly off in disappear while he suspended himself in the air and landed afar.

The statue was in a standing position with its hand put together as though it was praying, on the statue's hand there was a rosary, often used in monastery.

Everything about this statue seemed like human culture. But this was supposed to be a gate, and a gate is supposed to contain monsters and monsters' stuff alone.

'What the hell is wrong?' Eric baffled. He had little to no time to be concerned about his comrade who was laying on the ground headless.

He tightened his gaze with all the focus he could call and readied his short sword, pointing it backward. His hand was shaking–faced with an overwhelming foe, how could it not? Eric was scared but he had no way of walking out of this.

His last resort was using his abilities but he really would not want to resort to that if possible. But he was not ready to die here.

The statue was still standing in its prayer pose, looking at Eric with a lewd smile.

Eric snapped alas!

"I'll wipe that naughty grin off your face." He declared, propelling his body through the air like a fired bullet.

His speed was amazing, for a C-rank hunter, this was quite commendable.

Despite having lunged a fiery attack, the statue was not cautious. Last minute as Eric got closer, the grin on its face got wider.

It was a last-minute, tinging feeling but Eric was quick to stop, and using all the momentum gathered he sprung backward not minding the fact that he missed his step and tumbled.

What mattered was not entering that statue's space.

He got up and belatedly saw his leather armor was torn, neatly as if a knife was used.

'If I had not jumped back, it would have been my entire body that was torn.'

Eric still couldn't pinpoint what it was that made this stone dude so special and strong. But something was off about him and until he discovered what that was, it would be safe to not dash in recklessly for now.

'Forget wiping off his naughty grin. Let's escape for now.' Eric nodded at his new resolve.

As if the statue had noticed.

Wham!

For the second time, it moved. Incredibly fast.

"Dharma..."

Eric's eyes widened last minute as he tilted to the left to dodge what he wasn't seeing. He had so honed his reflexes that he didn't need to see to move.

But just now, the statue spoke–and with a thick, vibrating voice, it was like the ground itself was trembling.

WHIM!

CRUSH!

Eric's eyes were now at the point of breaking out as he saw the wall break into splinters, not just forming a spider-webbed crack, it delved inside and carved out a tunnel.

"Holy shit!" He exclaimed at the power.

But there was not enough time for admiration, he was still vulnerable and had stumbled to the floor to dodge. He rolled away and quickly pulled himself up and backed away several steps.

"I know you talked right now. I know you can talk. Who are you and how are you here?"

The statue did not answer him, instead, it changed the direction of its praying hands, one palm facing upward while the other facing downwards.

"Ashtanga"

It happened again but this time Eric didn't have the time to react. Incredibly rapid series of buried into eight different parts of his body. The impact crumpled his flesh and coerced forth a fit of coughing.

"This bastard..."

He tried to move but he couldn't, Eric's eyes widened. He couldn't move his hand or any part of his body.

The statue not just hit different parts of its body but it had accurately targeted his pressure point and blocked his energy flow.

"If you force yourself... you will die." The thick voice reverberated through the air around, it was as if the statue had a bass speaker in his voice.

Eric frowned, he didn't need to be told twice, he could feel the block in his body and he knew if he tried to force any movement using energy, he would certainly do more harm to himself.

"Who are you?"

Crack

The cement encasing the statue began to fracture, gradually unveiling a fair-skinned, bald man adorned with intricate gold beads etched onto his hairless scalp.

These golden adornments extended to various portions of his face - a series of beads replacing his eyebrows, aligning along his nose and beneath his lips. Furthermore, his ears carried weighty, ornate earrings that spoke of a distinguished presence.

A certain familiarity resonated between him and Thathagatha.

"Meet your end, trespasser..." With those words, his open palm transformed into a clenched fist, poised to unleash its fury.

However, in a moment that defied expectation, a light touch of a foot brushed against his bald crown.

"Release gravity... tenfold."

Wham!!

A resounding impact, a seismic shock.

The ground quaked and caved, fracturing into intricate crevices as an overwhelming force pressed upon what had once been an inanimate statue, now reborn as a monk-like figure.

The potency of the pressure was so severe that even Eric, found himself bleeding from the nose under its influence. Yet, the monk remained utterly unaffected, maintaining his pose without even the slightest acknowledgment.

The monk's reaction was flawless... no, there was no reaction at all. Li Mingwu's mighty attack so destructive, did not affect him one bit.

Li Mingwu frowned and was about to jump away but it was too late. His leg was trapped in the grip of the monk.

"Vajra"