Chapter 114: The Asura Does Not Kneel

The road folded upward like an enormous sheet of paper, carrying abandoned vehicles and broken streetlights with it.

Jet’s expression changed immediately.

"Hold on!" Jet shouted, tightening his grip around Inez while Nadia clung desperately to his back.

He leaped sideways just as the pavement beneath him rose several meters into the air. A parked car slid across the distorted road and crashed into a building, sending shattered glass raining onto the sidewalk.

Jet landed awkwardly, his knees bending under the combined weight of the two girls. Before he could regain his balance, the road twisted again, forcing him to leap backward.

Standing beneath the flickering streetlight, the masked Awakener watched him with undisguised amusement.

"Not bad for a 1-Star Awakener," the man remarked, slowly lowering his raised hand. "You’ve survived longer than the others expected."

Jet didn’t respond. His eyes moved between the distorted road, the surrounding buildings, and the narrow passage behind him.

He needed an escape route.

Fighting this man was out of the question.

The pressure emanating from the assassin was far beyond anything Jet could handle in his current condition. Even without the two ordinary humans depending on him, defeating such an opponent would be extremely difficult.

And the man wasn’t alone, dootsteps echoed from the alley behind them, more assassins were approaching.

"Jet, what do we do?" Nadia asked, her voice trembling as she tightened her arms around his shoulders.

"We run," Jet answered, his gaze remaining fixed on the masked Awakener. "That’s what we’ve been doing, and that’s what we’re going to keep doing."

The assassin chuckled. "I’m afraid that won’t be possible."

He closed his fingers. The pavement on either side of Jet suddenly folded inward.

Jet immediately activated his Asura Arms.

Two additional arms manifested behind his shoulders, their appearance accompanied by a tremendous surge of Mana. One slammed against the approaching pavement while the other braced against the opposite side, preventing the distorted road from crushing them.

A tremendous pressure bore down upon him.

Jet gritted his teeth. His Asura Arms trembled as the opposing surfaces continued pressing inward. Although the ability possessed extraordinary strength, the assassin’s Divine Rune was manipulating the road itself.

And Jet was already exhausted.

"Interesting," the masked man observed, tilting his head. "Additional arms? Your Divine Rune is certainly unusual."

Jet ignored him. He wasn’t interested in explaining anything. With a furious roar, he forced the two sections apart just enough to create an opening, then launched himself through it.

The moment he escaped, the pavement slammed together behind him.

BOOOOM!

The impact shook the entire street.

Jet sprinted toward the nearest intersection, but he had barely covered twenty meters when the road ahead curved upward, forming a towering barrier.

"Damn it!" Jet cursed, immediately changing direction.

The assassin raised his hand again.

Another section of road folded.

Jet realized that the man wasn’t trying to kill him immediately.

He was deliberately restricting his movements, forcing him toward the assassins approaching from behind.

A coordinated capture operation.

Unfortunately, Jet had no intention of cooperating.

He reached into his inventory and withdrew the Ironbound Castellan’s double-headed axe.

The enormous weapon appeared in the grasp of one of his Asura Arms.

Almost simultaneously, the Vorpal Blade appeared in his right hand.

The familiar weight of the sword brought a measure of reassurance, but Jet knew that possessing powerful weapons wouldn’t magically erase the difference in strength between him and his pursuers.

He needed to create an opening and nothing more.

The masked Awakener noticed the weapons and laughed.

"An axe and a sword? How many tricks does your Divine Rune possess?" the man asked, sounding genuinely curious.

Jet’s expression remained grim.

"Enough to make you work for your money," Jet replied before swinging the Vorpal Blade.

A crescent of compressed wind tore across the street.

The assassin immediately raised his hand, causing the pavement to rise and intercept the attack.

BOOM!

The wind blade shattered against the distorted road.

But Jet had already moved. His Asura Arms swung the Ironbound Castellan’s double-headed axe toward a nearby building’s supporting wall.

CRAAASH!

Stone exploded outward as the enormous weapon tore through the structure.

Jet immediately rushed toward the opening.

He wasn’t trying to defeat the assassin. He was creating another route.

"Smart," the masked man murmured.

Then his fingers moved, the damaged wall suddenly shifted.

Jet barely managed to retreat before several tons of masonry collapsed across the opening.

A violent shockwave struck him from the side.

He twisted to shield Inez and Nadia, but the impact hurled him across the pavement.

His back struck a parked vehicle.

CRUNCH!

The metal door caved inward.

Pain exploded through Jet’s spine.

"JET!" Nadia screamed, desperately holding on as the impact nearly threw her from his back.

Jet coughed violently, tasting blood.

"I’m fine," Jet grunted, forcing himself upright. "Just... hold tight."

He wasn’t fine. His ribs ached, his left shoulder felt partially dislocated, and his Mana reserves were draining at an alarming rate.

Worse, the assassins behind him had finally arrived. Five masked figures emerged from the alley, their weapons already drawn.

One immediately rushed toward Nadia.

Jet’s eyes widened.

His Asura Arms swung the double-headed axe horizontally, forcing the attacker to retreat. At the same time, Jet slashed with the Vorpal Blade, releasing another wind blade toward the approaching group.

The attack forced two assassins to scatter but the third continued forward.

A fist wrapped in dense Mana struck Jet’s abdomen.

BOOOM!

Jet doubled over. Blood sprayed from his mouth as the impact lifted him off his feet.

He barely managed to remain upright, one Asura Arm digging into the pavement to prevent him from falling.

The attacker was stronger than him. Far stronger.

Jet had no time to recover before another assassin appeared beside him and drove a knee into his ribs.

CRACK!

Agony tore through his chest.

Jet staggered backward, struggling to breathe.

Inez began crying uncontrollably.

"Big brother!" Inez sobbed, clutching his shirt. "Please don’t die!"

Something tightened painfully inside Jet’s chest. He remembered another life, another desperate moment and another time when he had been too weak to protect his sister.

Not again and never again.

Jet’s expression twisted with determination.

He had been avoiding using his final trump card because of the enormous strain it placed on his body.

But there was no longer any choice.

"Asura Mask," Jet whispered through bloodstained teeth.

A terrifying surge of power erupted from his Divine Rune. Dark markings spread across his face as a fearsome mask manifested, concealing his features beneath its demonic visage.

The moment the mask settled into place, Jet felt his strength surge. His senses sharpened and his muscles tightened.

The exhaustion weighing upon his body seemed to retreat beneath the sudden influx of power but the relief was deceptive.

He could already feel the backlash beginning. His heart hammered violently, and an unbearable pressure spread through his muscles.

He couldn’t maintain this state for long.

The nearest assassin hesitated.

"What the hell is that?" the man muttered, instinctively retreating.

Jet didn’t answer

He moved. His enhanced physique propelled him forward with explosive speed.

The Vorpal Blade swept across the street, releasing a powerful wind blade that forced the assassins to scatter.

At the same time, his Asura Arms swung the Ironbound Castellan’s double-headed axe, smashing through the pavement and sending debris flying toward the masked figures.

Jet used the confusion to sprint toward the narrowest opening.

"He’s escaping!" one assassin shouted, immediately giving chase.

The masked Awakener controlling the road raised both hands.

The entire intersection began twisting.

Jet’s eyes widened and he immediately leaped. The pavement folded beneath him, rising like an enormous wave.

His Asura Arms drove the double-headed axe into the elevated surface, using the embedded weapon to redirect his momentum.

Jet launched himself over the collapsing road.

For one glorious moment, he thought he had escaped.

Then something struck his back.

BOOOOM!

An invisible force slammed into him.

Jet crashed onto the opposite sidewalk, rolling several times before striking a concrete barrier.

His vision blurred but he heard Nadia screaming and Inez crying.

Jet instinctively curled around his sister, shielding her from the impact while one Asura Arm caught Nadia before she could be thrown away.

His body absorbed most of the collision.

The pain was indescribable. His Asura Mask flickered. Jet coughed another mouthful of blood. He could feel the ability tearing through his remaining strength.

Every heartbeat sent fresh agony through his chest but the assassins were approaching again.

"He’s nearly finished!" one of them shouted. "Don’t let him recover!"

Jet struggled upright. His legs trembled. The Ironbound Castellan’s double-headed axe remained gripped by his Asura Arms, while the Vorpal Blade shook in his bloodstained right hand.

He had revealed almost everything.

Asura Physique.

Asura Arms.

Asura Mask.

Weapon Master.

The Vorpal Blade.

The Ironbound Castellan’s double-headed axe. ℴ

And it still wasn’t enough. Against enemies whose Star Ranks surpassed his own, his extraordinary abilities could only narrow the gap.

They couldn’t erase it.

"Jet..." Nadia whispered, staring at the blood covering his clothes. "Please. You can’t keep doing this."

Jet looked at her, then at Inez. Both were terrified, both were depending on him.

He forced a smile beneath his mask.

"Unfortunately," Jet answered hoarsely, "dying isn’t on tonight’s schedule."

He tightened his grip around Inez and adjusted Nadia’s position against his back.

Then he ran. His Asura Arms swung the enormous axe one final time, demolishing a section of the concrete barrier beside them.

Jet immediately plunged through the opening.

The Vorpal Blade released another wind attack behind him, scattering debris across the pursuing assassins’ path.

He didn’t wait to see whether anyone had been injured.

He simply kept running. Through narrow alleys, across deserted intersections, past abandoned vehicles and shattered storefronts. Eventually, the sounds of pursuit began fading.

Jet continued for several more minutes before stumbling into the shadow of an unfinished building. His Asura Mask finally shattered into fading fragments.

The backlash struck immediately. Jet dropped to one knee, coughing violently as his Asura Arms disappeared.

Nadia hurriedly climbed down and helped steady Inez.

"Jet, you’re hurt badly," Nadia whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

Jet pressed one hand against his aching ribs.

"I noticed," he replied weakly, attempting a smile.

But even as he struggled to catch his breath, something bothered him.

They had escaped through several unexpected routes.

He had demolished walls, crossed unfamiliar streets, and changed directions repeatedly.

Yet every time he thought they had escaped, the assassins somehow found them again.

Jet slowly raised his head. Far behind them, at the entrance to the street, several masked figures appeared.

They weren’t searching. They were heading directly toward him.

Jet’s expression darkened. There was no possible way they should have known where he was.

Unless...

His eyes moved toward Nadia, then Inez, before dropping to his own bloodstained clothes.

A chilling realization settled over him.

The assassins weren’t simply pursuing them.

Something was allowing them to track his exact location.