At first, Renar and Viper weren't sure of what they were looking at. They realized that there was more going on than meets the eye instead of assuming that Belar had screwed up.

They saw that the miasma had covered their previous battleground and then some more. They had known about the effects of the miasma cloud because of witnessing Ronny's fight in the dungeon. They also saw that the Adept ranker had been caught inside the cloud.

"What the fuck is happening here, Renar. Were you aware of this?"

Viper asked Renar as they both saw each other running and came close to each other. The latter shook his head and replied:

"I don't know jack shit, brat. That man is as cunning as a fox. Where the hell is Be"

Renar was going to ask about Belar's whereabouts when he sensed the mana signature of a C-Rank beast going off behind him. His face turned pale as a result.

"Fuck! Let's just keep on running. I don't know what else to do anymore."

Renar came to a quick decision because of a lack of choices. Just when the pair had scaled a sufficient distance, they heard the acidic mass crashing down on the ground and losing form. The mana pulse that was spread in the surroundings, as a result, wasn't something that they could ignore either.

"Big bro Renar, I think Huff huff huff"

Viper huffed as he kept on executing his movement spell along with Renar. The latter was trying to match his junior's speed.

The E-Ranker's right leg had been slightly injured anyway during his battle. He battled with two opponents after all. So one of the counters made by the duo had got him.

"I think I think.. I'm going to die here. You remember me telling you about Nasuta, right? Give my love to her and tell her that I'll miss her. And huff huff huff.. that she can move on with her life without me."

Renar had black lines on his forehead as he heard Viper's will-like speech. He grabbed the Novice ranker by his neck from behind, lifted him, and unleashed his true E-Rank speed at the cost of worsening his leg injury. He berated his junior while running away from all the mess that was going on behind him:

"Brat, I'm not your messenger. Do this yourself when you survive.

If we die, we die. But until that happens, shut the fuck up and focus on escaping."

Viper shut his mouth when he heard Renar speak. He had a mirthless smile on his face as he felt the tough love. He then wondered what had happened to Belar who was already not doing great from the moment this sudden farce had started.

***************

Right after the acidic bomb touched the ground.

Reen tugged her master towards her with all her might. She had tugged it in such a way that the latter's trajectory would first send him in the air before he would be brought down by the eventual pull.

As a result, the butcher didn't take long to get pulled to where Reen was. He was going to crash hard from above due to the speed at which he was pulled. But the demon beast had things under control.

Boing!

She opened both her hands and embraced her master as soon as he was within the range. The impact of the crash didn't make much sound. But her body was deformed as a result of the butcher's inertia. But it soon turned to normalcy after killing off the state of motion the butcher's body was subjected to.

"Erni, are you alright?"

Reen asked with concern on her face after she resumed her normal human form while hugging her master. The latter felt the emotions she was feeling and felt a warmth within his heart for the first time in a long time.

The butcher had just survived a huge life-threatening event. So it was natural that he would be on the edge. But the affection he felt coming from his demon beast soothed him a little, if only for a short time.

'I don't know about the rest, Reen. But I would at least try to be as human as I could be for you and Nina. Especially you who had always been with me ever since our first encounter.'

The butcher had this thought and smiled to himself. He kissed Reen's forehead gently to show her the affection she wasn't shown before and caressed her hair. But then his features turned grim as he observed the cloud of miasma still active at a distance from where they stood.

Then he saw the two of his teammates had been successful in running away from their respective battlefields. He had to applaud the luck that carried them to safety somehow.

The butcher wasn't sure Renar and Viper would survive the trap he had planned for Jerry. He didn't want an Adept ranker on his tail after all. He was okay with sacrificing Renar Viper along with Belar if the trap ended up killing them all.

The butcher knew how the rankers' organizational structure worked in general. The higher the status a ranker had, the more important their safety would be. That would mean their deaths would be taken more seriously than the lower-ranked members.

In short, killing an E-Ranker old man and killing an Adept who seemed to be in the prime of his life were two different things. Killing an Ace would irk the higher-ups of the Illuminati. Killing an Adept on the other hand would make them dig deep into the situation.

Killing Jerry wouldn't be easier either even with Reen on his side. It would take time for Reen to finish him. The time the latter could use to summon more Illuminati and other hired help, which would be active elsewhere in the Purgatory.

The butcher finally decided to preserve the pawns that had survived.

"Let's go, Reen. We don't have much time."

***************

AN: Thanks to kommers, A9C, and Waakaranai for the gifts.