Meryl quickly pulled Tulip onto the carpet and soared into the air. A hunter followed her, standing on a broomstick that Meryl immediately recognized.
It was a witch's broom. Meryl had seen it earlier in a shop but hadn't bought it on her master's orders.
"Give me the child or I'll kill you!" the man shouted as he drew closer. Meryl leaned toward Tulip's ear and whispered something to him without the hunter noticing.
"I'll give him to you, just don't kill me!" she cried out anxiously, uncertain how successful her plan would be — especially with Tulip clinging tightly to her, his body trembling with fear.
The man stretched out his hand, a wicked smile curling his lips.
"Come here, Tulip. I'll take good care of you," he said slyly as he watched the boy slowly leave Meryl and approach him.
Tulip repeated Meryl's words in his mind one more time, then grabbed the man's hand and squeezed it with all his strength.
He was supposed to inject poison into the man's body, but he didn't know how, and Meryl hadn't explained it to him.
So he simply touched him.
The man jerked his hand back violently, screaming in pain. Meryl seized the moment, kicking the edge of his broom, causing him to fall and plummet downwards.
The sudden movement also affected her own balance; the carpet wobbled several times before stabilizing again.
During it all, Meryl held tightly onto Tulip, keeping him safely in her lap so he wouldn't fall.
Suddenly, something sharp pierced through Meryl's back, and because it was so long, it exited through Tulip's back as he lay in her arms.
Blood trickled from her mouth, dripping onto the still child's shoulder.
Clutching the carpet tightly with one hand, Meryl used her other to weave a life thread inside Tulip's body, channeling healing energy into him even as she pushed the sword's blade backward, pulling it out of her own back.
"Go to hell!" the hunter screamed as he flew to her left.
The electric gun was useless — he could easily dodge the shots — and sword fighting wasn't in her favor while they were both flying through the air.
The man threw another sword, this time aiming for her head.
Meryl narrowly avoided it by sharply changing the carpet's direction and began heading back toward Elena and Alvin's location.
The hunter sped up, trying to line himself up with the carpet, then attempted to adjust his position on the broomstick to leap onto the carpet and seize it.
But Meryl changed direction again.
"Damn it!" he muttered angrily under his breath as he settled back onto the broom and continued chasing after her.
Another hunter appeared to Meryl's right — now she was trapped between two men lying in wait for her.
Meanwhile, Alvin was fighting two men at once.
To his misfortune, both of them had special abilities along with a high skill level.
It was obvious they were both at the 8% level, making the battle all the more difficult for him.
Behind him, Elena was faring better in combat, mainly due to the lower level of her opponents. Alvin turned back to the system screen at the sound of a notification.
It was a friend request from Meril. This was not the right time for such a thing, and Alvin was sure she knew that too, meaning there had to be a compelling reason behind the sudden request.
He raised his finger to press 'Accept' but quickly pulled back from his position due to a sudden attack by the two men.
"You said you'd kill us, and here you are, barely able to fend off our strikes."
"I didn't know you weren't man enough to face me alone!" Alvin said mockingly, and with a swift motion, he pressed the 'Accept' button before blocking a sword strike from the angry man.
Alvin's eyes caught the message Meril had sent him in their private chat, and a sly smile appeared on his face.
He stepped back a few paces and lifted his head toward the sky. Meril was already approaching him, trapped between two men.
Alvin waited until she was close enough, with the hunters right behind her. He slid his foot across the sand, kicking it up into his opponents' faces, forcing them to retreat and close their eyes.
He quickly grabbed a cloth bag from his inventory and threw it to her.
The moment she caught the bag, Alvin severed the arm of the man riding the broom, causing him to fall.
"Ah!" The man's scream rang out as blood gushed heavily from his shoulder.
Alvin burst out laughing at the sight of the man in pain, laughing so hard that he pretended to wipe a fake tear from his eye.
"Wonderful, now we're three women against one man!" he said mockingly.
– [That's the best line I've heard so far!]
A message from 'Torn Curtain' in the public chat.
– [Is he saying women are weaker than men? Damn male arrogance!]
A message from 'Strawberry-Flavored Candy' in the public chat.
– [Arrogant or not, men are physically stronger than women.]
A reply from 'Broken Sword' to 'Strawberry-Flavored Candy' in the public chat.
Meanwhile, while some planets had gotten into a debate about who was stronger, Alvin lifted Elena and sprinted toward a zone crawling with Cortizal beasts — creatures resembling scorpions but with a much tougher shell saturated with deadly venom.
One of them threw a healing pill to the injured man to keep him alive, then shouted at him, "Catch up with us so we can kill those bastards. It's no longer about getting the child—it's about reclaiming our dignity and pride."
Meryl performed several maneuvers in the sky, dodging the man's attempts to kill her, while also buying Alvin some time to lure the rest of the enemies to their agreed spot.
"Ting!"
Meryl immediately glanced at the message she received, then looked down and saw Alvin and Elena trapped in the middle of the sands, with five men surrounding them.
She pulled out the small bombs from the bag and began throwing them in a very wide circle around Alvin. The ground exploded and shook beneath the group below.
Dust rose into the air and shot up toward the sky at tremendous speed. Meryl intentionally dove into the thick cloud of dust to vanish from the hunter's sight, heading straight downward.
Dozens of monsters appeared at first, then the number grew into hundreds. Meryl struggled greatly to get past the claws of the giant beasts.
"You damn witch!" the man shouted behind her in rage, still chasing after her, determined to kill her himself. For him, it was no longer about Tulip — it was about his pride as a man.
Alvin was trapped among hundreds of monsters, anxiously waiting for Meryl to come down and help them. Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten his flying carpet in the gypsy tent and couldn't buy another one since they were sold out.
As he waited impatiently, he was at least grateful for the fog that had formed around them, hiding them from the sight of the furious monsters.
He noticed the enemies trying to mount their brooms and take flight, something Alvin found deeply unsatisfying — he had hoped the monsters would feast on them. Yet, given their grim situation, there was nothing he could do to stop them.
Through the thick fog, Meryl spotted dozens of gathered monsters and saw an opportunity. She changed her direction and dove toward them at incredible speed. The hunter, unable to see the monsters due to the rising dust, thought she was simply descending.
Between two monsters standing side by side, Meryl spotted a narrow gap through which she caught sight of Alvin. Two birds with one stone! She pushed herself to move even faster, and the man chasing her did the same.
In an instant, his entire focus was locked on Meryl in front of him — and a massive claw shot toward him with brutal speed, slicing him clean in half. As his blood sprayed across the monster's claw and half of his body dropped downward, Meryl's heart pounded wildly in her chest, seeing the gap she was aiming for begin to narrow as the monsters inhaled the scent of fresh blood!
She groaned in pain as her skin scraped against the rough hides of the monsters, feeling blood running down her arms.
"Elena, give your carpet to Alvin!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, then stopped nearby, waiting for them.
Elena obeyed immediately. Alvin climbed onto the carpet, grabbed her right arm, while Meryl clutched her left, and together they ascended into the sky.
Blood poured along Meryl's arm until it reached Elena's hand, then her muscles tore painfully — yet she stubbornly held on to Elena's arm.
"Meryl!" Elena cried out in panic, feeling the blood soak her hand.
"I'm fine!" Meryl shouted back with difficulty. But Alvin see another something... her arm was in terrible condition!
"Let go of Elena's arm, I'll take care of it!" Alvin cried out in worry.
— "You can't! The carpet can't handle the weight of two people!"
At this rate, Meryl's arm might tear off completely — something Elena could never bear to happen. So she decided to let go of Meryl's hand and cling only to Alvin's arm.
However, Meryl refused to release her, forcing Elena to grab her again and say, "Meryl, I'll be fine! Don't worry!"
"I... I'm fin—" Meryl's words cut off abruptly.
Elena's arm dangled downward, still clinging to Meryl's severed arm!
"That was a perfect hit!" one of the hunters shouted from behind.