Time rewound to about ten seconds earlier.
At that moment, Leonard was marveling at the power of the Wings of the Goddess when he suddenly cocked his head slightly, as if hearing something, and looked up with a tense expression.
Above them, the black airship that had been quietly hovering suddenly began to move.
This powerful vessel had been suspended in the air as a show of force, ostensibly to protect them, but now its cannon was turning around.
"Lady Isabella! Above us..."
Leonard watched as the airship's cannon moved, finally locking onto them, and couldn't help but cry out in alarm.
"Boom!"
The end of his sentence was drowned out by the deafening roar.
At first, Leonard only saw the flash of fire from the cannon's muzzle. The flash lasted only an instant before disappearing, leaving just a few wisps of smoke at the barrel.
But soon a dull sound rang out on the ground, accompanied by towering flames and a shocking shockwave that swept violently across everything around them!
Seeing the wall of fire rushing toward him in an instant, Leonard had no time to react at all.
He could only instinctively cross his arms in front of his face as a meager defense.
However, the expected impact never came.
A tall figure appeared in the center of the group, and with her as the epicenter, a large area of space was isolated from the outside.
The parts of the flames and shockwave that spread toward them seemed to be cut off by an invisible blade, separated, and vanished to some unknown place.
The shell's impact lasted only a very short time, leaving the scene shrouded in smoke.
Isabella looked up at the airship.
The crimson moonlight illuminated the portholes, and she saw stiff, sluggish human figures moving inside the cabin, seemingly busy reloading.
Many fresh, bright red bloody handprints appeared on the glass.
She pressed her lips together slightly, her face cold as she raised her astonishingly large-caliber revolver and pulled the trigger.
"Boom!"
A powerful bullet shot out, hitting the airship's gas chamber and instantly tearing a huge gash in the hull.
The gas inside immediately began to leak, and the medium-sized vessel tilted in the air.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Isabella fired shot after shot, hitting various parts of the airship.
Soon it could no longer maintain altitude and spiraled downward, crashing into the Tussock River.
"Splash..."
The murky river water slapped against the banks, surging up violently like it was raining in the streets.
People near the district's bars seemed to have just realized what was happening and fled with screams.
"Cough, cough..."
On the other side, as the fire and smoke were being extinguished by the river water, Lanevus's body, which had been more than half dissolved, suddenly solidified again.
He suddenly opened his eyes as if awakening from a dream, scanning left and right.
Those bloodshot eyes quickly locked onto Isabella in the crowd. He glanced at her with both terror and resentment, then turned around and ran toward the distance without a moment's hesitation!
"My lady, he's escaping!"
Daly shouted.
"Mm."
Isabella waved her hand, about to lead the squad members in pursuit.
But from the crashed airship, a shadow suddenly flew out, quickly arriving in front of them and blocking their way.
The shadow rose upward, transforming into a man so handsome he was almost feminine.
His face wore a crazed smile.
"Blasphemers, what do you intend to do to my master's offspring?"
Mr. A asked softly.
---
"Huff, huff..."
Lanevus was running.
For a pregnant woman about to give birth, carrying such a big belly, his speed was already quite impressive.
After running through the panicked, chaotic crowd for a while, he quietly turned a corner and ducked into a dark alley.
During his time living here, he had long since figured out the surrounding area and planned several escape routes for himself. This was one of them.
He slipped into the alley and ran a few steps before suddenly dropping to the ground, lifting a manhole cover, and nimbly squeezing into the sewer below.
The sewer was dark and foul-smelling, but Lanevus didn't care at all. After adjusting slightly to the darkness, he began running again.
After running for a while, feeling he had escaped danger, a genuine smile emerged on his face.
"Hehe... Child, your father truly loves you. He even sent His servant to hold back those people..."
Lanevus said in his heart.
But very quickly, his smile abruptly froze as he halted his body.
"Boom!"
Several clusters of crimson flames fell in front of him on the ground and exploded, their light illuminating the dark sewer.
Several rats, frightened by the brightness, squeaked and scurried into deeper darkness.
"Long time no see, Lanevus."
From the other side of the firelight, someone was greeting him, slowly approaching.
It was a handsome young man with black hair and blue eyes, with what seemed like an insoluble madness lurking in the depths of his eyes.
In one hand he held a crimson dagger, in the other a silver-white revolver.
Lanevus inexplicably felt the other person looked somewhat familiar.
He scrutinized him carefully with his bloodshot eyes, and his expression immediately became extremely furious, even grinding his teeth:
"It's you!"
"That's right, it's me."
Silas sneered. "How's life been as a pregnant woman?"
"You bastard, this is all because of you!"
Lanevus roared, his voice echoing in the narrow sewer.
"If it weren't for you, I would never have become this monstrosity!"
Silas had wanted to retort that he had brought this upon himself, but Lanevus could no longer contain himself. Roaring, he charged recklessly at Silas.
"Shhk!"
Pale bone spurs grew from the ends of his fingers, like sharp claws, stabbing straight toward Silas's eyes.
Silas leaned his head back to dodge, and just as he was about to counterattack, he saw Lanevus suddenly pull back his arm, lower his body, and actually slip past Silas's side, fleeing deeper into the sewer!
His rage and attack had all been an act, meant to create a false impression and escape!
"He can even set aside such deep-seated hatred. Is this guy too desperate to survive?" Silas thought.
"Or has the child in his belly twisted his will?"
"Boom!"
He raised his hand, condensing a fireball in his palm and hurling it in the direction Lanevus was fleeing.
The fireball seemed to have a life of its own, quickly catching up to Lanevus and exploding.
In the crimson flames, Silas's figure suddenly appeared.
Just as he landed, he immediately flicked his right hand, and the crimson "Agony" dagger sliced a long bloody wound across Lanevus's thigh.
Lanevus screamed miserably and immediately lost his balance and fell.
As he fell, Lanevus twisted his body so his belly faced upward, and his back absorbed most of the impact.
"Why are you still hunting me?"
Blood was flowing from his thigh, but he still struggled to retreat, his eyes showing a pleading look.
"I'm not even planning to take revenge on you anymore. Just let me go!"
Silas approached step by step, holding the dagger and revolver.
Seeing that the distance between them was close enough, a trace of cruelty flashed in Lanevus's eyes. He suddenly straightened his upper body and thrust his belly toward Silas.