Complete silence fell in the room.

Owen’s mouth slowly fell open.

"...What the hell?" he shouted, jumping back to his feet. ’’Where did they go?!’’

The surrounding civilians stared at the empty floor in complete shock.

Only Theo remained silent, his mind racing.

’It works with a range and not per person?’ he thought, raising an eyebrow. ’I didn’t expect that at all.’

Then Owen suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Theo!" he shouted. "Where are they?!"

Theo finally snapped out of his thoughts.

"Our apartment in New York," he answered quickly. "They should’ve been teleported there."

The room instantly erupted into noise.

"T-teleportation?!"

"What kind of artifact was that?!"

"Can it really send people away?!"

Hope instantly appeared on the civilians’ pale faces.

Even the injured hunter’s breathing became heavier.

Owen glanced straight at Theo, an immensely grateful expression on his face.

’’Thank you,’’ he whispered, feeling relief flood his body. ’’Thank you so much.’’

Theo smiled for a second.

’’Not a problem, buddy,’’ he said, turning around. ’’Now you wouldn’t mind helping me get past those sirens, would you?’’

Owen didn’t hesitate.

’’Of cou—’’

’’Hey!’’

A loud shout interrupted him.

Both Owen and Theo turned around, finding the remaining five people staring at them.

’’What about us?’’ a middle-aged woman asked, no longer trembling. ’’Can’t you give us one of those teleportation things too!’’

Theo’s expression shifted slightly.

The woman immediately pointed at Theo’s pocket.

"You still have more, don’t you?!" she asked loudly. "Then just give us one too!"

The others, though much more polite, looked at him too.

Glimmers of hope and desperation flashed through their eyes, yet they chose to stay silent.

’Damn it,’ Theo thought, his eyes narrowing. ’I really didn’t want to use these carelessly.’

His mind flashed back to the circle underneath Owen’s parents. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

It seemed like four people could get teleported at once.

And he had four slates left in total.

’I need one for my dad and mom,’ he thought. ’Another for me, Owen, Iris, and maybe even Lyra.’

’And then I need another in case Iris and Lyra’s parents need to come along...’

That left just one spare slate.

With five people remaining here, it was impossible to get them all out.

Owen glanced at his expression and seemed to realize something along those lines.

He immediately stepped forward.

’’No,’’ he said firmly.

The woman stared at him in disbelief.

’’...What?’’

Owen’s exhausted expression hardened slightly.

’’Those things belong to him,’’ he said coldly. ’’He doesn’t have to hand them to anyone if he doesn’t want to.’’

The woman’s face twisted immediately.

"But there’s enough for us too!"

"And what about his own family?" Owen snapped back. "And did you forget that WE are also still trapped in the middle of a fucking disaster?!"

The woman’s mouth opened again—

But Owen cut her off immediately.

’’You are also the very last person here who would ever receive one,’’ he said sharply. ’’You’ve done nothing but bitch since hiding here and even nearly got one of us killed.’’

The injured hunter lowered his head slightly, still clutching his leg.

A hint of anger appeared on the other hunter’s face as he nodded.

Even the young man clutching his trembling daughter couldn’t help but glance over at the woman.

The woman’s expression immediately turned ugly.

"How is any of that my fault?!" she snapped back. "And it doesn’t matter either. As a hunter, you legally can’t just leave people here to die!"

Hearing that, Theo’s eyes narrowed.

He remained silent for several seconds as he glanced at everyone.

’I don’t want to leave that young child here,’ he thought, chewing on his lip. ’And the injured hunter won’t last much longer either...’

Clutching one of the tablets in his pocket, he finally let out a quiet breath.

’Screw this, I don’t have time to play house here either.’

As he pulled out one of the tablets, everyone’s eyes locked onto it immediately.

Their expressions brightened, even the woman’s breathing grew heavier.

’’One,’’ he said coldly. ’’I’m only using one on this.’’

Nobody uttered a single word.

’’It can teleport four people from what I saw,’’ he continued. ’’As long as they’re close enough together.’’

Relief instantly flooded the room.

The injured hunter nearly collapsed from it.

"T-thank you..." he muttered hoarsely.

Even the young father lowered his head repeatedly.

"Thank you... seriously..."

Only the other hunter fully realized what he said, his eyes widening slightly.

’’Four...’’ he muttered.

Theo glanced over at Owen for a moment.

Even if the middle-aged woman wasn’t the nicest lady, deciding who should live and die wasn’t something he could do with a group he didn’t know.

’’It’s your group. So it’s your choice to make.’’

Owen looked back at him, his expression changing slightly.

Then, without hesitation—

He pointed at the middle-aged woman.

’’You’re staying here.’’

Her mouth fell open.

’’...What???’’

Owen narrowed his eyes coldly.

’’You heard me.’’

Her face twisted immediately.

"This is bullshit!" she shouted. "You can’t do that!"

’’I can,’’ Owen responded flatly.

The woman immediately pointed toward the others.

"So they get to live and I don’t?!"

Owen let out a grunt, his expression growing colder.

’’You should’ve thought about that before screaming your lungs out,’’ he snapped. ’’Not to mention your reckless, idiotic behavior after that.’’

Theo glanced at Owen, raising an eyebrow.

’So that’s what happened,’ he thought. ’But he needs to hurry it up, I’ve been here for nearly four entire minutes after all.’

Just then, Owen flicked his fingers.

An earth barrier slowly shifted out of the ground around the woman.

The woman’s breathing grew heavier immediately.

’’S-stop!’’ she shouted. ’’I was just scared!’’

"So was everyone else," Owen shot back instantly.

With that, a small dome had fully formed around her, leaving only a few air holes.

’’And I’d suggest keeping your voice down now,’’ he said. ’’You might survive in that barrier if you do.’’

Finally, he turned back to the injured hunter and handed him the slate.

’’She can’t interfere with you all,’’ he said calmly. ’’Once everyone’s close together, break it.’’

The injured man accepted it with trembling hands.

"T-thank you..."

Then—

Owen turned back to Theo, raising his fist.

’’Let’s get past those damn bitches now!’’