SSS Ranked Beast Tamer: My EP increases with girls-Chapter 179: CH : Power of lightning (Edited)

Ella wasn’t the only one facing danger in the shadows.

Across the street, just a few houses down from the charred remains of Eric’s aunt’s home, Sun quietly stepped through the doorway of a weather-beaten building. Her eyes scanned the dust-choked interior as she moved from one room to the next, her boots crunching on scattered debris. The house was eerily silent, save for the creaks of decaying floorboards and the distant rustle of the wind outside.

She paused at the threshold of a narrow hallway, her attention snagged by a low groan of settling wood. That’s when she heard it, soft, deliberate footsteps echoing behind her, slow and measured, like someone trying not to be noticed.

Her heart gave a small jolt.

That wasn’t Ella. They had split up minutes ago, agreeing to check different buildings to cover more ground. She knew Ella wouldn’t sneak up behind her like that.

’Eric?’ she thought, spinning toward the darkness.

"Eric? Is that you?" she called, her voice bouncing through the corridor, strained by the uneasy silence that followed.

No answer.

Just the slow, rhythmic tap... tap... tap of footsteps growing louder.

Then, out of the dim shadows, a tall figure emerged, broad-shouldered, his entire body cloaked in black, and his face hidden behind a crude, jagged mask. The mask’s empty eyeholes seemed to devour the light, and the moment she locked eyes with him, if he even had eyes, her breath caught in her throat.

Without uttering a single word, the masked man raised both hands, palms glowing red with unnatural heat. Twin orbs of swirling fire erupted from his fingers, expanding in size as they hovered in the air like miniature suns. The heat hit her instantly, washing over her skin like a furnace blast.

Then, he attacked.

The fireballs launched toward her in tandem, tearing through the corridor like angry comets. Too fast. Too close. There was no time to think, no time to dodge.

Sun’s eyes widened in horror. I can’t move!

But then,

"Move!"

A voice, urgent and commanding, cut through the chaos.

Before she could register what was happening, a powerful hand grabbed her arm and yanked her to the side. Her body flew through the air for a split second before crashing onto the ground with a heavy thud.

Pain exploded through her side, but something was off, her bones didn’t snap, her limbs weren’t twisted. In fact, it wasn’t her body that had been damaged at all. As she looked around in confusion, she saw the cracked floor beneath her, completely shattered from the impact of her fall. Chunks of stone had splintered outward like glass under a hammer.

The floor... it broke... from me?

She barely had time to wonder before the fireballs reached their destination, slamming into the wall where she’d stood seconds earlier. The entire section of the building exploded in a fiery blast, bricks and wooden beams erupting into the air and crashing to the ground in smoking rubble.

Dust and ash filled the corridor, thick and choking. But through it all, Sun remained still, wide-eyed and shaken, realizing just how close she had come to death.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she crouched among the broken debris, her heart thundering in her ears. The air still shimmered with residual heat from the explosion, and scorched embers floated around like angry fireflies.

She turned slowly to look at the wall behind her, what was left of it, at least. A massive crater had been carved into the plaster and brick, now blackened and smoking. If she hadn’t been yanked out of the way at the last possible second, that would’ve been her lying there... incinerated.

Her breath caught in her throat.

I would’ve died.

The realization hit her like a hammer, and for a moment, the world around her slowed.

It was strange, when the fireball had been rushing toward her, it had all felt too fast to survive. But the second that mysterious hand pulled her to safety, time itself had seemed to distort. The fireball, so quick just a heartbeat ago, had moved as if through thick syrup. The crackling flames danced in the air, but sluggishly, like even heat had been suspended. Everything had become... quiet.

Now, blinking through the haze of dust and heat, Sun turned toward her savior.

A girl, no older than nineteen, stood between her and the masked attacker, her slim frame tense but unmoving. Shoulder-length hair framed her face, and her eyes blazed not with fear, but with fury. She stood defiantly, like a storm held in human skin.

Why is she standing in front of him? Sun wondered, confused and alarmed. Didn’t she see what he just tried to do?

Sun quickly scrambled to her feet, ready to shout at the girl to get away, but before she could say a word, the masked man broke the silence.

"You..." the man growled, his voice grating like stone against stone. He narrowed his eyes as he studied the girl, his tone shifting to something suspicious. "You’re giving off a strong aura. What faction do you belong to? What are your powers?"

Then, with a sneer of curiosity and caution, he reached up and yanked the mask from his face. A middle-aged man was revealed, harsh lines carved into his features, skin weathered from time and flame. A jagged scar ran down the left side of his chin, twitching as he tensed.

The girl didn’t answer.

She didn’t need to.

Her eyes locked onto his with an intensity that said everything her lips didn’t. Fury rolled off her like waves, and though she was silent, her clenched fists and trembling shoulders betrayed the storm building inside her. She wanted to hit him. No, she needed to.

The man saw it too. His smirk twisted into a grimace, and he curled his fists until his knuckles cracked like dry twigs. "Don’t you dare glare at me like that!" he barked.

With a furious motion, he conjured several blazing fireballs in his palms. Without a second thought, he hurled them at her, each one trailing smoke and sparks as they cut through the air like missiles.

Sun gasped. Move! she thought. Please move!

But the girl didn’t flinch.

She shifted her body ever so slightly, just enough to avoid the flames, and each fireball missed her by a hair’s breadth. Her movements weren’t frantic or rushed. They were clean, sharp, and precise, as if she already knew where each fireball would land before they even left his hands.

It was almost... unnatural.

Then Sun saw it.

Arcs of electricity began to dance across the girl’s body. Sparks flared at her fingertips, then surged up her arms and shoulders, wrapping her in a glowing net of lightning. The air around her shimmered with static, her presence suddenly electric, powerful, radiant, and dangerous.

The masked man’s eyes widened in disbelief.

"No..." he gasped. Then louder, with mounting panic: "She’s here! She’s here! The lightning girl is here!"

His voice cracked with fear, echoing off the damaged walls as he shouted, hoping someone, anyone, from his faction would hear him. But no one came.

The lightning crackled louder, and the girl could be seen walking forward from her position. Seeing her move, the masked man stumbled back, his bravado cracking like thin glass.

The second her foot touched the ground, a pulse of electricity rippled out in a small shockwave, causing loose debris around her to shudder. Sparks fizzled from her fingertips, arcing up to her shoulders and down her spine like a living current.

Sun could only stare, frozen in place, breath caught in her throat.

The masked man wasn’t nearly as composed. "You... you...!"

The girl didn’t say anything. Instead, she raised one hand, palm glowing with building charge, and the light in the hallway dimmed as if nature itself bent in anticipation.

"You guys tried to capture me, but you couldn’t. And then you captured my cousin instead," she said quietly. Her voice wasn’t loud—but it was felt. Each word dripped with barely-contained fury. "Do you think I’ll just let you go like that?"

She took another step. The hallway light fixture above them exploded in a burst of sparks.

The masked man frowned and hurled another barrage of fireballs in desperation. They rained down like flaming meteors, but she didn’t even blink. With a flick of her wrist, a surge of lightning burst from her body, forming a flickering barrier of crackling energy in front of her.

The fireballs struck the lightning shield and dissipated into smoke with a hiss.

The man’s jaw dropped.

That’s when she moved.

In a blink, she vanished from her spot, leaving only a crackle of static in the air. Before the man could turn around, she was already behind him, her hand crackling with energy as she slammed it against his back.

CRACK-THOOM!

The force launched him forward like a ragdoll, crashing through the half-burned wall and sending a shockwave through the building. He hit the ground hard, skidding across splintered floorboards as his body twitched from residual volts still crawling under his skin.

He groaned in pain, trying to lift himself, but his limbs wouldn’t obey. Smoke rose from his clothes, and his face was drenched in sweat.

The girl approached him slowly, step by step, until she stood above him.

"I want you to answer me right now," she said coldly. "Where did they take my cousin?"

"You’re worried about your cousin? Did you know what happened to your mother and siblings?" The masked man said, laughing like a maniac.