With a sharp snap, I tightly grabbed Justin Huang's hand.
"Got you, Justin."
"Let's go, Ethan..."
I nodded, seeing that several ghouls had already grabbed hold of Justin's feet. I immediately yanked him up, then landed a few heavy punches, turning those ghouls into ashes.
Justin spun in midair as I flapped my wings. He grabbed my legs with precision. The path ahead was completely blocked—an endless swarm of ghouls was closing in on us. I glanced back toward the cafeteria, where towering flames were erupting.
It seemed Rachel Lan still hadn’t resolved things on her end.
"Ethan, they're coming."
Justin called out. I nodded, let out a roar, and charged with him straight into the dense swarm of ghouls that blotted out the sky.
I raised my right fist, gathering a mass of flames, and punched into the horde of ghouls ahead. With a thunderous boom, fire shot out, blasting open a huge hole. We glimpsed the area of Training Ground No. 3.
"Ethan, just throw me over. My body can take it—I’ll be fine."
I nodded, lowering my altitude and diving straight toward Training Room 1. Gradually, I was getting close to the ground.
"Now!"
I shouted, and Justin Huang let go, spinning through the air and flying straight toward Training Room 1. With a thunderous crash, he slammed into the ground, dust flying everywhere, leaving a huge crater. At that moment, the ghouls on the ground began surging toward Justin.
I roared again, flapped my wings, and raised my fists. Bursts of flame shot from my fists, obliterating clusters of ghouls around me. Then I saw a blaze enveloping the cafeteria—that was Lan Yin. I flew toward the main gate of the Ghost Burial Squad Headquarters, which was only about a thousand meters away.
Lan Yin had already grabbed Rachel Lan, transforming into a flaming meteor and shooting back toward the prison at incredible speed. The swirling red veil filled the sky, and as Lan Yin landed, it instantly formed a wall-like barrier, blocking a vast swarm of ghouls all around.
Once Lan Yin came out, he had to go back immediately—there could be no chance for the enemy to exploit. My heart finally relaxed. Then I turned, unleashing a barrage of flaming feathers, wiping out ghouls wherever they appeared in the sky, and flew toward the main gate.
I was almost at the gate. There weren’t many ghouls here yet, but a massive horde was rushing over from the ground.
I dropped lower, clutching the black glutinous rice Miles Mao had given me. As soon as I landed, I’d scatter the rice at the gate. If anything happened, Lan Yin would arrive immediately to hunt down that revenant.
I drew closer, then suddenly slowed down, holding the black glutinous rice in my hand. Just then, I felt as if I’d entered something—my chest tightened, my bones creaked painfully, and I let out a scream of agony.
The instant I hit the ground, I was stunned. Above and behind me, a black membrane spread across hundreds of square meters. The black glutinous rice in my hand began to twitch, then each grain turned to dust.