As they were zooming from city to city, the group was beginning to fade in and out of consciousness just from the sheer amount of mana and aura James was passively radiating.

He had gotten so fast and efficient at pillaging cities that they didn’t even bother getting off the carpet.

Within minutes, he was done with one city and they were off to the next one. And each and single one of these cities was worth around 30 of the smaller ones they were initially pillaging.

Because they were barely able to remain conscious, the group had lost count of just how many cities he had pillaged. Only James knew, and he had become so meticulous and efficient at the razing of the cities that he didn’t even spare the time to communicate with his friends.

Only one thing mattered now, power.

Even though he was bursting at the seams with power, and he was infinitely stronger than he had been before, he didn’t dare think that it was enough.

He didn’t personally know just how strong were the enemies that would attack Hedonia, but he would not underestimate them even for a second.

Power brings cockiness and arrogance, but James had been too much of a nerd in his past life to be foiled by such a common mistake. He had been acting rather insane and cocky for the past few days, but he loved Hedonia so much that his attitude had radically changed.

He was planning on getting so strong that he could defend his home no matter who attacked it. And to succeed, he had to take advantage of every second he had available.

That’s why, he decided to ditch his friends.

“Guys, put up your barriers and brace yourselves. I’m leaving.” Before they could even snap out of their dizziness, James slapped the groups’ barrier and dropped a downright suffocating amount of mana on top of it.

And within an instant, he was gone.

Now that he didn’t have to mind their bodies, James pushed himself forward without caring one bit about his own safety.

He activated his Chaos Barrier and then rocketed forward with the might of his nigh infinite amount of mana.

[Skill unlocked: Colossally wasteful and dangerous flight.]

The sky behind James was drowning in an ocean of mana as James was zooming through the sky at a speed far faster than even the speed of sound.

But no matter how strong his Chaos Barrier was, not even it could endure such friction.

Within seconds it cracked, exposing his skin to the merciless atmosphere that he was blitzing through. Chunks of flesh immediately began melting off him.

Even though he felt no pain, the sight was disturbing even to him, especially since he didn’t have Lunaris around to heal him anymore.

But he didn’t stop to cast another barrier. Another second passed, and he had reached the next city. Despite losing several fingers and a good portion of his skin to his own insane skill, he had arrived to his destination in record time.

With the same cruelty he displayed towards himself, James dispatched of the Stygian city in less than one minute. Thousands of Javelins had erupted out of him, immediately transforming the once imposing Dark structures into a pile of rubble.

In less than two minutes total, he had not only destroyed the city, but he had also finished absorbing all of its energy reserves.

And he was already moving onto the next one.

Meanwhile, his friends had barely had time to regain their consciousness.

“My god, this barrier is absolutely impenetrable.” Emilia gasped as she touched the edge of the barrier. It was hard to breathe from the sheer amount of mana imbued into it.

“He definitely cares about us.” Denmac chuckled. “Even if a thousand agents were attacking us right now, I doubt they’d pierce the barrier before he comes back.”

They knew they were safe, but they weren’t worried about themselves at that moment. All they could think about was Hedonia.

“Denmac, are you sure we have enough time?” Helios asked. “Is it possible that their army could arrive sooner than we expected?”

“It’s unlikely.” Denmac shook his head. “Mobilizing that many elite troops definitely takes some time. And luckily for us, as far as I can tell, they didn’t begin mobilizing until after James killed the stalkers. Technically, it hasn’t been all that long. But still, we should probably hurry home as soon as possible.”

“How long do you think James will be pillaging cities?” Lunaris asked.

“He’s insane, but the good kind of insane.” Helios smiled. “I’m sure that the safety of Hedonia is his top priority. He definitely won’t tarry, he’ll come back as soon as he feels that he has gotten powerful enough.”

They didn’t doubt James at all, but they were still feeling quite anxious. The idea that an army of foes much stronger than any other enemy you’ve ever faced is enroute to your home was mortifying, even though they had James on their side.

“For now, let’s just think about how we can help James in the future.” Helios stated. “Right now, we’re useless. Even I’m useless. When we get back to Hedonia, I’ll doubt we’ll be able to contribute much to its defense. That kind of battle is way above our level, unfortunately. But that doesn’t mean we can’t become useful in the future. If we just focus and find a path through which we can aid and complement James’s powers, we’ll all become a force to be reckoned with, stronger than any army the Darkness could muster.”

Helios’s words rang true. Anxiety didn’t help anyone. Even though they wouldn’t be able to do much for quite some time, they could still use the time to think about potential solutions.

But they didn’t get as much time to think as they thought. In less than 2 hours, James was already back. Well, what was left of him. A charred skeleton whose only intact organ was his brain.