Master Of Astral Summoner-Chapter 181: Another way out

"Argh! Y-you damn creature!" Theo groaned loudly. "Get off me!"

"Theo, hold on!"

Shaan rushed forward and grabbed Theo's sword from the floor, not far from where he stood. He gathered all his strength and hurled the sword upward.

"Theo, catch!"

Theo heard Shaan's shout and stretched his arm to the side. His hand closed firmly around the hilt. He pushed the creature away with all his strength and slashed at its leg. The blow cut deep and forced the creature to lose its balance.

"Take this, you damn creature!"

Lightning suddenly surged along Theo's blade. The electric light wrapped around the sword as he drove it straight into the creature's body. With the last of his strength, Theo shoved the creature away and sent it crashing down from the height.

"Crash!"

Dark red blood splashed across the floor. The creature twitched once… then lay still. Honestly, he still couldn't believe his throw had reached Theo. The distance had felt far, and Theo's sword weighed much more than his dual short swords.

"Ah… thank goodness everything worked out." Shaan sat down and wiped the sweat from his forehead. "I still can't believe that actually worked."

"Hey, weakling." Theo looked down, smiling slightly at Shaan. "Your throw wasn't bad."

"Yeah, glad to hear that." Shaan returned Theo's smile. "Hey, we should get out of here now before any officers show up."

"Okay."

Theo jumped down swiftly and landed beside him with ease. Shaan fell silent as he watched. Theo's smooth landing made him realize something—pulling off a move like that required serious training.

"Hey, why are you looking at me like that?" Theo furrowed his brow. "You look like an idiot."

"Ah, it's nothing." Shaan shook his head. "We should leave before a guard spots us."

Just as they prepared to move, a strange sound echoed through the room. The creature's voice rang out again—but something felt different this time. The sound no longer carried the same sharp intensity as before. Instead, it sounded weaker… almost sorrowful. Worse, more voices joined in. The creatures called out to each other, their cries overlapping and filling the room with an eerie tension.

"Argh, those noises hurt my ears." Theo clicked his tongue in annoyance. "What are those damn creatures doing?"

"I-I'm not sure what's happening either," Shaan said, his face tightening. "But I think they might be communicating with each other."

"Communicate?" Theo laughed mockingly. "That sounds pretty silly and stupid."

"I'm serious. This could be a bad sign. We should get out of here before it's too late."

However, just as they moved toward the exit, the sound of many footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the room. Both of them froze. Theo slowly stepped closer to the door and peeked outside.

"Theo, what's happening out there?" Shaan whispered, curiosity and tension filling his face. "What's that noise?"

"Not good." Theo's expression immediately darkened. "Several officers are standing outside the door. They check the area… specifically your hiding box, Shaan."

Shaan's face stiffened immediately. "Th-that's bad. The guards probably grew suspicious." He shot Theo an irritated look and crossed his arms. "Sooner or later, they'll enter this room and find us here. Great… now we're trapped."

"H-hey, this isn't entirely my fault," Theo argued. "If we hadn't come in here, we wouldn't have gotten our weapons back, right?" Theo frowned, clearly annoyed. "Besides, why did you destroy your hiding box? That careless move only made the officers even more suspicious."

"The box was tightly sealed, and I was trapped inside," Shaan's voice began to rise. "I couldn't open it at all, so I had no choice but to destroy it."

"Then why didn't you call me?" Theo folded his arms, looking at Shaan with a stern gaze. "You could've just asked for my help. Simple, right?"

Shaan felt his head start to boil as he heard Theo's words. The truth made his anger rise even more. He had called Theo's name many times, but Theo never responded. He clenched his jaw.

'Talking to Theo felt like arguing with a brick wall.'

Deep down, Shaan really wanted to punch Theo in the face right now. However, he knew that would only make things worse. If he did that, the guards might catch both of them.

"Hey, why are you so quiet?"

"Whatever, you say."

Shaan let out a long sigh and walked away. "Maybe another exit exists somewhere in this place. Let's search for another door."

"Hey, you still haven't answered my question," Theo said as he followed a few steps behind Shaan. "Hey, wait for me."

***

"Argh, damn it. A dead end." Shaan scratched his head as he looked at the racks stacked with piles of items in front of him. "There must be another way out of here… but where?"

"Hey, forget it. Let's just go back and beat them up," Theo said casually while patting his chest. "With my strength, I'm sure I can defeat all of them."

'Really, this guy has no idea how dangerous this is.'

Shaan completely ignored Theo's words and continued to look around. When he tilted his head up, his eyes immediately locked onto a ventilation shaft above one of the racks. The opening didn't look very big, but it seemed large enough for someone their size.

'Hmm… I hope that vent leads outside.'

"Theo, I think I found a way out of here," Shaan said, pointing at the vent. "We can climb through that ventilation shaft. It might lead us outside."

"Hemm…" Theo nodded. "Yeah, that actually makes sense. Alright, let's try it."

"But first we need to—"

A flash of lightning streaked past Shaan and blinded him for a moment. Before he could even react, Theo already stood on top of the rack and inspected the ventilation shaft.

'I-Incredible speed.' Shaan stared in shock. 'I couldn't even see him move.'

"Hey, it looks like you were right," Theo said as he peeked inside the ventilation shaft. "This vent connects to another place. It might even lead us outside."

"That's good." Shaan let out a breath. "That's really good."

"Now hurry up and climb up here. We don't have much time before the guards find us."

"Yeah, yeah. I get it." Shaan walked toward the rack and prepared to climb. "I'll be up there in a—"

"Hey, what's wrong?" Theo snapped his fingers. "What are you doing?"

"I hear something nearby," Shaan said as he scanned the room. "Those creatures. I'm sure they're around here… and we need to leave now."