Gently laying his two charges down next to the girls, Sam took a deep breath, and steadied himself. If the problem was one of the Dao, then he needed to find a way to conceal his allies’ Daos from his own. An idea struck him a moment later.

  Reaching out, Sam picked up a piece of debris, and used his teleportation skill. Rather than head through the rift, he coated the piece of masonry in his Dao, and threw it in, opening another rift on the opposite side of the room. His Dao energy immediately drained as the rock drew upon it for safety, but it popped out on the other end without being any worse for wear.

  A rumbling crash came from the failing structure, even closer than before, and Sam gritted his teeth. Whether or not he was ready, it was time. Reaching out with his will, he enveloped the Marns in a cloak of his Dao, shrouding them in a thick layer of red and blue. For this, his Dao Seed was the only one that could work, as it was what would provide the impetus for the teleportation in the first place.

  His friends twitched uneasily, but remained still. Sam stepped in between them, and mustered the full extent of his Dao. Below them, a portal formed, far larger than the norm for Sam. It was large enough for all of them, and immediately, Sam’s Dao began to lose power at a tremendous rate. It was down by a fifth in a matter of seconds, giving Sam a tight timeline on which to use his skill.

  Setting his mind upon an anchor point outside of the apartment complexes, he let gravity take him and the others through the portal. There was a flash of light, and suddenly, he was standing in the sun, surrounded by the prone forms of the Marns. His Dao was almost empty, and a wave of pain struck him, so intense that he nearly fell. A System notification appeared a moment later, a welcome distraction.

  You have upgraded a skill!

  Spacetime Razor: Ancient-> Wormhole Call: Primal

  Create a rift in space that allows for the transportation of both yourself and others, to the limits of your Dao energy reserves. This may be to a place outside of your line of sight. However, Dao energy costs for such a feat are exponentially higher than normal teleportation.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Sam shook his head, and looked down at his charges, noting that none had risen.

  “Are you going to be alright for now? Is there somewhere safe that you can go?” Sam asked.

  “Safe?” Garnax choked out. “Dyvan is dead, I’m paralyzed from the waist down, and my wife is blind! We were dozens of miles from the battle. Have you ever seen D Rankers fight? It’s only going to get worse from here!”

  “Still, there has to be somewhere,” Sam pressed on. “I know you need time to recover, but there won’t be any time if you’re all dead.”

  Garnax slumped further. “I know. For now, I guess you could dig us a tunnel into the ground.”

  “How far?” Sam replied. “I feel like the devastation is only going to get worse. If that picture of Granthar killing that dragon is correct, then he has pulled up parts of entire continents.”

  Garnax nodded. “It would have to be dozens of miles down at least. Can you do that?”

  Sam sighed. “Not in my current state. I would probably destroy my Dao core.”

  “Can you at least take us away from the city?” Garnax asked, sighing.

  “If I limit my speed a bit, most likely.” Sam raised his hand, forming a box of Dao energy around the Marns. He lifted it into the air, and created handles, grabbing on. Then he pushed off, and hurtled across the ground at thousands of miles per hour, away from the war of the titans above.

  The city flashed by, and the battle behind slowly receded. Five minutes later, Sam was hundreds of miles away, likely at a safe enough distance. The city there was still intact, but a concerted evacuation effort was in effect, and Sam saw hundreds of thousands of people running from the buildings.

  A few E Rankers were overseeing the evacuation, helping people board dozens of flying vessels that took off every few seconds.

  “Will you be fine if I leave you here?” Sam asked. “I need to return to the battle.”

  “Return?” Garnax spluttered. “You’re going to die!”

  “I’ll die if my allies lose the battle,” Sam calmly answered. “I don’t really have a choice here.”

  “What do you think you can even do?” The other man answered. “You’ve done so much for us. It would be a tragedy for you to die. Dyvan already did….”

  “I don’t know what I can do,” Sam replied. “But I have to try. Farewell, Garnax. I hope we can see each other again.”

  Sam dropped the family off, and turned, sinking his feet into the ground to gather speed. It was time to finish this floor, whether with his victory or his death.