After Jim cleared out the first island of Phantoms, the rest of the team jumped down as well, each using their own method. Finn and Iris used their wings, though the former was still somewhat awkward with them unlike the latter who had pretty much mastered the art of flying already.

As for the others, Qi Ling constructed a slide of ice for them, allowing them safe passage down.

“If ya got armor but don’t have it on yet, I’d suggest gettin’ it on now,” Jim said, peering down at the next island which had visibly more Ghosts than the last. “I’m gunna leave this one next to ya guys.”

Finn and Iris were both already set since they had their armor on all the time, and Reaper was self-explanatory. The rest, however, all activated their Angelicas and poured mana into their clothes, allowing the armor sets to morph onto their bodies.

The armor Finn and Iris had didn’t work like that since they looked normal enough on the outside minus the wings that could easily be hidden with another layer of clothes. These guys, however, all had… quite the dramatic outfits, like they were cosplaying or something.

Octane had his usual motorcycle suit; Tian Long had a red dragon-themed armor set, with fire spewing out of his shoulders, gloves, and in his chest. Pang Zi looked like a thug, with spiky gauntlets, wristbands, and a black T-shirt with a skull on it.

Yun Xin’s uniform transformed into a beautiful white gown like that of a priestess, and Si Shen turned into the splitting image of the grim reaper himself, with a long hood that covered his entire face and a dirty cloak that was made for camouflage. He and Reaper looked like twins, minus the fact that one had a scythe and the other didn’t. But if Si Shen didn’t use a scythe… what did he use?

Qi Ling, however, was the most stunning of them all. A crown of ice formed on her head as her uniform became a sky blue, almost white robe, lined with designs made of crystalline ice. In her hand was a long scepter with an ice crystal at the tip, surrounded by a ring of gold.

She looked like a queen — a Queen of Ice.

“Heh. Lookin’ bloody good, kids,” Jim chuckled, then gestured his chin towards the Phantoms down below. “Now… show me what ya can do.”

Qi Ling lightly touched the grass under them, forming another slide that connected directly with the next island. The Phantoms collectively turned their gazes up to look at the incoming intruders, but it was too late.

“Hell yeah!” Octane yelled and rushed down the slide at Mach 1 without a care in the world. “WOOHOO!”

The adrenaline pumping through his veins was more than enough to subdue the fear that had been lingering on his mind. The call of doing something dangerous made any daredevil unable to resist.

As he landed on the island, he immediately sank a fist into one of the Phantoms’s ugly faces before it could even react to his incredible speed, knocking it backwards. Instantly, he vanished again, letting the creature’s peers hit nothing but an afterimage.

Reappearing behind the same monster who had lunged at him, Octane unleashed a devastating roundhouse kick to the side of its head. The speed of his attacks were enough to rip the head directly off its neck, killing it instantly.

“Well… can’t let Squadron 154 get in front of us, can we now?” Tian Long smiled before sliding down as well, flaming sword in hand.

Pang Zi chuckled. “Heh… you got some moves, speedy boy, but this is how a real man fights.”

He remained standing as he slid on the ice, and right as he got close to landing on the island, he leaped off the slide as high as he could.

“Get out… OF MY WAY!”

Immediately, Octane and Tian Long, who had been knocking out and incinerating Phantoms respectively, dove for cover as Pang Zi smashed down directly in the center of the island, shaking the entire surface.

The impact was powerful and knocked away all the still-standing Phantoms, yes, but unfortunately… it was a bit TOO powerful.

“Woah-!” Octane hurriedly ran and wrapped his body around one of the dead trees as the island began tipping over to one side.

“Ngh…!” Pang Zi and Tian Long weren’t as lucky and dug their fists into the soil, on the verge of falling.

“…!” Yun Xin — Claire — breathed in sharply at this scene. “T-They’re going to fall!”

“Finn,” Iris said calmly, looking to him, to which he nodded.

“I know.”

Iris smiled and together, they took off from the previous island, diving downwards using their wings.

“15 meters to your left!” Iris called out as she got into position below Tian Long, leaving the big guy to Finn.

“Copy,” Finn replied briskly, adjusting his position right as Pang Zi’s body began falling from the tipped over island.

“A-AHHH!” He screamed in fear as gravity finally overtook him, but Finn was prepared.

“Engh…!” Finn gritted his teeth as he caught Pang Zi’s big and heavy body, doing his best to keep his wings stable. If it wasn’t for his abundance of mana provided by the Ghost blood in his body, both of them probably would’ve fell to their deaths right then and there.

“H-Huh…?” Pang Zi finally opened his eyes and saw his savior, evidently shocked that he wasn’t dead yet.

“Stop… moving…!” Finn muttered in anguish as he desperately flapped his wings, trying to bring the two of them upwards. Pang Zi’s squirming really wasn’t helping though. After several seconds, however, the Angelica’s Wake process kicked in, and he fainted.

“Finally…!”

Bit by bit, Finn lifted Pang Zi up onto the backside of the island, which had now stabilized. There, Octane had climbed his way back up, and Iris had already arrived with Tian Long.

“Okay, you can drop him now,” Iris said, giving Finn the go-ahead.

As soon as he received this message, he dropped Pang Zi mercilessly, letting him crash onto the rock.

“Oof!” He groaned, waking up from the impact.

“Hah… hah…” Finn panted for air as he descended onto the island slowly, sitting down and letting his wings rest. His arms felt completely numb, and that undoubtedly used up a lot of mana.

Pang Zi… he’s got to be at least 180 pounds. At least his armor set was simple and didn’t weigh much. Otherwise, Finn might not have been able to make it. At least he gained a new Angelica as compensation.

Iris hurried over and sat down by his side, looking at him in worry. “Finn… are you okay?”

“… We’re on a mission. Call me Ace.”

“O-Oh, right, I forgot…”

“But that aside… I’m fine. A few minutes of rest should do it.”

“H-Hey,” a third voice suddenly interjected, quiet and hesitant.

Finn didn’t bother turning his head. He already knew who it was from the voice — Pang Zi.

“… What do you want?”

“Ah, I just wanted to say… thanks,” he said, scratching the back of his awkwardly as if he wasn’t used to doing this. “That was… my bad. I didn’t think ahead…”

“Yeah… I’d like to say thanks as well,” Tian Long chimed in, bowing his head to Iris. “I owe you one, Ivy.”

“… Don’t worry about it too much,” Iris replied calmly after seeing Finn had no intention of responding. “Just don’t do anything stupid like that again and we’ll get along fine.”

“Right… got it.”

Perhaps Finn should have just let them fall to their deaths and not waste any mana, but he didn’t know what other challenges would be coming up in their way next — in which case, the two of them would make nice meat shields.

There was also the option of letting Reaper go save them instead, but that killer robot didn’t have wings. He could fly himself, but couldn’t carry anyone else — especially not someone as heavy as Pang Zi.

Since any extra firepower is always appreciated when going up tough opponents, so if Finn could save them without risking too much, he would.

In his eyes, a life wasn’t a life. It was a tool he could use, nothing more.