High above the shattered rooftops, the barrier shimmered like a vast glass dome over the town.
Draven stepped up to it without hesitation.
Crimson mana flowed from his body in thin threads, crawling across his arm like veins of light.
Seraphine and the commander slowed when they saw what he was doing.
"…What is he—" Seraphine began.
Draven raised his hand.
Then pressed his palm flat against the barrier.
For a second—
Nothing happened.
Then the surface rippled.
Crimson mana spread across the barrier like cracks in glass, weaving into the structure of the spell itself.
Draven's eyes were calm.
His fingers relaxed.
And the barrier **opened.**
Not shattered.
Not destroyed.
A **clean gap** parted in the glowing dome, just wide enough for a person to pass through.
Seraphine's eyes widened.
"That's impossible—"
Even the commander's expression shifted slightly for the first time.
Draven stepped through the opening without another word.
Aldric grabbed the cultist by the chains and dragged her along with him.
As he passed the stunned knights below, Aldric glanced back over his shoulder with a grin.
"Well," he said casually,
"thanks for the hospitality."
He gestured lazily toward the town.
"Nice barrier."
Then his grin widened.
"Next time you build one… try not letting a vampire rewrite the spell."
Seraphine's wind erupted violently as she rushed toward the opening.
"Stop them!"
But by the time she reached the barrier—
Draven and Aldric were already on the other side.
The gap in the barrier sealed behind them like water closing over a wound.
Leaving the commander and Seraphine staring out from inside the dome as their targets disappeared into the dark horizon.
Aldric glanced at Draven as they moved away from the town.
"…You could've done that earlier."
Draven didn't even look at him.
His voice stayed flat.
"I didn't want to waste mana."
Aldric laughed loudly as they vanished into the night.
---
They had barely cleared the barrier when Aldric slowed in the air.
Draven kept moving forward, cloak snapping in the wind as he carried the cat secured inside his coat.
The cultist hung behind Aldric, still bound tightly by blood chains.
But Aldric didn't follow.
Instead, he turned.
Back toward the town.
Toward the glowing barrier and the airships floating above it.
Draven noticed and stopped a few meters ahead.
"…What are you doing?"
Aldric rolled his shoulders slowly.
"You know," he said casually, staring at the sky over the town, "we probably shouldn't just leave like that."
Crimson mana began gathering around him again.
Draven's eyes narrowed slightly.
But Aldric was already moving.
Blood erupted from the air around him, twisting and condensing into **dozens of massive spears**.
Each one thicker than a ballista bolt.
Each one humming with violent mana.
The spears floated in a ring behind him like the quills of some monstrous beast.
Aldric stretched his neck once.
"Feels rude."
His red eyes locked onto one of the airships hovering above the barrier.
The vessel was covered by a glowing protective shield, the defensive formation still active even after the mage's death.
Aldric grinned.
"So let's say goodbye properly."
His hand dropped.
Every spear shot forward at once.
**WHOOM—WHOOM—WHOOM**
The crimson projectiles streaked across the night sky like a swarm of meteors.
Inside the barrier, knights shouted as alarms rang across the airships.
The spears slammed into the defensive shield around one of the vessels.
**BOOOOOM**
The barrier flared violently under the sudden assault.
Then another spear struck.
**BOOM**
And another.
And another.
A rapid barrage hammered the same point on the ship's shield over and over.
Crimson explosions lit up the sky above the town like fireworks.
Aldric watched with a satisfied smile.
"Let's see how good those defenses really are."
---
Inside the struck airship, chaos erupted.
Crimson explosions hammered against the defensive barrier again and again.
**BOOM
BOOM
BOOM**
The shield rippled violently as blood spears slammed into the same point over and over.
Soldiers rushed across the command deck.
"Reinforce the barrier!"
"Redirect mana to the port shield!"
Alarm bells rang throughout the vessel as the formation arrays strained under the relentless assault.
Through the viewing glass, the crew could see their companion ship being struck repeatedly by crimson detonations lighting the sky outside the barrier dome.
Then—
The other airships reacted.
"Enemy direction confirmed!"
Mana cannons rotated.
Runic circles ignited along the hulls.
"Fire!"
**BOOOOM**
Blinding beams of condensed mana blasted across the sky toward the forest outside the barrier where the attacks had come from.
The night lit up as the cannons unleashed volley after volley.
But by the time the blasts reached the treeline—
There was nothing there.
The attackers were already gone.
---
Deep within the forest beyond the town, shadows moved quickly between the trees.
Draven ran across the branches like a phantom.
His feet barely touched the bark as he moved from one tree to the next, cloak flowing behind him while the forest blurred around him.
Above the canopy—
Aldric flew alongside, blood wings beating slowly as he carried the bound cultist with one arm.
The blood chains still wrapped tightly around her torso and limbs.
For a while, only the wind filled the silence.
Then the cultist spoke.
"…Isn't it about time you let me out of these chains?"
Her tone was calm.
Almost casual.
Aldric didn't even look at her.
"Shut your mouth."
The blood chains tightened slightly.
"You're just a burden."
He glanced sideways at her briefly.
"You didn't even do anything."
His voice carried open annoyance now.
"We didn't even seem to need a hostage in the first place."
Draven continued moving through the trees ahead, not interrupting.
Aldric snorted.
"And you did a pretty bad job too."
He gave the chains a small shake, making her sway slightly in the air.
"For someone who's about to be killed…"
His red eyes narrowed slightly as he studied her expression.
"…you're pretty damn calm."
The cultist didn't answer.
Her face stayed composed.
Aldric chuckled.
"Honestly, I doubt those bastards even bought your act."
The wind rushed past them as they continued deeper into the forest.
Draven's voice came from ahead without him slowing.
"Enough talking."
His tone was quiet.
But firm.
Far behind them—
The distant glow of mana cannon fire still flickered faintly in the sky above the sealed town.