Draven looked once at the map hovering in the air.
"Alright."
His voice was calm.
"Let's go."
He turned immediately, already beginning to walk deeper into the forest.
"Don't waste any time."
Vaelith bowed her head slightly.
"Yes, my lord."
Mana gathered around her body, wrapping around her form like a faint, shimmering veil. The leaves beneath her feet stirred as she gently lifted off the ground.
With Lucifer and Elenya still cradled securely in her arms, she rose into the air.
Lyriana glanced once at Draven.
"I'll go ahead as well."
Mana flared briefly around her as she followed Vaelith, rising above the trees before disappearing into the night sky toward the northwest.
Draven didn't look up.
He simply continued walking through the forest.
The cultist watched the two women disappear into the darkness above the canopy before lowering her hand. The holographic map flickered once, then vanished as the device powered down.
Without another word, mana gathered around her feet as well.
She lifted into the air and followed after them.
Aldric remained standing there.
He stared upward for a long moment at the empty sky where everyone had just flown off.
Then he slowly looked down at himself.
"…You've got to be kidding me."
He rubbed his face in disbelief.
"So everyone just flies away and leaves me walking?"
He glanced in the direction Draven had gone.
Then sighed, staring toward the direction the others had flown, irritation still clear on his face.
"Everything better work the way we just talked about," he muttered.
He stretched his shoulders slightly as crimson mana gathered behind him once more.
"Otherwise this whole thing is going to be a damn waste of time."
With a heavy flap of his wings, he lifted off the ground and shot upward into the night sky, following after the others.
Below him—
Draven kept walking.
He didn't look up.
Didn't hurry.
Even as the others flew ahead through the darkness above the forest canopy, Draven continued forward at the same steady pace.
His face was blank.
Still.
Almost like a statue.
But his mind was moving.
The amount of mana I have… has dropped again.
He could feel it clearly within himself.
After the fight, the exertion, and the small consumption of crystals—
Forty-four percent.
Not empty.
But far from enough.
If I keep using it the way I did in that fight…
His eyes remained fixed forward as he stepped over roots and fallen branches.
There's no way I'll reach the amount needed to create a pool.
It was a frustrating realization.
Every time he gathered mana—
He ended up using it again.
Fighting.
Moving.
Surviving.
It was like endlessly pouring water into a cup…
Only to drink from it before it could ever overflow.
A cycle of filling and draining.
Without ever allowing the cup to become full.
If he wanted to create a mana pool inside his body once and for all…
He needed something faster.
Something far more efficient.
Draven's eyes darkened slightly.
The fastest way…
His thoughts drifted back to the same solution again.
…is the Abyss creature.
---
The forest gradually thinned as they approached civilization.
Through the trees, the faint glow of lights could be seen in the distance.
A city.
The group had already gathered in the woods a few miles away from it, hidden beneath the thick cover of branches.
Vaelith stood quietly with Lucifer and Elenya resting peacefully in her arms. Lyriana leaned against a nearby tree, her eyes occasionally scanning the road that led toward the distant city walls.
The cultist stood a short distance away, silently watching the city lights while waiting.
Above them, Aldric slowly descended from the air. His wings dissolved back into crimson mana as his boots touched the ground.
He crossed his arms.
Minutes passed.
Then—
A figure suddenly appeared between the trees.
Draven.
He stepped out of the darkness like a shadow returning to form, his movements silent as he approached the group.
Aldric looked at him the moment he arrived.
Then scoffed.
"Well, look who finally decided to show up."
He gestured around them lazily.
"You sure took your time leaving us standing here like a bunch of morons."
Draven didn't respond.
Aldric continued anyway.
"And you're the one who said we shouldn't waste any time."
He shook his head in exaggerated disbelief.
"Next time just ask someone to carry you."
The distant lights of the city flickered beyond the trees.
Stone walls surrounded it—tall and heavily guarded. Torches burned along the battlements while armored figures moved along the patrol paths, their silhouettes shifting against the firelight.
The cultist studied the walls for a moment before speaking.
"Since the Lord is here now, let's continue…"
Her eyes moved back to the group.
"…we should discuss how we're getting inside."
She gestured faintly toward the city.
"Cities are different from towns. This one doesn't have a full barrier covering it—only the outer walls."
Lyriana listened silently.
"But that doesn't mean just anyone can enter," the cultist continued.
"You need an NID to pass through the main gate."
She crossed her arms.
"In normal circumstances, if you paid the guards enough, they might ignore the requirement."
Her gaze flicked briefly toward Draven.
"But now… that's unlikely."
"The news about the Lord has probably already spread."
Her voice stayed calm and analytical.
"The guards will be watching carefully. It wouldn't surprise me if they've placed mages at the gates to run detection spells on everyone entering or leaving."