War has always been a damn mess, no one can guarantee victory from beginning to end, and certainly no one walks away unscathed.
Losing 3,000 while killing 10,000 is considered normal. Even later, when Harry and his friends won the Battle of Hogwarts, they still lost many familiar faces. That's just the price of war.
So, dear Voldemort, for the sake of everyone's happiness, just go ahead and die, will you? One of you brings joy to countless families!
Of course, for now, that's just wishful thinking. After all, Allen had just been thoroughly beaten up. The road to killing Voldemort was still long and winding.
Still, that didn't affect his current mission at all. Once he confirmed the smoke was just a natural phenomenon, Allen quickly headed to the tree where he'd seen that mysterious shadow.
The traces left behind were incredibly faint. If Allen hadn't been absolutely sure someone, or something, had hidden there just moments ago, he might've completely overlooked it. Whoever had been there was definitely champion-tier at hide-and-seek.
Unfortunately for them, even a hide-and-seek master couldn't escape Allen's eyes.
Evelynn, Agony's Embrace was the top assassin in all of Valoran, tracking someone who tried to hide like this was child's play.
The other party's concealment technique was almost too perfect. But without knowing whether they were friend or foe, Allen couldn't risk letting them linger nearby. That would be gambling with his life. He was planning to sneak back into Hogwarts. If that person made even the slightest noise at the wrong time, like while crossing the border, then a fight might be the least of his problems.
Too bad, just as Allen was preparing to give chase, his plan got thrown off.
A startled scream rang out, and Allen forgot all about pursuing his target. He turned and bolted toward their old campsite.
It was Annie's voice.
When Allen arrived, Annie was pushing at Tibbers, her face filled with worry.
She had clearly just woken from sleep, her cheeks still bearing the faint imprints of dried grass. Half-kneeling in front of Tibbers, who now lay there limp and motionless.
What the hell?!
That bastard killed Tibbers!?
He must have a death wish!
Wait, if Allen remembered correctly, when he'd scanned the area earlier in his Blood Mage state, Tibbers had been perfectly fine. What happened?
Just as Allen reached out to check again, a bubble of snot slowly formed on Tibbers' nose. Under both their stunned gazes, the bubble grew and shrank rhythmically, then burst with a pop, splattering across half his face.
A moment later, Tibbers absentmindedly raised a paw, wiped it away, rolled over, and continued sleeping...
Allen: o_o
Annie: …
Seriously?! Allen had nearly flown into a murderous rage, only to find out Tibbers was just asleep?!
But things weren't quite that simple.
After calming down, Annie used her telepathic link with Tibbers to figure out what had happened. According to him, while he was on watch, a beautiful voice suddenly began whispering in his ear. Like a lullaby, it was so soothing that it made all the fatigue from yesterday's battle come rushing back. Before he knew it, he'd just... fallen asleep.
And after delivering this message, Tibbers rolled over again, this time starting to snore.
Allen looked at the completely useless bear and sighed.
Seriously, how do you cook bear paw meat again?
They were supposed to take turns on watch, half the night each. And you just got knocked out like that? How embarrassing!
But it was no use complaining. After Annie cleaned Tibbers' fur with a wave of her wand, she puffed up her cheeks angrily and planted herself in front of Allen.
"Big brother! Catch that bad guy for me!"
No room for refusal now!
After assigning Ivan the task of making breakfast, Allen took Annie with him and set off. Unlike the two of them, Ivan wasn't much help in a fight, so it was better for him to handle breakfast and stay out of the way.
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The chase turned out to be far easier than expected. The mysterious person had left behind so many signs, it felt like an insult to their previous expert-level stealth.
It was like playing a game where your opponent is an absolute pro... and then suddenly they get a phone call from their girlfriend or a bad case of food poisoning, and hand the controller to their Bronze-rank roommate.
Sure, Allen missed out on a thrilling showdown between predator and prey, but he didn't mind. He wasn't obsessed with tracking. His only goal was to deal with the spy.
The trail ended at a small, unassuming cave. Worried about an ambush, Allen stopped Annie at the entrance.
He didn't have much magic left, but casting a shield was still well within his power.
That's the thing about magical shields, especially the kind used by rogue-tier mages like Morgana. As long as the shield holds, it doesn't matter what kind of trap you walk into, you're covered.
After confirming there were no traps at the entrance, Allen gently ruffled Annie's hair and whispered,
"Alright, Annie, stay alert. There might be a hidden exit. That guy could pop out at any moment. Wait until I make sure it's safe before coming in. And if you hear anything strange, don't hesitate. Just throw a fireball. No need to think twice."
Annie nodded fiercely, her whole body radiating determination. A flame-like magical shield shimmered into place around her. If the spy ran into Annie now, they'd definitely learn what regret tasted like.
With his own shield active, Allen stepped into the cave.
To his surprise, there wasn't a single defensive spell inside. If he hadn't been sure the tracks ended here, he would've thought this was just some abandoned animal den.
Strangely enough, it was spotless. Not even a trace of droppings from wild beasts.
Something wasn't right.
This had to be the place. But why was it so clean, so clean that not even bugs seemed to live here?
Searching more carefully, Allen finally noticed a pool of water in the corner of the cave. A thin, nearly invisible mist rose from it, blending perfectly with the air.
Allen casually cast a spell toward the pool. It wobbled off course, completely missing its target.
Bingo.
Gotcha, you little sneak!
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