The world became a blur.
Wind screamed through the night.
The elf's arrow tore across the sky with terrifying precision.
Below—
Lyriana's crimson eyes narrowed.
Mana erupted from her body.
A long blood spear condensed within her grasp, its surface shimmering with densely packed crimson runes. The surrounding air trembled beneath the immense concentration of power.
Without the slightest hesitation—
she twisted her waist.
**BOOOOM!!**
The blood spear exploded from her hand.
It became a streak of crimson light, ripping across the night sky toward the incoming wind arrow.
For a single heartbeat—
everyone believed the two attacks would collide.
Then—
the impossible happened.
The wind arrow curved.
It twisted sharply through the air with impossible precision, slipping past the blood spear by no more than a few centimeters.
The crimson spear continued into the darkness—
missing its target entirely.
"...!"
Lyriana's crimson eyes widened.
"It changed direction?!"
The wind arrow had already arrived.
It appeared before Draven in an instant.
Too fast.
Too sudden.
**BOOOOOOOM!!!**
A violent explosion erupted high above the forest.
Draven vanished from sight.
Like a meteor—
his body plummeted toward the earth.
**KRAAAAAASH!!**
The forest erupted beneath the impact.
Towering trees snapped apart like brittle twigs.
The ground caved inward.
Countless tons of earth, shattered stone, and splintered wood exploded outward as a massive crater was carved into the landscape.
A violent shockwave rolled through the surrounding forest, flattening everything in its path.
For a brief moment—
everyone froze.
Ryke's pupils contracted.
He hadn't even seen the attack.
One moment—
Draven had been drawing his bow.
The next—
he was gone.
Only the deafening explosion below remained.
*...Crap.*
*He got hit.*
His gaze swept toward the others.
They were still falling.
Still hundreds of meters above the forest floor.
*At this rate...*
*None of us make it.*
Kaelira's wolf ears flattened tightly against her head.
"...Master!"
Pythia instinctively reached toward the smoking crater below.
"My Lord!"
Aldric's jaw clenched.
"...Dammit."
Crimson mana erupted violently around him.
The surrounding air distorted beneath the overwhelming pressure.
He thrust both hands toward the distant elf.
Hundreds of blood spears materialized around him.
Each one hummed with overwhelming mana.
Each radiated enough destructive force to obliterate mountains.
His crimson eyes locked onto the distant figure.
"...Die."
His arms swept forward.
**BOOOOOOM!!**
The night sky turned crimson.
The countless blood spears surged forward like a tidal wave, blotting out the stars as they raced toward the elf.
At the very same moment—
Vaelith's wings spread wide.
She folded them once.
**BOOM!!**
Her body shot downward toward the crater with explosive speed.
Lucifer and Elenya remained held securely against her chest.
Not once did either of them slip.
Beside her—
Lyriana unfurled her own crimson wings.
She caught Ryke by one arm.
Kaelira by the other.
Without slowing for even an instant—
she angled sharply toward the devastated forest below.
Pythia quickly activated her flight magic.
A pale-blue magic circle bloomed beneath her feet.
Just as she prepared to dive—
a hand suddenly seized the back of her robes.
She looked back.
Aldric.
"...Too slow."
Without waiting for a response—
his crimson wings erupted with mana.
**BOOOOM!!**
The two of them shot downward together, disappearing after the others.
Far above—
the elf calmly watched the sea of approaching blood spears.
Not even the slightest ripple of concern crossed his face.
His golden eyes remained tranquil.
He slowly raised one hand.
"...Sylph."
His quiet voice drifted across the night.
"...Lend me your power."
The surrounding wind immediately changed.
A gentle breeze became a violent storm.
Invisible currents spiraled around him.
The entire sky seemed to awaken.
Then—
a faint feminine laugh echoed through the air.
Soft.
Playful.
Almost childlike.
The winds answered his call.
They began to sing.
Not loudly.
Not violently.
But with an eerie, melodic harmony that drifted across the night sky.
The storm surrounding the elf condensed.
Streams of emerald wind intertwined before him.
Round and round they spiraled.
Layer upon layer of compressed wind folded into itself.
Until—
a figure slowly emerged from within the gale.
She appeared no older than a young woman.
Long emerald-green hair flowed weightlessly behind her, dancing as though every strand had become part of the wind itself.
Her skin carried a faint translucent glow, as if her body had been woven from living air.
From the waist down—
there was nothing.
Only swirling currents of emerald wind.
She floated effortlessly beside the elf.
Three magnificent wings extended from the right side of her back alone.
The left side remained completely bare.
An oddly asymmetrical appearance—
yet one that possessed an indescribable elegance.
Her emerald eyes slowly opened.
A gentle smile graced her lips.
The raging winds instantly calmed.
As though welcoming the arrival of their queen.
Far below—
Aldric's pupils contracted.
"...A Great Spirit..."
Even Lyriana, who continued diving toward the forest, looked upward.
Her usually calm expression grew noticeably more serious.
The spirit's emerald eyes settled upon the crimson tide filling the heavens.
Hundreds of blood spears.
Each one capable of tearing through mountains.
Each one racing toward her master.
She simply smiled.
"...How noisy."
Her voice drifted upon the wind itself.
Soft.
Gentle.
Almost amused.
She slowly raised a single hand.
The surrounding air answered immediately.
The violent winds that had been raging only moments earlier became perfectly still.
Then—
they moved.
Not outward.
Not forward.
They circled.
A colossal vortex formed before the Great Spirit.
Layer upon layer of compressed wind folded inward upon itself, creating an emerald barrier unlike any ordinary spell.
The first blood spear arrived.
**BOOOM!!**
It struck the vortex.
Yet instead of piercing through—
its trajectory bent.
The spear was seized by the spiraling winds.
Dragged into the rotating current.
Twisted.
Compressed.
Then violently hurled away into the distant forest.
The second spear arrived.
Then a third.
Then dozens more.
**BOOM!!**
**BOOM!!**
**BOOOOM!!**
One after another—
the blood spears disappeared into the emerald vortex.
Some were redirected into the earth.
Others were launched high into the night sky.
Several were violently forced into one another, detonating in brilliant crimson explosions far from the battlefield.
Not a single spear reached the elf.
Aldric's crimson eyes narrowed.
"...It's redirecting them."
The Great Spirit tilted her head ever so slightly.
"...Such crude magic."
She made a small flicking motion with her fingers.
The vortex expanded.
The remaining blood spears were seized all at once.
Their own momentum became their downfall.
The winds reversed.
The crimson weapons were violently hurled back toward the direction from which they had come.
Like a rain of scarlet meteors.
Far below—
Lyriana's eyes narrowed.
"They're coming back!"
Vaelith didn't even glance upward.
Her full attention remained fixed on the smoking crater where Draven had fallen.
Nothing else mattered.
Aldric clicked his tongue.
"...Annoying."
He spread his wings.
Crimson mana erupted around him once more.
The redirected blood spears shattered one after another before they could reach the group.
**BOOM!!**
**BOOM!!**
**BOOM!!**
The night sky erupted into a chain of crimson explosions.
Fragments of blood mana scattered like burning rain across the forest before gradually fading into the darkness.
High above—
the Great Spirit slowly lowered her hand.
Not the slightest trace of strain appeared upon her face.
She looked toward Aldric with quiet curiosity.
"...A vampire."
Then her emerald gaze drifted toward the massive crater hidden beneath the shattered trees.
A faint smile remained upon her lips.
"...And another..."