Aldric's grin stretched wider.
His crimson eyes burned with excitement.
He pointed one finger toward Lunaria.
"...Stay on your toes now."
A brief pause.
His fangs gleamed beneath the moonlight.
"...If you want your body to remain intact."
The next instant—
his finger dropped.
Every blood spear moved.
**BOOOOOOM!!**
Not one after another.
Not in waves.
All at once.
Hundreds of crimson spears tore across the battlefield toward a single point.
The sky itself seemed to turn red.
The earth below cracked beneath the overwhelming pressure.
The forest vanished beneath countless crimson streaks.
Each spear came from a different angle.
Some descended from above.
Others skimmed along the ground.
Several curved around the battlefield before converging.
There wasn't a single blind spot.
Only annihilation.
High above—
Sylph calmly raised one hand.
Emerald winds immediately gathered around Lunaria.
A colossal vortex erupted outward.
**WHOOOOOOOM!!**
The surrounding air twisted violently.
The first blood spears entered the storm.
They were dragged sideways.
Some collided with one another.
Others shattered beneath the crushing currents.
Yet—
they kept coming.
Dozens.
Then hundreds.
The vortex began trembling.
Cracks of crimson mana spread throughout the emerald storm.
Sylph's expression finally became serious.
"...They're forcing it."
Lunaria's golden eyes remained fixed ahead.
His emerald blade slowly rose.
The surrounding winds screamed louder than ever.
The storm expanded once more.
The heavens and earth seemed to collide.
Then—
the first blood spear broke through.
It tore past the vortex.
Straight toward Lunaria's chest.
A heartbeat later—
another emerged.
Then another.
Then dozens.
The crimson rain had pierced the storm.
The first spear reached him.
Lunaria moved.
His emerald blade flashed.
**CLANG!!**
The spear shattered into a rain of crimson fragments.
The second arrived before the first had finished exploding.
He stepped sideways.
It grazed past his shoulder—
only to curve sharply.
Returning toward his back.
Lunaria spun.
His sword traced a perfect arc.
**BOOM!!**
The returning spear exploded.
Then—
the rest arrived.
**BOOM!!**
**BOOM!!**
**BOOM!!**
The night disappeared beneath an endless barrage.
Blood spear after blood spear tore through the fractured vortex.
Each one forced Lunaria to move.
Each one demanded a response.
His sword became nothing more than a blur of emerald light.
Every swing destroyed another spear.
Every step narrowly avoided another.
For the first time since the battle had begun—
he was no longer advancing.
He was defending.
Sylph's expression grew increasingly focused.
Both hands rose.
The surrounding winds surged to their limit.
New currents intercepted the incoming spears.
Others altered their paths.
Some were crushed before reaching Lunaria.
Yet—
there were simply too many.
One crimson spear slipped through.
Then another.
Then five.
The battlefield erupted in overlapping explosions.
Dust swallowed everything.
The earth collapsed beneath the bombardment.
Below the collapsing battlefield—
Draven and Aldric were already gone.
The endless barrage of blood spears had never been meant to kill Lunaria.
It had been meant to buy time.
Aldric shot through the forest at full speed.
His black wings carved through the trees.
Branches exploded apart behind him.
Draven rested across one shoulder.
His expression remained completely calm.
His bow was fully drawn.
Strand after strand of mana poured into the waiting arrow.
Compression upon compression.
The crimson glow steadily darkened.
Until it was no longer crimson—
but a deep, almost black red.
The surrounding air distorted.
Even the trees they passed began trembling beneath the pressure.
Aldric glanced ahead.
Then grinned.
"...There!"
Far ahead—
a perfectly round black portal floated between the trees.
Its edges rippled silently.
Blue and black spatial currents twisted around its circumference.
Standing beside it—
Kaelira looked toward the approaching pair.
"...They're here!"
Without wasting another second—
she spun around.
"...I'm going first."
She leaped.
**WHOOSH!!**
Her body vanished into the portal.
Back at the battlefield—
the dust slowly settled.
Lunaria stood amidst the devastation.
Fragments of broken blood spears littered the ruined earth.
Sylph let out a soft chuckle.
"...How clever."
She looked toward the distant forest.
"...It seems..."
"...that was only a distraction."
Lunaria's golden eyes shifted instantly.
He saw it.
Far away—
the traces of mana.
Without another word—
**BOOM!!**
The ground exploded beneath him.
He vanished.
The surrounding wind screamed as he accelerated.
Sylph followed effortlessly beside him.
Ahead—
Aldric glanced back.
His grin disappeared.
"...The bastard's already catching up."
Lunaria closed the distance at an alarming rate.
Blood constructs instantly formed around Aldric.
Dozens of crimson spears shot backward.
Lunaria never slowed.
His emerald blade flashed.
**CLANG!!**
**CLANG!!**
**CLANG!!**
Every spear shattered.
Others curved around him—
only to be scattered by the surrounding wind.
Within moments—
he had broken through the barrage.
Still gaining.
Aldric clicked his tongue.
"...Damn."
He looked sideways.
"...What the hell are you waiting for?"
His voice rose.
"...Shoot the damn arrow already!"
He bared his fangs.
"...Or do you want him following us through the portal too?!"
Draven never answered.
His crimson eyes remained fixed ahead.
The arrow continued changing.
Dark crimson.
Almost black.
Layer after layer of compressed mana wrapped around it.
The bow itself groaned beneath the strain.
Lunaria noticed it.
His gaze narrowed.
Sylph looked from the arrow—
to the portal.
Realization dawned.
"...It seems..."
"...they've been playing us from the very beginning."
Lunaria accelerated again.
The surrounding forest blurred into streaks of green and black.
He intended to cross the portal before they could disappear.
Only a few dozen meters remained.
Aldric reached it first.
"...We're through!"
With a powerful beat of his wings—
he shot into the portal.
**WHOOSH!!**
His body disappeared.
Lunaria closed the final distance.
One more step—
and he would pass through after them.
Then—
**TWANG!!**
A single crimson arrow appeared directly before Lunaria's eyes.