Outside the ruins—
Draven suddenly flew out through the enormous hole in the ground.
His black wings spread wide before slowly folding behind him.
He descended.
Then—
his feet touched the ground gently.
A mana core floated above his arm.
Draven glanced at it before drawing it toward himself.
The core immediately cracked.
**CRACK!**
Its remaining mana surged into his body.
Draven absorbed it without hesitation.
"...The amount of mana this pool can contain..."
He paused, feeling the mana settle within him.
"...For a newly created pool, it should already have its limits."
His eyes narrowed.
"But..."
He could feel it.
The mana pool inside him was expanding.
"...That doesn't seem to be the case."
He absorbed the remaining energy from the core.
"...The more I absorb..."
"...the wider it becomes."
Draven stared ahead.
"I still can't explain how this works."
He glanced down at himself.
"...But it doesn't matter."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"I'll just do as I please."
Draven stepped forward.
The moment his foot touched the ground—
the surrounding Abyssal mana suddenly began moving.
**WHOOOM!**
Mana that had been spreading throughout the area surged toward him.
It came from every direction.
Across the ruined streets.
Through the shattered buildings.
From the battlefield.
Everything began flowing toward a single point.
Draven.
Dense Abyssal mana wrapped around his body before being absorbed into him.
At the same time—
the corrupted creatures scattered throughout the city suddenly stopped.
Their heads turned toward the same direction.
Their crimson eyes fixed on Draven.
Then—
they began moving.
One after another.
The corrupted creatures started retreating toward the source of the mana.
---
Back on one of the military airships—
an officer suddenly noticed the movement.
"...Captain!"
The captain turned.
"What is it?"
The officer stared at the battlefield below.
"...The corrupted are retreating."
The captain's eyes narrowed.
"Retreating?"
"Yes, sir."
He pointed toward the streets.
"They're all moving in the same direction."
The captain immediately looked toward the battlefield.
More reports began coming through.
"The corruption isn't spreading anymore!"
Another officer turned toward him.
"Captain!"
"The mana..."
His voice trembled slightly.
"...It's stopped spreading."
The captain's expression changed.
"What?"
The officer stared at the readings.
"...It's being drawn back."
"Drawn back?"
"Yes."
"The Abyssal mana throughout the city..."
"...it's being pulled toward a single location."
The captain stepped toward the viewing window.
"...By what?"
The officers quickly searched through the readings.
Then—
one of them froze.
"...We've found the source."
The captain immediately looked toward him.
"Where?"
The officer pointed toward the battlefield.
"...Beside the hole."
The captain's gaze followed.
Through the lingering dust and darkness—
a figure could be seen standing beside the enormous hole.
Mana surrounded the figure.
It was being absorbed continuously.
The captain's eyes widened.
"...What is that?"
The officer stared at the readings.
"I don't know."
The figure remained completely still.
The Abyssal mana continued surging toward it.
The captain's expression became grim.
"...Did it come out of the hole?"
Another officer swallowed.
"...Is it another one of those creatures?"
The captain didn't answer.
He simply stared at the figure.
"...What the hell is happening down there?"
---
Aldric suddenly flew out through the hole.
His black wings carried him into the open air.
He remained above the ruins for a moment before looking down.
His gaze immediately landed on Draven.
The young vampire stood below, surrounded by the remaining Abyssal mana.
Aldric watched him absorb it.
But then—
his expression suddenly changed.
He sensed something.
His gaze shifted toward the distance.
"...Damn it."
His eyes narrowed.
*That bastard again.*
*What the hell is he doing here?*
*I thought we escaped him after the fight.*
Far beyond the battlefield—
a figure was rapidly approaching.
A silver-haired man with pointed ears moved through the air with incredible speed.
Lunaria.
The elf was heading directly toward the city.
Aldric clicked his tongue.
"...This is getting annoying."
---
Below—
Draven finally absorbed the last of the surrounding mana.
The swirling energy around him disappeared.
Silence settled over the battlefield.
Draven slowly raised his gaze.
His eyes landed on the corrupted creatures gathered nearby.
He frowned.
"...What unsightly creatures."
He raised one arm.
The shadows beneath the corrupted suddenly moved.
**SHRAK!**
Black spikes erupted from their shadows.
They pierced through their bodies.
**SHHK!**
One after another—
the corrupted creatures were torn apart.
Blood splattered across the ruined ground.
Their bodies collapsed.
Draven lowered his hand.
"...As expected."
Aldric stared down at him.
*Shadow magic?*
His eyes narrowed.
*So he can use that.*
Before Aldric could think any further—
several faint crimson lights appeared among the corpses.
Mana crystals emerged from the fading bodies.
They floated into the air.
Then—
they shot toward Draven.
Draven raised his hand.
The crystals flew directly into his grasp.
Their mana immediately began flowing into his body.
**WHOOM!**
Draven absorbed them without hesitation.
---
High above—
the military airships had finally regained a clear view of him.
The Abyssal mana that had previously obscured the battlefield was no longer covering his body.
An officer stared at the image displayed through the observation screen.
"...It's a child."
Another officer frowned.
"It may look like a child."
He narrowed his eyes.
"...But I seriously doubt that's what it is."
On another ship—
an officer stared at the image for several moments.
"...That child..."
He narrowed his eyes.
"...He looks familiar."
Another officer glanced at him.
"Familiar?"
"I can't remember where I've seen him."
The second officer suddenly froze.
His eyes widened.
"...Wait."
He stared at the image again.
"...That's him."
Several officers turned toward him.
"Who?"
The officer's expression changed completely.
"...The Dark One."
Silence.
Everyone stared at him.
He continued.
"...He's the son of the Demon King."
The atmosphere on the command deck immediately changed.
"The son of the Demon King?"
"The one wanted by the Holy Empire?"
"...The one with the worldwide bounty?"
Realization slowly spread across the officers.
One after another—
they recognized him.
"That's why he looked familiar."
"I remember seeing his image before."
"The bounty poster..."
"...It's him."
An officer suddenly looked toward the sky.
Aldric was still hovering above Draven.
His expression changed.
"...And isn't that a vampire?"
Another officer nodded slowly.
"Yes."
"...Then what the hell is he doing here?"
No one immediately answered.
They looked at the ruined battlefield.
The corrupted creatures.
The destroyed Rift Breakers.
The spreading Abyssal mana that had suddenly stopped.
And finally—
Draven.
An officer's expression became grim.
"...The timing."
Another stared at the readings.
"The Rift appeared."
"The creatures emerged."
"The corruption spread."
"And now..."
His gaze fixed on Draven.
"...the moment he appears, everything changes."
Silence filled the command deck.
The conclusion slowly became unavoidable.
One officer spoke quietly.
"...You don't think..."
Another finished for him.
"...He's responsible for all of this?"
The officers exchanged glances.
Then—
several nodded.
"It would explain everything."
"He was found directly beside the hole where those creatures crawled out from."
"The Abyssal mana was being drawn toward him."
"The corrupted creatures were moving toward him."
"And now the spreading has stopped."
The captain stared through the observation array.
His expression hardened.
"...So the Demon King's son..."
"...is the cause of this entire incident."
Below—
Draven remained completely unaware of the conclusion they had reached.
He simply stood among the ruined battlefield.
And continued absorbing the remaining mana.