"An expert rank mage…?"
Luna muttered unconsciously as a wave of hopelessness washed over her. She couldn't understand why someone would even employ such a person to take care of a mere child. An expert rank mage with a red core was well above green rank mage in strength.
Her eyes immediately shifted toward John, who was looking at her with a resigned gaze as well.
The others weren't in much better shape either.
Lena was already bleeding from her nose, her mana completely exhausted. Kyle didn't look any better.
Gretta had taken some damage as well.
Will and Maya were somewhat unscathed but the exhaustion on their faces was clearly visible.
Luna looked into John's eyes in silent understanding. The exchange happened within seconds as she sent a mental transmission to the other members of the group.
They had always prepared for death but they didn't want a few kids, who had just started seeing the world, to die.
Everyone nodded with fierce determination as they moved.
Will joined John and Gretta as they attacked the red-core mage together while Maya supported them with long-ranged attacks.
Meanwhile, Luna looked at Raze and others.
"Into the forest."
She muttered before dragging them with her. Lena was with them as well as she would be no use here with her mana completely empty.
Raze nodded immediately as his steps quickened, following her along with Ellara and Lyla.
His arm was still bleeding from Lyla's previous attack but he quickly tore a small part of his shirt and tied it around the wound as he ran but his mind couldn't understand one thing.
'Why were they trying so hard?'
The mercenary group was clearly at a disadvantage and it would have been easier for them to just hand over the target… and beg for mercy.
'So why…?'
'Were they afraid that even after giving the enemy what they wanted, he wouldn't let them go?'
'Or did they want something else?'
Raze's mind, which had only known coldness and manipulation in his life, simply couldn't understand even such an act of kindness.
Especially from strangers who barely knew him for a few days.
Even as they ran, Raze could hear the sound of clashes behind him and he could even see the silhouettes of a few people chasing after them.
While John and the others kept the red-core mage engaged, the remaining enemies were coming after them.
Luna's summons stalled their advance as she didn't stop for a second. Meanwhile, Ellara had nearly lost herself, repeatedly mumbling, "I am sorry."
Lyla, on the other hand, looked at Raze's bleeding arm with guilt but said nothing, knowing this wasn't the time to resolve their misunderstanding.
Just then, a tree root suddenly rose from the ground, trying to bind Lyla in its grasp but Lena, the support mage, quickly pushed her aside as she was bound instead.
"Ahh."
Her body hit the ground as she fell.
The group stopped for a moment but Lena yelled at them.
"Luna, take the kids and go away."
Luna hesitated for a second. "But—"
Before she could say anything, Lena interjected, "I can't run anymore anyway, and do you want these kids to suffer the same fate as those we lost…?"
"Please go…"
Luna bit her lip as she looked at the kids. "Let's go."
Ellara and Lyla were trained for such scenarios and Raze was no different as he had been taught to abandon even his loved ones for mission, something his mother made sure he understood.
Every time he grew even slightly attached to someone or something, she killed them brutally just to prove her point and make him numb to such situations.
She even deliberately slipped in a few kind servants or sometimes pets, just to make that happen.
Only Sebastian survived but even he was killed in the end and Raze felt nothing except a small hollowness.
So how could he bring himself to care for a stranger he had known for merely a few days, even if they were kind?
He felt bad but that was all.
He gave Lena one glance, nodding at her calmly before moving.
"I am sorry, Lena."
He muttered calmly because in a world where he couldn't guarantee his own survival, caring about others was a liability he wasn't allowed to take.
Lena stayed there as Raze felt the purest mana he had ever felt.
"She is burning her… innate mana."
Luna muttered, her eyes wet with tears as she could feel her teammates dying one by one.
Innate mana was something that was present within every person, some myths even tied it to the soul itself, saying it was created after burning their soul… and Lena was burning her soul, just so, a few kids she had barely met could survive.
"Why…?" Raze finally asked, even as their legs didn't stop. "Why are you all so kind to us? Why couldn't you have left us and run away?"
"What are you talking about, Raze?" Lyla interjected immediately.
But Luna didn't even turn back as she spoke. "Us, humans, don't need a reason to be kind, Raze."
Her voice was soft as if she were teaching them even now.
"I don't know what you have gone through or what you might go through but not every human you encounter will be bad, Raze."
"Yes, there are cruel people, people who would kill you without blinking an eye but there are also people who would give up everything to save a few kids, just so they wouldn't suffer the same outcome as their own family."
Raze still couldn't understand.
"What do you mean?" Raze asked again as Luna finally stopped as they could see a cliff a few metres beside them.
She finally turned toward him, her gentle eyes looking at him with a strange expression he couldn't name.
"We were people who had already lost everything."
"Me and John lost our son. Will lost his little brother. Maya lost her childhood friend. Lena lost her daughter, while Kyle's whole family was burned in front of his eyes and Gretta lost her disciple."
Her voice was steady.
"We were a group of people who didn't have anything more to lose but you… you three have a beautiful future ahead of you. How could we let you die? As adults, isn't it our job to safeguard you?"
She let out a bitter smile as she pushed him and the two girls toward the cliff. They could see a river flowing below as Luna prepared her wind magic to send them to the other side.
Their bodies were enveloped in a swirling wind as they started floating before being sent to the other side of the mountain divided by a rift.
"So… please live a great li—"
Just as Luna was about to finish, a hand pierced through her stomach. The same red-core mage as before stood behind her, holding her freshly ripped heart in his grasp.
Her control over her magic faltered as the wind vanished.
Raze, Ellara and Lyla began falling toward the sharp stones below but even under unbearable pain, Luna forced herself to move with her last breath. She shoved the kids toward the river instead, then grabbed the man who was about to follow them and detonated her own body using every bit of her innate mana.
The man, completely caught off guard, had no time to react before the explosion sent him flying backward.
"Arghhhhhhh!"
Half of his face was burned away, one of his arms missing entirely, blood pouring out without stopping.
"You bitch…"
He cursed the now-dead Luna through clenched teeth.
Meanwhile, as Raze was thrown into the river, the icy water crashing against his body and the current dragging him forward, he felt something strange rise in his chest as he saw Luna's last act of kindness.
As his body was swept away by the river, he swore to never forget the face of his enemy. Not for something as grand as revenge or justice but because he still hadn't thanked Luna… For teaching him how this world truly worked.
Right on cue, something within Raze's mind shifted as countless threats started unravelling all around him.
'What is happening?'
His vision was saturated and his senses cleared beyond normal. A warmth spread through his body even as he was being swept in cold river water.
A status window appeared in front of him almost immediately.
[You have awakened aura…]