Ethan tossed the bags to Leeroy.
"I'll carry you, and you guide . That way, we'll move faster," Ethan said, his tone serious.
The three of them couldn't fully grasp Ethan's urgency.
When he'd learned that they could take him to the Silverwood family's territory, he'd been consud by a single thought: Get there as fast as possible.
He'd made up his mind—no matter the cost, he was bringing Lyla back.
Seeing Ethan's desperation, they didn't argue.
Though Ryan winced as he pulled out two more runic parchnts, gritting his teeth as he slapped them onto his legs.
Leeroy chuckled at the sight.
Ethan, confused, asked what was so funny.
"Ryan's speed charms are rare," Leeroy explained. "I'd bet he only has about ten left. Using two more? He's probably bleeding inside."
Ethan didn't respond. Instead, he picked up the pace, following Leeroy's directions as they sped through the terrain.
He noticed Ryan's speed had tripled, thanks to the charms.
They ran until dawn, stopping briefly for a al.
Ethan urged them to keep moving.
Evelyn waved him off. "I can't go on. I've swallowed enough wind to last a lifeti. I need a break."
Ryan groaned, "Sa here. The charms don't drain my energy, but my legs feel like they're about to fall off."
Ethan turned to Leeroy, who shrugged. "I'm good to go."
Ethan sighed. Leeroy had been asleep on his back for most of the journey, only waking up when they stopped.
"I was asking how much farther we have to go," Ethan clarified.
Leeroy glanced around, then pointed to a steep cliff. "Once we get up there, we're close."
Ethan stared at the cliff, stunned. Even professional climbers would struggle with that.
What puzzled him more was how Leeroy seed to know the way without a map or GPS.
"Let's rest for a bit," Ethan said, noticing Ryan and Evelyn were in rough shape.
They set up a tent, and the four of them crawled inside.
Ethan was exhausted too, but his impatience kept him pushing.
As they rested, Leeroy took watch. In his sleep, Ethan heard a faint thud.
He bolted upright and rushed out of the tent.
It was pitch dark. He checked the ti—10 PM. He'd slept the entire day.
Evelyn and Ryan erged from their tents, looking alard.
"Where's Leeroy?" Ryan asked nervously.
"No idea," Evelyn replied.
Ethan extended his senses and imdiately located Leeroy about two kiloters away. He was in his transford state, face down and motionless.
Not far from him, a group of seven or eight people stood gathered.
"Hank, that was louder than expected," one of them said, rubbing his ears as he addressed a man in his fifties.
The man, Hank, took a drag from his cigarette and smirked. "That's because we're too close. From two kiloters out, you wouldn't hear a thing."
"Alright, check the air quality. We're heading down," the leader ordered.
By then, Ethan, Ryan, and Evelyn had quietly made their way to Leeroy's side.
Evelyn knelt beside him, her expression grim. She checked his pulse and let out a relieved sigh.
"He's just unconscious," she whispered.
Ryan and Ethan flipped Leeroy onto his back.
There were no visible wounds on his body, just a small bump on his forehead and a faint trickle of blood from his ears.
"Heh…" Ryan couldn't help but chuckle.
Ethan and Evelyn stared at him, puzzled.
Ryan quickly stifled his laughter. "Ahem… Looks like big bro was eavesdropping again and got knocked out by the blast. Serves him right!"
"How do you know that?" Evelyn asked.
"Because… well, big bro and I… ahem…" Ryan trailed off, suddenly realizing he'd said too much and clamped his mouth shut.
At the sa ti, Ethan spoke up. "They're heading into the cave!"
Evelyn frowned, glancing between Ryan and the unconscious Leeroy, but her attention was quickly drawn back to Ethan's words.
A faint yellow glow flickered around Evelyn's fingers as she flicked it toward Leeroy's forehead.
Two seconds later, Leeroy's eyes snapped open, and he opened his mouth to let out a yell.
But before he could make a sound, a burning runic parchnt shot into his mouth.
Startled, he clamped his lips shut, but it was too late.
The parchnt had already done its job, silencing him.
"Don't make noise…" Ryan's delayed warning ca through. The burning parchnt had been his doing.
Though it had flown quickly, to Ethan's heightened senses, it had moved in slow motion. Ethan noted that it was just a plain piece of paper—no runes or symbols drawn on it.
Ryan, standing just a ter away, could've easily covered Leeroy's mouth, but he'd chosen this thod instead.
The smug look on Ryan's face, despite his serious expression, told Ethan everything.
He's ssing with his brother again.
Sure enough, Leeroy seed to rember what had happened before he'd passed out.
He covered his mouth, but smoke began to puff out of his nose.
"Pfft… pfft…"
He spat out the parchnt, which was still partially burning.
Leeroy glared at Ryan, ready to retaliate, but Ryan was already pretending to focus on the scene ahead, his expression serious.
Feeling like he'd just punched a pillow, Leeroy muttered in a muffled voice, "Those guys are relic hunters. I wasn't planning to get involved, but I heard soone crying for help. So I ca to check it out.
When I got here, I was trying to listen in on their conversation, and then… boom. The explosion knocked out."
Ethan's eyes widened. "A cry for help?"
"Yeah," Leeroy replied, pointing to a black cloth-covered object in the relic hunters' camp. "Based on the direction and distance, it ca from there."
"And… it was a little girl. Sounded like she was seven or eight years old."
Ethan shot to his feet, his anger igniting like a wildfire.
A seven- or eight-year-old girl, locked in a cage covered with black cloth…
It reminded him of the first ti he'd t Lyla. She'd been around the sa age, trapped in a cage just like that.
These people deserve to die.
The mont Ethan stood, the three siblings felt a sudden chill run down their spines.
Goosebumps prickled their skin, and Evelyn sensed an overwhelming, terrifying killing aura radiating from Ethan.
Ethan took a step forward.
"Who's there?" soone from the relic hunters' camp shouted.
Ethan didn't respond. He took another step.
Boom!
A loud explosion erupted from the camp.
Ethan froze in place.
Through his senses, he detected soone descending from above. When he saw the person's face, Ethan was stunned.
'How… how is it him?'
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