Elowen had disappeared abruptly, leaving no trace behind. People were worried that he might have been snatched by so monster, and only after Alistair's reassurance did they calm down—he was one of their strongest fighters after all. However, lina and Alistair both knew that it wasn't a coincidence that Elowen had disappeared. He, without a doubt, had been preparing for this very mont.
"This can't be good…" lina muttered nervously, biting into her thumbnail. "We have to find him before…"
Leon ca up to lina and tapped on her shoulder nervously, looking around.
"What is it?" lina asked.
The mage leaned in close and whispered so nobody else could hear. "Is there perhaps magic that can track sobody?"
All the elves instantly turned to look at lina. This man had completely forgotten that their hearing is far better than that of humans.
"The elves can hear you, Leon," lina noted bitterly.
"What? Really?" He exclaid and looked at Remi.
"Yup, I can totally hear you," she said. "Not a single subtle bone in this man's body."
"Is it possible, Miss lina?" Illitran asked, walking up to her.
It was a good thing that elves were already aware that she could use magic, even if they didn't quite understand how.
"If I had sothing that belonged to Elowen, I could find him," lina said, recalling her tracking spell. It'd be tricky, trying to use it without the assistance of the System and with Sienna's mana rather than her own, but it should be possible.
"Do we have sothing that belongs to Elowen?" Alistair called out.
Everyone searched through the belongings they brought along, but couldn't find anything belonging to the silver elf. He didn't own much in the first place, and all he owned he kept on his person.
"Dammit…" lina cursed under her breath when suddenly Sienna poked her snout against her. "What is it, Sienna?"
The wyrm motioned into the darkness, eager to show her sothing. lina followed her, and so distance away, they saw a scrap of cloth snagged on one of the sturdy branches of a rock pine. lina picked it up and inspected it. It looked like the corner of Elowen's black and silver tunic.
"He must have been in a real hurry if he made a simple mistake like this," lina noted, holding the cloth.
"Is that enough?" Alistair asked.
"I'm not sure, but it might. Can you keep others away while I do it?" She asked.
"Of course. Illitran, Remi, guard lina, and make sure nobody interrupts," Alistair said and returned to their camp. As the Captain, he needed to be present.
anwhile, lina, along with the two elves and Sienna, hurried so distance away, where nobody could see or overhear them. It was a rather vain attempt to keep lina's magic a secret. Everyone in the group was already aware that she was a System user. But it was best not to advertise the extent of her abilities.
"Sienna, lend your strength," lina said as he sat down on the ground to concentrate on the spell.
Sienna growled approvingly, letting the mana flow freely between them. Remi and Illitran stood watch, not uttering a single word.
lina began. She concentrated on the piece of cloth in her hands, thinking hard about finding Elowen. The spell resisted her. She'd never done without the System before, and she could feel how the mana refused to move. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she slowly untangled the confused mana and circulated it around the cloth.
Intent was the most important thing when doing magic, so lina began to chant "Find Elowen" under her breath, trying to grasp him. But mana swirled around the cloth, confused and not able to find the right direction. She thought that the cloth might not be a strong enough connection when she realized she had done things wrong.
She should have been concentrating on the tunic itself. The separated scrap should have a strong connection to the remaining tunic. The mont she did, the magic snapped in place. The ripped cloth was eager to return to its original state, giving lina a clear-cut image of where Elowen's tunic and Elowen himself were.
"I found him!" lina said, opening her eyes. Through the cloth in her hands, she clearly felt the tug in the direction where Elowen was. And it felt like he was already a good distance away. "We need to hurry!"
They hurried back to the camp.
"We found traces of where Elowen has gone," Illitran announced while lina hid the cloth scrap in her sleeves. "He's gone quite a distance away."
"Why would he do that?" Barrett asked in confusion.
Alistair thought about it for a mont, then announced. "The mission is cancelled. A small group will go to retrieve Elowen while the rest will return to the Human Realm imdiately."
"What about the materials, Captain?" Remi asked. "Won't Guildmaster be mad?"
"Safety cos first. Nightti is far too dangerous in the Monster Realm, especially when our group has been split apart."
"Who will go to search for Elowen?" Illitran asked.
"Sienna, lina, and I will go," Alistair announced.
"Captain! You can't go just the three of you. lina isn't even a fighter!" Barrett protested.
"With all due respect, Captain, I agree," Remi protested. "It's far too dangerous!"
"I'm the strongest fighter here. Could all of you even defeat if you went against at once?" Alistair said firmly, looking over the group.
They flinched back. Although they were good fighters, none of them had the System. Alistair did. He had powerful skills to aid him, not to ntion the stat provided boosts.
"Sienna is even more powerful than that. The two of us have the best chance of finding Elowen. And lina is the only one able to calm down Sienna in case sothing does happen, so she must co along," Alistair said.
The Elves didn't argue any further. They knew that the real reason why lina was necessary was that she was the one tracking him.
"Captain, please, let co along too," Barrett insisted.
"No, Barrett! I also need strong fighters to defend the supply team. You, Illitran, and Remi are crucial for it," Alistair said firmly. "Inform the Guildmaster of what happened the mont you get back."
"Very well. But we'll be returning with more warriors in tow," Barrett said sternly. Alistair nodded.
lina realized that they needed a form of communication with the adventurers, so they wouldn't rush after them into the Monster Realm. She picked up a rock and hid it in her palms. Without anyone noticing, she imbued it with mana.
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"Leon," she called the mage.
He hurried over, looking frazzled by the whole situation. "Yes?"
"Take this," she said, pressing the rock into his hands.
"What's this?" He asked curiously. "Rock?"
"I've imbued it with Sienna's mana. If you channel mana into it, you should be able to feel Sienna's location."
Leon looked down at the rock nervously, then nodded.
"I pray we don't need it."
The adventurers hurriedly packed up the unfinished camp, while Alistair and lina got onto Sienna's back. It wouldn't be the comfiest ride—Sienna's scales were rather tough—but at least they'd be able to move around quickly.
"Let's go," Alistair said, and lina nodded.
Through her connection to Sienna, she pointed the wyrm in the right direction. She took off imdiately, making lina slide back. But Alistair held onto Sienna's neck firmly and stopped her from sliding off.
"Hold tight. We might need to make Sienna a saddle," Alistair said.
"It'd be better if we didn't need it…" lina muttered.
The wyrm followed the magic trail quickly, weaving among the dense trees with ease. She didn't seem to be bothered by their weight at all, although lina wasn't surprised. Even if she looked rather lean, beneath those scales hid rugged muscles, fueled by many, many pastries.
"What do you think he's trying to do?" Alistair asked.
"I have so suspicions, but, System, I pray that I'm wrong," lina said.
"What? You don't think he could have gone to…"
"I hope not. I really hope I'm wrong… If it were sobody else we're talking about, I'd say no. But this is Elowen."
She didn't need to explain further. Alistair's grip tightened around Sienna's neck, and lina could feel his angry breath in her hair.
"I'm going to beat him into a pulp once we catch him."
"If we catch him."
Sienna was fast, but elves were also fast runners, and he got quite the head start. Not to ntion that the wyrm was taking the safest route possible. If she noticed a monster nearby, she'd take a detour.
The scenery around them changed the deeper they traveled. There were fewer rock pines around, instead replaced by the increasingly larger fungus trees. They also beca more varied in both shape and color. So glowed with bioluminescent light all through, while had only a few bright spots or lines.
"Alistair, is it or does it feel like…" lina shuddered, looking at the all too familiar scenery.
"Yes… Sienna, stop," Alistair said.
"Why did you stop her?" lina asked.
"We should turn back," he said firmly.
"But Elowen—"
"Forget him. He chose to co here. He can suffer through the consequences on his own," Alistair said coldly.
"It's not only about what happens to him, but also what happens to us, if he and the Monster Lord decide to join forces. Or rather, if the Monster Lord and elves join forces. It'll be an all-out war between Human and Monster Realms," lina said, and urged Sienna to continue. "We're very close. All we have to do is knock him out and drag him back to Sunglow. Then the Guildmaster and the Duke can deal with him as they see fit."
Alistair cursed under his breath, but didn't object. They both knew what was at stake here. lina hoped that maybe she had been wrong, and Elowen hadn't gone to the Monster Lord. How could he have even known that this particular passageway was so close to his ho?
Sienna rushed forward at lina's command. lina could feel the scrap of cloth almost vibrating from the elf's proximity. But the further they went, the thicker the air grew. It was becoming difficult for lina to breathe.
"Are you alright?" Alistair asked, noticing her discomfort. He was completely fine.
"The air… It's filled with mana," lina wheezed out. "I can't keep up the spell anymore. I need to concentrate on clearing the excess mana out of my body."
As an [Archmage], she had felt nourished when she last ca to this place. She could take the ambient and use it to power her spells. But her body couldn't endure such large amounts of mana, so the best she could do was cycle the excess mana away from herself.
When lina and Alistair saw the tall, familiar tower, they knew that they had been too slow. Elowen stood at the foot of the tower surrounded by a group of drows, just like the one that had attacked lina. So distance from him stood the Monster Lord. He turned his head towards them in a slow motion. When lina next blinked, he was standing right next to them.
He was just like lina had rembered, no, even stronger than that. His marble skin emitted a light glow in the dark while he stared at lina with eyes that looked as if they were made up from stars. His long hair cascaded down his shoulders like waterfalls, which turned into mist at their tips. He was the most powerful entity in this world.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't my archnesis that has co to my ho to once again send to my grave," he said in his powerful voice. His breath exuded mana, which shimred as it settled around him. Then he raised his hand for an attack.
"Sienna, jump!" lina commanded, using their link to send a strong signal for the wyrm to dodge.
She jumped a good distance away. The place where they were standing a mont ago exploded in an icy vortex. Monster Lord went straight for Sienna's weakness.
Monster Lord lazily turned towards them and pointed in their direction. Sienna jumped, and he followed with his hand. The result was the poor wyrm jumping all over the clearing, followed by an icy vortex. There were more and more of them, making it harder for her to dodge. Until finally, Sienna faltered as she nearly jumped into one.
The sudden change in direction sent lina and Alistair off her back. Alistair reacted instantly, grabbing lina and zipping away so distance with his .
"Stop! Killing her will only make matters worse!" Elowen bellowed, but couldn't move from his spot due to the drow.
"Silence, fool! This woman will suffer the sa fate I did! She'll die knowing that her death will bring destruction to her world. You, lina Dufour, who previously destroyed the Monster Realm, will now die by my hand!" The Monster Lord announced and produced a giant ice spear, which he launched at lina.
Without hesitation, Sienna let out a burst of fla, which lted the ice while Alistair grabbed lina close and held his shield in front of her.
"Over my dead body!" Alistair snarled.
"That can be arranged," Monster Lord said in an amused voice, and began launching one ice spear after the next.
Sienna did her best to lt them while Alistair dodged what he could and blocked what he couldn't dodge. Not once did he let go of lina, while she was barely able to keep her breath steady with the abundant mana in the air. It was threatening to overwhelm her.
"Dammit! I told you to stop!" Elowen snarled, withdrawing his sword.
"If you draw your sword against , elf, then I shall consider you too my enemy," Monster Lord warned.
"We're not your enemies! Let us explain!" Elowen pleaded.
"Enough! I see that you too side with the destroyers of worlds. Get him," Monster Lord commanded.
Playti was over. The nurous drow soldiers that were previously still went into action, attacking Elowen. He produced a do of wind, sending them flying all over the place. But it was nothing more than a mild setback as they landed on their feet and resud their attack.
anwhile, Monster Lord intensified his barrage, launching ice spears, fireballs, lightning, and pressurized water jets at them. Sienna wasn't bothered by fire or water, taking those hits to protect lina and Alistair. Alistair activated
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