Ralph ran as fast as he could, his body pushed far beyond what he thought possible as the wind howled around him.

It had been five minutes since he broke away.

Those five minutes felt like an eternity in his mind.

His thoughts spiraled uncontrollably, colliding with each other as panic and urgency twisted together in his chest. He was worried about Teclos and Gillard—terribly worried—but at the same time, another heavy thought loomed over him. The scale of this... whatever this was... didn’t feel right.

That one slash from that massive orc.

The memory of it burned into his mind—the way it had carved through the forest, cutting down trees like they were nothing more than grass. Even now, thinking back on it made his stomach churn.

’I’m not even sure...’ he thought grimly, pushing forward. ’...if all of Kolma comes... would it even matter?’

All of those thoughts lingered in his mind, dark and suffocating.

But right now, he had to push them to the back of his mind and run.

He had to trust the plan they had thrown together in desperation. Had to believe that Teclos and Gillard were still alive, still holding on. If he stopped now—if he hesitated even for a moment—then everything they had risked their lives for would be for nothing.

He pushed himself harder, compressing the violent wind swirling around him while releasing powerful, tornado-like bursts from beneath his feet.

With no one chasing him anymore, he had taken to the sky above the canopy, abandoning the tangled forest below.

And without the trees slowing him down—

He became faster.

Much faster.

This was the fastest he had ever flown in his life, his body screaming under the strain as he poured everything he had into speed.

But that was fine.

Exhaustion, pain, fear—none of it mattered right now.

Because finally, the village came into view in the distance, its faint outline unmistakable. A glimmer of hope shone in his eyes.

Just a few more minutes.

That was all it would take.

But then, he suddenly felt a strange heat behind him.

It brushed against him lightly at first, subtle enough that he almost missed it—but his instincts screamed.

Ralph’s head snapped back, and his blood ran cold.

A massive fireball was tearing through the sky toward him.

It was enormous.

As large as the guild hall itself.

"Holy—!"

There was no time to think.

Ralph immediately dove down, abandoning his path above the canopy as he forced his body into a sharp descent. At the same time, he veered hard to the left, twisting mid-air as wind mana exploded beneath his feet to change his direction as violently as possible.

A second later—

The forest exploded.

The fireball struck the ground with catastrophic force, and the resulting detonation ripped through the landscape. A massive crater formed at the point of impact, trees in the immediate area simply... vanished—evaporated by the heat before the explosion even fully bloomed.

The shockwave tore outward, flattening everything in its path as the surrounding forest was ripped apart. Trees splintered violently, trunks snapping and shattering as flames engulfed them almost instantly.

Debris filled the air.

Flaming shards of wood, shattered earth, and burning fragments were thrown in all directions, peppering the surrounding area with overwhelming force.

Ralph barely escaped the center of it.

But not the aftermath.

The shockwave hit him mid-flight, slamming into his body like a hammer and throwing him off course. He crashed into the ground, tumbling uncontrollably as dirt and debris scraped against his skin.

He rolled several times before finally coming to a stop.

For a moment, everything spun around him, dizziness crashing over his senses.

After a second or two, he forced himself up, ignoring the pain that flared through his body as he staggered forward. His limbs protested, bruises already forming from the earlier impact, but he didn’t stop.

Couldn’t stop.

Thankfully, the trees between him and the blast had taken the brunt of the shockwave, softening it just enough that it did not kill him outright.

After that, he kept low beneath the canopy, no longer daring to rise above the trees.

’Holy hell...’ his mind raced in panic as dark thoughts started forming. ’It’s that guy again...’

That monster.

And if he was targeting him like this—then what about Teclos? What about Gillard?

The thought twisted his stomach violently, but he forced it down and pushed forward, weaving between the trees as fast as he could. He zigzagged now, changing direction constantly, making it harder for that thing behind him to track his path.

But it came at a cost.

Every second mattered already, but now he was forced to slow down and was losing time.

’Are they even still alive...?’

The thought slipped in before he could stop it.

Then—

Another explosion echoed behind him and closer this time.

Ralph barely had time to react before a second fireball slammed into the forest, the impact sending another violent shockwave tearing through the trees.

He tried to shield himself with a wind barrier, but it wasn’t enough.

The force hurled him forward, and his body slammed into a tree with a sickening thud.

Pain exploded through him as he dropped to the ground, momentarily stunned. A nasty ringing filled his ears, drowning out the world around him.

He groaned and pushed himself up.

Luckily, he wasn’t knocked out.

After a few unsteady steps, he forced his legs to move again, breaking back into a run as blood trickled from his nose and burns stung across his skin.

Bruised and battered.

And still running toward Kolma.

—

Elsewhere.

In a quiet room, tucked away within one of the larger houses in Kolma.

It wasn’t lavish by any means, yet it carried a certain dignified air—comfortable, but practical, with the subtle weight of authority woven through it. There was no gold adorning the space, no excessive display of wealth, apart from a few modest silver ornaments.

But the room itself was filled with character.

Shelves lined the walls, packed tightly with different kinds of books—some clearly worn down through the years, while others were pristine and untouched.

Alongside them rested pipes for smoking, each one different in shape and size, their polished wood and worn stems showing years of use and careful upkeep. Nearby, bottles of old, valuable alcohol stood neatly arranged, their labels faded with age, though the contents inside had been preserved with obvious care.

Lastly, a few ornamental swords hung on the walls.

It was a private room.

Elder Ezekiel’s room.

He sat comfortably on a large sofa, leaning back as he slowly exhaled a stream of smoke from the pipe in his hand. In front of him, on a low wooden table between two sofas, a cup of tea steamed gently, accompanied by small snacks carefully prepared—no doubt by his wife.

"So... to what do I owe the honor of hosting such an esteemed guest in my humble home?"

The words themselves were polite.

The tone was not.

A thin layer of sarcasm clung to them, barely veiled and impossible to miss.

Across from him, sprawled in a similarly relaxed posture, Axel sat with his boots casually resting on the table, completely ignoring any sense of etiquette.

He was munching on a cookie, utterly at ease as if he owned the place.

"Come on, old chap..." Axel said between bites, his voice light, almost amused. "You aren’t still mad I killed your friend back then, right? It was a contract from an important person..."

He spoke as if the matter was trivial.

As if that death meant nothing.

Ezekiel didn’t react to his provocations. He took another slow drag from his pipe before answering, his voice calm.

"Well... I might be containing my rage for now and at least hear you out on why you dared to step into my home." His sharp and cold look settled on Axel. "If the reason is shallow, though... I won’t care for the famous ’Ghost of Alvar’ and will kill you on the spot."

Axel chuckled at that, though something darker flickered beneath the surface of that amusement.

"Haha... you might have been stronger than me back then," he said, his tone shifting just slightly. "But now... I’d watch my tone if I were you."

For a brief moment, a sinister aura crept into the air around him—a faint pressure that was barely restrained. Then it vanished as he leaned back again, completely relaxed.

"Listen," he continued, waving it off. "I’ll finally be out of your hair soon anyway. This mission is drawing to an end. I still don’t know why my lord had me come here... just to find and kill off some bandits in the forest." He shrugged. "He knows our relationship is... strained."

Ezekiel let out a quiet breath of smoke, watching it dissipate slowly before answering.

"Well, I’m glad you’ll be leaving soon," he said dryly. "And those weren’t ’just’ bandits. Adam was leading them." A faint pause followed before he added, "How was fighting the Butcher of the South, by the way? Did you sustain any injuries?"

Axel smirked.

"Hah... wouldn’t you like to know." He waved a hand dismissively. "His fame was exaggerated."

Then he leaned forward slightly, his tone shifting again—more focused this time.

"Anyway... onto the second reason I came here."

Ezekiel raised an eyebrow.

There was more?

"At first," Axel continued, "I thought you were punishing me by having me look after some no-name brat... but now I see he’s quite the gem." His eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "You wouldn’t happen to be against the idea of me taking him to Lupos, would you?"

Ezekiel blinked once.

Then let out a short, disbelieving huff.

"What?" A faint grin tugged at his lips. "I can’t believe it. You? Taking on a disciple?" He leaned back slightly. "Have you grown fond of that boy in just a year or what?"

Axel’s expression didn’t change.

"He’s got talent," he said simply. "For... my kind of work. He’ll be a useful tool for my lord."

That answer made Ezekiel pause.

He thought it over, tapping his pipe lightly against the armrest.

"Hmmm..."

After a moment, he nodded slightly.

"Well, if it’s what the boy wants, then he can go," he said. "But I’ll be informing Laenor about this in a letter. Don’t think Count Aweq will be able to gain a hidden blade just like that. The Church will press him down a peg if he oversteps his authority again."

A sinister smirk spread across Axel’s face at that, though he didn’t voice what he was thinking and simply nodded.

"Of course."

Then—

The atmosphere changed instantly.

Both of them turned their heads toward the window at the exact same moment.

In the distance—

A massive fireball erupted into the sky, several kilometers away from Kolma. Even from here, the scale of it was massive, a pillar of flame rising above the treeline.

A few seconds later—

The sound reached them too.

A deep, resounding explosion that echoed all the way to the village.

Ezekiel stood up immediately, all traces of leisure gone.

"Look into what’s happening," he said sharply. "I’m getting the mayor. Gunvald probably noticed it as well."

Axel nodded.

The next moment—

Both of them vanished from their spots.

—

Ralph was running like his life depended on it—which, in fact, it did.

Meanwhile, U’rtak was preparing another fireball. He had to admit, this little cockroach was quite persistent at staying alive. He waited for the human to run out of the forest and into the clearing. Then he’d have nowhere left to run and would perish.

Ralph, not knowing that, rushed forward. Soon, the forest began to thin, and he saw Kolma again, hope blooming in his mind.

’Just a little further... come on... I can do it!’

He gathered all the mana he had left and prepared himself for a final sprint.

The moment he cleared the forest, he blasted himself forward. His speed felt incredible—because it truly was—and under normal circumstances, he would have been overjoyed by the rapid progress in his control.

But a gut-wrenching feeling gnawed at him, forcing him to turn his head.

Dread instantly flooded his thoughts. A fireball, even larger than the previous ones, was hurtling toward him—and he was dead center in its impact zone.

He had maybe a few seconds left to live.

’Hah... I’ll be damned. Guess I wasn’t fast enough after all...’

Then, suddenly, a massive wall erupted from the ground, gleaming like polished diamond.

The impact was earth-shattering.

The fireball crashed against it and detonated, flames and force spreading across its surface, but the wall held firm. It blocked the blast completely, and not even the shockwave reached Ralph.

He stood there, stunned, shocked, and extremely relieved all at once.

"Holy shit... thank God—huff, huff... I actually made it!"

"Don’t thank God, kid. I was the one who protected you."

The voice came from behind him.

Ralph turned around and saw Elder Ezekiel standing there.

And then collapsed with a smile.