Silas and Cher ran for hours.

At first, their journey was peaceful. Nothing appeared to startle them or interrupt their casual conversation, and they spent the time discussing all sorts of things.

For some reason, after Silas had spoken his mind earlier, Cher began acting differently. She seemed more open around him, more willing to share her thoughts, and noticeably closer than before.

Silas did not mind the change. Although he deliberately avoided asking about her clan or her past, he continued questioning her about the world of Enhancers instead.

Almost everything she told him was new, and the two continued talking as they ran. That peaceful advance lasted until they encountered three adult Enhancers.

Cher immediately narrowed her eyes. Their outfits did not match, making it obvious that they belonged to different clans or factions. Silas, meanwhile, noticed something else. They were covered in wounds, visibly exhausted, and their eyes burned with unmistakable bloodlust.

"Attack."

The moment he realised their intentions, he quietly warned Cher, grabbed a crystal, and dashed forward.

For some reason, he felt that all three were stronger than him. That instinct proved correct. Every one of them was a C-Rank Enhancer.

Fortunately, their condition was far worse than mere exhaustion. They looked as though they had abandoned reason altogether, driven by obsession or haunted by some unseen nightmare. The moment they spotted Silas and Cher, they charged without hesitation.

Fwoosh!

Silas did not draw his daggers immediately. Instead, he wanted to test something.

The crystal in his hand turned in a few breaths into dust, and the effect was immediate. He mimicked what he learned from the Shadowheart back when it escaped the dragon.

He circled the absorbed Mana through his body, concentrating them at his legs. Then he kicked the ground and moved. His speed surged dramatically, allowing him to slip past the incoming attacks with ease. By the time the three Dark Hunters realised what had happened, his daggers were already at work.

Cher killed one with a beam of white fire, while Silas dealt with the remaining two. As he looked at the corpses, a frown crossed his face.

’Dammit.’

’I completely forgot that killing will strengthen that bastard.’

A trace of regret surfaced, but it did not linger.

Although his relationship with the Shadowheart had improved considerably, Silas understood that the current balance between them had been hard-earned. Allowing that existence to grow stronger through slaughter could easily shatter that balance and bring back dangers he had no desire to face again.

Still, he had no choice.

When forced to choose between killing and being killed, hesitation was a luxury he could not afford. And what Cher said next only reinforced that conclusion.

"These are Dark Hunters."

After searching one of the bodies, she retrieved an emblem bearing the image of a wyvern.

"It’s the insignia of a notorious Dark Hunter faction from the Elfine Kingdom."

Her expression darkened.

"We need to stay vigilant. They never operate alone."

Silas nodded.

From that point onward, the two advanced cautiously. Their conversations faded away, replaced by silent vigilance. And that first encounter proved to be only the beginning.

The deeper they ventured, the more scattered Dark Hunters they encountered. Strangely, every group shared the same characteristics. They were wounded, exhausted, and incapable of fighting with a clear mind.

Even the largest group they faced consisted of only eight Dark Hunters. Hour after hour, Silas and Cher carved their way forward. Then, quite suddenly, they reached the edge of a cliff.

What awaited them beyond made both pause.

"It’s one of the garrison posts guarding the mine."

Cher immediately recognised the structure standing in the distance. To her, it was merely a small garrison post. To Silas, it looked more like a palace, a castle.

Neither lingered for long. They climbed down the cliff and headed directly toward the garrison post. Fortunately, they encountered no more Dark Hunters along the way. Cher did not seem surprised by that fact, and before long, Silas began to understand why.

As they drew closer, they spotted hundreds of people gathered around the castle. Most wore the same uniform: silver vests, black trousers, and long red coats. Strange symbols were embroidered onto their vests, symbols that reminded Silas of the runes he had begun seeing after becoming an Enhancer.

The sight of such numbers immediately put him at ease. In the distance, to both the left and right, dark silhouettes of similar fortifications stretched outward, marking the beginning of the Iron Wall that surrounded the mine.

However, once they came close enough to observe properly, Silas noticed an important difference. The crowd was not made entirely of Enhancers. Only a handful stood at the front, leading large groups of ordinary soldiers.

"Another group of survivors from Frontier Academy is approaching!"

A loud shout echoed from the castle walls when they were still several minutes away.

"It seems we aren’t the first ones to arrive."

Cher’s voice was barely above a whisper, but Silas immediately understood the warning hidden beneath her words. If other groups from the academy had already gathered here, keeping their distance would be wise.

After all, their objective was no longer the academy mission; it was the dragon. And they didn’t want to alarm any of the teams partaking in the mission, especially Leopard’s men.

"You two must have seen hell to make it this far."

An Enhancer approached them. Thick layers of mutation covered both his shoulders, giving him an imposing appearance.

"Get inside, have some rest, and then move deeper into the safe zone like everyone else."

"Thanks."

Silas noticed that Cher seemed unusually tense, her eyes constantly scanning their surroundings.

"We were chased by Dark Hunters a few miles from here."

"We’re already hunting them," the Enhancer replied calmly. "Before sunset, they won’t pose any threat at all."

There was a trace of approval in his voice. The fact that two academy students had survived encounters with Dark Hunters, both stronger and more numerous than themselves, was impressive.

"We’re trying to wipe those pests out before the dragon arrives."

Silas frowned.

Until now, he had assumed the mine garrison would avoid any direct confrontation with the dragon. It was the sort of logic that made people choose to flee a dragon, not fight it.