"VROOOM—krrrk... tch."

The engine died instantly, and silence swallowed everything. Nalira twisted the key again—she had lost count of how many times she had tried—but nothing changed. The vehicle refused to start, as if it rejected her completely. Strange. Shaan clearly remembered the technicians fixing everything earlier, so why wouldn’t it start now?

"Miss Khaya, what’s going on?" Chelsie asked, her voice trembling. "Didn’t the officer fix this vehicle?"

Miss Khaya stayed quiet for a moment, then crossed her arms. "That’s right, but I suspect the battery caused this."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Shaan snapped his fingers. "Nalira keeps turning the key, but even the lights won’t come on," he said, trying to back up the idea. "Wait—I’ll check the battery. Just stay here."

He reached for the door and stepped out before anyone could stop him. The air felt colder than it should have. Too still. Too quiet. He moved to the front and yanked the hood open.

"...Tch." He clicked his tongue and leaned in. ’The battery. Corroded terminals. Weak charge. No current flow. Dead.’

"Shaan, how are things over there?" asked Miss Khaya, opening the car window, noticing that Shaan hadn’t said a word since earlier.

He exhaled slowly. "Battery’s dead. Completely drained. That’s why nothing responds."

Miss Khaya crossed her arms, her expression turning serious. "...Then we can’t use this vehicle," Miss Khaya said.

Chelsie’s voice came quickly, almost tripping over itself. "W-We can find another one, right? There has to be something nearby—"

"...No, that would waste too much time." Nalira cut her off instantly. "We don’t have much time. We need to find a way back to the Twilight Sanctum as soon as possible. Everyone there needs to know about this before the Resistance destroys it."

"Exactly. Nalira makes sense." Miss Khaya nodded without hesitation. "The chances of finding another vehicle are low, and we also need to stay alert. Dark creatures could already be watching us right now."

"Uhm... I understand."

"Our problem lies with this battery. If we can supply enough power to run the engine, then we can—" Shaan stopped mid-sentence as an idea flashed through his mind. ’Idiot. Why didn’t I think of that sooner?’

"Shaan, what is it?" Miss Khaya leaned out the window and saw him lightly smack his forehead. "What is it?"

"Miss Khaya, I’ve got an idea. We can ask Theo to use his power to recharge the vehicle’s battery," Shaan said without hesitation. "I’m sure this will work."

"His output is more than enough," Shaan said quickly. "If he channels it right, he can jump-start the system instantly."

"Or destroy it instantly," Nalira replied flatly.

Chelsie nodded fast. "Yeah—he’s not exactly careful..."

"He’ll listen if Miss Khaya tells him to," Shaan insisted.

Miss Khaya studied him for a moment, then nodded. "We don’t have better options."

Chelsie groaned under her breath. "O...okay. "

Nalira exhaled slowly. "...I still don’t trust him."

"Noted," Miss Khaya said calmly. "But we’ll proceed." She looked at Shaan. "Call him."

Shaan nodded. "Got it."

As Shaan turned to find Theo, a sudden flash of lightning tore through the air and streaked straight toward the vehicle. Shaan reacted instantly and rushed to its side—just in time to see Theo step out of the fading sparks.

’What a coincidence.’

"Hey, weakling, what are you doing here?" Theo furrowed his brow, seeing Shaan suddenly appear in front of him. "You should be with that bunch of weaklings."

"Just doing my job, helping Miss Khaya." Shaan folded his arms, raising an eyebrow. "Actually, I’m the one who should be asking you that. What are you doing here?"

"Getting some fresh air. I needed a break from those weak daemonists," Theo said with a mocking tone. "I’m allergic to weakness. You know that."

’Same as always... his words never fail to annoy anyone.’

"Oh? Looks like you found something interesting here." Theo smirked as he glanced at the vehicle beside him. "You know what, this thing can take all of us out of this cursed place and back to the Twilight Sanctum." He stepped closer. "This thing still runs?"

"It would," Shaan said, "if the battery wasn’t dead."

Theo tilted his head. "Dead?"

"No charge. No ignition. No lights."

Theo chuckled. "That’s it?"

Shaan frowned. "...What do you mean ’that’s it’?"

Theo cracked his neck. "That’s nothing. I can help you with that." He walked past Shaan like he didn’t exist and grabbed the hood.

"Really? That’s good-" Shaan stepped forward. "Hey, hold on for —"

Theo shot him a glance. "You’re in my way."

Shaan stepped aside. "...Fine."

Theo brushed past Shaan and flipped the hood open with confidence. "I’ll use my power to start the engine—"

"Theo, wait." Miss Khaya stepped out of the vehicle and approached him as he prepared to use his power. "Before you do anything, control your output. Don’t overdo it. Understood?"

"I understand, Miss Khaya." Theo nodded.

Chelsie blinked. "Wait... he actually listened? "

Nalira narrowed her eyes. "That’s new."

Theo took a deep breath. Sparks of electricity crackled across his palms. Not small sparks. But wild, violent, and alive. Shaan’s eyes widened. He knew the electrical energy was too powerful and could damage the vehicle’s engine.

"Theo—" Miss Khaya warned.

"I’ve got it." 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

His hand slowly moved toward the battery, getting closer and closer. Shaan’s heart pounded, his face tense as he watched the battery vibrate so violently that the entire vehicle shook.

"Control it!" Nalira snapped.

Chelsie screamed. "Oh, no, no. It’s going to—!"

’KRAK—BOOM!—PSSSSHHH...’

A cloud of smoke instantly engulfed the vehicle, instantly silencing the surroundings. Shaan, witnessing this, could only sit there in silence. Damn. It seemed Theo’s electricity had successfully blown up the vehicle, and now they wouldn’t be able to return to the Twilight Sanctum.

"Argh, I should’ve listened more to what he said—" A beam of light suddenly appeared from behind the cloud of smoke, followed by the sound of the vehicle’s engine. "Eh, w-wait, does that mean the engine is-?"

"It’s working." Miss Khaya sighed deeply. "Now, we can use it. "

"Yeah, that’s right." Shaan exhaled deeply, looking at Theo with a cynical gaze. "...But, he almost fried it."

"Hey, jeez. Calm down." Theo stood up and laughed. "But I didn’t."

Chelsie instantly collapsed to the ground, her hands trembling. "Ju-just don’t do that again. okay"

"...Great work, you didn’t kill us".

"Uhm... but, thank goodness." Chelsie let out a long breath. "Then I guess it’s time to head back and—" Her expression suddenly stiffened. "E-Everyone... l-look at that!"

Chelsie’s voice snapped everyone’s attention toward the horizon. Silence fell over them as they froze in place. Shaan stared ahead and saw it clearly—a massive cloud of thick, pink gas rising into the sky. And worse... it came from the direction of the Twilight Sanctum. Damn. Something had gone terribly wrong.

Miss Khaya turned sharply. "We need to move. Now."