The wind whistled loudly in Shaan’s ears as the phoenix swiftly glided through the dense grove of trees, appearing right in front of them.

"I think... we should be safe now if we keep moving like this."

"U-Uhm... I don’t think so..." Chelsie pointed behind them, her hand trembling.

A swarm of grotesque creatures—bat-like, twisted, and fast—poured through the trees, chasing them without slowing down.

"Th-Those attacks earlier... th-they came from them," she said, swallowing hard. Her face turned pale. "Th-There are more of them now..."

"What?" Theo clenched his fist, irritation flashing across his face. "Damn it... fine. Then let’s do this."

He immediately steered the Phoenix into sharp, erratic movements—zigzagging through the forest, diving between branches, and cutting through narrow gaps. He tried to shake them off, hoping the dense trees would disrupt the swarm’s pursuit.

However, his prediction was wrong. The phoenix’s massive body made it difficult for it to move freely, and as a result, the phoenix crashed into trees several times, injuring its wings.

’SKREEEAAAA—!!’

"Theo, stop!" Chelsie shouted, anger and panic mixing in her voice. "The Phoenix is hurt! We need to heal it now!"

"No!" Theo snapped without looking back. "We can’t stop! If we slow down, those things will catch us—!"

Before Theo could finish his sentence, another violent blow struck, this time targeting Phoenix’s right wing. The massive bird lurched violently. In an instant, it lost balance. Its body tilted sharply to the right and crashed through the surrounding trees, snapping branches and tearing through the forest.

"Hold on!" Theo shouted.

Hearing Theo’s shout, Shaan and the others immediately gripped Phoenix’s body tightly. However, Shaan’s nausea grew more intense. His head spun so violently that he began to lose focus. Cold sweat poured down his forehead, making him feel even more uneasy. In an instant, his vision blurred, and his grip slipped away.

"Oh my God—Shaan!" Chelsie screamed. She lunged forward and caught his hand just in time.

"Don’t let go!" Nalira snapped.

Together, they pulled. But it wasn’t easy. Shaan’s body dragged heavily below them, dead weight against gravity. Their arms trembled as they struggled to lift him back up.

"Pull—!" Nalira gritted her teeth.

Chelsie poured everything she had into it. Slowly... inch by inch, they dragged him back onto the Phoenix.

"T-Thank goodness..." Chelsie gasped, her chest rising and falling rapidly. "At least we saved him..."

However, the wound on the Phoenix’s wing had worsened, beginning to hinder its movement. It’s slammed into the rough terrain, skidding violently across the surface as dirt, rocks, and debris exploded into the air.

"Uhm... the Phoenix isn’t doing well." Chelsie stepped down and carefully examined both wings. "The injuries are serious. We can’t force it to fly again."

Nalira fell silent. Her expression tightened for a moment.

"...Elsie. Can you heal it?" she asked. "Use a recovery spell on its wings?"

Chelsie shook her head slowly. "I can’t... My healing only works on daemonists. That’s all."

"Damn it..." Theo clenched his fists, his jaw tightening. "At this rate, we won’t make it to the Twilight Sanctum."

Nalira narrowed her eyes slightly. "...Elsie, are you sure? There’s no other way?"

"Uhm... A-actually, there is one way but—"

"Huh...?" Shaan stirred. He slowly opened his eyes, confusion written all over his face. "W-What happened...? Why are we here...?"

"... Hey, weakling, looks like you’re awake."

"Uhm... Shaan, here." Chelsie quickly pulled out a small bottle from her bag and handed it to him. "Drink this. It should help."

"Ah... okay. Thanks, Chelsie." Shaan didn’t hesitate. He drank the Vitajuice in one go and exhaled. "...Yeah. That’s better."

Chelsie lowered her head, trying to hide her face, which was starting to flush. "Uhm... you’re welcome, Shaan. Glad I could help."

Nalira crossed her arms. "...Elsie," she said calmly, her eyes fixed on her. "What was that ’one way’ you mentioned?"

Without wasting time, Chelsie opened her bag again and pulled out a small bottle. At first glance, it looked like a typical lab vial—but a closer look revealed something unusual. The bottle wasn’t made of glass. It was forged from pure silver. Sealed tight. No one could see the liquid inside.

"Uhm... this..." Chelsie hesitated for a moment before opening the cap. "My mother gave this to me." She carefully poured the contents into the Phoenix’s mouth, steady and precise. "She said this potion uses plant extracts to speed up recovery... especially for daemon-type beings."

"Oh, that’s good," Theo smirked slightly. "At least we won’t have to stay in this damn place any longer."

"But..."

Nalira immediately noticed. "But what, Elsie?"

"Uhm... the effect works slowly," she admitted. "And during the recovery process... the Phoenix can’t move. It can’t defend itself." She clenched her hands tightly. "I-I’m worried... if dark creatures attack while it’s like this..."

Nalira fell silent for a moment after hearing Chelsie’s words. "...I understand. Leave that to me." She reached for her sword. Steel slid free with a sharp sound. "I’ll handle the dark creatures. You focus on helping Phoenix." Her gaze hardened. "I won’t let anything get close."

"Lira, but...."

Before Chelsie could finish her sentence, Nalira immediately darted forward to launch an attack at the creatures of darkness not far from where they stood. Together with Satan, she began unleashing attack after attack and managed to at least incapacitate some of the creatures of darkness that kept chasing them. However, there were far too many of those terrifying creatures, and there was no way Nalira could defeat them all on her own.

"I’ll help her." Shaan pushed himself up, still unsteady but determined. "I’m fine now. I can still—"

Theo’s blade swung out and stopped just inches from Shaan’s shoulder, blocking his path. "Stay here," Theo said coldly. "I’ll handle it."

Instantly, sparks of electricity flashed around Theo’s body, and in the blink of an eye, Theo was already by Nalira’s side. Good, at least now Nalira wouldn’t have trouble defeating the horde of dark creatures trying to wipe them all out.

’Strange, the phoenix has been drinking this potion since earlier, but why am I not seeing...’

Suddenly, every wound across the Phoenix’s wings lit up. Neon-green light burst from the torn flesh, spreading rapidly across the surface. The glowing strands crossed over one another, weaving into a tight, intricate pattern, like a spider’s web. The lattice of light sealed the injuries, covering every tear completely.

"Thank goodness..." Chelsie exhaled deeply, the tension in her face finally easing. "At least the potion is working. Now we just need to wait until it fully restores the Phoenix."

"Yeah... let’s hope everything goes according to—"

"S-Shaan, what’s wrong?"

Chelsie’s expression snapped back into panic as Shaan suddenly froze mid-sentence. "Did you see something?"

Shaan didn’t answer right away. Instead, He drew both of his short swords. His gaze locked onto a tree behind Chelsie. Sharp. Unblinking.

"...Dark creatures," he said quietly. "They’re watching us."

’Crack.’

A branch snapped behind Chelsie. Something moved.