Chapter 724: Into the rift

Xavier had always been cold. They had known that for as long as they had been together in the academy, and none of them had expected the young noble to suddenly become particularly pleasant company. But ever since that day, something about him had changed.

It was almost like traveling with an emotionless doll.

He spoke when necessary, fought when it was time to fight, and otherwise seemed content to shut everything out.

Even now, after witnessing four people being killed without so much as a chance to defend themselves, there was barely a flicker of emotion in his eyes.

They all understood why, of course. None of them were foolish enough to believe that what had happened hadn’t affected him simply because he refused to speak about it.

But understanding did little to make his behavior less unsettling, and they had quietly agreed to keep their thoughts to themselves.

Below, one of the enormous flying beasts banked above the procession, its shadow passing over a cluster of wagons. Ezra instinctively drew farther beneath the rock’s shelter, watching until it continued along its route.

"What do you want to do?" he asked quietly.

Xavier did not answer immediately. His gaze remained fixed upon the three figures hovering above the multitude, following the woman as she turned away from the two men.

"Those three are strong," he said at last. "We can’t fight them."

If they were so much as exposed, running would be impossible, much less fighting.

Their strength was difficult for them to judge with the naked eye, of course, but the fact that they were flying so casually was troubling enough.

What the young man had done to those four had removed any remaining doubt about how badly such a confrontation would end.

"Even without those three, there are others down there stronger than us," Xavier continued. "And there are too many of them. Considering this is already the second time we’ve watched them kill a group of entrants, and extract their souls for some purpose, it’s clear that we’re all in danger."

They hadn’t been able to judge the reason why the previous group had so suddenly been slaughtered, but after the same thing happened again, it was clear that these people did not take kindly to strangers approaching them.

A lean dwarf woman crouching beside the opening swallowed, her fingers tightening around the weapon resting across her knees.

"Do you think they noticed us?"

Xavier’s brows creased.

He studied the distant figures gliding through the sky. None had turned toward their hiding place, and the nearest scouts appeared to be following a course that would take them past the ridge rather than directly toward it.

"There’s no sign that we’ve been noticed," he replied. "But it’s always safer to assume the worst, no matter how far away we are. Whatever they intend to do can’t be anything good. Let’s steer clear and stick to finding ruins and trial grounds as we have been doing."

The others nodded, and a moment later, under Xavier’s immaculate control, the ground swallowed them from beneath.

Albert, however, casually glanced toward the location they had occupied for a moment before looking forward again as if he had seen nothing.

...

By the rift, Elion stood a short distance from the edge, checking Kurogoroshi’s position at his waist.

The curtain of mana continued to rise beside him, its luminous folds spilling over the broken stone before drifting toward the heavens.

They had spent a little more time discussing their situation.

For now, the princess and the others would remain together and try to gain what little they could from absorbing the pure mana, while Elion accompanied Kali into the rift.

He looked toward the woman in question. She was already peering over the edge, growing impatient with how long it was taking him to prepare.

"You’re sure about this?" Mira asked.

Elion turned back to her with a smile. "I’m going down to take a look. If we find something we can’t handle, we’ll come back."

"That sounds simple enough when you say it like that," Tessa muttered, folding her arms.

Isolde stood close beside her, her gaze moving from Elion to the darkness beyond him. She looked as though she wanted to ask him to stay, but after a moment, she simply stepped closer and took his hand.

"Be careful."

He squeezed her fingers gently before letting go. "I will."

"You’d better," Mira added, reaching up to straighten a fold near the collar of his bodysuit, even though there was very little wrong with it.

Her words brought a smile to his face, and he nodded before turning toward the rest of his cohort.

Maya was watching him with the weary look of someone who had already made her objections clear and expected to be ignored anyway.

"Don’t let the possibility of a treasure make you forget where you are," she said. "We still don’t know what’s causing any of this."

"I haven’t forgotten."

"And if the wisps of mana get too thick for you to see properly, turn back," Cole added. "You won’t be able to tell how close you are to those ledges."

Elion nodded again, accepting the warning. Even Yaana seemed unusually serious, though she still managed a small smile when he looked her way.

"Come back quickly, Big Bro."

"I’ll try."

He had just begun turning toward Kali when Solara spoke.

"Elion, before you leave, would you mind taking Althea with you?"

The paladin’s head turned sharply toward her.

"Holy Daughter?"

Solara regarded her calmly before looking back at Elion.

"She may not be as strong as the two of you, but her healing and light magic could prove useful if you encounter something unpleasant."

Althea looked as though someone had struck her.

Elion watched her lips press together, the faint crease around her eyes making it painfully clear that Solara’s casually spoken remark had hurt her pride.

Coming from him, she would probably have considered it an invitation to another duel. Coming from Solara, however, she could only endure it in silence.

’That had to hurt.’

He wisely kept the thought to himself.

"Of course," he replied. "A healer would certainly be useful."

Althea looked toward him, searching his face for the slightest hint of mockery. He offered her a pleasant smile, which somehow seemed to make her even less pleased.

"I’ll be fine," she told Solara, stepping away from her side. "Please remain with the princess until we return. She signaled a pair behind her to keep the holy daughter safe."

"I intend to," Solara replied. "And Althea, remember that you’re going together."

The paladin paused.

Elion’s smile widened a little, though he quickly turned toward the rift before she could decide he was enjoying himself too much. Althea approached with her sabers secured at her sides, stopping beside him to inspect the billowing mana.

"I won’t slow you down," she said quietly.

"I didn’t think you would."

She glanced at him, perhaps surprised by the straightforward answer, but he was already studying the route below.

With Kali to help if they encountered anything overwhelming and Althea capable of treating injuries, their little expedition was looking considerably better prepared.

He turned toward Kali.

"One more passenger."

The woman looked at Althea, then back at him.

"Are we finally leaving?"

Elion let out a quiet laugh.

"Yes. We’re ready."