Chapter 175: The Way To Mensus

The streets ahead were barely recognizable.

Several buildings had collapsed across the roads, forcing the Ashcrofts to weave between burning vehicles and piles of concrete. Mana continued fluctuating throughout Marvello, sometimes rising suddenly before falling again, while the Black Moon above them pulsed with an unnatural rhythm.

Reinhard’s Mana Perception remained expanded around the group. He could feel thousands of Mana signatures scattered throughout the city. Some were moving toward the center, some were fleeing, and others were fighting. Beneath all of them, something much larger continued drawing Mana downward.

"There," Reinhard said, pointing toward a street several blocks ahead. "That’s our fastest route."

Maki examined the road. A large building had collapsed across it, leaving an unstable pile of concrete and twisted metal.

"That doesn’t look very fast."

"It was five minutes ago."

Lily stared at the rubble. "And now?"

"Now it’s an architectural problem."

Emily gave him a look. "Can you stop making jokes and tell us what we’re doing?"

"We go around."

Lily pointed toward another street. "That way?"

Reinhard shook his head. "Too many Awakeners."

"What about the left?"

"The building is about to collapse."

Lily looked at him. "How do you know that?"

The upper floor shifted with a groan, and a moment later, part of the structure collapsed into the street.

Lily stared at the dust cloud. "Right. I should stop asking questions."

Maki covered her mouth, but Reinhard could still see the amusement in her eyes.

Emily shook her head. "Let’s move."

Yuna stepped forward, closing her eyes as she focused on her Domain Sense. She didn’t expand her Mana Domain. Instead, she used the ability to examine the disturbances around them, paying attention to changes in the battlefield and the Mana signatures moving through nearby streets.

Her Magic Perception helped her distinguish active abilities from the unstable Mana lingering in the air.

"Three streets ahead are blocked by Awakeners," she reported. "Two B-Ranks and several C-Ranks. They’re fighting each other, and the Mana fluctuations are getting worse."

"Can we go around?" Lily asked.

Yuna studied the surrounding disturbances. "We can, but the eastern route has a collapsing structure, and the western route has another group approaching. Neither is safe."

Emily looked toward the buildings beside them. "Then I’ll make a shortcut."

Space warped beneath her control. A narrow passage formed between two damaged buildings, connecting their street to another road much closer to the center.

Reinhard nodded. "Perfect."

Lily stared at the passage. "You two are making this way too convenient."

Maki smiled faintly. "That’s what happens when you have useful teammates."

Reinhard placed a hand against his chest. "I taught her."

Maki raised a finger, and a seal appeared on the ground beneath his foot.

"Take another step and I’ll restrict your leg."

He looked down at the glowing marking. "That’s a terrible way to treat your teacher."

"You taught me nothing."

Emily laughed as she entered the passage. "Move before they start arguing."

The family emerged several hundred meters away, only to find a street filled with civilians.

People ran in every direction while abandoned vehicles blocked the road. Frightened families were trying to reach a subway entrance, and others searched desperately through the wreckage of a collapsed storefront.

Reinhard slowed.

Emily immediately noticed. "What is it?"

"Too many people. Several Mana signatures are unstable, and the surrounding buildings are weakening."

Lily was already moving toward the civilians. "I’ll get them out."

"Take the eastern side," Reinhard instructed. "Maki, secure the evacuation route. Yuna, watch for dangerous Mana fluctuations. Emily, help Lily."

Emily nodded. "And you?"

Reinhard looked toward a building where a Mana fluctuation had just surged. "I’ll clear the problems."

He kicked off the pavement and activated Mana Flight, launching himself above the street. A violent Mana blast erupted from the building and shot toward a group of civilians.

Reinhard accelerated through the air, reaching the attack before it struck them. He redirected its trajectory upward, where it exploded harmlessly above the rooftops.

The Awakener responsible stared at him.

"What—"

Reinhard was already in front of him. A controlled strike to the stomach knocked the man unconscious, and Reinhard caught him before he could fall from the damaged platform.

"You’ll thank me later."

The man was unconscious before he could answer.

Across the street, Maki placed a series of seals along the cracked walls surrounding the evacuation route. The markings reinforced the weakest sections and restricted loose debris from shifting into the passage.

"Keep moving!" Lily called, guiding civilians through the cleared street. "Don’t stop to look around!"

A frightened child stumbled in front of Emily. She caught the girl before she fell and crouched to meet her eyes.

"Are we going to die?" the child asked.

Emily paused, glancing toward the Black Moon before looking back at her.

"No," she said calmly. "Not today."

The child nodded, and Emily carried her toward the evacuation route.

Reinhard saw the exchange from across the street. A small smile appeared on his face, but it disappeared when his Mana Perception detected another disturbance.

"Emily!"

She looked toward him.

"Behind you!"

A damaged vehicle was sliding down the street, pushed by the shifting rubble. Emily moved the child out of its path, then used her Space-Time Gnosis to distort the space in front of the vehicle. Its momentum carried it sideways, sending it into an empty section of road rather than the civilians.

Emily lowered the child safely.

Lily stared at the vehicle. "That was close."

"Too close," Emily replied.

Reinhard landed beside them. "Everyone all right?"

Emily nodded. "We are."

He glanced at the child. "Then keep moving."

Emily smiled. "You worry too much."

"I’m your husband. It’s my job."

"That isn’t a job."

"I’m very dedicated."

Lily rolled her eyes. "You two really can flirt anywhere."

"We have to find happiness where we can," Reinhard replied.

Emily laughed, but the moment lasted only a few seconds before the street shook beneath their feet.

Everyone looked toward the center of Marvello.

The Black Moon pulsed, and for a brief moment, the Mana signatures throughout the city fluctuated together.

Reinhard’s expression became serious.

"The Heart just pulled more Mana."

Maki looked at him. "How much?"

"Enough that I felt it from here."

Yuna closed her eyes again. Her Domain Sense picked up the disturbance as it spread through the surrounding area, while her Magic Perception helped her follow the Mana’s direction.

"It’s drawing Mana from several districts at once," she said. "The concentration is strongest toward the center."

"Then it’s getting stronger," Maki concluded.

"Exactly."

Reinhard looked toward the center again. "We’re done stopping to clear every street. We help whoever is directly in our path, but we can’t get distracted."

Lily hesitated. "What if people need us?"

"They do," Reinhard answered gently. "But if we don’t reach the Heart, everyone in this city will need us."

Lily looked at the frightened civilians behind her, then nodded.

"Okay."

The family moved again.

This time, they didn’t stop unless something directly blocked their path. Yuna used Domain Sense and Magic Perception to identify threats before they reached the group. Maki reinforced unstable structures and restricted hostile Awakeners with her seals, while Emily created spatial shortcuts whenever the roads became impassable.

Lily protected civilians caught near the fighting, using her spectral swords to intercept attacks while Crimson Fang dealt with enemies who came too close. Reinhard moved through the battlefield, using Mana Flight to blitz opponents before they could coordinate their attacks.

A group of C-Ranks rushed from an alley.

Reinhard’s Eyes of Domination activated, and the Awakeners collapsed before they reached the family.

A D-Rank raised a weapon from a rooftop, but Reinhard’s Magic Pressure forced him unconscious. Two B-Ranks tried attacking from opposite sides, hoping to catch him between their abilities.

Reinhard kicked off the air and shot toward the first. His fist struck the man’s chest, and he fell before completing his attack. Reinhard immediately changed direction, accelerating toward the second Awakener.

The man barely had time to raise his weapon before Reinhard knocked him unconscious.

Lily glanced back while running. "You’re getting faster."

"I became S-Rank."

"You’ve been S-Rank for a while."

"Then I’m becoming more comfortable with it."

Maki smiled. "That sounds more accurate."

They continued deeper into the city, where the buildings grew larger and the equipment became more advanced. Damaged Mana barriers flickered around some structures, while shattered relic weapons and broken constructs littered the roads.

Reinhard noticed something unusual among the wreckage.

Most of the equipment was old, but some devices looked considerably newer. He crouched beside a broken machine and examined its damaged casing.

"This wasn’t here before."

Maki stopped beside him. "What is it?"

"A Mana stabilizer."

"Used by the Association?"

"No."

Reinhard turned it over. A small marking was engraved beneath the casing.

He recognized it, though not from Marvello.

He didn’t explain further. Instead, he placed the device back down and stood.

"Keep moving."

Emily noticed his expression. "What did you see?"

"Something familiar."

"Baal?"

"Not exactly."

That answer made her study him, but Reinhard was already walking again. The mystery could wait. The Heart couldn’t.

The closer they came to the center, the stranger the city became.

The Black Moon’s influence was strongest here. Mana gathered in the air so densely that even ordinary civilians could feel something was wrong. Streetlights flickered despite having no power, and windows reflected the Black Moon even when they faced away from it. Thin black lines had appeared across several buildings, as though something beneath the structures were slowly pushing upward.

Reinhard looked down.

The Mana was strongest beneath their feet.

"We’re close."

Yuna paused, focusing her Domain Sense on the disturbance. Her Magic Perception followed the Mana flowing beneath the street, separating it from the signatures of the nearby Awakeners.

"I can feel it too," she said. "It’s concentrated below us, but it’s moving through a much larger structure."

Maki looked around. "Where does it lead?"

Reinhard pointed ahead.

A massive complex stood beyond the next group of buildings. Its outer walls were made of reinforced stone and metal, while several tall sections rose into the sky around a central tower. Bridges connected the buildings, making the entire facility look more like a fortress than a research center.

The name was carved into the front of the main structure.

MENSUS.

Lily stared at it. "That place is huge."

"It’s practically a district by itself," Maki observed.

Reinhard studied the complex carefully. The rest of Marvello had suffered enormous destruction, but Mensus remained almost completely intact. There were damaged sections around the outer perimeter, yet the central structure had survived.

Emily narrowed her eyes. "Someone protected it."

"Probably."

"Do you think the Heart is inside?"

Reinhard expanded his Mana Perception. He felt the enormous Mana concentration beneath the facility, then detected something else.

His expression became colder.

"There are people inside."

Yuna focused her Domain Sense again, examining the disturbances around the complex without activating her Domain. Her Magic Perception revealed numerous Mana signatures gathered within the facility.

"Lots of them," she confirmed.

"Can you count them?"

"Not precisely. The Mana is too dense, and several signatures overlap."

Reinhard continued examining the readings.

"Some of them are Baal."

Maki’s expression hardened. "And the others?"

Reinhard’s perception moved deeper. He recognized another group whose Mana patterns and equipment differed from those of Baal’s Awakeners.

"The Collectors."

Lily’s eyes widened. "They’re here too?"

Reinhard nodded.

Emily looked toward Mensus. "So they were waiting."

"Looks like it."

Reinhard adjusted his grip on his weapon. His smile returned, but it was sharper than usual.

"All right. Now things are getting interesting."

Emily stepped beside him. "You’re enjoying this?"

"Not yet. Ask me again after we get inside."

The family moved toward the entrance, but Reinhard became increasingly suspicious as they approached. They passed the outer perimeter without resistance. There were no guards, no attacks, and no alarms.

The entrance simply waited for them.

Maki slowed. "This is too quiet."

"I agree," Reinhard replied.

Yuna used Domain Sense to examine the surrounding area once more. She detected no immediate movement outside the facility, but her Magic Perception picked up the dense concentration of Mana deeper inside.

"Nothing approaching us from the perimeter," she reported. "Whatever is happening, it’s inside."

Reinhard looked toward the enormous doors.

"Which means they want us to enter."

Lily frowned. "That’s definitely a trap."

"Probably."

"Then why are we going in?"

Reinhard glanced at her. "Because the Heart is inside."

Lily sighed. "I knew you were going to say that."

Emily moved closer to Reinhard. "Together?"

He looked at her and smiled. "Always."

The massive doors of Mensus stood several meters ahead.

Then the familiar notification appeared before Reinhard.

[Investment Opportunity Detected.]

[Target: Emily Ashcroft.]

[Current Rank: A.]

[Current Value: A+.]

[Objective: Stop the Black Moon.]

[Difficulty Grade: SS.]

[Success Probability: 5%.]

Reinhard stared at the final line.

Five percent.

Behind the doors, the Black Moon’s Heart continued drawing Mana from the city.

He dismissed the notification and looked toward his family.

"Stay close. We don’t know what we’re walking into."

The Ashcrofts approached the entrance together. Whatever waited inside Mensus, they would face it as a family.