With his warning, Sol grabbed onto Thorwyn's fur just in time as the Raijin dashed off the invisible platform. A piercing beam of light erupted from below, cutting through the air where they had just been. Down on the ground, Simina clicked her tongue in irritation as she watched the two escape her attack.
Sol clung tightly to Thorwyn's fur, doing his best not to loosen his grip as the powerful beast carried him swiftly through the trees, far away from the elves.
Once they had reached a safe distance, Thorwyn slowed down and glanced back at Sol with concern etched into his face.
"Hyuu? (Do we keep running? If you get on my back, I don't think they can catch up to me.)"
With his law technique, [Descent of White Lightning], aspected towards speed and power, Thorwyn was very confident in his ability to outrun the elves, even while carrying someone on his back. What he wasn't as confident about was fighting all those A-Rankers. The brief exchange had shown Thorwyn just how easily he'd been caught in their trap, and if not for Sol jumping in to save him, he would have been finished.
Sol shook his head and turned his gaze back toward where they'd come from. "We can't run. Amber is still there, and she can't get far without being spotted."
Amber had been wise to hide the moment she sensed the incoming spatial fluctuations. Facing seven A-Rankers as a B-Ranker was nothing short of suicide. Fortunately for them, none of the elves appeared to have any law techniques related to searching or detection skills strong enough to see through her stealth. But that didn't mean she was safe. They already knew she existed, and even without a law technique, he knew these A-Rankers would surely have other methods of searching for her. On top of that, there was another, more pressing concern.
"Also… there's no point in running if we don't know how they found us in the first place." Sol frowned, racking his mind. He had meticulously covered their tracks and kept a constant watch on his surroundings with psychic energy, but somehow, they had still been found.
Unable to determine the cause, he tucked the thought away for now. "We need to head back before they start searching for her in earnest. I have a plan, but you may not like it…"
Thorwyn tilted his head, puzzled. Before Sol could explain, a blinding eye made of light burst into existence in the distance, illuminating the entire forest canopy.
Sol's expression darkened as he instantly knew the purpose of the spell. "Damn it. I'll explain on the way back, let's move!"
...
"[Luminous Eye]!"
Simina's voice rang out as she completed her incantation. Light gathered before her, forming a radiant, closed eye that floated upward into the sky. Once it had risen high enough, the eye snapped open wide, flooding the area with pure illumination.
The light wasn't harmful in itself, but it exposed everything it shined upon. Invisible forms of energy shimmered into view, mana revealed itself as faint blue aura flowing through the trees, the air, and the soil. The essence of the Yggtree appeared as well as fine green pollen, drifting gently down from the sky like luminous dust.
But other than those energies, nothing else out of the ordinary appeared.
Urthl glanced around, then muttered, "Jendar, are you sure the third one is even here?"
Jendar didn't take his eyes off the forest. "The Speaker is never wrong. The third one must have hidden the moment we arrived and is probably using the trees as cover to block the light, but at least now they can't move without being revealed."
Talma stepped forward with a suggestion. "Then why don't we split up? Half of us can keep looking, the other half can chase after the two who fled."
Simina let out a dry laugh. "Half won't even slow them down, especially now that he's with that A-Rank beast. Don't you all know what happened to Brandle?"
The group fell quiet. Brandle was still recovering from the aftereffects of his magic's backlash. Even after extracting the residual fire mana from his system, the sun elf remained in a weakened state. It was because they knew what happened to Brandle that they were more cautious when using the law techniques for the same thing happening to them.
Figmar nodded slowly, scratching his chin. "It'd be easier if we had one more. Where's that lass? She didn't show up after teleporting us here, but her space magic would certainly be useful."
"Not sure." Simina turned to Jendar. "Did you tell Reena to stay behind?"
"She's preparing our backup plan, in case we fail." Jendar said coolly. His vague answer drew narrowed eyes from the others.
Minfessel pointed a finger at him. "Oi, don't start hiding things from us now after bringing us all here—"
Before he could finish, Kinrel stepped between them.
"Enough. We're wasting time and we have a human to catch. We all know Jendar wouldn't make Reena do something dangerous. Let's focus on finding the third intruder. I'll sweep the area." He pressed his hands to the ground, using [Vine Master] once again. Thick vines surged outward, sweeping between tree trunks and rustling through the underbrush.
The others were about to join in on the search as well, but they all raised their heads as they sensed something coming their way.
A barrage of black fire tore through the sky and struck the glowing eye above, shattering it in a blaze of dark flames. The spell was snuffed out completely.
Seeing the ominous black fire, Jendar grinned grimly. "So… he came back for his ally. Good. Everyone, get ready!"
The elves braced themselves for the second round.
From the treeline, Sol and Thorwyn emerged at blinding speed, shooting into the air above the clearing. The elves immediately unleashed a rain of attacks, arrows, ice spears, wind slashes, fire bolts, all streaking toward the airborne pair.
As they closed in, Sol shouted, voice ringing with clarity.
"You all brought this on yourselves! Thorwyn—let's do this!"
"Awooo! (Okay!)"
Sol wrapped his arms tightly around Thorwyn's neck as they soared higher, and then, they both began to glow.
A radiant light surrounded them as an invisible bond formed between the two of them. Their energies entwined, harmonizing in perfect sync. Their breaths matched, their movements aligned, and for a moment, it felt like they could even read each other's thoughts and desires.
The light intensified, making it nearly impossible to see what was happening within. Their outlines blurred, then merged.
At this moment, Sol had activated his law technique, [Harmonious Fusion].