Without a second thought, Eyolian ran in a specific direction, putting distance between herself and the lake. Noah, who had warned her, vanished the moment the words left his mouth.

  Eyolian wanted to curse him for his strange way of warning—couldn’t he have done it in a better way? But now, she had to run, as far as possible.

  If the old man saw her, he might recognize her. Though it was unlikely since nine years had passed since she last saw him, she wasn’t willing to take any chances.

  She moved through the increasingly dense trees, her speed so high that she almost saw them as continuous streaks.

  Despite the dense forest, Eyolian’s speed did not slow. It only increased. In any normal case, terrain like the forest shouldn't aid speed and maneuverability. But Eyolian was a fast learner, and more than anything, an adapter. That was her talent—one she had brought from her homeland and couldn’t bear to reveal.

  Behind her, the sound of electricity clashing with the ground and the forest canopy echoed loudly. Shades of red flames painted the sky in an unsettling hue.

  Eyolian averted her gaze from the sky and focused on getting away from the area where the lightning struck.

  ‘Good... Lady Elara is here too.’ Eyolian thought with a conflicted expression.

  Eyolian had never considered that Lady Elara, of all people, would be a great mage. How many years had she hidden that fact, and why would she hide it? Eyolian didn’t know, and at the moment, she couldn’t bring herself to care.

  But despite that, one question remained in her mind. ‘Does Lady Elara hate me because she sensed something about me?’

  Eyolian quickly pushed the thought away and focused on what appeared before her.

  ‘This is bad!’ Eyolian thought as she looked at the rock wall that rose into the sky and stretched in both directions. The smoothness and perfect shape of the wall made it clear that it was made by a spell. ‘How am I going to get past this?’

  ---

  Noah fell back into his body, returning from his failed mission with the infuriating Eyolian.

  He had some thoughts to spare about her, but the reality of his situation made him focus on his surroundings instead.

  The moment Noah opened his eyes, all he saw was fire, blood, and death. The sounds of spells echoed everywhere, swords clashed loudly, making his body tremble.

  "You're awake!" Lord Garrett, who had been carrying Noah while fighting, retreated from the chaos and placed Noah against a tree. "What happened to you?… Never mind that now. I can’t carry you and fight at the same time. My men depend on me, so you’ll have to survive on your own. Find a safe place and hide until I come for you."

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Noah frowned slightly at Garrett’s words. He hadn’t yet grasped everything that was happening, and now the man who was supposed to protect him was telling him to survive on his own?

  Noah frowned deeper, but Lord Garrett had already stood up again and merged back into the chaos, his sword raised high.

  "Damn it!" Noah cursed, but what could he do?

  In the sky above him, the aftereffects of Lady Elara’s spell were still present. From time to time, red lightning would form from nothing and strike randomly in the treeless area around the Adventurers’ Guild.

  The Adventurers’ Guild itself had not escaped the wrath of the lightning—its upper structure was completely destroyed, with flames consuming the damaged areas.

  Noah briefly considered going deeper into the forest and hiding as Garret suggested, but that wouldn’t suit him. Of course, if he were in his Soul form, that would be perfect, but in his human form, he simply wasn’t capable enough. Besides, he couldn’t abandon his body just yet.

  So Noah set his sight on two figures a few meters away, locked in combat, unaware of his presence.

  ‘The safest place is the crime scene itself.’ Noah thought as he retreated behind the cover of the trees, just enough to remain unnoticed.

  He simply watched from a distance, moving closer whenever he found an opening. The two combatants were close in strength, so they were dealing comparable damage to each other. It was clear that neither of them would be in any shape to fight after their duel. But in the end, only one of them would walk away alive.

  However, Noah wasn’t going to wait that long. The moment he found an opportunity, he dashed toward them with all the speed he had—which wasn’t much, so both of them noticed him immediately.

  In an ideal situation, Noah would only have to deal with one of them. But his situation was far from ideal. One side saw him as the reason for everything that happened to Frostwell Town, while the other saw him as a target to capture. So ironically, Noah had to be cautious of both and face both.

  "Just my luck!" Noah laughed darkly as he dodged the tip of a sword aimed at his neck. But he wasn’t fast enough—the blade slashed into his shoulder, breaking some bones.

  Yet before the pain could register, Noah had already cut off his pain receptors from affecting his mind. With a cold expression, he moved his still-functional hand and touched the hand of the man holding the sword, which was still embedded in his shoulder.

  Noah forcibly connected with his opponent’s soul, making him collapse unconscious. Then, as he turned to face the other opponent—whose dagger was deeply lodged in Noah’s back—he exploited his shock and touched his face.

  He did the same thing he had done to the swordsman, rendering him unconscious as well.

  "Damn it...!" Noah cursed through heavy breaths.

  Though he didn’t feel the pain now, his breathing was labored from blood loss. He wouldn’t die from just this—he had suffered far worse—but it would slow him down significantly.

  With indifference, Noah pulled both the sword and the dagger from his body, tossing the sword aside and keeping the lightweight dagger for future use.

  He looked ahead toward the Adventurers’ Guild, and his expression darkened.

  ‘Something's there?’ Noah thought, his sharpened senses focusing on the place, but he picked up nothing.

  Though Noah had decided to go there for safety, which he logically thought suited his current condition, he also felt like something was calling him from that place. His instincts urged him to go, even though those same instincts didn’t detect anything waiting for him there.

  ‘Eyolian already ruined my chance to learn more about divine energy. What do I even hope to find there?’

  Despite Noah’s thoughts, his legs moved toward the chaos ahead, as if they had made the decision for him. But that was far from the truth—the decision had already been made by Noah himself.

  Logical or not, Noah chose to trust his instincts. And he didn’t feel bad about it at all. Because over the past years, his instincts had never once betrayed him.