The trio cautiously moved through the forest, their senses alert for any approaching magical beasts. At the same time, they also investigated for any clues that might lead them to Alex.
After the heavy rainfall had ceased, it had left behind a carpet full of wet leaves on the forest floor as well as the long-lasting earthy scent that continued to linger in the air.
Scattered rays of sunlight passed through the thick canopy, casting mottled light on the ground beneath.
As the trio slowly followed the faint trail left behind by Alex, they listened to the sounds of nature coming from all around them.
Birds chirped on the trees and small animals rustled in the underbush. This primal woodland was alive with the buzzing of insects and the occasional distant cries of magical beasts.
Every so often, the trio would come across a clearing, pausing to scan around for any potential threats. Even though they were rushing to catch up to Alex, they still had to be wary of the immediate threats - magical beasts.
After the long and gruesome battle just a while ago, they were already running low on mana. Moreover, the dreadful ordeal they had to go through where they hid inside the mammoth's carcass had left them mentally drained.
Thus, whenever they came across a magical beast or a group of them, they chose to hide and avoid it instead of engaging.
"We don't have anything related to Alex, do we?" Lisa asked as she crouched on the forest floor, trying to search for the trail that had once again gone missing.
Both Adam and Edward shook their heads helplessly. Who would have thought that things would end up like this?
If either of them knew that they would have to chase Alex, then they would have already left their mark on him to make it easier to cast divination spells later.
After a brief period of silence, Adam spoke with a solemn expression, "There's no helping it. We need to pick up pace and make our way in the direction of the eastern camp."
"But what if he's taken a different route?" asked Edward.
Adam remained silent. After a while of pondering, he weaved hand signs and subsequently cast a spell. The space behind him distorted, the colors in that area gradually melting away. Then, a small portal barely visible to the eye was formed.
Rank 1 Spell: Hidden Servant!
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})From the portal, four spirits clad in ragged, hooded, shadowy robes came out and knelt before Adam. To Edward and Lisa, these spirits were invisible, however, to Adam, they weren't.
The youth instructed them, "Each of you pick up a different direction that leads north and look for this person."
Following that, he cast another spell.
Rank 1 Spell: Memory Strand!
Adam pulled out four, ethereal strings from his mind, each containing a memory related to Alex's appearance. Then, with a wave of his hand, he pushed these strings toward the four spirits.
The spirits accepted the Memory Strands and very soon learned about the appearance of the person they had to search for. The next moment, they each chose different directions and rushed to fulfill the order given by their master.
"Alright, that should make things easier for us." Adam nodded. He then glanced in the direction that neither of the spirits had taken. "We'll go this way."
The trio then sped in that direction without wasting another moment.
…
A few hours later, of the four spirits that Adam had sent out, one returned. The spirit knelt on the ground before the youth and obediently relayed its findings.
Listening to the spirit's report, Adam's eyes lit up. Then, he weaved another series of hand signs and canceled the spell. The spirit in front of him, as well as the other three that were still searching for Alex, returned to the Spirit World shortly after.
"What is it?"
"What did it say?"
Edward and Lisa anxiously asked.
Adam glanced at them and muttered with a cold smile, "Alex has been found." The next moment, his expression turned solemn. "But we need to make haste. The spirit said that he was on the verge of death. We need to hurry and finish him off."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})As the trio started rushing in Alex's direction, Lisa couldn't help but ask, "If Alex is on the verge of death... why didn't that spirit just kill him off?"
"Because it couldn't," replied Adam with a frown.
"What do you mean?" Edward asked in confusion.
"We'll find out soon enough."
The trio traversed through the forest for another couple of hours before finally arriving at Alex's location. When they arrived here, they were shocked.
"W-What happened here?!" Lisa blurted out in disbelief.
The surrounding area was filled with dozens of corpses of all kinds of beasts, but that's not what surprised her. It was the layer of ice and snow that permeated across the forest floor.
It was as if a powerful deadly blizzard had just blown past this place, freezing everything in its wake.
Adam felt the mana signature radiating from this small area of ice, his eyes narrowing, "Rank 2 spell!"
"No wonder the spirit didn't dare to come here!" Lisa exclaimed.
Edward's eyes widened. "Don't tell me… did a Rank 2 Magus fight here?"
Adam shook his head, his gaze falling on a familiar person lying motionelessly in the distance. "If my speculations are right, then this is the work of a Rank 2 magic scroll."
The couple glanced at Alex, whose body was mostly covered in ice. Putting two and two together, Lisa surmised, "Could it be that Alex used the magic scroll to deal with all these beasts?"
Thinking of this, Edward nervously gulped. "If he had used that scroll on us instead…"
"There's no use thinking of the past now," said Adam, "that bastard is still drawing breath. We need to think of a way to end him."
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})Alex's chest was heaving up and down ever so slightly as he desperately struggled to breathe. It seemed that he was already grievously injured by the beasts earlier and was forced to use the magic scroll in order to survive.
Now, he was in a precarious situation where if he wasn't given proper medical attention, he would die.
Just as Adam was thinking of ways to get rid of the incapacitated Alex, he saw a group of Magi walking in their direction from the opposite side.
It seemed that they were also drawn by this small area of ice and were now walking toward Alex after noticing his condition from afar.
"Damn it!" Adam cursed under his breath and bolted toward Alex.
I must kill him now!
Now that another group of Magi from the allied forces had appeared, they would surely help out Alex by feeding him potions and nursing him back to good health.
But how could Adam allow that?
If Alex were to return to the eastern camp, then he was sure to tell the higher-ups about what had transpired earlier with Ivan and Kelley.
Then, not only him but even Edward and Lisa would be sent to their deaths for the crime of killing an ally.
And about the magical mechanism that Adam had been so vigilant against all this while?
There was no time to worry about that. He had to take a gamble!
As soon as Adam arrived beside the heavily injured Alex, he knelt down beside him and started sobbing loudly, "Boss! How could this happen?! Please… please, don't leave me!"
He then embraced Alex's bloodied and partly frozen body and viciously started choking his throat, making sure to hide this vile action from the other group of Magi who were approaching.
As Adam's grip around Alex's neck tightened, squeezing the life out of him, he continued to wail in anguish.
"Boss! Please don't die!"
