Echoes of the Lost Elf-Chapter 30 - 29 : Under Attack (4)

The bushes rustled.

Everyone snapped to attention, weapons at the ready. Blood still dripped from their last battle, the tension in the air thick as they prepared for another ambush.

Zephyr gripped his sword. "Again? Can't we get a damn break?"

Adriana's eyes sharpened. "Stay on guard. We don't know if it's—"

Before she could finish, a dark-haired figure staggered out from the shadows.

Leon.

"Hey... guys..." His voice was weak, barely a whisper—then his body gave out.

Kael was the first to react, lunging forward just in time to catch him before he hit the dirt. "Leon!"

Adriana immediately checked his pulse. "He's alive, but he's in bad shape. His aura is completely unstable."

Zephyr grimaced, noting the deep gashes on Leon's arms and torso. "Damn, these wounds... they were trying to kill him."

"Not just kill," Historias murmured, his golden eyes narrowing. He knelt beside Leon, his fingers grazing the edge of a wound.

A faint, sinister energy pulsed from it.

"Aura disruption," he muttered. "Someone tried to crush his life force."

Leon groaned, barely conscious. His body trembled, his aura struggling to mend itself.

"Annoying," Historias sighed. He raised a hand—and runes flickered into existence.

For a moment, an intricate golden pattern glowed around his fingers—but no one saw it.

Because at the same time, illusion magic wove through the air, obscuring their vision.

To the others, it simply looked like Historias placed a hand on Leon's chest, and a faint light shimmered before fading.

But in reality, he had cast a powerful purification spell.

The dark remnants within Leon's wounds vanished, his aura finally stabilizing.

His breathing evened out, and with a weak grunt, his eyes flickered open.

"Ugh..." He groaned, blinking blearily. "That was... unpleasant."

Zephyr let out a low whistle. "You look like hell."

Leon coughed. "I feel worse."

Adriana wasn't amused. "What happened?"

Leon took a slow, shaky breath. His violet eyes flickered with exhaustion—but also with urgency.

"There were more of them," he said hoarsely.

Everyone froze.

Zephyr's grip on his sword tightened. "More of who?"

Leon clenched his jaw, his body still weak from the fight.

"Those cloaked bastards. And they were looking for someone."

.........

Leon's words hung in the air like a blade poised to strike.

"They were looking for someone."

A heavy silence followed.

Kael and Zephyr's gazes instantly snapped toward Adriana and Historias.

The second their eyes met, both Adriana and Historias turned their heads in opposite directions—away from each other—as if the very thought of eye contact was suddenly unbearable.

"Hehe..." Adriana let out a nervous, utterly unconvincing chuckle. "I-I wonder who?"

"Yes, quite the mystery," Historias agreed smoothly, adjusting his sleeve with absolute nonchalance.

Kael narrowed his eyes. "They were looking for Adriana and Historias."

"Come on!" Adriana groaned, throwing her hands up.

Zephyr snorted. "Not like the others won't figure it out anyway."

Kael shrugged. "They'll connect the dots to Adriana for sure—but Historias? Not so much."

Leon, still lying half-conscious in Kael's arms, tilted his head. "Wait... I get why they're after Adriana—she's a princess. But why Historias?"

Before Historias could even open his mouth—

Zephyr blurted out, "Because he's Aldren Vaelthorn's relative, and they want to kill him."

Dead silence.

Historias turned slowly, his golden eyes narrowing into a piercing glare.

Zephyr blinked. "Oops."

Leon's eyes widened. His exhaustion? Gone. His injuries? Irrelevant. He grabbed Zephyr by the collar. "Wait, wait, wait. You're telling me this guy—" he pointed at Historias, "is related to Aldren Vaelthorn?!"

Zephyr, sensing immediate regret, held up his hands. "Uh... hypothetically?"

Leon whipped his head around, staring at Historias like he had just found a lost relic of the gods.

"Can you—" he took a deep breath, as if bracing for something monumental, "get me his autograph?"

Historias internally laughed.

"If only he knew."

Adriana palmed her face. "Zephyr and Leon... idiots of the same breed."

Kael sighed, rubbing his temples. "For once, I have to agree."

Zephyr frowned. "Hey, that's unfair!"

Leon still hadn't let go of Zephyr. "No, but seriously, Historias, how'd you even survive that? If people are trying to kill you because you're related to Aldren, then that means you're dealing with some seriously dangerous enemies!"

Historias simply gave a calm, unreadable smile. "Trade secret."

Leon squinted. "That's what the super powerful guys always say before pulling off something insane again."

Historias chuckled. "Then I suppose you'll just have to wait and see."

Adriana groaned. "Can we focus? We still have to get out of here before more lunatics show up!"

Kael nodded. "She's right. Let's move before we get surrounded again."

Leon finally let go of Zephyr and sighed. "Fine, fine. But I'm getting that autograph later."

Historias smiled amusedly. If only he knew.

...........

"What exactly happened?" His voice, though calm, carried a weight that made the air feel colder. "What of your teammates? Were you separated?"

Leon's face was pale, his breaths uneven. His fingers clenched into fists, and for a long moment, he didn't speak. Then—

"They're dead," he rasped.

The group fell silent.

Leon's voice was hoarse, each word laced with exhaustion and barely concealed terror. "All three of them. This... crazy witch appeared out of nowhere and started—" he swallowed hard, his body trembling slightly, "playing with us—killing us—like we were just toys."

He gritted his teeth, his eyes dark with something raw. "She enjoyed it. She smiled the whole time. We didn't even stand a chance—she toyed with us, dodged everything, laughed while we screamed." His breath hitched. "She killed everyone. I fell unconscious, and she probably thought I was dead."

The weight of his words settled over the group like a suffocating fog.

Zephyr, normally the first to crack a joke, was deathly silent.

Kael's fists tightened at his sides, his jaw clenched.

Adriana's eyes darkened, her usual fiery confidence replaced by quiet, barely restrained anger.

Historias observed Leon carefully. Then, after a pause, he spoke. "How did you find us?"

Leon exhaled sharply, running a shaky hand through his blood-matted hair. "When I woke up, I was half-buried under a pile of bodies. The others... my teammates..." He shut his eyes for a moment before forcing himself to continue. "I couldn't even recognize them anymore. It was like they had been—" he shook his head. "Doesn't matter. I knew I had to move before she came back."

His grip tightened around his own arm, as if grounding himself. "I ran. Didn't know where I was going, just ran until my legs gave out. I barely remember how long I was moving, just that I kept hearing things—footsteps, whispers, laughter that wasn't there." His voice dropped. "Like she was still watching."

He inhaled shakily before continuing. "Then I saw a burst of mana—your fight, I guess. I figured if someone was fighting, maybe they weren't with her." His lips quirked in a bitter smirk. "Didn't expect it to be you guys, though."

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He glanced up, his tired gaze meeting Historias'. "So, yeah. That's how I found you."

Silence stretched between them once more.

Historias finally exhaled, his expression unreadable. "A witch, you said."

Leon nodded. "Yeah. She looked young, maybe our age, but... something was wrong about her." His hands trembled slightly as he recalled it. "Her eyes... they were glowing red."

Historias exhaled softly, his golden eyes flickering with thought before he spoke.

"For now, we should rest while we still can," he said, his tone even. "We have no idea when those lunatics might show up again."

Leon let out a dry chuckle, though there was no real humor in it. "Rest? After what just happened?" He shook his head. "Yeah, good luck with that."

Zephyr stretched his arms, forcing a grin. "Hey, exhaustion will do the job for us. I could probably pass out standing up."

Adriana rolled her eyes but didn't argue. "We'll take turns keeping watch. No one sleeps unguarded."

Kael nodded. "I'll go first."

Historias glanced at him but didn't protest. Instead, he walked a few steps away from the group and sat on a large, fallen tree trunk, leaning back slightly as he gazed up at the night sky. The forest, for all the chaos it had seen tonight, had settled into an eerie calm.

He closed his eyes briefly. A witch, with glowing red eyes. His mind lingered on the description.

..............

The air shimmered as a dark purple portal rippled open in the middle of the war-torn clearing. Out of it stepped Vice Principal Evelyn Voss, her piercing violet eyes scanning the battlefield with cold precision. The scent of burnt wood and blood lingered in the air, and the distant echoes of combat rumbled in the background.

Professor Berne Caelum, a seasoned Wind Mage and one of the academy's battle instructors, was waiting for her. His coat was torn, and a gash ran across his left arm, but he barely acknowledged the wound. He was more focused on the mana-imbued device in his hand—a tracking artifact linked to the students' emergency bracelets.

"How many left?" Evelyn asked, her voice as sharp as a dagger.

Berne exhaled heavily. "We've gotten almost everyone out except for a few." He adjusted the artifact and read the list aloud.

Adriana Von Atheria

Kael Viremont

Zephyr Nightshade

Historias Vaelcrest

Leon Velbrandt

Evelyn's brows furrowed slightly. "And their status?"

Berne's expression darkened. "Some have been confirmed dead. But these five—we can still detect that they're alive. The bracelets confirm their vitals." He scowled. "The problem is, we can't teleport them out. There's a spatial blockade in effect, likely caused by a high-tier mage or an artifact."

Evelyn's fingers twitched slightly in irritation. A well-coordinated attack. This wasn't just random chaos. Someone had planned this.

"Divide into two teams," she commanded. "One team focuses on retrieving the remaining students, no matter what it takes. The other deals with the attackers."

Berne nodded and turned to the assembled professors and academy enforcers. "You heard her! Professor Renna, you take command of the retrieval team. Your priority is to locate and extract the students. Professor Dmitri, you're leading the combat unit—neutralize the threats."

Renna, a sharp-eyed Earth Mage, immediately began coordinating teleportation sigils, working on ways to bypass the interference. Dmitri, a battle-hardened Aura Master, cracked his knuckles, his body already glowing faintly with strengthening runes.

"We don't have much time," Evelyn said. "Move out."

The battle was far from over.

............

POWER STONES please!!!!