The Star Seekers rushed into the forest, baring all their weapons and tools in their hands. And while they were at it, they did not forget to unfurl their Spirit and lock on to the crows. Some even used their Arcanas and Aspects to boost their senses, afraid that the birds might slip away. It was as if they were not besieging a group of birds that only knew how to weave some low class illusions, but waging a war against their mortal enemies.

  Though, given how much the crows had harassed them in the past couple of days, they could indeed be considered as mortal enemies. Then again, Norren did crush their nest. And the Phantom Crows were known to be vindictive beasts. It was not a surprise that they would come for revenge. But to be so persistent in their vengeance… It did not matter if the Star Seekers left their territory. They just followed behind them, coming close to the Star Seekers from time to time, throwing out some phantoms and illusions, before flying away. Or at least they tried to.

  Alnea did not like to slaughter wantonly, but he was not so well tempered as to just watch the beasts attack him and let them fly away. And neither were the rest of the Star Seekers. More often than not, even before Alnea could give them his commands, the crows that came to harass them were either shot down by Vestia, or trapped by Aren’s Arcanas to be skewered by Cecilia’s claws.

  That was a gruesome death. Even by the standards of beasts. Besides, the birds were just trying to avenge their kin in the first place, so Alnea chose not to chase after them, hoping that killing a few of them would be enough to scare them away. But killing their kind only made them more determined for revenge. It was as if they had no fear of death. Such beasts… they could not be scared away. At least not for long. Only when they were slaughtered, could the Star Seekers get rid of their entanglement.

  There was just one problem. The crows were too cunning. They came at the Star Seekers only in pairs, while the rest of their brood watched from a distance. And whenever they saw the Star Seekers move towards them, they would just fly away. So, Alnea was not surprised when he saw the crows flapping their wings, ready to take off, the moment that the Star Seekers began rushing towards them. The Star Seekers knew how the birds were going to react. And as such, had prepared accordingly.

  “Ralph!” Alnea said, to which, Ralph responded by activating the Glyph he had carved just before the Star Seekers rushed out. Consequently, the Glyph Disc in his hands began glowing in a yellowish white light, which soon rushed out of the disc and towards the crows, expanding by hundreds of times in just a fraction of a moment, growing large enough to cover the entire tree, and some area beyond.

  From the distance, it looked as if a semi-transparent yellowish dome had been erected over the tree, trapping the crows in place. But the crows themselves did not care for the dome. Or maybe they just did not understand its implications. They probably had never met any beast that could activate its Innate Ability so quickly, and from such a distance. To them, the dome was probably just another change in the fog. Like its recent restlessness. So, they charged into the fog, disregarding the dome—

  The crows, in a rush to fly away, crashed into the dome with all their strength, only to suffer a concussion and lose their balance. Or at least that is what it looked like, as they fell from the skies into the trees they had just been perched upon. Though not all of them fell onto the trees. Some of them, those which had been resting on the low lying branches, fell to the ground instead.

  Fortunately for the crows, their heads were not too soft. A moment of stillness was enough for them to regain their balance and take to the air once again. Unfortunately for some of them, that moment of stillness was enough to seal their fate. At the very least, that was the case for the crows closest to the ground, the ones who had barely flapped their wings, and just pushed themselves into the air.

  A couple of arrows, glowing in a bluish green light, and flowing faster than sound itself, came to the crows, and pierced two of them in their heads, ending their short lived flight before it could even begin. But they were not alone in their tragic fate. Before the rest of the crows could react, a couple more arrows came flying through the fog, this time, glowing in the light of their fire. It was just that their speed was a little slower, giving the crows the time to dodge—

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  The arrows, passing in between the crows, burst apart like a Fersun fruit, sending wisps of their flame to all the crows around them, lighting their coats on fire. But that in itself was not enough to kill the crows. Rather, the small fire was not even enough to burn through their feathers. At best, it could only singe their wings. And if given enough time, they could easily put it out on the damp ground or in the swamp just a couple hundred metres away.

  No, for the fire to kill the crows, it needed something else. Something that could increase their strength. A fuel, perhaps. Or a wind. A dark and silent wind, that came along with the arrows, but showed its edge only when the wisps of flame began flickering, dyeing them in its shade, and giving them a new wind. A newfound strength, that came with the flames becoming purple, and eating through the flesh of the crows, turning them into ashes in the matter of just a few moments.

  Though, by the time those crows were dead, the rest of their brood had already taken to the air, crashing into the yellowish dome once again, only to be pushed back once again. Except, this time, they did not fall. They did not even lose their balance. Because, this time, they were prepared.

  Learning from their mistakes, they did not smash into the barrier with all their strength. Instead, they knocked on the dome with just enough force to create ripples on its surface, but not enough to be knocked down by its defence. And as they kept knocking on the dome, the ripples they created kept clashing with each other, forming literal waves, that soon became too large for the dome to contain.

  In the next moment, just a few seconds after the first crow died, the dome trapping the birds shattered into pieces, clearing the way for their escape. But when they tried to escape, they were met with another rain of arrows coming their way. And this time, the arrows were not limited to just fog and flames. Though, technically, the shape of the lightning bolts was too skewed to be considered as arrows, while the sharp winds were more like blades. Even the flaming projectiles were not all just arrows. There were a couple of Fireballs mixed within.

  Regardless, the attacks did what they had been intended for, keeping the crows from flying away. Of course, those attacks also made the crows a little desperate. They had come seeking revenge anyway. So, when they noticed their escape route cut off, and their enemies just some tens of metres away, the crows began frantically casting their Innate Abilities one after another, bending the fog to their whims. Or at least that is what looked like in the eyes of the Star Seekers.

  Phantom Crows, however, had no command over the fog. Those creatures of fog, the endless armies roiling in the mist, and sea rising from the ground, they were all just illusions, used by the crows to trick the Star Seekers. And the Star Seekers knew it. So, they did not panic. Instead, they began acting as they had planned. Since the crows were going for phantom fogs instead of using their illusion directly, then…

  “Yuri, Vestia,” Alnea commanded, to which, Yuri responded by connecting everyone’s senses with Vestia’s, who then used her own Arcana to peek into the fog and lock on to the position of the crows. The rest of the Star Seekers did not need to be told what to do next. They raised their weapons and rushed to the crows closest to them, while casting Arcanas and Glyphs to deal with the crows in the distance. It was a messy battle, with barely any coordination among the beasts, but what else could they expect from—

  Alnea forced himself to open his eyes, and look at the world. The real world, and not the illusory world woven by the crows. These troublesome beats… As he had expected, except for the group of crows they had taken down in the beginning, the rest were still alive, and just about to run away. But how could he let them have their way?

  Exhaling a heavy breath, Alnea released the Arcana he had prepared in advance. Right in the next moment, waves of Mysteries spread out with him as their centre, bringing a heavy sense of oppression to everyone within a radius of twenty metres, be it friends or foe, living or dead. Even the ground itself. The only one whose movements were not affected was Alnea himself.

  But that was how indiscriminate Arcanas usually worked. And the reason why he could not upgrade either the Gravity Field or Yuri’s Dominance to the High Grade. Still, it achieved its intended effect, effectively stopping the crows from escaping their battle. Though it would not be able to stop them for long. After all, he had only increased the gravity’s pull, not imprisoned the beasts.

  There was only one way to keep the beasts from trying to escape again and again. And that was by killing them. So, while the beasts were still within his range, Alnea released the second Arcana he had prepared, raining down pillars of light upon them, destroying them with Lia’s Shine. Of course, he could not finish them all with just one shot of his Arcana. But he did not intend to make a move again. Or else, he would never be able to hear the end of Cecilia’s complaints.