The march to Verulania was drawing to a close. What should have stretched over days, they'd managed to complete in under one.
And it was all thanks to the remarkable colleagues who happened to be journeying with him.
First was the young woman. Although she rarely spoke, her skill with the spear was flawless, her speed was terrifying, and the way she brutalized her foes was haunting. Despite being an Ascendant, Zion did not think he would want to make an enemy of her.
Then there was the guy—that one was even more vicious. Both of them rarely used their talents, the lady especially. He had never seen her use hers even once! Unless it was something subtle, like a mental attack kind of talent.
Now that he thought about it, she usually did seem a bit... crazed whenever she was drenched in the flow of battle.
Ascendant Zion shook his head.
'What am I thinking about right now?'
Those were the foremost people he'd thank. Their strength was invaluable beyond the battlefield. But the most important reason why their battles were considerably easier?
The summons.
At first, he started with just three: the strange-looking beast with horns, the knight whose face was completely covered by his helmet—Zion had even wondered how he could see through it— and the four-armed monster that was following them.
Granted, it behaved more human than any monster Ascendant Zion had ever encountered. Hence, referring to it as a monster felt strange.
As the intensity of the battles escalated, more of them came. A black-skinned, lithe warrior whose presence dripped with ineffable grace.
More were added from the enigmatic Sage Rian's summons, and things progressed even more smoothly than before.
And although there were several mishaps here and there, most of them were internal conflicts between them rather than monsters—especially between Lynus and Braham.
The former had almost killed the latter, if Jeci and he had not intervened just in time. From that moment, things had been somewhat tense between them.
Now, they were preparing to face the final horde of monsters, and the monster they were preparing to face was incredibly strong and difficult to kill.
But scouts had been sent forward and information had been gathered. Moreover, there was a group of drifters who claimed they had faced the monster before alongside Sage Rian—apparently the monster had fled from Sage Rian's grasp.
Things weren't looking promising for them, but Zion was not discouraged. He believed he could truly vanquish the shadow monster with the over one hundred drifters accompanying him—and some incredibly powerful creatures.
Ascendant Zion sighed, sitting on a log they had felled the night before while building their temporary camp. He looked around.
The forest scenery was bustling. Countless trees had been hewn down, most with Drifters' abilities rather than tools. The efficiency and speed required to achieve the task was staggering.
They had managed to create several makeshift shelters. While not as sturdy as a war camp would be, they passed well enough for mundane purposes.
Far away, in the center of the camp, a massive bonfire burned where they had cooked food for the entire camp and served as a watchtower of sorts through the night. There was a Drifter who could use smoke to detect movement.
The constant burning filled the entire forest with smoke and sharpened his senses. It was also a strategy to muddle the monsters' perception.
A lot of Drifters were gathered in one place—the scent of their souls would undoubtedly be more intense than ever. But the smoke was bound to throw the monsters off, at least a bit. It wasn't effective in the long run, and they never needed it to be.
They just needed to survive one night, and they had.
Now, they were preparing to continue their journey. The bonfire had been extinguished, but its smoke still rolled into the sky.
Drifters moved around, clearing the area. Some smashed the wood into bits, erasing their scents with the blood of abominations they'd recently hunted.
Others sat conversing lazily, as if they weren't about to fight a shadow storm.
Ascendant Zion couldn't really blame them. Many had grown complacent because of the creatures that were their allies.
However, he knew this was not the time for complacency. He frowned and stood up sharply, clenching his fist.
The moment he stood, Abyss Tyrant stirred, leaning away from the tree. Silence fell over the camp. Some people were still moving—carrying wood, pouring blood on the ground—but they all went silent, turning toward Ascendant Zion and the Abyss Tyrant standing behind him.
Having their attention effortlessly, Zion spoke.
"This is not the time to drag around. There is an urgent need for us to—"
He suddenly went deathly pale, his eyes widening with terror. Something strange was happening across the sky.
It was a perfect day, mid-morning, but suddenly the clouds darkened.
Everyone raised their eyes to the sky, mumbling with confusion. But that wasn't even the crux of the disaster about to befall them.
Ascendant Zion was quite used to Abyss Tyrant's presence—that one hung around him constantly, so over the past day, he had grown accustomed to it.
Which was why he could tell when it suddenly vanished. His eyes widened and he swung around.
Behind him, their powerful monster ally was gone.
Not just him—the young man in the silver helm and white flowing cloak was gone too. The strange short beast with horns was gone. The black, lithe monster with dark grace was also gone.
His eyes widened with terror, hands trembling as fear crept into his heart.
The darkening day made processing what was happening even harder. All around them, a mist of shadows was consuming everything, slowly creeping closer.
Jeci suddenly lunged forward and slapped his face. His head snapped to the side as he staggered. Finally, he was back to his senses, his eyes wide.
Lynus manifested his glass-like wings and looked at him with a condescending glare.
"Pathetic."
Jeci frowned at him as well.
"Get your head straight. You have a battle to win."
Ascendant Zion's widened eyes trembled.
Did they not realize it?
"B—but, they're gone!"
Jeci manifested her spear and sinister shield, holding the shield to her chest as she got into stance.
"What difference does it make? We fought to win then, we fight to win now."
Ascendant Zion was breaking apart inside his mind.
'What difference does it make? What difference does it make?! It makes all the difference in the world! We are all going to die!'