As Elric and the knights were trying their best to survive.

The two knights that left before were back with the main forces. A report was given at once to Charle who gave the command to halt their march.

Seven of the primary ambassadors were gathered within the carriage while the two knights relayed all information they knew.

They listened with heavy hearts to the story. It was a development they expected, but didn’t desire. The princess glanced over to the white-haired magus next to her.

The magus in question closed his eyes. His withered hands formed together in the shape of a circle as he chanted. Each syllable uttered was another layer of magic woven into his spell. With bated breaths, everyone waited for the magus to finish his spell.

Magic washed over the carriage when the magus finished. His eyelids fluttered open. 

“Two knights have fallen to the eternal darkness, one soul communicated the sighting of a dozen magi. It also tells me that while the other knights are still alive and fighting, the young magus with them is the only one keeping them alive.”

“Over a dozen magi?” Kite repeated.

The older magus closed his eyes again. Repeating answers was clearly not something he enjoyed. 

“Not bandits then.” Stated Hamon. “No group would have that many magi in their ranks.”

“Maybe we should go back home?” 

Kite glared at Jerry, angry that his friend would make such an opinion. Withering from his friend’s glare, Jerry backed away and became silent.

But one person seemed to be in favor of Jerry’s suggestion, the prince. “This mission has lost all its value if Karth is truly behind this. A swift return would be wise.”

No one said anything after that. The prince’s word was final.

They still had to wait for the old magus, however. The man was still attempting to learn more about the situation up ahead. Eventually, the magus opened his eyes again and stared at the prince with an unrelenting stare.

The magic behind his stare was potent enough to make even the prince step back.

“It is far too early to say such words.”

The word of a prince was a heavy one, but not as heavy as this magus. Ranked second beneath Archmagister Naga, this magus was venerated across the kingdom. The king himself had to request for this magus to join as an advisor on this mission.

“True. It’s possible they might not be the Karthian army, but mercenaries hired by the Karthian hardline faction. Returning to Sovereign would give Karth a just cause to declare war.” Said Hamon.

Two for continuing the mission and one for returning. Everyone’s eyes turned to Charle.

The man had been quiet this entire time with nary a change in expression. Did he even care what was going on?

Charle uncrossed his arms. A decision was made. “If our enemies are at our front, then we’ll go around them! Vision is essential here. Kite, take those who can fly and be our eyes up front! Do 

not

 be discovered! Our survival is dependent on you! Hamon, you take charge. We 

must 

arrive Kradyne before it gets too dark. Plot a new course away from the enemies if you have to, but make sure we’ll have fresh water to resupply from along the way. And princess, prince, don’t you feel like getting some exercising? Sitting down all the time will make your body feel lacking. Get on the warhorses, we’re ditching the carriage.” Every single decision that had to be made was made in one breath.

But Kite wasn’t satisfied. “What about Elric and the knights?” 

“They’re surrounded by a wasteland, where in the world would they run away to?”

Charle strode forward to pat him on the shoulder. “At ease. If they can escape once, then they’ll be able to do it a second and third time. There’s nothing you can do for them now, boy, except pray for their safety.”

His helplessness weighed heavily on his heart, but Kite had to agree with Charle. Praying was all he really 

could

 do. 

Far away, Elric was also praying. Praying that his horse wouldn’t grow tired and keep up anymore. Praying that the other magi would run out of mana. Praying that a sandstorm would appear and grant them cover.

But not a single prayer was heard. Was his contract with the demon responsible for his bad luck?

Sandstorms were common in this area, but not a single one was to be had today! And the skies were still sufficiently bright! The magi were still in hot pursuit and filled with mana and were even using the spell Wind Wing to gently maneuver through the air without stirring up a sandstorm. 

Elric wasn’t that familiar with horses, but even he could tell that the one he was riding was starting to grow tired. They were short on surplus horses due to the enemy magi killing them, so one knight was already starting to lag behind. Refusing Jack’s offer to swap warhorses, the knight suddenly altered course from them—they knew this was a suicidal tactic. It left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth, but they didn’t have any other choice.

With hope in their hearts, everyone watched as the knight continued onward to his death.

The remaining knights took the opportunity to hop onto whatever replacement horse they had left. These horses weren’t in much better shape than their first ones, but they would make do. The magi weren’t approaching the group just yet due to the strange magic Elric used. Their earlier barrage had been made in confidence that it’d kill all the knights, but Elric’s spell manage to subvert their expectations. Even now, during the chase, the magi were all re-evaluating Elric’s aptitude to be much greater than it was.

“If only I could use another spell.”

 Elric bemoaned, cursing his fate. He had been hopeful after casting his last spell. Every other spell he tried after that failed to activate, however. Though he could listen to the flow of mana around him, he was for some reason unable to structure it into a usable form for any type of spell.

“Trouble has a grasp on thee, it appeareth.”

 A voice suddenly spoke into Elric’s ear.

He stiffened—this was the voice of that demon, Monster. 

“Fortunately for thee, I have a suitable form of magick in such a situation as thine.”

The diagram of a spell circle appeared in Elric’s mind.

He didn’t know what this spell did, but he had to give it a shot. Cancelling his first and only spell protecting them, Elric began to chant the incantation to the new spell he just learned. It was verbose just like the Chaos Crystal Wall and was also of a language he had never heard before. Without knowing the meaning behind the words, Elric had no idea what the incantation meant. He only knew what this spell was called:

Banner of Darkness

The moment he finished the incantation, Elric felt multiple black feathers explode out from his person to dissipate into the air to transform into a fine mist. Almost as if it was alive, the mist moved into the air toward the enemy magi and immediately smothered them inside of it. The magi flew out from it, unscathed, but Elric could see something was wrong. Like headless flies, the magi were scattering now in every direction as if they were suddenly blinded. Several magi attempted to descend to the ground for safety, but many miscalculated their velocity and height and crashed head-on into the ground below. They definitely weren’t going to emerge from that unscathed.

Once the magi in the sky were taken care of, the black mist began to move again. It was time for the bandits behind them. The mist quickly smothered the bandits and soon the whinnies of the horses and the cries of the bandits could be heard.

“Halt! Halt!” Someone cried out.

The bandits began to come to a stop.