Whether it was the hurried pounding of hooves, the constant bite of cold air slamming against his face, or simply the fact that he'd made a terrible error… Zephyrion wasn't sure what annoyed him more.
'They caught up to us.'
He gripped his reins as his horse leapt over yet another fallen branch, landing hard as they galloped through the forest.
Glancing behind him, he caught the faint silhouettes of figures closing in fast.
Zephyrion tightened his grip. He had known the Order would come, but not that they would pursue them this far. They were already within Ferran territory, yet the enforcers showed no sign of stopping.
Riding beside him, Lumi shot him a panicked look and signed rapidly with one arm.
"It's close." Zephyrion said.
She pointed aggressively behind them, eyes wide.
"Yes. I know we're being chased."
She flung her arm toward the empty stretch of forest ahead.
Zephyrion nodded, expression unchanged.
"I mean it this time. The village is just after this stretch of trees."
She stared at him with a deadpan look, then sighed and dragged a finger across her throat in resignation.
'We're not going to die…'
Zephyrion frowned slightly.
He had never been one to doubt his conclusions. Everything moved according to preparation, foresight, and careful design. Those who survived were those who planned three steps ahead and accounted for every contingency before making a move.
Now that he thought about it, nothing about leaving an Order dedicated to killing and silencing people so suddenly had any shred of planning.
Zephyrion's eyes grew fierce. Just thinking about it sent a surge of anger through him.
'Rule three.'
Emotions cloud judgment.
He pushed the emotion aside and fixed his eyes on the forest before him.
'Where is it?'
So many years had passed since he'd last been here that he was starting to believe the village didn't exist anymore. But he couldn't afford to be wrong.
It had to exist.
Whoosh!
Zephyrion furrowed his brows as multiple air blades shot toward them from behind. He dipped into the WorldPulse. Metal spikes materialized behind him, meeting the blades in bursts of sparks.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
A cold voice echoed through the forest, and a wave of fire surged toward them.
"Jump!"
He launched toward the nearest tree, running across its length to gain height and barely evading the flames as they swept over their horses and trees.
He flicked his gaze to his companion a tree away, just long enough to confirm she'd escaped, then faced forward as he reached the crown and burst into the open sky.
'Where is it… there.'
Searching for a moment, Zephyrion's eyes narrowed as he spotted something in the distance.
He dropped back into the forest, landing lightly on a thick branch.
"We're almost there."
He ignored his companion's weary look and surged forward, vaulting from branch to branch with explosive speed.
They burst into a vast open stretch of land moments later, charging toward the walled village beneath the hill ahead.
"Don't stop!"
His companion stumbled, then lunged forward, quickly catching up.
She pierced him with an incredulous stare as her hands moved in sharp, furious signs.
"The village is big enough," Zephyrion said.
She signed even more aggressively, shaking her head and gesturing toward the small village ahead.
"Yes, I know you're mute. And no, I'm not blind."
Her hands moved again, more urgently this time, and Zephyrion released a quiet sigh.
"You don't have to remind me how powerful the Order enforcers are. They'll have to manage."
Zephyrion glanced back to see the forest they'd fled through being swallowed by fire.
'There.'
His eyes narrowed. A lone figure hovered above the burning ruins, wreathed in raging flames.
Zephyrion snapped his gaze forward and roared.
"Pyrian attack!"
The guards on top of the wall jolted to their feet, staring out at the destruction with wide, stunned eyes. One tore away from the others, sprinting toward a massive bell and hammering it into a frantic ring.
"Pyrian attack!"
"Prepare for battle!"
More bells began ringing across the village.
"Open the gates!"
"They're Ferrans! Quickly… open the gates!"
As the gate opened, they rushed into the village. All around them, Ferran soldiers flooded the wall, weapons drawn and armor clattering as they prepared for battle.
"Lumi, we have to—"
"Incoming!"
"Get down!"
Zephyrion looked up just in time to see a massive fireball plunging from the sky.
He ignored Lumi's panic and raised his arm. Metal surged around them, forming a dense dome just as the fireball struck. A deafening boom hurled them backward.
He dropped the shield a second later and took in the scene before him.
The wall had been reduced to a smoldering ruin, and every Ferran soldier who had gathered there lay dead amid curling smoke and charred remains.
Zephyrion turned and pinned Lumi with a hard stare.
"You remember the plan?"
Her eyes were fixed on the dead Ferrans, fists clenched so tightly her hands trembled. He stepped closer and placed a firm hand on her shoulder, forcing her attention back to him.
"You remember the plan?"
Lumi swallowed, then nodded with resolute eyes.
"Get in position."
She nodded once more and darted from the scene, while Zephyrion shot off in another direction, moving deeper into the village.
All around him, people screamed and fled through the streets. He barely spared them a glance as he moved across the rooftops.
'There's no time.'
He had expected the village to buy him at least a few minutes, but the devastation at the gate had already made things clear. No one here could stop a Mark Five Vessel.
His gaze locked onto the massive tower rising at the village's center, and he pushed himself faster.
'Hm?'
A moment later, he frowned as he felt multiple presences closing in from behind. The enforcers had caught up to him.
'Araliths. Four of them.'
Their control over air made outrunning them impossible.
Whoosh!
As multiple air blades shot toward him, he hurled himself from the edge of the roof, crashing through the window of a building.
He hit the floor in a rough roll and came up instantly.
'Now.'
Three metal spikes formed near his ankles and one above his head. They shot outward—back, left, right, then up.
The walls exploded inward as the Araliths burst through. The spikes punched cleanly through their legs, ripping them off balance and dragging them toward him.
"…!!"
Their eyes widened as they seized the air, scrambling to recover when Zephyrion moved.
Two metal spikes flashed into his hands as he erased the distance, driving one through an eye, spinning and burying two more through waiting throats without breaking stride.
Above him, the last Aralith snarled and formed a massive air blade, bringing it down in a cleaving arc, but Zephyrion vanished, reappearing above him as his spike punched through the back of the man's skull.
The bodies hadn't even hit the ground when Zephyrion burst back out of the room, rolling across the next rooftop and springing to his feet.
If he felt even the slightest trace of fatigue from what he had just done, he didn't show it.
'Almost there.'
He fixed his gaze on the distant tower, but a sudden flash of light snapped his attention back.
A mushroom cloud clawed into the sky, followed by a devastating shockwave that tore through the village.
He threw up his arms as dense metal surged around him to form a shield. The force still struck like a hammer, hurling him through the air.
He slammed into the ground, skidding for many meters before dragging to a stop. The metal shield fell away as he pushed himself up, taking in the devastation.
The village was gone. Almost every structure had been reduced to scorched rubble, and the screams of the people had vanished, leaving behind a grave-like silence.
"Found you."
Zephyrion lifted his gaze. A man wreathed in flames loomed above the ruins, staring at him with a wide grin.
"…!"
He threw himself aside as a wave of fire tore past him. Dozens of metal spikes formed around him before shooting toward the man.
The man scoffed and lifted a hand, unleashing a blast of fire that swallowed the spikes whole. The next moment, Zephyrion felt an overwhelming weight locking him in place.
"You know…"
The man smiled faintly as he hovered above him.
"I've always hated you. Those eyes of yours… always looking at us like you're better."
"You're nothing special. Just some privileged fool the Master decided to spare. I never understood why He favored you…"
He gave a cold smirk.
"But it doesn't matter now."
"…Did you really think He'd let you leave?"
"…."
At Zephyrion's silent and unmoved stare, the man clicked his tongue.
"Even now… those damned eyes."
With a furious glare, the man raised his arm, raging fire gathering before his palm.
"He wants you alive," he said with a grin. "He never said in what condition."
"Lumi."
Zephyrion called out, and a faint spark flared in the tower ahead. The man snapped his gaze upward just in time to see a massive spike of metal screaming toward him.
"An attack?"
He scoffed, flicking his arm to unleash the gathered fire. It engulfed the spike and melted it away.
The flames kept moving until they slammed into the tower. Lumi's tiny frame burst through a shattered window, barely escaping the flames.
"I'll deal with you later," the man muttered, already turning back, only to freeze as a gleaming metal spike appeared inches from his eye.
He threw himself aside, but not before the spike punched through his eye and scraped along his skull.
"I'll kill you."
Fire burst from the man in a violent tide, swallowing Zephyrion, only to detonate into a scalding surge of steam as frost spread across his body.
"Ice… you can use ice?!"
The man's remaining eye widened as steam flooded his vision. Zephyrion's legs blurred forward, sweeping him off his feet before he could regain his balance.
Air howled around Zephyrion as he vanished into the smoke and erased the distance, driving a metal spike cleanly through the man's heart the next moment.
"Air too…? H-how—"
The man crashed to the ground, the flames around him fading.
Zephyrion landed before him, staring down with the same detached look that immediately twisted the man's expression.
"T-those damn eyes…" the man gritted through bloodied teeth, staring up at him.
"Y-you'll never escape the Order… H-He will find you… He'll burn down everything you hold dea—"
His warning dissolved into a wet crack as a metal spike split his skull.