Elliot's sudden silence and the grave look in his eyes as he stared into the distance immediately drew puzzled looks from everyone.
All five of them turned toward him.
"What's wrong?" Baal asked softly.
"…Something's happened." Elliot's voice was low and heavy.
"I'm sorry, but I have to return to Watatsumi Island at once."
He turned back to them and offered a solemn apology—then, in an instant, pitch-black wings burst from his back. With a sharp stomp of his foot, he shot into the sky in a streak of purple lightning, vanishing like a meteor.
"Wait… Watatsumi Island!?" Chiyo froze.
"He's flying all the way from here to Watatsumi Island? And at that speed…"
Zebul's brows furrowed, a faint unease settling over her.
A Great Tengu could soar freely through the skies, but both speed and endurance were limited by physical stamina.
In the past, Elliot's farthest flight had been crossing all of Narukami Island.
And now… he was attempting to fly from Narukami Island to Watatsumi Island—over twice that distance.
That meant his stamina had to be at least ten times greater than before just to make the trip—and his current speed was far faster than his earlier record, nearly matching Zebul's.
Which could only mean…
"If he can really pull this off," she thought, "his physical abilities have far surpassed what we imagined."
"…Maybe he's never stopped training."
Baal stepped forward, eyes following the faint glimmer of lightning streaking across the sky.
...
"Stay alive…"
"You have to stay alive…"
From above, Elliot could already see thick black smoke curling upward from Watatsumi Island.
Even flying at full speed, it took him half an hour to arrive.
The sight that greeted him made his chest tighten—half the village lay in ruins, black scorch marks marring nearly every wooden house.
Screams and cries of grief filled the air.
Elliot's breathing quickened, his eyes burning red.
Without wasting a second, he darted straight toward Rina's home.
The moment he stepped inside, his foot landed in a pool of blood.
Following the trail upward, he saw her—her hands severed, her body pinned beneath a table. The hands themselves lay discarded a short distance away, like garbage.
His pupils contracted sharply. For a heartbeat, his heart seemed to stop.
"…How… could this happen…"
"I was only gone for less than a day…"
His breathing turned ragged and desperate, each inhale like a gasp for air. And still, the suffocating weight in his chest threatened to crush him.
He couldn't understand—how could this have happened in the short time he was away?
The word came to him unbidden.
"Children."
Eyes widening, he scanned the room, but there was no sign of them.
"Lord Sasayuri…?"
Just as he was about to rush out in search, a voice called from the doorway.
"Is it really you, Lord Sasayuri!?"
Elliot turned to see a middle-aged man, drenched in blood, tears streaking his face. In his eyes, Elliot's presence was almost divine.
"What happened?"
"Why has it become like this?"
Elliot closed the distance in an instant, his voice taut.
"Help… the children…" The man's voice was weak from blood loss.
"Where are they?"
"Sea… pirates…"
Before he could finish, his body collapsed.
Elliot caught him, checking quickly—only unconscious. He laid him down gently, then strode back outside, scanning the devastated streets.
He soon spotted another man standing stiffly before a house, his face contorted in pain.
Elliot rushed over.
"Lord Sasayuri…?"
The man's eyes lit with a faint spark of hope as he recognized him.
"Lord Sasayuri… please… save the children…"
"Please… you have to save them…"
Dropping to his knees, he clutched at this last shred of hope.
"Where did they go?" Elliot asked, forcing down the fury boiling inside him.
"North… they went north…"
At those words, killing intent erupted from him like a tidal wave, the air itself seeming to grow heavy with the stench of death.
In the man's eyes, Elliot looked like a demon risen from a mountain of corpses—terrifying enough to make his body tremble despite knowing this was their savior.
"I will bring them back."
"I swear it on my life."
With a sweep of his wings, Elliot shot into the sky, streaking northward.
As he neared the coastline, a sight caught his eye—a man hanging from a tree.
Closer inspection made his chest clench.
It was Miyagi, the middle-aged man who had once saved Yide.
Beside him burned a large bonfire, green leaves smoldering on top.
And at that sight, Elliot felt a sudden, shuddering chill run through him.