Thyruz then made his move as he chanted a Spell that could support Rayven.
"O shades that walk between breath and shadow—"
"Wraithstep!"
Thyruz chanted as he clapped his hands together.
Just like that, a cool sensation washed over Rayven's limbs as he realized that Thyruz had given him a buff or enhancement that he had no idea about.
'Incredible…' Rayven thought as he could feel the wind curve around him, as if his body had become too light to be noticed.
Furthermore, his steps became silent. He noticed that each footfall left no sound and no imprint.
'This feels so good…' Rayven knew that his presence vanished from the senses of the common man. He also felt a bit stronger because of this.
"Go, boy," Thyruz said, beads of sweat forming on his brow. "But don't push your luck. That man's no longer human."
Rayven gave a sharp nod as his eyes fixed on the unconscious woman beneath the crumbled tree…
The ground trembled under his boots as he slipped from behind the tree and dashed toward her.
In the distance, Vairen let out another roar.
The sky flashed again, but this time it wasn't lightning!
It was a blade of pure condensed mana that split a massive boulder nearby in two.
It seemed that Vairen was still trying to regain control of his body!
However, he was obviously failing as his skin had glowing red veins with eyes like coals. The most terrifying thing about him was the third eye pulsing in the center of his forehead!
It was definitely a malformed result of the Primordial Core ingestion.
His body had mutated, but not harmoniously. The power was too great.
'He's getting out of control… He could die on his own at this rate…' Thyruz thought as he saw Vairen's left arm being dragged like a dead thing. It had overgrown and malformed due to the unstable control of the power.
Then, as Rayven got closer to the woman, Vairen had finally regained temporary control over his body!
Rayven froze as he heard Vairen shout to the sky!
"You let my parents die! I will burn this world if I must!"
There seemed to be a deep grudge between the two, but Rayven didn't stop. He slipped between smoking debris and reached the woman.
She was still breathing, though it was shallow, and now that he was closer, he saw her crest clearly, and it must be from whatever noble faction she belonged to…
Rayven took note of it as she was definitely a high-status individual. More importantly, a coin pouch had spilled beside her, so he quickly pocketed it… for safekeeping.
Well, if she asked for it later, he planned to give it back.
"Sorry, miss…" he muttered, scooping the coin pouch and other items into his travel bag…
'You won't remember this part anyway.'
But Rayven didn't just stop at the loot. Carefully, he slid one arm beneath her back, another under her knees, and lifted her with a soft grunt.
'Ooomph'
If not for Thyruz's buff, he wouldn't even attempt to do this.
The woman was heavy, and he initially planned to just drag her. If it got dangerous, he could just abandon her halfway since he had a good reason to do so…
However, now that he felt more powerful, he had to carry her and truly attempt to save her.
She was lighter than expected—more like someone who hadn't eaten well in days. Her breathing was erratic, but stable.
"Come on, let's go…" he whispered as he pushed himself to run…
However, he felt a threatening gaze and turned to see that Vairen was already leaping straight in their direction!
"Dammit—!" Rayven tensed.
Vairen's mutated body was scary… The malformed left arm that swelled so much was about to slam into them like a meteor!
Thankfully, he wasn't alone here…
Whom~
A flash of gold blinded the Vairen!
"YOU—AGHHHH!" Vairen's eyes were unprotected and were blinded for a moment.
Thanks to that, Rayven was able to use this opportunity to escape!
Thyruz sweated a lot as he knew that he was not a match against Vairen in his current state.
This is getting dangerous.
"Go!!" Thyruz roared as veins bulged on his temples. "My mana won't last—MOVE!!"
Apparently, the Wraithstep Spell that he cast on Rayven has to be maintained. He also continued with dual casting, so Thyruz was already reaching his limit.
Rayven didn't hesitate. He dashed through the debris with the unconscious woman in his arms.
With the Wraithstep active, he seemed to glide across the battlefield…
And then—
Boom!
Vairen had completely recovered, and he released a shockwave that hurled trees like twigs everywhere!
However, Rayven and the rest of the group were already gone, vanished into the nearby treeline, leaving the wrecked wagon behind.
***
Later that night, the rain came, but the storm itself had moved farther north.
Rayven sat by a fire with Nara and Thyruz, who looked pale and tired but still alive.
They had set up a temporary shelter in a mossy patch of woods. The woman lay nearby on a thick bed of bundled cloaks, her wounds dressed with clean cloth. Her breathing had improved.
Nara eyed the unconscious woman warily. "Who do you think she is?"
Rayven stirred the pot of hot stew simmering over the fire. "No idea. But judging from that emblem and her gear… someone important. She'll probably be grateful once she wakes up."
Thyruz chuckled while sipping weak tea. "If she remembers. People who pass out from trauma usually forget a lot."
Rayven nodded slowly as he decided to check the gold coins he had hidden inside his cloak.
Of course, he planned to distribute some of them to others.
After counting, Rayven smiled as he realized that he had just obtained 230 gold coins! The woman was rich!