The Bone Clown's cold, hollow voice echoed through the sky.
"Chase after him."
Without hesitation, the clown, the crocodile, and the woman all surged forward, their figures blurring into streaks of energy as they shot after Kanoru.
Kanoru glanced back—his plan had worked.
Cecily and the camp were safe for now.
But now—
He had to escape.
Kanoru was fast, but he was not faster than all three of them combined.
If they caught him before he reached safety, he would die.
Fighting one of them? Maybe.
Fighting two? Suicidal.
Fighting all three at once?
Impossible.
His only hope was to reach the outskirts of Fairie City.
Even if he couldn't make it inside, if he got close enough, the Spirit King Elewyn or other Spirit Lords stationed there would sense the battle.
They might not intervene immediately, but if the Bone Clown's energy signature was detected, they would come.
They had to.
Kanoru gritted his teeth and pushed forward, his wings flaring as he flew faster—
Toward Fairie City.
The chase tore through the clouds like a storm.
Kanoru flew at full speed, his blue and white wings cutting through the air.
Behind him, three relentless hunters pursued.
The Bone Clown, his skeletal form draped in black mist, raised a hand. A gray energy beam shot toward Kanoru, twisting through the air like a snake.
Kanoru twisted his body, the beam whizzing past his ribs before he even felt its chill.
Then came the crocodile—
With a mighty roar, the Spirit Lord snapped his jaws open, a massive wind blade forming between his fangs before it exploded forward.
Kanoru spun midair, both of his swords slicing the wind attack apart, the halves splitting past him on either side, their sharp edges grazing the clouds.
He barely had time to breathe before—
CRACK!
The woman's whip lashed out, glowing red-hot, the energy around it warping the very air.
Kanoru raised his left sword, meeting the whip with a blast of fire, but the sheer force pushed him back, making him stumble mid-flight.
The Bone Clown laughed, a low, grating sound.
"Keep running, boy."
Kanoru clenched his jaw and shot forward faster.
He just had to get close to Fairie City.
A black sickle formed in the Clown's hand—he threw it.
Kanoru flipped midair, the blade missing by inches, slicing through the clouds.
The crocodile snarled, his nostrils flaring as a dark mist formed around him.
Kanoru's instincts screamed—
Something was coming.
The crocodile inhaled deeply and then spat out a massive vortex of gray energy, the air itself twisting violently in its wake.
Kanoru stretched his wings wide, suddenly diving downward just as the vortex ripped past him, exploding in the distance.
The shockwave shook the sky.
And then—
A crimson glow lit up behind him.
The woman—her whip burning like molten fire—
Kanoru's eyes widened as she hurled a massive, flaming rose-shaped spell straight at him.
He crossed his swords, trying to brace—
BOOM!
The attack detonated on impact.
A shockwave of burning petals tore through the sky.
Kanoru felt his body jerk violently, the impact sending him tumbling downward—
The wind roared in his ears as he fell toward the canopy below.
Kanoru twisted his body, spreading his wings wide to catch the air. His fall slowed, and he barely skimmed the treetops before launching himself upward again, breaking free above the canopy.
His muscles burned. His breathing was heavy. But he couldn't stop.
Behind him, the three Spirit Lords closed in, their relentless pursuit unwavering.
Kanoru kept half his attention on their energy signatures, sensing the incoming attacks. Still, he had been hit once. He wouldn't let it happen again.
He zig-zagged through the air, shifting directions unpredictably, forcing them to adjust. But he could feel it—his speed had dropped. They were closing the gap.
Faster. He needed to move faster.
Then a thought struck him—how fighter jets and missiles cut through the sky in his past life. They didn't move in abrupt shifts; they tore through the air with sheer force, cutting resistance, even breaking the sound barrier.
Could he replicate that?
Maybe not perfectly. But—
The alien wind source.
Kanoru drew on it, feeling the strange, unearthly energy stir inside him. The light blue wings on his back suddenly shifted, turning a deep orange.
Then—
BOOM!
An explosion of wind erupted behind him, propelling him forward at three times his previous speed.
The sudden acceleration nearly knocked the breath from his lungs, but he adapted quickly. He soared through the sky, the world blurring past.
When his speed started to slow—
BOOM!
Another explosion thrust him forward again, sending him streaking across the sky like a comet.
After a few more bursts, he glanced back.
The three pursuers had become tiny dots in the distance.
His lips curled into a smirk.
Now, they would have to choose.
If he vanished from their sight completely, they might turn back and attack his team.
He couldn't allow that.
So he stopped midair, turning to face them.
With an amused tone, he mocked, "Mr. Clown, I thought you were going to kill me! But you're so slow I had to stop just to give you a chance!"
The response was immediate—
Three energy beams tore toward him.
One black, one gray, one red.
Kanoru's hands moved in a blur, forming a blazing orange Rasengan of alien wind energy.
He hurled it forward.
The moment it collided with their attacks—
BOOOOOM!
A massive explosion erupted in the sky.
Kanoru soared upward through the shockwave, dodging the residual energy as he cast his next spell—
"Ten Sky Arrow Kill."
Ten glowing arrows materialized, crackling with power, and shot toward his enemies.
As they closed in again, Kanoru turned, flying forward once more.
Then—
BOOM!
Another burst of alien wind energy propelled him ahead once again.
The fiery explosion behind him faded as he pushed forward, his orange wings leaving a streak in the sky. He had gained enough distance.
Looking down, he spotted the vast expanse of Fairie City in the horizon, its golden barriers faintly shimmering against the morning light.
Now was the time.
Kanoru raised his hand, gathering the alien wind source. A bright orange beam shot straight into the sky, a signal—one that those within Fairie City would surely see.
Now, he just needed to hold them off.
Turning midair, he unleashed a flurry of attacks.
Fire and ice clashed through the air, waves of burning flames and freezing shards forcing his pursuers to stay locked on him. If they turned back now, he would make them regret it.
The three continued their pursuit for a moment, dodging and countering his spells. The Bone Clown's gray energy sickles carved through the air, the Crocodile's earth-shaking blasts sent shockwaves, and the woman's red whips of fire lashed out, aiming to strike him down.
Then—
A golden flame streaked across the sky.
BOOOOOM!
The golden inferno collided with the three Invaders, swallowing them whole in its sacred brilliance.
The Bone Clown's clone disintegrated instantly, vanishing like smoke in the wind.
The Crocodile's noble phantasm shattered, revealing his true form—a man in tattered gray robes, his body now writhing in agony.
The woman crashed down, her body engulfed in golden embers, struggling yet unable to rise.
The golden flames had burned through them completely, leaving them barely able to move.
Kanoru let out a breath, knowing who had arrived before he even turned.
Beside him, a presence radiated like the sun.
Elewyn.
Her long silver hair flowed like strands of moonlight, her otherworldly beauty untouched by time. A sacred golden hue enveloped her form like a second layer of transparent, divine skin, exuding purity and power beyond mortal comprehension.
Her voice was calm yet carried an undeniable authority.
"What happened?"
---
A day later, Kanoru stood before Elewyn and relayed everything he knew.
The Bone Clown was preparing a blood sacrifice.
A ritual to summon another leader of the Greyrose Circus.
Elewyn had listened in silence, her golden aura flickering like a steady flame. She did not need further proof—what more was necessary when even the Bone Clown had personally sent his clone to silence Kanoru?
With her acknowledgment, he was sent back to the Red Tiger Forest camp to take charge alongside Cecily.
Upon returning, he found the battlefield had changed.
The black fog canopy had vanished.
The morning sunlight poured down upon the land, dispersing the dark mist completely.
And with it, the undead were gone.
The camp, though scarred, stood strong. Cecily had returned to her human form, and the defenders, though weary, had secured their victory.
Kanoru wasted no time. He arranged for the camp's defense, ensuring everything was in order before setting out once again.
This time—
He returned to the cavern.
The place where the alien wind source resided.
Kanoru had learned firsthand—the alien energy was the key to survival.
It had saved his life. It had allowed him to escape death when outnumbered and outmatched. And more than that—its destructive power had nearly reached the peak of Spirit Lord realm.
But right now—it was raw, unstable, inefficient.
If he could truly comprehend it, refine it, he could create an attack spell that could unleash its full potential.
So, he prepared.
He stationed his men above the gorge, maintaining constant surveillance. Two of them would always be Spirit Realm cultivators attuned to wind and fire elemental energy since the alien wind source could also be called the alien fire source.
One would stay with him inside the cavern while the other would guard the entrance above. They would switch shifts every twelve hours.
Before entering seclusion, he had told his wives, his men, and Cecily—
"I will not leave until I have fully comprehended the alien energy."
Cecily, upon hearing of this energy, had immediately taken an interest.
But Kanoru had refused.
"I will comprehend it first. You can go next."
Their camp needed a Spirit Lord to guard it. Without one, even if they managed to hold the camp, it would be a Pyrrhic victory.
To convince her, he had given her the Sky Sword Spell book.
Only after she agreed did he finally leave.
He could have attempted comprehension through the miniature alien wind source inside his body—but that would take too long.
It would be quicker to learn directly from the source.
And so, Kanoru stepped into the cavern—
Ready to claim the power of the alien wind.