Amelia's pace inevitably slowed under Kael's weight, yet Sebastian and Yuri clung to their trail like relentless shadows. Their murderous presence pressed against her back, denying even a moment's respite.
Her delicate brows furrowed. Though knowing this desperate flight merely delayed inevitable confrontation, she pushed onward - every moment she could buy mattered. Her entire gamble rested on Kael awakening from unconsciousness to turn this deadly tide.
Energy ripples tore through Mistwood's fog-shrouded trees as three figures flashed through the forest like living lightning. While Amelia pinned her hopes on Kael's recovery, the young man's current condition defied simple explanation - a victim of his own gluttonous absorption.
The millennium ice core's overwhelming power now flooded his system. Though inherently stable, the primordial essence's sheer volume created violent turbulence when colliding with his innate magical energy. These opposing forces clashed through his meridians, the catastrophic backlash instantly plunging him into unconsciousness.
Yet awareness persisted beneath the surface. Kael perceived Amelia's labored breathing as she carried him, caught the faint floral scent clinging to her, sensed the predatory auras closing in from behind. Frustration burned through his immobilized state - Yuri and Sebastian's murderous intent hung palpable in the air, yet he remained powerless to intervene.
Twilight deepened into night. A lone star hung high while the moon cast pearlescent light across the forest canopy. Amelia's silver hair clung damp to her forehead, her lithe frame trembling with exhaustion. Each leap between trees came slower, each landing heavier. Still she drove herself beyond limits, knowing surrender meant death for them both.
"They're weakening!" Sebastian's triumphant growl carried through the pines. The hunters accelerated like wolves scenting blood. Amelia's final bound ended with knees buckling against leaf litter. She staggered upright, chest heaving, but her luminous eyes hardened with resolve. The chase had reached its endgame.
"Heh, little mouse," Sebastian sneered as Amelia halted within their encirclement. "Should've ditched your boyfriend when you had the chance." His gaze crawled over her figure with crude appraisal, lingering dismissively on her face. "Though I'll never understand his taste..."
Amelia stood motionless, Kael's weight still secured across her shoulders. Moonlight caught her blade carving a luminous arc through the darkness - not a desperate flourish, but the opening stroke of a meticulously prepared counterattack.
The air detonated.
Sebastian's mocking grin froze as torrential combat aura erupted from the supposedly exhausted girl. Razor-edged gales shredded the forest floor, his earth-aligned energy crumbling like dried clay before the onslaught. This wasn't the faltering retreat of prey, but the controlled fury of a huntress springing her trap.
"Bitch played us!" he managed to roar seconds before the storm hit. Yuri, ever cautious, had already melted into the shadows behind him.
Amelia's sword became a silver hydra - a hundred gleaming fangs striking from every angle. Nine layers of condensed aura rippled through each strike, overwhelming Sebastian's seventh-tier defenses. Trees behind him exploded into sawdust before the blade even touched his guard.
The impact lifted Sebastian bodily, hurling him through a copse of young pines. Wood splintered beneath his crashing trajectory until he lay sprawled in a crater of his own making, breastplate caved inward. Blood flecked his lips as he stared up at the moonlit executioner approaching through the settling debris.
Had Kael witnessed this ruthless precision masquerading as retreat, even he might have applauded. Amelia's blade tip came to rest against Sebastian's throat, her breathing barely quickened. The forest held its breath.
Wariness flickered through Yuri's eyes as he reassessed the swordswoman. Sebastian's groans from the crater underscored his miscalculation - this opponent had orchestrated defeat from apparent vulnerability. "A pity," Yuri murmured, staff thrumming with gathering energy. "Were circumstances different, I might court one of your caliber." His courtly words rang hollow against lethal intent.
Amelia shifted stance imperceptibly, blade angled to counter either spell or physical assault. She needed no tricks against this opponent - honor demanded direct confrontation. Yet before either could strike, rasping laughter slithered through the pines. Both combatants froze at the sound, primal instincts recoiling from its venomous edge.
Crackling undergrowth parted to reveal a haggard figure. The man's left sleeve hung empty, his remaining hand clenched around a battered axe. Grime crusted features that once commanded fear, yet Amelia recognized the viper's gaze instantly. "Marcus..." The name left her lips like a curse.
The White Bear Mercenary captain resembled his ruined company's namesake - a mangled beast surviving through sheer spite. "Still drawing breath, witch?" Marcus spat, yellowed teeth bared. His axe trembled not from weakness, but barely leashed fury. "Where's your mage pet? Hiding like the vermin he-"
Yuri's staff tapped stone, cutting through the tirade. "Our grievances align, it seems." He studied the broken mercenary with clinical detachment. "Shall we combine interests?"
"Only if their last breaths are mine!" Marcus gnashed through his reply, single eye locked on Amelia. The swordswoman's knuckles whitened around her hilt. Even diminished, Marcus posed lethal complications when paired with Yuri's unspent power.
No further negotiation proved necessary. The two men spread apart instinctively, hemming Amelia against the clearing's edge. Moonlight glinted cold along steel and crystalline focus-stones as predators coordinated their advance. Amelia exhaled slowly, adjusting Kael's weight across her shoulders. Her blade rose in silent acceptance.