Freya tore free from Levi’s grasp, her fist clenched tight as her blue aura swirled with flickering flames.
Levi remained on the ground with his mouth slightly parted as Aeris crouched beside him, her confusion evident.
Raiden and Ash were surprisingly calm, knowing exactly what was happening. Still Freya in appearance, but the moment those deep tones escaped her lips, they knew the Arch Hell Phoenix had emerged.
Freya’s long, dark hair flickered in her blue aura as she advanced toward them with steady steps. As she drew closer, Raiden wondered who she would address. Him or Ash? After all, they were both moon dragons.
However, once she was within reach, she bowed her head.
"I am sorry, my lord. I made you worry." The words emerged deep and steady, heavy with duty. "I promise to handle things better now."
Raiden was stunned, though not by her words. He’d heard enough strange things by now. What shocked him was seeing Freya bow to him.
"Don’t worry. You do what you can, and let us handle the matters here," Ash said, her expression intense but her tone gentle yet commanding.
Freya raised her head and turned to stare at Levi for a moment. His eyes gazed back, gentle and soft, mouth still parted in lingering confusion. Then, without another word, she began sprinting toward the battle.
"What’s going on?" Aeris asked, watching Freya dash away.
"That’s her familiar acting through her body. She should be fine," Raiden said, turning his attention to Leo, who remained unconscious.
"Can you check on him?" Raiden asked, and Aeris was at Leo’s side in an instant.
Raiden watched Levi remain on the floor, eyes darting around in lingering confusion. Maybe he was trapped in his own shock, stunned that Freya had left without a word. But Raiden only cared that he was physically unharmed, not about his emotional turmoil.
"Have any of you seen the others? Speed, MK, Noelle?"
Aeris looked up at him. "I saw Speed, but he was making his way to Soul."
Raiden smiled. With Speed, Freya, and Soul all fighting the Lost Child, they had a real chance—or at least they could do some serious damage.
"My lady?" someone called from behind them, drawing everyone’s attention.
It was MK, white shirt soaked through with sweat, bent over with his hands on his knees and breathing hard. His usually perfect gray hair hung in messy strands.
Raiden’s expression darkened as he took in MK’s state. His thoughts jumped frantically from one scenario to another. MK and Noelle were inseparable, which meant if she wasn’t here...
MK got to his feet and hurried toward them. "Is she here?" His eyes darted frantically around the group, but no one answered.
Before Raiden could answer, MK’s hands shot out, gripping his collar as his golden aura pulsed erratically. Rage carved lines across his face, his deep red eyes blazing as they bored into Raiden’s golden ones. "Where is she?" he snarled hoarsely.
Raiden could feel MK’s hand trembling on his chest. The grip on his collar sparked an inexplicable irritation. Acting on instinct, he drove his fist into MK’s chest, launching him backward into the dead grass.
"Don’t touch me," Raiden said, adjusting his collar with an annoyed sigh as he watched MK rise to his feet.
"I’m trying to keep everyone safe, and right now, Noelle is the only one from my crew we haven’t located," he said evenly, reining in his temper. "Just calm down."
MK rose to his feet, struggling to meet Raiden’s gaze as his eyes darted toward the ground. Raiden understood his desperation. Even though he didn’t know much about MK personally, he knew the man’s sole purpose was protecting Noelle. This was the first time he’d seen him lose control .
Raiden took a deep breath and set his ego aside. He gestured back toward where MK had emerged from. "If we all came from that direction and she’s not there..."
He motioned toward where the battle was raging. "She must be there."
MK whipped around to face that direction, his fists trembling with barely contained fury.
Raiden looked back at Ash. "Can you handle things here?" Ash gave him a gentle nod. He smiled and ruffled her hair affectionately. "I’ll be back."
Without waiting for a response, Raiden disappeared. MK looked around frantically until Ash pointed toward the battle. Then, without hesitation, he took off running after Raiden.
Raiden found himself praying as he raced through the darkness. He had his own reasons for needing Noelle alive, reasons he knew weren’t worth divine intervention, but the prayers came anyway.
His limbs burned from his previous exertion, but he refused to slow down. Even with his healing abilities and control over darkness, exhaustion clawed at him. Agony twisted his features, and his fingers curled in pain, but he slammed his feet down with brutal force, driving himself onward.
After minutes of racing through the dead grassland and back into the withered forest, his danger detection suddenly screamed in his mind. The jarring alarm sent shockwaves through his head as he skidded to a stop.
The instant he halted, he grabbed his head, teeth grinding painfully. In front of him sprawled an impenetrable darkness—so thick his enhanced vision couldn’t cut through it.
Raiden found himself backing away from the darkness. The more distance he put between himself and it, the fainter the alarm in his head grew.
But after a few moments, he froze. "What is that?" he muttered, focusing his Gaze Beyond on the darkness, though it proved useless.
"That condensed darkness," someone said from Raiden’s left, making him whip around.
It was Chrono and Odard, each supporting one side of an injured comrade as they limped toward him.
"I don’t know what it’s capable of, but that’s at least four layers of darkness," Chrono explained as Raiden stared back at the impenetrable wall.
"Have you seen Noelle?" Raiden asked urgently, his concern for their wounded ally forgotten.
Odard’s grim shake of the head said everything, his tone dry as they passed Raiden and continued toward the others.
Raiden’s throat went dry as every fiber of his being warned him against approaching the darkness. His fists shook despite being clenched tightly, and his heart hammered frantically in his chest.
"I don’t have a choice," he muttered. "I need to save her."