“The Hunter of Yano…” Adrian released a broken laugh while his body began to collapse.
Ren emerged from the shadows where he had been controlling the professor’s illusion at a mirror angle with the mantis plates, “always saves something for the end… He doesn’t disappoint, after all.”
The aberration that had been Adrian Ravencroft collapsed, its form twisting as the forced fusion finally came undone.
♢♢♢♢
Ren wasted no time, moving directly…
To the Shadow Stalker male’s corpse, not to Zhao, his priorities clear even in the aftermath of battle.
“Good timing,” Zhao murmured while falling to his knees, his legendary strength finally failing him.
Although he had feigned the trembling in his legs and having not a drop of mana for Adrian, now he truly was depleted. The cost of maintaining his deception near the draining zone had been steep.
“You used the illusion at the perfect moment… Though it was risky coming out of hiding with that thing still alive.”
Ren barely nodded, too concentrated on his task.
His hands moved with precision around the Shadow Stalker male’s corpse, carefully avoiding the tentacles that still retained traces of abyssal power and absorption properties.
“The enemy was already finished… And I had the illusion overlapped with you from the start. I didn’t guess when you disappeared, it was easy because mantis mirror plates are perfect for creating illusions,” he commented while delicately extracting the core. “Especially when there’s little light.”
Zhao observed his student work.
The ‘weakest’ in the class, the one everyone underestimated, had helped instantly after arriving with just a glance. The boy’s efficiency was almost unsettling.
Though Ren didn’t mention it, Zhao realized, since his sound control had allowed him to detect the exact moment the boy arrived.
“When did you notice?” Ren asked without looking up from his work, his fingers moving with care.
“When I used Silent Flight and saw my ‘body’ where it shouldn’t be,” Zhao released a small laugh that turned into a cough.
“Though I could have missed that detail in the heat of battle… Luckily I knew you were trying something when you arrived and paid attention to where you were pointing that ‘mirror’.”
The mushrooms in Ren’s hair pulsed softly while he finished extracting the core. It was larger than the Bark Stalker’s, and the abyssal corruption had given it a sickly purple tone that seemed to absorb nearby light.
“The basic sound control of your owl to project your voice’s sound to the illusion’s location,” Ren examined his prize carefully, “was perfect to help making the enemy believe you were still in front, then making him think you couldn’t stand, and making him hear your illusion talk was unexpected, it was brilliant. Although…”
He turned toward his professor, who remained on his knees, breathing heavily from exhaustion.
“You really ran out of mana this time, didn’t you, professor?”
“It was worth it,” Zhao looked at Adrian’s shattered body. “We got a name. Silvercliff…”
“And interesting materials,” Ren carefully stored the core in a special container. “Though I wonder if the abyssal corruption…”
The mushrooms in Ren’s hair pulsed while he observed the abyssal bodies that had separated after the forced fusion collapsed. Their flesh still writhed with residual energy.
The corrupted Shadow Stalker male’s corpse lay to one side…
“Professor,” Ren pointed timidly toward the deformed mass. “That one too…?”
Zhao shook his head, still catching his breath. “That one we’ll have to take to the city for analysis. Sorry, but when I make the official report…”
“I understand,” Ren nodded, though his eyes remained fixed on the interesting patterns of the failed fusion. Each twist and curve held potential knowledge.
“However,” Zhao looked toward the other Shadow Stalker male, the one controlled by tentacles, “you can keep that one. After all, without your help with the illusion…”
Ren’s eyes lit up as he returned his attention to the core he had already extracted. The abyssal corruption had given it unique properties worth studying.
Ren turned his focus back to the Shadow Stalker male, using Weaver threads to manipulate the tentacles without touching them directly. His movements were precise, almost ritualistic in their care.
“They should be fine… With the auxiliaries united and the extra support from Luna and Min…”
He stopped, concentrating on wrapping another particularly long tentacle. The mushrooms in his hair pulsed softly while he selected the least damaged pieces.
“We should return,” Ren murmured, his voice smaller now that the adrenaline was beginning to fade. The reality of how dangerous it had all been started to sink in.
Ren approached his professor with concern evident in his movements.
“Can you stand?”
“One more moment,” Zhao tried to rise but had to lean on one knee again. “I need to recover some mana before moving… Sometimes pretending to be weak is more exhausting than actually being weak.”
“I’ll keep that in mind if I ever have to pretend to be the weakest student.”
♢♢♢♢
Ren waited in silence, his mushrooms pulsing softly while studying their surroundings.
The night had been more instructive than he’d expected, though the abyssals… a shiver ran down his spine remembering how they had fused, how they had corrupted even the local beasts.
Not being able to access information about something felt strange now, like a blind spot in his understanding.
Zhao remained seated, his breathing more stable but still visibly exhausted. His feathers barely gleamed in the darkness.
After several minutes of silent work while letting Zhao rest, Ren stored the last specimen. “Professor… we should…”
“The Shadow Stalkers?” Zhao tried to stand again, his movements careful and measured.
“The deception will keep them away for about twenty more minutes,” Ren adjusted his containers carefully. “After that…”
Zhao managed to stand, though the effort was visible. “Time enough.”
“But in your condition…” Ren hesitated, looking at the distance they needed to cover.
“It will be… inconvenient,” Zhao took an experimental step, his legs still shaky from mana exhaustion. “But we’ll make it.”
They began their return journey, moving slower than either would like. The night had been long, and it wasn’t over yet.
“Professor,” he whispered after a moment. “Why did they want Luna and the others?”
Zhao looked at the night sky before answering. “That, along with the name we obtained, is something we’ll have to investigate very carefully.”