The hot desert wind brushed against their faces as the group continued moving forward, their footsteps leaving long trails behind them in the sand. Without stopping for long, the main character pulled out a communication device and made a call. After a few seconds, the call connected.
"Hello?"
It was his friend's mother.
"We found them," he said without wasting time. "Lily, Yuna, Sahara… all of them. They're safe, and we're bringing them back. Until then, can you find the locations of the three temples inside the city?"
There was a brief silence before she replied, "Alright… I'll handle it. And don't worry about Leon."
At the mention of Leon, the scene shifted to a secure training room where Leon was inside a gravity chamber. The pressure inside had already reached 10 kilograms, enough to make a normal person struggle to even stand properly. Yet Leon was calmly crawling on the ground as if nothing was wrong. He wasn't crying, he wasn't even uncomfortable—his expression was completely normal. Watching from outside, the friend's mother gave an awkward smile.
"…This kid is something else," she muttered softly. "I'll take care of him. You guys just come back quickly."
The call ended, and the main character turned toward the group again. For a moment, he stayed silent, then suddenly asked, "Tell me one thing… who here can fly?"
Almost everyone raised their hands instantly.
Everyone… except Lily.
She quietly lowered her hand, looking slightly embarrassed. "I can't fly… I was always busy in my village taking care of Leon. I never really got time to train properly."
The main character froze.
"…Wait a second."
His expression slowly changed as realization hit him.
"If we could fly… then we could've reached here in just two days instead of four…"
A heavy silence fell over the group.
"…Then whose idea was it," he continued slowly, "to come here by walking?"
One by one, everyone pointed their fingers—straight at him.
"…Huh?"
For a moment, he looked confused. Then suddenly, his face stiffened.
"Oh… right."
Fragments of memory came rushing back.
'We're going on an adventure, right? Then what's the fun in flying? Walking is more fun!'
He had said that.
The next second—
THAK!
THAK!
THAK!
His friend, Lily, and Yuna each gave him a solid smack on the head.
"Idiot!"
"Because of you!"
"We wasted two extra days!"
"I GET IT! I GET IT!" he shouted, holding his head in pain.
Without wasting another second, the group finally decided to move properly. This time, everyone lifted off the ground—flying forward at high speed.
Well… almost everyone.
Lily was sitting on the main character's back like he was some kind of horse.
"Move faster," she said casually.
"…I'm not your ride," he complained.
"Too late," she replied without hesitation.
Meanwhile, the others were already ahead, flying freely in the sky while he was forced to carry her.
On the other side, far behind them, the Martial Artist Killer and the Poison Girl finally reached the Lightning Temple. The place was quiet… too quiet. As they looked around, they noticed something left behind.
A glowing object.
"A Thunder Crystal…" the Martial Artist muttered.
The Poison Girl smirked. "How stupid can they be? They left something this important behind."
Without hesitation, she stepped forward and reached out to grab it.
The moment her fingers touched the crystal—
BOOM!
The crystal exploded violently, sending a shockwave across the temple grounds. Smoke filled the air as both of them jumped back.
"…A fake," the Martial Artist said coldly.
The Poison Girl clicked her tongue in irritation. "Pathetic fools… but clever."
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked in the direction the group had gone.
"This time, we have to reach before them," she said seriously. "Near the Weapon Temple… that girl is the strongest among all of them."
A dangerous smile slowly appeared on her face.
"If we capture her… the rest will automatically fall under our control."
The wind blew again through the empty temple as the two of them disappeared into the distance—
—and the chase continued. 🔥