The events of the festival and the attack of the Devourers took place one day after the departure of the hero Gregor, the Flying Fist. He was therefore unaware of the situation.
He strikes the enemies in front of him directly in the jaw. Even from a distance, when he throws a punch in a direction, he is launched forward at incredible speed—without any visible impulse or magic, as if drawn toward his target. In reality, he uses his family's magic: Attraction and Repulsion. It was by witnessing him move toward his opponents in this way that he earned his title, turning his power into a striking force bordering on teleportation.
"This is a really dangerous situation… and I didn't bring a Kurix with me… I really messed this up."
He looks at his enemies, all of them strangely identical.
Meanwhile, near the picnic area, Aria faces the woman in front of her. Her mouth is covered in blood, but something feels off. Aria hesitates. Gina and Nix must be protected.
As she draws her weapons, Nix shouts:
"Watch out!"
At that exact moment, the woman attacks Aria in close combat, without using magic. Aria is forced to dodge a flurry of claw strikes and kicks from an extremely agile opponent.
"I don't understand all this attention around you… Why would you be any different from me?"
After saying this, the woman delivers a perfectly placed kick, sending Aria crashing into a tree.
Aria barely has time to recover before masses of flesh-like projectiles rush toward her. She runs to avoid them, but some explode on impact, destroying the nearby tree. The attacks continue relentlessly, and Aria can only keep running, growing more exhausted by the second.
"Calm down… remember Madame Lamia's lessons… don't panic. She's human too, and her magic isn't absolute. Mister Gregor is somewhere in this forest… I have to protect Gina and Nix."
After taking a moment to steady her thoughts, Aria runs deeper into the forest, closely pursued by the fierce woman who seems intent only on devouring her.
In the woods, the flesh projectiles become easier to avoid, some blocked by the trees. This also helps Aria distance herself from the civilians, which is the best choice for now.
Meanwhile, Gina slowly wakes up.
"Nix? Where are we? Was that Aria earlier? We need to warn everyone!"
Suddenly, Nix hugs her tightly, trembling.
"Thank you… you're alive! I was so afraid you wouldn't wake up… Don't worry, I won't let anyone hurt you again, Gina…"
Gina gently strokes Nix's head to calm her down.
Distant explosions echo through the forest, coming from the direction Aria ran toward… and also from Gregor, who is eliminating many enemies, though there are still far too many left.
"These aren't normal human beings… doubles? Clones?"
He recalls something: a family whose magic was tied to the body, once known for a child capable of creating duplicates. That family was banned long ago.
"What is happening here…? If this really is a child of the Kivarro family… then there's a chance she's here… the one who devours children."
End of chapter.