The rabbits were still a threat. They covered the entire ground like bees on a honeycomb. The red eyes, shining vaguely, induced anxiety in everyone who saw them.

"They could stack up their bodies to climb up. Did they perhaps try it?" Zephyr asked.

"No, not yet. I am waiting for them to do it. That way, I can burn them down with a single spell."

Aurelia specialized in fire magic. And like all fire mages, she liked playing with fire.

'It's ironic when you think about it—a person who can control fire being burned by it, almost losing her life, then becoming the one called Aurelia of Armageddon. It's such a sad fate. But it makes sense when you know what Ashland is…'

In the game, Ashland was a dangerous place for all mages because of the spell-disrupting volcanic ash covering the entire kingdom. So, this region was generally avoided by mages.

However, Aurelia married the prince of Ashland. Later, she was brought to his homeland. She was supposed to be a queen, but got injured in a political machination.

'One of the most talented mages in the Azure Kingdom, leaving her homeland for love. To a kingdom where mages are constrained. To a land where magic cannot be practiced. To the only land where knights were superior to mages. What the hell was wrong with her head?'

Zephyr couldn't grasp her thoughts.

Was love such a powerful force that it would make her abandon everything that makes her what she is?

Zephyr frowned, thinking about it.

'Love is a chemically altered state of mind… like being drunk or like being high on drugs. Zephyr, you need to think twice about loving someone. Or else, you will end up like her,' he mentally noted, watching the fire mage scanning the ground.

By then, the light had completely disappeared, plunging them once again into darkness.

Turning to look at the flickering flames of the bonfire, Zephyr asked, "Did anyone die?"

"No. We saved all the villagers in time. They are stranded on the elevated stone platform like us."

"Food and water?"

"Already prepared."

"That's good."

The situation was not any better… or worse. It was just like before.

"Did you find Tom? Do you know where he went or something?" he asked, walking back to the warmth of the bonfire.

Aurelia followed him.

"No," she said, shaking her head.

"So, we don't know why these rabbits are living under the village, nor why they gained magical berserk powers or anything else for that matter, right?"

"You could say that," Aurelia said, nodding her head.

"Was there no progress at all?"

"That's not true." Aurelia pointed at the forest. "There is more bad news. Do you want to hear it?" she asked, not minding Zephyr's confusion.

"Bad news?" Zephyr squinted his eyes.

"Yes. Bad news."

Her hand was pointing in the general direction of the forest. However, because of the darkness, nothing could be seen there.

"We noticed many larger mana signatures in that direction. They are most probably monsters," she stated.

That was indeed bad news. Although rabbits couldn't harm them while they were standing on a stone platform, the monsters could.

A single swing from a troll could shatter the stone pillars supporting the platform. A bunch of goblins could throw rocks, spears, or use other projectile weapons. In the worst case, they could light a large fire underneath and wait until everyone was cooked.

'We will be cooked.' Zephyr sighed.

He didn't mean 'we' as in the group on this platform. He meant everyone else.

The intermediate mages could save themselves effortlessly. But it would not be the same for the people who couldn't fly.

"What are they? And are they approaching the village?" He inquired about them to assess the danger they posed.

"I don't know," Aurelia admitted, acknowledging her lack of information. "The only thing we know is that the monsters are lingering near the forest."

Zephyr could see her helplessness. She, too, was tired from the entire day of work. After all, flying around the village, saving people, and creating many stone pillars wide enough to accommodate everyone must have cost a lot of mana.

While mana can be recovered, the mental energy spent wouldn't come back that easily. A good night's sleep was necessary.

'By doing stupid shit, I unknowingly became a burden to them.'

Zephyr, drunk on the overwhelming mana, had fallen unconscious. Instead of helping them, he became their weakness.

Zephyr sighed.

He had been alone for too long. The prolonged solitude had taken away his ability to work on a team. He hadn't even thought of what might happen if he fell unconscious.

'I am sure at least one of them had to guard me while the other worked. That means the other person had to work harder.'

Sigh.

He slowly sat near the fire, his expression turning stiff.

'Next time, I need to be more aware of the situation.'

Even though he could blame mana for the illogical decision he made, he didn't do it. He owned up to his mistake to make corrections.

Honestly, it was indeed his fault for testing the mana formation at that time. Therefore, anything that preceded it was his responsibility.

Zephyr tucked away the thought, gazing at Moss, who was standing far away to one side of the platform.

"I remember him saying that a monster wave invaded the land six months ago. Could that have anything to do with what is happening now?"

When Moss was telling them Tom's story, he had mentioned it. Zephyr was trying to connect the dots.

"Everything could be connected," Aurelia agreed.

There were too many suspicious things happening together. There must be a reason for it all.

"Tom, his survival against all odds, the monster wave, unfortunate incidents, berserk rabbits, and now another monster wave. All of it must have something in common." Aurelia rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache brewing.

"Tomorrow morning, we will have to investigate it further," she added.

"Hm…" Zephyr hummed in affirmation.

As the night deepened, the group ate some bread and went to sleep. Though the sounds made by the rabbits were an annoyance, Zephyr and the rest slept peacefully that night. Perhaps the exhaustion was getting to them.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.