Rydel looked up, watching at his precious ally. He willed the Moon his usual request and transformed after three minutes. They didn’t have much time, so he let the moonlight rush inside him in great quantities. If there was something positive about constantly getting in pain was that he had become used to it. Something snapped inside him. “I’m ready.” Pyria-Rex didn’t lose more time, Rydel was brought atop their back before rushing into the battle direction. The rest of the village was escaping in the opposite direction, three of the elders led them deeper into the forest. Meanwhile, Elder Aubron went into hiding to prepare the activation of the long-range communication talisman. The distance between the coast and Osserion, the capital, was so vast that they needed to prepare a complex formation for their message to be sent. Rydel appreciated the absurd speed that they were traveling as their surroundings changed with every blink. They’d reach their destination in almost no time even if they previously were hundreds of kilometers away. He took precautions and summoned his wings, that way he’d have more mobility. He was betting on being far enough so that the Serpent’s attacks wouldn’t hurt him, but anything could happen. They soon caught up with the ongoing battle. The Serpent was enveloped in golden fire, the air crackled with heat and dryness. Rydel felt suffocated, each breath hurt his lungs burning his insides. The Serpent breathed out an ocean of golden flames that were repelled by the majestic Lighting God, his fading form radiated a noble aura filled with power. Rydel’s spirit trembled, he was like a leaf about to be blown by the wind. The quality and quantity of the energy present overwhelmed him so much that just staying there was enough to kill him. Thankfully, Pyria-Rex was protecting him with a flower bracelet that it gave him just before departing. Rydel glared at the Serpent before it could do any more devastation. The Serpent also took that moment to examine the new arrivals. Rydel activated the Gate of Lunacy. He saw something different behind the eyes of the former Priest. No matter the being, lunacy always manifested as a red cloud ending in many tentacles trying to infest its curse. The Serpent was different, his lunacy had the form of two golden interconnected wheels with many eyes in an orderly row. They were in absolute silence, but Rydel somehow understood that they were singing incompressible hymns of praise. Rydel’s instincts told him to back off immediately but despaired when he couldn’t control the urge to pull them off. The two wheels left the Serpent in a golden beam aimed at the sky, Rydel being the only one able to watch this procedure. All his hair stood on end, a feeling of wrongness invaded his chest. It disappeared as soon as it came, almost getting Rydel into believing that he was just imagining things. Almost. He didn’t have time to worry about what just happened when devastating blood-lust and rage crushed his mind. The hit swatted Rydel out of the wolf, and he barely countered the force by rapidly flapping his wings. He had a huge headache, along with tears of blood tainting his face. Pyria-Rex was fast to react and the bracelet immediately shone in a gentle green color. The pressure on his head abated, pushed away into a corner of his mind. The enraged Serpent ignored the Lighting God, and focused on his most hated enemies, Rydel and the wolf. “RUN.” Pyria-Rex didn’t have to be convinced, they dashed into their only possible escape route, the ocean. The forest was still filled with elves running away, and their allies were on the coast. The Serpent’s three wings melted, the flesh poured onto his body until they became two rings, they sparkled in a bloody-golden light. He propelled himself, increasing his speed beyond what he was capable of before. Pyria-Rex summoned a forest behind them to impede the way of the Serpent. They gained precious moments as the maddened beast bulldozed through every obstacle, just smashing anything that was on his way. However, the Serpent was relentless, it was slowly encroaching them. The allied elves didn’t miss this opportunity and started throwing devastating attacks, the Lighting God’s lance rumbled with each thrust. The Serpent didn’t care about the wounds that were being inflicted on him, nor his blood that flowed like rivers. He only had eyes for the two figures that had already reached the ocean. The Serpent was upon them, the initial burst of speed was too much. He opened his maw and bit them. Pyria-Rex howled in pain when one of his legs disappeared. Even in his maddened state, the Serpent relished, his forked tongue hissing in approval. Rydel had evaded the bite by the narrowest of margins. Hate threatened to consume his weakened mind, not just for almost dying. He was responsible for Rex becoming a cripple, it was his plan all along. “Only a little more.” Rydel desperately grabbed the green fur of the wolf. His pitch-black eyes carved this moment into his soul. The elves relentlessly attacked the Serpent, he was on his limits after enduring so much abuse. He didn’t care, his purpose hasn’t changed a bit. The Serpent bit again, consuming the other hind leg of the wolf. When he was about to bite into Rydel, it hesitated and pulled back instinctively. Pyria-Rex was silent this time, they used any scrap of energy to escape. Finally, the Serpent succumbed to his injuries, and the corpse fell into the water. The surface of the water stood still, but the elves didn’t move an inch from their position. They saw how the corpse kept falling into the depths until an enormous shadow devoured it whole, before disappearing again. Only after five minutes had passed without further movements, did the elves move away. They launched on the coast and took out their healing pills. Pyria separated from Rex, she was exhausted but didn’t have any injuries. “You did well.” Pyria whispered while gently stroking Rex’s fur. Rex softly whined, crushing Pyria’s heart and making her sob. Rex’s injuries were too grave for him to heal, he only had two stumps where his previously hind legs were. He awkwardly tried to stand on his own, putting a brave front, before falling to the ground. “It’s fine, everything is going to be fine.” “Come here, they need time alone.” Galather guided him to the side, next to Allyna. Rydel nodded. He was devastated inside, he knew that everyone else could have died if he didn’t try using his Gate of Lunacy, one of them losing two limbs was a small price for their winning. But this line of reasoning didn’t help with his guilt. “Little guy, how are you feeling?.” Allyna asked him. “I’m tired, but otherwise I’m fine.” Rydel wryly said. “I’m not talking about that. Look, I know that face, I’ve seen it a million times. You think that you did something wrong and feel remorse about it.” Rydel was uncomfortable and didn’t respond. “You think that maybe if you were stronger it wouldn’t have happened, or any nonsense like that. It’s true, but also wrong at the same time.” “How is that?” He said with confusion. “Because if you had been a D-grade powerhouse, we could have won against the Priest with two additional helpers. But it’s also wrong to think that power is the go-to solution.” Allyna paused a bit. “There is always going to be someone stronger than you, and the solution will always be to become stronger until nothing can stop you. The more powerful you are, the more powerful your opponents would be.” “Power is not always the solution either. The number one rule for a cultivator is to never look back, to not let your devil hearts consume your resolve.” Galather added. “I don’t understand. If I was the strongest I’d set the rules, nobody would dare to go against me.” Rydel retorted. “The Emperor is already the strongest. Do you think that he doesn’t have any problems? He isn’t a tyrant, he can’t do whatever he wants. Moreover, even if he were a tyrant, someone would eventually ascend into power under his all-consuming pressure to snatch his throne.” Allyna said. “What’s the solution then?” Rydel wearily said. “Unfortunately, there isn’t any medicine for regret.” Allyna had the hint of a smile. “However, always doing your best is the best solution to not feel any remorse. Be it becoming the best strategist, the strongest, the wisest, or grooming a devastating next generation of soldiers in your village. Whatever path you choose to protect those that you hold dear is going to free your heart of worries.” “You cannot forsake your dreams for other people either.” Galather said. “People have boundless desires and an ambition that normally does not match it. Sometimes, it is better to let go of what does not make you happy.” “Now you are just lecturing me!” Rydel grumbled but felt a little better inside. Galather and Lady Allyna were trying to cheer him up. They could have decided to rest and just let him alone, but they saw that his state of mind wasn’t in a good state. “Thank you for your words.” Rydel moved away to reflect on everything that has happened. Besides, the pair was pale from overdrawing their energy reserves. It was the same for the other pair of the Imperial Family too. Rydel inspected his body to no avail. He was sure that the wheels had left some kind of mark on him, there is no way that the Serpent would have hesitated to kill him before otherwise. Alas, he didn’t see anything, his soul space was unperturbed either. The powerhouses wouldn’t be of much help either, even though their spirits are way superior to him, it’s difficult to peer inside the bodies of others. Their spirit would collide with his own spirituality, making the vision muddied. He was worried, but there wasn’t anything that he could do. He had the suspicion that the wheels were there because of the so-called Caretaker, supposedly an actual God. If his problem was caused by a God, then he might as well quietly accept his death and flip him over before dying. He had an even worse impression of humanity after witnessing the priest. Even then, he wouldn’t judge them yet, Priest Caden was obviously crazy. Rydel went to the ship where the humans took refuge. It had a barrier that protected it from the battle above, the formation that powered it had to be really expensive to be able to resist the shockwaves of a battle between D-grade beings. He didn’t have any fear of the remaining humans, the civilians were all F-grade beings. Lady Allyna made sure of it with her divine senses. “I’m here to speak with your representative.” Rydel said. He stood there waiting for a response. After a couple of minutes, the barrier rippled and an old man left. “Y-young master, it’s our honor to finally meet you.” The old man said. “Are you acolytes of the Church?” The old man panicked for a second, he looked everywhere to make sure that they were alone. “N-no, we aren’t worthy. We are the Forsaken.” The old man said in a low voice. “The Forsaken?” The old man flinched, before nodding. “I-it’s better if the young master sees it for himself.” Under the curious gaze of Rydel, the old man lifted his shirt, showing a pulsating scar on his belly. “O-our only value was as nutrients for the Life Worms, we decided to rip them off our bodies. We were punished for it.”