Once the suction force ended, the massive Dobhar-chu didn’t move. It sat there with its big ball-like head tilted sideways, exposing the slit of its mouth filled with jagged teeth. The fur on its body kept rippling like the sea during a storm.

*You should run.* Zoe said, sounding a little panicked as even her mental voice cracked a little.

“What’s happening?” Crow asked, preparing himself mentally for what came next. He was positive he couldn’t fight that thing but had enough confidence to escape it.

*The Scath it devoured is corrupting it. While they—the Scath—have physical bodies, they are animated with a corrupted Dark Mana that I don’t completely understand. Had the Scath been dead, that animated power would have dissipated. It devoured living Scath and not a few. I’m certain it’s turning into one of them.*

“How is that possible? I thought it needed the bloodline of—oh. I should probably keep running.”

*Yeah. You should do that.* Zoe replied sarcastically.

Crow fled, and shortly after, the monster followed.

While he was conversing, the beast transformed and was no longer an otter-like existence. Crow was too afraid to glance back but had to see what a giant Scath looked like. Its appearance caused him to shudder in abject terror. He knew what he was looking at with one glance but doubted his eyes.

“That’s not fucking real,” he muttered and increased his speed. “Not fucking real. Not fucking real.”

Crow barely paid attention to the caverns he was passing through. It didn’t matter if there were beasts or Scath in his way. He either went by them without a glance or killed the ones that approached. The thing is, few approached him because they also fled from the monstrosity chasing him.

“Lily, please tell me that isn’t what I think it is?”

The little fae had tears in her eyes as she flew before him. She pointed at it and nodded.

*Crow? What is happening?*

“Tuatha De Danann was founded upon war, like most nations,” Crow began as he organized his thoughts. While doing that, he also split his Mind so he could focus on running, reviewing the map, and telling the story. “Most of what happened back then between us and the Firbolg is subjective. However, one thing remains true no matter which history text you find—both battled over secret realms to escape a truly terrifying enemy. Not just our people but every pantheon in existence was involved. A unified front of all intelligent beings destroyed anyone that aided those monsters. There was a final war called Cath Maige Tuired—technically, there were two wars. During the second battle, the king of Tuatha De Danann brought down their king. It wasn’t an honorable kill, but achieved through poison.”

*Are you referring to the… Fomoiri?*

“Yes. That thing chasing me is a Fomoire. Tuatha De Danann, the Firbolg, and probably other races were once Fomoiri. A sinister and ambitious god came to power, taking control of everything. Now that I understand what is happening, I’d even call that corrupt god the originator of all Rootless and Daemons. Darkness and corruption twisted many before forces like Tuatha broke away from their control.”

*Are you saying that Caorthannach is a Fomoire? It was her blood that created that thing, right?* Mara asked.

“It would seem that way, but I doubt she is a true Fomoiri. I’m guessing something corrupted her like her children, and the thing behind us is more like the Fomoiri described in ancient texts.”

The conversation ended after that, and Crow concentrated on escaping. He took the narrowest passages and tried to keep his end goal in mind as he mentally reevaluated and adjusted his path again and again.

All those steps would have been enough to escape a regular monster, but the thing behind him had a collapsible skeleton. Crow could only increase the distance between the two because it had to reshape itself. His frustration was growing because no matter what he did, he couldn’t shake that thing. He didn’t even know why it was relentlessly chasing him.

He didn’t know what kind of supernatural powers it had. However, even without normal senses like sight, smelling, and hearing, it still tracked him. Crow narrowed it down to the strange ability of the fur the Fomoire gained from the Dobhar-chu or its sense of taste.

Although the giant behind him was three or four meters tall, its narrow body, sleek fur, and long, thin limbs gave it extra agility that was frightening. More than once, it forced Crow to dodge as it reached for him. It also kept that ball-like head with its creepy, vicious smile. Even its whistling sound came out like sinister laughter.

After two days of running, Crow was feeling strained from the stress. That monster behind him was relentless, so he devised a plan. It wasn’t necessarily a trap, but it might help him escape for good.

The problem is he had to deviate from his route toward the Stairs of Ascension. Not only that, he had to find a suitable place to use the last of his mana in one go to ensure success. Even the reserve energy he kept in his opened chakras was impacted. Since he couldn’t get a lucky break, he’d make one. It just required him to run for a little longer.

Hours ticked by until he heard it. The endless wailing from the Canyon of the Merciless Sword. It was so vast and deep that not even the monster chasing him should be able to cross. Without hesitation, he reached the edge and bent his knees before hopping over the ledge and transforming into the Silver-Eyed Crow. His wings shot out, catching air as he glided across the chasm. Flapping his wings, he rose above the turbulent darkness below him.

Coorororee!

The sound the thing made differed from before and carried a threat that caused his heart to beat faster. Crow knew the thing was trying to use a Soul attack against him. Between the monster’s whistling sound and the wailing of the lamenting spirits below, he could barely focus.

“Lily, find me a place to land before I lose consciousness.”

Worried, the little fae flew off and returned a few seconds later. Lily glided in front of his eyes and pointed. The canyon wall ahead of him was massive and daunting, but he could see the fae pointing at a spot on the wall, not above it. Crow did the only thing he could with his remaining strength—dove at it. As the Silver-Eyed Crow, this allowed his speed to reach unprecedented levels.

The Soul attack forced him to expend more energy to contend against it. Already his depleted mana was essentially in the red. Too many days running and fighting.

Unable to maintain his form, he returned to his human form but was still a hundred meters from the cave. Strangely, he wasn’t plummeting to his death but still drifting forward like a gliding bird. That was the last thing he recalled before passing out from exhaustion.

Lily grabbed his shirt and pulled him toward the opening, but she knew what had happened, unlike Crow. He instinctively initiated the Hop ability from Ghost Steps when he jumped into the canyon. It had the side effect of levitating his body during the fall after using it.

Either way, it saved Crow’s life, and when he finally landed on the cave’s ground, it dispersed. Shortly after, Acco arrived with Mara and Song Xue; both scouted the cave and tended to Crow.