Chapter 96: Something Bad Happens

My body temperature spiked rapidly, burning away the poison and restoring some mobility.
But the relentless heat was almost unbearable.
Thankfully, the blood-boiling sensation faded soon enough, sparing me from too much discomfort.

Katherine carried me on her back as she and Carter’s group sprinted, trying to escape the dark elves’ pursuit.
In that moment, I had a brief chance to process what had just happened to me.

That feeling… it definitely wasn’t from my Phoenix bloodline.
After a quick thought, I pushed aside further speculation about this new ability.
Casting five fireball spells in a burst had drained my mental energy completely.

My hard-won focus blurred again, and I lacked the strength to even grab a recovery potion.
Katherine, focused on running, didn’t think to offer one either.

The sounds of the dark elves’ pursuit echoed behind us—they weren’t about to let us go.
This group was different from the ones we’d faced before.
They were battle-hardened elites.
Even without their golden-rank leader, the rest were still a pack of dangerous lunatics.

I had no strength left.
My remaining mental energy could maybe manage one more fireball, and physically… I doubted I could even run on my own now.

But then, something strange happened.
The sounds of the dark elves chasing us gradually faded, as if we were pulling away from them.
It felt… odd.

Logically, dark elves shouldn’t be much slower than the noble squad.
After the damage I’d dealt with my fireballs, that dark elf leader clearly wanted to tear me apart.
There was no way they’d give up the chase so easily.

The only explanation… they’d found a new target, or something else happened during their pursuit, forcing them to abandon us.
It should be a good thing that they stopped chasing, but why did I still feel such intense unease?

I couldn’t help but think, as Carter and the others ran several kilometers before noticing the silence behind us.
They slowed to a stop.

“…Did we lose them?”
Carter glanced back, speaking to himself with lingering fear.

“It seems so.” Nico swallowed hard. “I don’t know why… but they’re not chasing us anymore.”
“Phew… Thanks to Mengmeng’s five fireballs, or we wouldn’t have escaped so easily.”

Katherine exhaled, gently setting me down.
I didn’t know how to respond—after all, my injury had delayed the squad, leading to this mess.

“Mengmeng, you okay?”
Nico hurried over, her face full of concern as she checked on me.

“…Should be fine.”
Leaning against a tree, I let out a heavy breath and replied.
Katherine took the chance to re-bandage my shoulder wound.

Thankfully, I’d had the foresight to wear armor.
Otherwise, that arrow might’ve lodged in my bone, which would’ve been a real problem.
As it was, it only tore some flesh.

Most importantly… my egg babies were unharmed.
Feeling them safe in my backpack, I sighed in relief.

But just as I wondered if we’d truly escaped, a deep chill descended on us all.
A blonde woman with crimson eyes appeared silently before us.

The moment she appeared, I knew we were in serious trouble.
This woman… was far more dangerous than anything we’d faced—a crushing threat to the entire noble squad!