The still air of the forest shattered again with another scream—raw, echoing, and far too close. Every team still in motion stiffened. The urgency that already pushed them forward now ignited into something more frantic, more primal.
"We need to move faster," Michael said, breath quickening as he darted around a thick tree trunk.
Torren kept pace beside him. "If he screamed like that again, something's seriously wrong."
Michael clenched his jaw. "We can't afford to be too late."
A few dozen meters away, Ralph and Rob heard it too. Ralph threw a glance over his shoulder.
"That's the second one," he said, tone grim. "He's either still alive or it's someone else."
Rob didn't respond, just increased his pace. Ralph followed with a grunt. "Let's go. We're wasting time."
In the distance, other teams responded to the call as well.
Felix dashed ahead, barely dodging a low-hanging branch. "Another scream?" he asked, tone sharp.
Elaira's eyes narrowed. "Sounds like it. Come on!"
Erdan and Akatsuki picked up their already brisk pace.
"He's not done yet," Erdan said.
Akatsuki nodded. "Then neither are we."
Even Katsu, usually composed, pushed harder through the undergrowth, his face unchanging but steps faster.
Renald ran beside him, arms pumping. "If we get there first, we take the sphere and handle whatever's causing this."
"No hesitation," Katsu replied simply.
As each team rushed onward, united by urgency, a different presence moved at a more measured pace.
The elder walked quietly through the forest, cloak brushing the grass and undergrowth as he followed a path known only to him. His eyes were sharp now, his hand resting loosely at his side.
"Unexpected guests…" he murmured. "How fortunate. If they've come to interfere, then they'll learn what it means to challenge fate. Still—this could become dangerous."
His eyes flickered with resolve.
"I must intervene. Before this test becomes a massacre."
He continued on, guided by a power older than any scream that tore through the air.
The clearing that once held the hidden sphere was now quiet, the scorched earth beneath the twisted roots still smoking faintly. Not far from the blackened soil lay Zigrane—motionless, charred, and unconscious.
Two teams arrived nearly simultaneously, breath ragged from running, their eyes wide as they took in the scene.
"What... happened here?" one of them asked, voice hushed.
The second team stepped cautiously closer, glancing between the fallen boy and the faintly glowing sphere. No one moved to touch it just yet.
"We found it," one said.
"No," replied another. "We found it."
Tension immediately thickened between the groups.
Then a third presence arrived.
The man in the hooded cloak—Billy's companion—emerged from the tree line, his expression unreadable beneath the shadow of his hood.
The teams turned sharply at the sound of his approach.
"Who are you?" one of the participants demanded.
No response.
The figure didn't speak, didn't raise a hand. But his presence alone felt oppressive. A silent warning.
"Back off," someone muttered. "He's dangerous."
The man stepped forward.
Tension exploded into action as the two teams moved in unison, unsure whether to attack or defend—but instinct demanded they do something.
The hooded man did not draw a weapon, nor cast a spell. He simply moved—and with terrifying precision.
Every strike he delivered was deliberate, aimed not to kill but to overwhelm. He was fast. Too fast. And the two teams quickly found themselves completely outmatched.
"Dammit! Fall back!" one voice shouted, but it was already too late. They were in the storm now—and it had only just begun.
The chaos intensified as the clash roared through the clearing. Just as the two overwhelmed teams began to falter, a third group burst onto the scene.
Renald and Katsu.
They came just in time to see the cloaked man hurl one of the defenders to the ground with a brutal sweep of his leg. The sheer force of the motion sent dust and leaves spiraling through the air.
Renald's eyes narrowed. "What the hell is going on here?"
Katsu didn't speak. He only moved—stepping forward calmly but decisively, eyes fixed on the cloaked figure.
The attacker finally paused, his head tilting as if evaluating the new arrivals. There was no fear in his stance. Only curiosity.
Renald clenched his fists. "If you're looking for a fight, you just found one."
And with that, he launched himself into the fray.
Katsu followed, not out of rage, but purpose—his steps measured, his breathing controlled. Together, they entered the storm.
The odds were shifting again—but whether for better or worse remained to be seen.