Chapter 719 Reunion

Of course, Maya hadn’t forgotten how the last adventure had almost gone terribly wrong after they walked straight into Kali’s farm, but that was no reason to suddenly be afraid of everything.

There was no reason for them to suddenly dread flames like burnt children.

Kali was about to head out. It was then that Elion noticed movement across the rift.

"Hmmm?"

He initially thought it was another trick of the drifting mana.

The opposite bank had been wavering behind its translucent folds ever since they arrived, making it difficult to distinguish smaller details without focusing.

But there it was again: Someone was waving at them.

Elion narrowed his eyes, using an ability and looking through a thinner stretch of the rising curtain.

Several figures stood on the far bank, gathered a short distance from the edge, and the more clearly he saw them, the stranger his expression became.

He spotted a familiar head of purple hair.

Princess Isla stood near the front, one arm raised as she waved toward them. Beside her was the veiled figure of Holy Daughter Solara, with Althea and the other attendants standing nearby.

There were more people with them than Elion remembered. A few unfamiliar figures occupied the ground behind the two women, though he barely spared them a glance.

’The fuck are they doing here?’ he wondered. ’I thought they were heading east.’

Had they followed them after they parted ways? That was the only reasonable explanation that he could think of.

Elion raised a hand in return, though the unexpected sight of the princess and the holy daughter did little to lessen his confusion.

Whatever had brought them here, it seemed they would have to cross before he could ask about it.

"Friends of yours?" Rina asked, following his gaze.

"You could say that." He turned toward Kali, who had also noticed the people waiting on the opposite bank. "Let’s get everyone across first."

Fortunately, the curtain of mana proved far less troublesome than its appearance suggested. Elion sent a small stone through it, watching as it passed between the drifting folds without meeting any resistance.

Nothing struck it or dragged it downward, and when he cautiously extended his hand into a wisp curling over the bank, all he felt was a pleasant warmth spreading beneath his skin.

His brows rose.

’Oh?’

The mana was exceptionally pure. Even without making a conscious effort to absorb it, he could feel his core responding, drawing in the energy that brushed against him.

For a moment, he left his hand where it was, watching the faint light gather around his fingers. Then Maya cleared her throat behind him, reminding him that several people were waiting to cross an abyss.

"Right," he muttered, withdrawing his hand. "One thing at a time."

Kali took charge of most of the group. Thin strands of silk slipped from her fingers, spreading into a broad web that she anchored between several thicker lengths. Under her control, it rose from the ground, forming something resembling a shallow basket.

Rina eyed it uncertainly.

"You want us to stand on that?"

"It will hold," Kali replied. "Unless you would prefer to jump."

Elion chuckled at the look on Rina’s face before stepping forward to help Eva onto the woven surface.

Cole followed her, testing his footing before making room for the others. Maya approached considerably more reluctantly, and Elion offered her a reassuring smile.

"This should be more comfortable than last time."

"That isn’t difficult," she replied, giving his back a pointed look.

He decided against reminding her that he hadn’t been the one who let go.

Once everyone was settled, Kali drifted upward, drawing the silk basket into the air beneath her.

A few startled sounds came from its occupants, but the web barely swayed as she guided it away from the bank.

Elion waited until they were clear before turning toward Mira and Isolde.

"Your turn."

Mira stepped into his reach, while Isolde glanced once toward the depths before moving closer.

He secured an arm around each of them and let his wings unfold, their powerful beat scattering dust across the stone as he lifted them from the ground.

The curtain swallowed them a moment later.

Elion drew in a sharp breath.

From outside, the mana had looked like smoke, but within it, everything was filled with a soft, shifting radiance.

Pale streams curled around his wings and slipped across his bodysuit, their warmth sinking through him with every passing moment.

His core greedily absorbed the surrounding energy.

The sensation was so invigorating that he instinctively slowed his flight, allowing another sweep of his wings to hold them within the luminous folds.

The weariness lingering from the previous day seemed to fade away slowly, and he could feel his mana replenishing far faster than it ordinarily would.

’Damn. That feels so good...’

The sensation was second only to the blissful sensation of ejaculating.

He was almost tempted to stop altogether and simply bathe in its brilliance. Better yet, he wanted to follow that rising warmth downward, straight toward wherever it was coming from.

"Elion?"

Mira’s voice drew his attention, and he looked down to find her watching the light curling around her hand.

"Can you feel it too?" he asked.

She nodded, her expression brightening. On his other side, Isolde had closed her eyes briefly, concentrating on the mana entering her body.

Elion looked around them again, finding it increasingly difficult to leave.

’If I stayed here for a day, I might actually advance a few levels.’

And if he could benefit so greatly, then surely Mira, Tessa, and Isolde could do the same.

They had spent weeks struggling through the desert, fighting for every little improvement, while an opportunity like this had been waiting almost within reach.

His grip tightened slightly around the pair as he resumed flying.

Whatever doubts he had held about investigating the rift were rapidly losing their hold on him. Now, more than ever, he wanted to find the source of all this mana.

They emerged from the curtain a few moments later, the warmth fading as the ordinary air met his face. Kali had already lowered the others onto solid ground, and several of them were looking back toward the drifting brilliance with expressions much like his own.

Elion landed beside them, helping Mira and Isolde find their footing before folding his wings away.

"Well," Princess Isla said, approaching with a pleasant smile, her eyes looking away from his faded wings with a silent question, "it seems we weren’t apart for very long after all."

Elion returned her smile and gave a small bow.

"Clearly, you missed me so much that fate decided to bring us together again." A laugh escaped her, while Maya sighed somewhere behind him.

"I see you’re doing well," Solara remarked, her familiar veil stirring in the breeze.

"Considerably better now that I’m in such lovely company," he replied. "It’s good to see you again, Solara."

"And you, Elion."

The others approached to exchange greetings, and Elion’s gaze drifted toward the blonde paladin standing beside the holy daughter.

Althea had been watching him intently, though the moment he gave her a bright smile, she harrumphed and turned her face aside.

His smile widened.

’We have ourselves a tsundere,’ he thought with an inward laugh.