Chapter 169: Race To Marvello

Reinhard walked toward the surviving vehicle. "Very serious."

Emily followed him, glancing at the battered garage and the remains of the mansion behind them. "We’re driving?"

"Unless you know another way to cross a city."

Lily looked toward the destroyed teleportation array, its crystals scattered across the ground. "You have spatial abilities. Can’t you just teleport us?"

Reinhard stopped beside the driver’s door. "Not the entire family over that distance while dealing with whatever is happening in Marvello. We don’t know how much spatial interference the Singularity is creating, and I’m not gambling everyone’s lives on a jump we can’t properly calculate."

Maki nodded. "He’s right. If the Singularity is already active, our spatial coordinates could become unstable."

"Exactly."

Reinhard opened the driver’s door but paused to inspect the vehicle.

It was an expensive car designed for high-ranking Awakeners, with a reinforced frame and a Mana engine capable of reaching speeds far beyond ordinary vehicles. Although the explosion had damaged some of its systems, the core remained intact.

Normally, it would have been more than fast enough.

Unfortunately, they didn’t have time for normal.

Reinhard reached into his storage space and pulled out a small, transparent crystal. Maki immediately noticed it. "What is that?"

"Something useful."

He crouched beside the vehicle and pressed the crystal against the Mana engine. It dissolved on contact, releasing Mana that flowed through the engine before branching throughout the frame. Thin lines of light appeared beneath the exterior as damaged Mana channels repaired themselves and new connections formed between the engine, wheels, suspension, steering system, and defensive frame.

The vehicle began to hum.

Lily’s eyes widened as she walked around it. "Since when can this thing do that?"

Reinhard stood and brushed his hands together. "Since I invested in it."

Maki stared at the glowing channels. "You modified a car with a legendary resource?"

"I prefer to call it responsible spending."

"That is not what responsible spending means."

"It is when you’re handsome."

Emily covered her face with one hand. "Please don’t start."

Yuna studied the vehicle with her S-Rank perception. "The Mana flow is completely different."

"It should be." Reinhard opened the driver’s door again. "I’ve improved it."

Lily continued staring. "You made our escape vehicle stronger than most Awakener equipment."

"I prefer transportation with good investment potential."

Maki sighed. "Of course you do."

They quickly climbed inside, with Emily taking the passenger seat while Yuna, Maki, and Lily settled into the back.

For a moment, nobody spoke. Behind them stood what remained of their home, the place where they had eaten, trained, argued, and laughed together. After everything they had endured, they had finally begun experiencing something resembling peace. Now half the mansion was buried beneath rubble, and the rest would probably need to be rebuilt from the ground up.

Emily looked through the window, her expression softening as she stared at the ruins. Reinhard noticed and reached over to take her hand. "We’ll rebuild it."

Emily gave him a small smile. "I know."

He squeezed her hand before returning his attention to the road.

Then he started the engine.

The vehicle roared to life, sending a deep vibration through the frame as the enhanced Mana engine awakened. Reinhard’s eyebrows lifted slightly. "That sounds expensive."

Lily leaned forward from the back seat. "You’re the one who upgraded it."

"I know." He smiled. "That’s why I’m enjoying it."

The vehicle shot forward.

Lily was pushed against her seat while Emily grabbed the side of hers as they tore out of the ruined garage and onto the road.

Maki immediately checked the speedometer. "Reinhard."

"Yes?"

"You’re already going too fast."

"We’re going to Marvello."

"That isn’t an answer."

"It’s the only one you’re getting."

The scenery outside blurred as the vehicle accelerated far beyond its original limits. Its enhanced Mana systems continuously adjusted to turns, uneven surfaces, debris, and sudden changes in terrain.

At the same time, Reinhard spread his Enhanced Emperor’s Insight across the road ahead. His expanded perception detected vehicles, obstacles, Mana fluctuations, broken barriers, collapsed structures, and even small pieces of debris before they became a problem.

His hands barely moved against the steering wheel. Each adjustment was precise, and the vehicle responded almost immediately.

Yuna glanced at the road outside. "We’re already moving faster than most S-Rank transportation."

Reinhard smiled. "I told you it was a good investment."

Maki looked toward him. "How long?"

He calculated the remaining distance without taking his eyes off the road. "Less than half the normal travel time."

Lily blinked. "That’s with this road?"

"That’s with everything."

The vehicle accelerated again.

"Hold on," Reinhard warned.

Lily grabbed the seat. "Why did you say that after accelerating?"

"Because I wanted you to have time to prepare."

"That doesn’t help!"

Emily laughed despite herself, and Reinhard glanced at her with a grin. "See? We’re already having fun."

"We’re racing toward a city that’s being destroyed."

"Exactly."

Emily shook her head, though a small smile remained on her face. "You’re impossible."

"I’ve been told."

They continued toward Marvello, but the road remained strangely quiet for several minutes. Their communication network was still down, and the farther they traveled from Astral Heights, the more uncertain the situation became.

Then Reinhard’s expression changed.

A flash appeared on the distant horizon.

Emily looked up. "What was that?"

Another flash followed, then another. The explosions were too far away to hear clearly, but their light was impossible to miss.

Maki pulled out her communication device. "I’m checking the emergency channels."

Static answered her. She switched frequencies and tried again, but nothing came through.

Yuna checked her own device. "Mine isn’t receiving anything either."

"Try the Association," Reinhard instructed.

Maki did. For several seconds, there was only static before a broken voice suddenly emerged.

"—Marvello emergency response—"

The transmission disappeared.

Maki tried again. "Repeat that."

Nothing.

A second transmission broke through moments later. "—multiple explosions across the eastern district—civilian evacuation—"

Static swallowed the rest, followed by another fragment. "—security forces requesting—"

The signal died.

Lily’s expression lost its usual brightness. "They’re already losing control."

Another explosion illuminated the horizon, significantly larger than the others. Emily stared ahead, her hands tightening together.

Reinhard noticed and reached over to take her hand. "We’re going to get there."

Emily nodded. "I know." She held his hand tightly before speaking again. "But this is another city. Another disaster."

Reinhard understood what she was remembering. She had already lived through the Black Moon once. She had watched a city descend into chaos and witnessed people suffering before eventually awakening to find her Gnosis shattered and her body broken.

Now she was watching the same nightmare begin again, except this time she was approaching it from outside the city, with her family beside her.

Reinhard squeezed her hand. "You’re not trapped this time."

Emily looked at him.

"You’re here," he continued. "And so are they." He nodded toward the back seat. "Your family is here."

Lily leaned forward. "And we’re going to save everyone."

Maki looked toward the distant horizon. "We just need to reach the city first."

Yuna’s voice remained calm. "We will."

Emily looked at each of them before nodding. "Yes."

The vehicle continued racing forward, but the road ahead gradually became more chaotic as traffic abandoned the highway. Some vehicles had stopped in the middle of the road, while others had crashed into barriers or been left behind entirely.

Reinhard weaved between them without slowing. When a collapsed sign suddenly fell across the road, he distorted space and shifted it several meters aside before it could strike the vehicle.

Lily stared at him. "You didn’t even slow down."

"I was busy."

"With what?"

"Driving."

Maki glanced toward him. "You’re enjoying this."

"I’m enjoying being useful."

"That is not the same thing."

"It is for me."

Another transmission broke through the static, clearer than the previous ones.

"Marvello emergency alert. All civilians are instructed to remain indoors. Repeat, remain indoors. Multiple incidents have been reported across—"

Screaming erupted in the background, and the transmission cut out.

A second channel activated almost immediately. "Security Unit Seven requesting reinforcements. We have hostile civilians attacking—"

Static swallowed the message. Another fragment followed, reporting Awakeners engaging across several districts, before the channel went silent.

The family fell quiet as explosions became more frequent. One illuminated the horizon, followed by several more in quick succession. An entire section of the distant skyline flashed orange.

Lily swallowed. "How many bombs did they place?"

Maki answered quietly. "Enough."

Reinhard’s expression hardened. "They’re using the festival crowds exactly as planned."

The Lights Festival was still underway. Thousands of people had gathered throughout Marvello for three days of celebrations, filling public squares, transportation routes, and gathering points. The crowds that should have made the festival exciting had instead created precisely the conditions Baal needed.

The city had become a laboratory, and the people inside it had become the experiment.

Emily’s expression turned cold. "They’re doing it again."

Reinhard nodded. "They’re trying."

A faint glow appeared above Marvello. It was barely visible at first, but it grew stronger as they approached. The clouds above the city were moving strangely, rotating around an invisible center rather than following the wind.

Maki noticed it too. "Is that the Singularity?"

"Not yet."

Reinhard focused his perception on the sky. A concentration of Space Mana was gathering above the city, twisting around an invisible point as the surrounding space began to distort.

The first stage had already begun. The suffering was feeding the conditions, and the Singularity was gathering.

Yuna looked toward the distant city. "How long?"

Reinhard narrowed his eyes. "I don’t know."

The answer made everyone uncomfortable. A moment later, he looked back at the road.

"Actually, less than I’d like."

The vehicle surged forward again.

Lily grabbed the seat. "Reinhard! You just accelerated again!"

"What?"

"Why do you keep doing that?"

"We’re closer now."

"That doesn’t explain anything!"

"It’s enough for me."

Emily laughed softly, and even Maki’s lips twitched. For a brief moment, the tension eased, but another explosion quickly swallowed the amusement.

The horizon became a wall of orange light.

Marvello was burning.

Reinhard’s smile disappeared. "We’re almost there."

The closer they came, the worse the destruction became. Buildings burned along the streets, emergency vehicles had been abandoned, and Mana barriers had collapsed. People fled the city while others rushed toward it, searching for their families or trying to help the injured.

Above them, the clouds twisted tighter, and the moon shone through the shifting darkness.

Something about it felt wrong.

Emily stared at it, her breathing slowing. Reinhard noticed and reached over to take her hand again, holding it firmly.

"I remember seeing something like this," she said.

"I know."

"But it feels different."

"Because it is." Reinhard glanced at her. "Last time, you were alone."

Emily looked at him. "This time?"

He smiled. "This time, they have to deal with all of us."

Lily leaned between the seats. "Exactly!"

Maki gently pushed her back down. "Sit down before you fall."

"I wasn’t going to fall."

"You nearly fell twice."

"Those were strategic movements."

Reinhard laughed, and Emily smiled as well. The fear hadn’t disappeared, but it no longer controlled her.

The vehicle crossed the final stretch of highway, and Marvello finally came into full view.

The entire city was burning. Districts glowed beneath the night sky while smoke rose between buildings. Emergency lights flashed through streets packed with fleeing civilians, Mana explosions erupted between towers, and distant screams carried through the night.

Emily stared through the windshield, her expression slowly changing. She had seen this before: another city, another disaster, another Black Moon.

But this time, she wasn’t trapped inside it.

Reinhard took her hand. "We’re going to get there."

"I know." Her fingers tightened around his. "This time, I’m not alone."

"You’ve got all of us."

Lily leaned forward from the back seat. "And we’re going to beat the people who did this."

Maki nodded. "First, we stop the Black Moon."

Yuna looked toward the burning city. "Then we deal with whoever survives."

Reinhard laughed softly. "That sounds like a plan."

Another explosion tore through the eastern district, illuminating the entire horizon.

A notification appeared before Reinhard.

[Investment Opportunity Detected.]

[Target: Emily Ashcroft.]

[Current Rank: A.]

[Current Value: A+.]

[Objective: Reach the area where the Black Moon Originates From.]

[Difficulty Grade: A.]

[Success Probability: 20%.]

Reinhard read the notification once before returning his attention to the road.

Twenty percent.

Under normal circumstances, that would have been an unpleasant number. But his home had just been destroyed, his family was sitting behind him, Emily was beside him, and thousands of people were trapped inside a burning city.

Reinhard smiled.

"Twenty percent?"

Emily glanced at him. "What is it?"

"Nothing." He pressed the accelerator harder. "Just another reason to hurry."

The vehicle surged forward as the remaining distance disappeared beneath them. Reinhard’s enhanced perception finally reached the center of Marvello, where something was gathering.

Space was beginning to bend. Mana twisted around an invisible point, slowly forming a structure that made even his S-Rank senses uncomfortable.

Maki noticed his expression. "What do you see?"

Reinhard didn’t answer immediately. He stared at the sky, where the clouds above Marvello had formed a gigantic spiral.

At its center, the darkness was deeper than the night surrounding it, with the moon hanging behind the strange formation.

Something was beginning to form around the moon.

Emily’s face paled. "Reinhard..."

"I see it."

The darkness shifted, and for a brief moment, an enormous black circle appeared behind the moon before disappearing again.

Reinhard tightened his grip on the steering wheel.

"It’s starting."

The car raced toward Marvello as the family prepared for what awaited them. Above the burning city, the sky continued to change.