Fiona sat in her chamber at Blue Haven Shelter, her face pale as she tried to reāestablish her connection. The last thing she had seen through her ratās eyes was the black hole tearing open above Turtle Shelter, the winged demon descending, and then... nothing.
She immediately dispatched more rats.
The first wave scurried across the ruins, digging into the scorched earth, clawing through collapsed stone and twisted metal.
"Find them! They must be hiding somewhere..."
They searched for tunnels, hidden chambers, or any trace of survivors who might have fled underground. But the soil was unnaturally hardened, as if compressed by some otherworldly force.
It was too difficult!
Thankfully, her rats werenāt simple either. She could use buff skills to reinforce their strength and have the power to pierce through even diamonds!
Still, even the deepest burrows revealed nothing but silence and ash.
"What in the world? No survivors? Not even corpses? What happened here?"
She couldnāt believe it. She recalled Elandor, the Archmage... That elf should be strong enough to save them, as she had seen how his magic worked.
It was to the point that Elandor could summon a meteor!
She couldnāt accept that this Legendary Elf would be gone without being able to fight back...
"They must be here... I just need to continue searching."
Not giving up, Fiona sent another swarm outward, spreading across the plains and marshes.
At the very least, if they fled, there must be traces of them that she could use as a lead to find them...
Just like that, these rats sniffed for footprints, broken scales, or blood trails... basically anything that might indicate the Dragon Armyās movements or the escape of allied forces.
Still, they only found fragments of shattered weapons, scorched armor, and faint traces of energy that burned into the ground.
But there were no steps leading away, no trails of retreat. It was as if the battlefield had been erased.
For nearly an hour, Fiona directed her rodents tirelessly, combing every corner of the ruins.
The wyvern feathers, naga scales, and dragonkin tracks all ended abruptly at the site of the black hole and some areas around it...
Even the manticoresā claw marks vanished into nothingness. The rats returned with empty jaws... Soon, their whiskers twitched in confusion as they stopped finding any other leads.
Finally, Fiona leaned back, her eyes heavy with dread.
She opened the Clan Chat, her fingers trembling as she typed out the report.
[ Fiona: guys... Turtle Shelterās gone. I donāt even know how to explain it. I was watching through my rats, the Dragon Army was just coming into view, then this huge black hole ripped open in the sky... ]
[ Fiona: After that... A demon came out. Iām sure thatās a demon with wings, horns, the whole thing, Elandor even confirmed it was a demon before my connection cut. After that... silence. When I finally got another batch of rats there, the shelter wasnāt even there anymore. Not destroyed, not burning, just... gone. Like it was swallowed. ]
[ Fiona: I had them dig underground, but I found nothing. Sent others across the plains, checked the marshes, even followed where the dragonkin tracks shouldāve gone, but every trail just stops at the same point. ]
[ Fiona: Iām sorry, guys. I think the reinforcement we sent was annihilated by that black hole. There are no bodies, no weapons, nothing. Itās like the whole battlefield got erased. I kept sending more rats for almost an hour, hoping to find even one survivor or some trace, but thereās nothing. Not even Sylas or Elandor. Itās like they never existed. I donāt know what to tell you... Turtle Shelterās just gone. ]
Fiona sighed deeply after typing everything...
The chat lit up instantly.
[ Raze: What the hell do you mean gone? Iām going there right now. ]
[ Jillian: No... no way. Sylas and Elandor were there. Two Legendary Elves. How could they all just vanish? ]
[ Max: Hold on. Donāt jump to conclusions. Maybe theyāre not dead. There are no corpses, right? Maybe they were pulled somewhere else. ]
[ Lysandra: Fiona, youāre sure? Not even mana residue? No hidden tunnels? Nothing at all? ]
[ Fiona: I checked. My rats dug deep. They searched every path. Itās like the black hole erased the battlefield itself. As for my rats... Unfortunately, they canāt sense mana. So it canāt be certain about that part. ]
[ Reylin: A demon... Thatās not part of the Dragon Army. This is something else entirely. ]
[ Asad: If Sylas and Elandor fell, then this enemy is beyond anything weāve faced. ]
[ Diana: Stay calm. If they were erased, it means this demon is super strong. Be careful investigating this matter. For now, find some elves to help you find traces of mana around. ]
[ Bran: Donāt give up... Thereās no way the Legendary Elves would be gone without a fight. Knight Gene is also there. Remember that he has Legendary Armor. ]
[ Elsa: Fiona, did you see the demon clearly? ]
[ Fiona: Yes. Horned humanoid with wings and dark aura... Elandor recognized it instantly before my connection cut. ]
[ Raze: Then weāre dealing with demons now. Not just zombies, vampires, or dragons. Demons. ]
[ Jillian: If thatās true, then weāre screwed. Weāre not ready for this. Wait... We have priests around, right? Letās send them to the search and rescue operation. ]
[ Shane: Thatās a good plan, Jillian. Send an Elf to find traces of mana and a Priest to detect demonic energy and purify them. Fiona, keep monitoring. The rest of you, prepare... The demon might attack other shelters. ]
The chat went quiet for a moment. Everyone stared at the words on their screens as they slowly considered what to do next.
[ Raze: Got it. Iām going. If thereās even a chance someone survived, Iāll find them. ]
[ Jillian: Raze, donāt be stupid. If the demon erased an entire shelter, youāll just vanish too. ]
[ Raze: I donāt think theyāre still around that area. It should be fine. ]
[ Max: Listen. Weāve seen impossible things before. The fog saved many people before. Maybe it saved them too. Maybe theyāre not gone, just... somewhere else. ]
After reading this chat from Max, Shane and the others couldnāt help but feel stunned.
That was wishful thinking after all.
However, Shane couldnāt help but think about the coincidence.
Well, they had just been saved a few moments ago by the Gray Fog!
He couldnāt help but also hope that they had indeed been saved, even if the chance was low. Still, the fact that even the shelter itself vanished was concerning...
The energy needed to use that power must be immense.
[ Lysandra: If the fog and the demon are connected, then this is bigger than any of us imagined. We need to treat this as a system event, not just a battle. ]
[ Shane: Then we need holy relics. If weāre going to be swarmed by demons, weāll need more talismans. Ask Aya about it. If she couldnāt produce that many, get connected to Natalieās Clan. ]
[ Fiona: Got it... Iāll keep you posted. ]
In the meantime, Razeās red hair flared in the wind as she stood within Springriver Manor...
After changing her set of clothes to battle gear, she summoned Roan, the redāscaled dragon, whose wings, which reached more than 10 meters, unfurled...
She then ordered the dragon to return to her arm as they needed to move quickly.
After that, Raze visited the greenhouse where a small world tree was being tended by a lone elf.
"Eudora... You need to come with me..." Raze called.
The elf looked up, startled, and after hearing about the situation, she nodded.
She had been assigned to care for the tree, but with the situation worsening, she might indeed be able to help... "Iāll do my best, Miss Raze."
Soon, they entered the portal through the gate stones installed in the manor...
Just like that, Raze and Eudora arrived at Blue Haven Shelter. At the same time, another portal triggered...
Apparently, a priest from the Eclipse Domain had arrived. He introduced himself simply as Jude, and with holy power lingering on his robe, they didnāt doubt his identity.
"Alright... Follow me." Raze said. Well, she already knew that someone would be sending a Priest to be part of the mission, so she wasnāt surprised.
For now, she didnāt bother meeting Fiona directly. She knew Fiona was busy monitoring through her rats, so instead, she picked up one of the rodents to serve as a relay.
"This will do. Faster comms," she muttered, tucking the rat into a pouch at her side.
With her team assembled, Raze, Jude the priest, Eudora the elf, and the rat, they mounted Roan.
The dragonās scales gleamed under the moonlight as it crouched, then launched into the sky with a powerful beat of its wings.
The wind howled around them as Roan soared toward the ruins of Turtle Shelter.
Razeās grip tightened on the reins. She didnāt know what they would find... survivors, traces of battle, or only silence, but she refused to accept Fionaās words at face value.
"Hold on," she muttered... "Weāre going to see this for ourselves."