CHAPTER 361: DEN OF FEROCIOUS BEASTS

The sky above the ancient valley quaked with pressure—mana storms surging violently as the Celestials stepped through the blood-soaked battlefield, unbothered by the corpses and broken earth that lay in their path.

Having effortlessly erased the last remaining Pillars of the Pacesetters Academy with divine-like precision, the Celestials—four of them—now turned their sharp, cold eyes toward the direction in which Neana had disappeared with Lila.

A wind swirled in response to their will.

Their expressions were placid, even apathetic. But beneath that stillness churned a hunger born not of want, but of divine certainty—Lila was marked, and her presence was necessary.

One Celestial then turned toward the Hybrid general, a towering blue-skinned being with obsidian horns, and spoke with a voice like echoing chimes.

"Keep the rest here."

The Hybrid general knelt low, fist thumping against the ground with reverence.

"As you command, O Celestial warriors."

Without another word, the Celestials moved, their figures flickering across the charred air like streaks of white flame. In a single blink, they vanished beyond the battlefield, flying after Neana and Charlotte.

But they weren’t unnoticed.

"Wait."

Selene’s voice was sharp—cutting across the symphony of chaos like a bell tolling death.

She had noticed the moment Lila was taken, and now as the Celestials moved in pursuit, her golden irises locked onto their fading forms.

"They’re going after the girl."

Aron, crouched atop a half-destroyed spire nearby, clenched his jaw. Blood dripped down the side of his forehead from his earlier clash with the Nullcarvers, but his eyes gleamed with purpose.

"We follow."

With an almost imperceptible nod to one another, they sprang into motion.

But before they could fully leave, the Nullcarvers who were still holding the line against the Labyrinth-borns lunged forward to intercept.

"You won’t pass!" roared one of the Nullcarver elites, slamming his fists into the earth, causing spikes of golden qi to erupt upward in a fan-like wave.

The very air tore apart as Selene twisted her hands, slicing through the attack with bladed winds.

"We weren’t asking," she hissed.

Aron waved a hand, and a pulse of dark-blue divine energy burst from his back, sending three Nullcarvers flying backward like broken dolls.

Their bodies slammed against rocks, coughing blood, but they still stood—ready to die where they stood if it meant holding back the enemy.

But it wasn’t enough.

More Labyrinth-borns emerged like shadows from every crevice, every ridge—creatures twisted by space and void, responding only to the call of chaos.

"Damn it!"

The Nullcarvers soon found themselves being wrapped in battle once more, now caught between the Labyrinth-born monstrosities and Aron and Selene.

A stalemate began to brew.

A bloody, bitter one.

Meanwhile.....

Far ahead, Charlotte sprinted across the broken cliffs with Lila now strapped against her back, unconscious. Her breathing was ragged, but her mana burned at full capacity—emanating a golden fire from her limbs. Beside her, Neana flew with elegant strides over the ground, her robes torn, her hair bloodied, but her qi wild and flaring.

She looked back just once and cursed.

"They’re coming!"

Neana could feel it too—the terrifying presence of the Celestials, a growing pressure in the air that made the bones in her arms ache and the muscles in her legs quiver.

"How much longer!?" Naena barked.

"We’re almost at the boundary of the Human territory," Charlotte shouted back. "But we have to lose them before we get there. If we bring that battle into Human lands—everyone will die."

A glint of pain flickered in Charlotte’s eyes as she said those words. She knew what that meant.

"They’ll catch up soon," Neana added quietly. "You need to go ahead. I’ll—"

"No!" Charlotte snapped. "Don’t even finish that sentence."

Neana turned to look at her. Her pale face, exhausted but still proud, wore a brief smile.

"...You really are like Kaelen," she whispered.

Charlotte blinked, a touch of vulnerability in her features. Then her expression hardened again.

"We’re getting Lila to safety. Both of us."

Far behind them, like descending meteors, the Celestials began to draw closer—less than a minute away.

And Aron and Selene were not far behind them either.

-----

At this moment, several minutes have gone by.

And currently, Lila was unconscious, her body now wrapped in soft waves of blue and pink mana—rippling as if protecting her from whatever damage she had endured before.

Charlotte glanced back with Lila still on her back.

The mana trails were unmistakable—four blazing comet-like flares, radiant and oppressive. The Celestials, were hot on their heels. Even farther behind, she could sense Chaos Twins, their auras twisted, unstable, and terrifying in their unpredictability. But something else pulsed ahead of them—something wild.

Then she felt it.

Her mana-sense twitched violently—elegant, refined, ancient mana... and it wasn’t a human. It obviously wasn’t Nullcarver either.

"Elves..." Charlotte murmured under her breath, eyes darting left through the thicket of trees.

The mana signatures were faint but steady, coming from a ridge past the forest... right near the Ferocious Den—a lawless stretch of earth feared by even the orcs and trolls. Its reputation preceded it, as it was home to mutated magic beasts, some born from ancient wars, others long-forgotten failures of alchemy and twisted evolution. Advanced... Mythic... and even a Legendary-ranked beast was said to nest at its core.

But the Elves were that way. Why?

But just then....

A plan struck her mind—risky, deadly, near madness... but maybe just enough to work.

"Neana!" she shouted mid-sprint.

Neana, always calm, always present, replied without looking, "Speak."

"Elves. I sense them. That direction—" she pointed, veering slightly left toward the hills veiled in mist and monstrous howls, "—close to the Ferocious Den."

Neana’s sharp gaze flickered with understanding. "Then it’s safe to assume they seek Lila too."

Charlotte nodded grimly. "Exactly. We make them and the Celestials clash over us. I’ll lead them right into the beasts’ territory. With enough chaos, we can vanish."

Neana’s brow tensed. "That’s suicide."

"Only if we hesitate," Charlotte said, tightening her grip around the unconscious Lila. "We move now. Do you trust me?"

"I trusted Kaelen with my granddaughter," Neana said with the ghost of a smirk. "You have my trust too."

Without hesitation, Charlotte swerved, plunging deeper into the increasingly toxic and erratic mana fields. The Ferocious Den loomed ahead, a gorge-like pit surrounded by black-spined trees, the stench of blood and rotten mana thick in the air. The cries of monsters echoed louder now—snarls that could shake the mind of even a seasoned warrior.

Behind them, The Celestials were now close enough that the very air crackled with divine heat and ethereal cold, their powers opposite yet perfectly synchronized. Trees burned and froze in alternating succession as they chased.

And then—BOOM!

A monstrous figure exploded from the left—a serpent-beast with six limbs, obsidian scales, and eyes of glowing gold. An Advanced-rank Beast, disturbed by the trespassers.

Charlotte didn’t flinch.

Instead, she made sure her mana flickered brightly around Lila—just enough to catch the serpent’s eye. She wasn’t trying to fight it—she was baiting it. Seconds later, another explosion—this time, a Mythic-ranked boarbeast, taller than any troll, burst through the right side of the jungle.

Their scent, their noise, the Celestial pressure behind them—it was all drawing the attention of the den.

Exactly as planned.

Behind her, Neana’s steps remained controlled. But then came the shift.

The Elves.

Five of them, cloaked in silver robes that shimmered with natural magic, stepped forward atop a steep slope above the den. Their eyes locked onto Lila. Charlotte could feel their intent from here: they wanted the girl alive—but for their own reasons. Not allies. Not enemies. Opportunists.

"Hand over the girl and no one dies here" the leader of this group of five whom is none other than Commander Maeralyn said with a grim look on her face.

"In your dreams" Charlotte replied without hesitation before she moved.

The moment they moved, so did the Celestials which the Elves discovered and were shocked by the discovery.

But it was already too late for them. Because by then, chaos erupted.

A shriek—unholy and ancient—rose from the center of the gorge. Trees bent. Air twisted. The Legendary beast had awakened. The entire terrain darkened.

The serpent lunged—not at Charlotte, but at one of the Celestial.

And instantly, Battle erupted.

The Celestials split instantly—one of the Celestial ascending into the sky to battle the elven mages with searing golden spears of pure mana while another Celestial dodged and slashed at the serpent, her blade glowing with starlight while Maeralyn was unwillingly joined into the fray.

"Damn it!!"

From the sides, beasts charged. The Elves, caught in the crossfire, began battling not just the Celestials but the native monsters. Fire and water, lightning and earth clashed as raw carnage overtook the zone.

Charlotte didn’t stop running.

She plunged down a narrow cavernous path that twisted along the edge of the gorge. Blood dripped from her lip; she’d bitten down too hard while gritting her teeth. Her legs burned, mana sputtered—she had long since crossed her limits. But she would not stop. Lila stirred slightly on her back, and that was all the reason she needed to keep moving.

Neana followed, still soundless as a ghost, though her brow was beaded with sweat from channeling every last drop of her latent Qi to keep the two of them hidden from tracking spells.

Behind them, the Den had become a war within a war.

Celestials. Elves. Beasts. All ensnared by Charlotte’s maneuver. And the mastermind herself have successfully gotten away.