CHAPTER 264: _DESTINY HATES THEM

Elian’s POV

*****

The Arcadian soldiers fanned out with sharp hand signals, their boots crunching through the Silverpine needles as they swept deeper into the shadows. The forest seemed to breathe around them.

Despite the sunlight above, it was barely lit and cold.

Elian didn’t like the way it felt.

Neither did the system.

[Umm. Sweetie?]

’What.’

[I’m picking up weird mana signatures. Like... "don’t go in there, dumbass" weird.]

Elian swallowed, his gaze following the soldiers. The trees here were tall enough to swallow the sky, their shadows unnaturally thick. Like ink.

Lucian gave him a tiny nod, silently telling him to keep it together.

Right. Cool. He could do that...

He could totally keep it together when one of his mates was kidnapped by a mysterious spacetime-warping boogeyman.

No biggie.

A soldier called out from ahead, her voice brittle. "Commander! There’s something—"

She never finished.

A shriek tore through the forest, sharp enough to splinter bone. The shadows behind her rippled—then exploded upward, forming jagged jaws of black smoke and teeth.

An Umbra Beast.

Wait... it was more than one.

Three... Four...

Elian’s heart dropped to his stomach.

"...oh shit," he breathed.

[Correction: BIG oh shit. Giant, hairy, shadow-eating, light-allergic oh shit.]

The soldiers screamed commands, rifles flaring silver as concentrated light shots fired into the dark. But the beasts were faster—shifting from shadow to shadow like smoke given claws.

One soldier vanished with a choked gasp, yanked straight into the shadows. Another was slammed into a tree so hard her spine was bent wrong, blood spilling out of her mouth.

Elian stepped back, sweat bursting across his palms.

"Umbra beasts," Lucian muttered, dropping into a stance. "Why the fuck are they here?"

Because destiny clearly hated them.

Elian’s mana surged instinctively, his fingers tingling.

[Host’s Mana reserve is still cooling down from the Moon Haven battle. Current amount is 79%]

’Stay out of my way.’

[Oh I’ll try. But if we die? I’m haunting your next incarnation.]

The largest Umbra beast lunged for Lucian first—drawn to his Alpha aura like moth to flame. Lucian moved instantly, silver energy flaring around his hands as he struck upward.

A shockwave exploded from the impact. The beast shrieked, shadows peeling off its body like burning paper.

Elian didn’t hesitate.

He reached deep and called forth light with his magic.

A glyph snapped into existence beneath his feet, glowing faint purple.

The system snorted.

[Basic Lumina Burst spell. Cute. Let’s hope it doesn’t fry your eyebrows.]

’Shut up.’

The magic erupted from his palm in a blinding arc. The beast lunging for him screeched, recoiling like it had been splashed with acid.

He glanced around, sighing with relief when he realised no one noticed him. They were all too busy fighting for their lives.

Suddenly, another energy burst came from behind—silver and clearly not his.

Lucian.

At that same moment, something like static crawled up Elian’s arms. The Bond Resonance activated, charging him with ten percent of Lucian’s strength.

He hadn’t meant to activate it, but—

[Whoopsie. Congrats, babe. You’re siphoning Lucian’s strength.]

’Is that okay?’

[Your body thinks so. Your mana core does not. Stop using it too hard or you’re gonna pop like a cheap firecracker.]

The beasts regrouped.

Six of them now, dripping with shadow matter, eyes glowing like dying embers.

"Stay behind me," Lucian ordered.

"I can handle myself."

Lucian shot him a warning look—but Elian stepped forward anyway, purple mana swirling hidden beneath his skin like storm coils.

He wouldn’t sit back while Lucian did all the work.

He wouldn’t sit back while Kyren was out there alone.

The beasts screeched as they charged again.

One shot for the commander but Lucian moved in time, slicing it apart with a blade of compressed silver energy.

Two angled for the remaining soldiers but Elian fired a blinding glyph barrage that blew a hole clean through one beast’s skull.

All while keeping his magic use hidden.

Another slithered behind him, jaws opening wide—

[Host’s Mana: 73% → 68% → 62%]

[Sweetheart MOVE.]

Elian spun too slow.

But silver slammed into the beast first, Lucian dropping from above like a meteor.

The explosion of light vaporized the creature, shaking the forest.

The remaining beasts hesitated, shadows flickering like malfunctioning illusions.

Lucian straightened, breathing hard. "They’re weakening—hit them!"

The remaining soldiers charged and so did Elian.

The last three Umbra beasts lunged in a staggered formation—one high, one low, one melting flat into the ground like a living oil stain.

Elian pretended to stumble back.

Pretended like he wasn’t calculating every angle of impact in a speed no normal omega should.

His hand flicked behind his thigh where no one was looking, a tiny purple spark crackling between his fingers.

Not enough to be seen.

He snapped it outward the same moment a soldier fired a light-round, letting the clash of silver explosions hide the brief pulse of his spell.

The beast shattered mid-pounce, dissolving into shadow ash.

And no one noticed.

The second beast whipped around to flank Lucian. Elian timed a misfire from one of the witches and sent a micro glyph zipping through the dust at ankle level. The thing tripped, crashing into Lucian’s waiting strike and splitting open like rotted bark.

The last one—the oil-slick one—rose silently behind the commander, its jaws stretching impossibly wide.

Elian flicked two fingers.

A silent Lumina Snap.

The creature imploded soundlessly, collapsing inward like a paper lantern touched by flame.

The commander gasped and spun around. "What—?!"

Lucian stepped in front of him protectively. "Last one’s down."

Elian exhaled hard, palms shaking from holding back so much power.

[Host’s Mana: 40%]

[Congrats. You didn’t blow our cover or your lungs. Improvement!]

’Not the time.’

The forest settled into an eerie hush. No more shadows moving. No beasts crawling. Just the smell of scorched mana and the metallic tang of blood.

Two soldiers approached, pale and shaken. "Commander... casualties are at seventy percent."

The man squeezed his eyes shut. "Umbra beasts in Arcadian territory. Spirits help us."

Lucian wiped a smear of shadow ash off his jaw. "This was coordinated. Someone sent them to stop us."

His gaze flicked to Elian for half a second. During that half a second, suspicion flashed through the Alpha Prince’s eyes.

Elian lifted his chin, keeping his expression like a typical terrified omega.

"I—I thought Umbra beasts only popped up around Lunaria," he said softly.

"That’s what we’ve always thought," Lucian’s voice dropped into something grim and low. "Someone wants to make damn sure we don’t retrieve Kyren... or the truth."

The commander straightened. "We need to return to the capital immediately. The Arcadian Council must be informed."

Lucian nodded sharply. "Lead the way."

As the surviving squad gathered their gear, Elian brushed shadow dust off his sleeve and swallowed the burn still buzzing under his skin.

Kyren was out there.

And whoever summoned these things?

They didn’t just want him gone.

They wanted all of them dead.

[And babe?] the system added dryly.

[This is smelling like a setup. A big one. With your mate stuck right in the center.]

Elian clenched his fists.

He wasn’t letting that happen.