603 Back to the Spirit Dimension, A Sudden Unexpectedly Dire Situation (1/2)

Yesterday was very fruitful, but it was, without a doubt, a tiring day for Mark.

Even though he was used to it, Mark was without a wink of sleep since yesterday. Not to mention that he had just gone under a deadly amount of pain during the process of consuming three crystals at the same time.

Immediately after that, the Eyes appeared one by one, not giving Mark any chance to have a good rest. Their presence was enough to make anyone uneasy, and Fourth only controlled it when Mark complained. Without a doubt, most of the Eyes were inconsiderate about others.

Nevertheless, Mark got information about a few things from the Eyes, and Aimee's circumstances were answered thoroughly. Still, awakening Aimee's child was not something to be rushed, though.

Aside from those things, Mark managed to finish the final checks and preparations for the day and managed to find time to relax afterward.

Spending time with the little girls while playing video games was something that Mark enjoyed.

And the night was peaceful with Mark finally getting a good night's sleep with Mei.

Now that morning came, it was time to depart once more.

Almost everyone present at the base gathered at the central area where Chiyo, the Night Everred Spirit Tree, was planted. They were all here to wish Mark's group a safe journey.

”Elder Brother, can't I really come?”

And of course, someone was begging to tag along. It was Elise. In the first place, she was quite awkward towards her family. After what happened to her and losing her memories, she was more inclined to spend more time with Mark and Mei. Her parents were a bit sad because of this. However, they did not want to force her and decided to go on a slower route to fix everything.

Mark patted Elise's head like how he usually did, not only to her but also to others. This gesture, together with that soothing feeling that his hands had, could give them mental comfort.

”Just behave and stay here. The Spirit Dimension is more dangerous than most places on Earth right now.”

What Mark said was no joke. Comparing the infected here on Earth that had physical abilities and the magical infected in the Spirit Dimension, the latter was way more dangerous. And if Elise was to come with them, they would become a beacon that would attract all troubles because of her ability.

Elise was disappointed that she could not tag along. But like what Mark said, she behaved herself and did not insist on coming any longer.

With everyone's overlapped voices, this time's group that was only composed of Mark, Mei, and their daughters, along with Amihan, rode on Chaflar and entered the bright door that Chiyo opened.

And there, after a short greeting with Chiyo, Mark stepped once more in the Spirit Dimension.

***

Looking around the Night Everred Spirit Tree on this side, the scene was different from before. The dried land had better color than before. It seemed that after the infected that was the cause of this situation was destroyed, the affected land started to recover. Nevertheless, with that much damage done, it would take years for everything to return to normal.

The most different thing in the surroundings was the vast area around Chiyo that was devoid of everything. The dried trees were gone, and even the large mountain boulders here and there were removed. It was the result of the preparation they did here, according to Mark's deductions.

As it was one of the priorities, it was finished early in the past few days. It also became easier since dried brittle trees were not really hard to remove, and the boulders were taken care of by the infected under Aephelia's control.

”The surroundings is that clear, huh.”

Mark said, looking around some more. Before arriving, Chiyo had already informed him that there were no infected around. Still, it was quite strange that in every nook and cranny of the mountain that their eyes could see, not a single infected could be found.

”Gege, this is strange, isn't it?”

Mei said.

This situation was really unexpected, considering how many infected the clearing team had encountered while removing the trees and boulders. Even Mark was called out for help several times because of some pesky infected Sylphs. Some workers also got injured.

”The infected are erratic, to begin with. Let's just go to our destination as soon as possible.”

Mark replied as he told Chaflar to move on through his mind.

Like before, they had to go up the higher areas on the east side of Mount Malabito to get to the other side of the mountain.

Strangely enough, even as they made their way up the slopes of the mountain, both steep and not, not a single infected was present.

Eerily, all of them seemed to have gone somewhere else.

Because of this, Mark could not help but heightened his alertness as he sat at the foremost seat on Chaflar's back.

But then, halfway up the mountain, Abbygale started to sniff the air.

”Papa! Papa!” Abbygale called out. ”Something smells burning?”

Since her mutation was a cat, Abbygale's senses were higher than everyone present here. The others had not sensed it yet, but she already smelled the burning stench from the direction they were going.

Mark frowned after hearing Abbygale. He would never doubt her even a little.

”Chaflar, fly up.”

Mark commanded his dragon. They were traveling on land since flying up high would attract unnecessary attention. Of course, that attention would all be infected that was possibly in the area. But since the situation seemed strange, and now, the burnt smell, something worse might be happening.

Chalflar's large wings flapped, and everyone was brought up the mountain faster.

Before they could reach the top, however, they could already see the thick black smoke that was rising towards the sky from the east.

It did not take long, and the whole scene was revealed before their eyes.

The whole forest of the Eastern Mountain, the home of the White Duendes, was covered in flames.

Aside from that, a three-way skirmish seemed to be happening by the foot of the mountain.

The familiar forces of the Stone Fortress, the infected that was missing from the surroundings, and unexpectedly...

...An army of demons together with the Black Duendes.

It was a total mess as the fantasy-like battle happened by the river that separated the Eastern Moutain and Mount Malabito.

Arrows and magic flew here and there.

Blood splattered as attacks were exchanged by the camps.

Spirits, Demons, and Elementals turned to ash shortly after they died.

While most of them were fighting on land, a lot of them were clashing their weapons and magic mid-air.

And to say, the situation did not seem to go well with the races from the Stone Fortress.