“Huh? Why’s everyone staring at me?” Cory asked as she stood up and began preening herself, spreading the fluids from the cocoon over her body. “Never seen someone so beautiful after taking a nap? I think I understand.” She frowned and tilted her head before sniffing underneath her wing. “Why am I so slimy?”

“You evolved,” Pyre said as he climbed to his feet. “How do you feel? Stronger? More abundant mana? Your physical characteristics didn’t chance much, so I assume the evolution was mostly internal.”

“I evolved?” Cory asked, blinking her eyes. “I’m amazing!” Her wings spread to the side as she pranced around, twisting her neck to observe her body. “Everything’s so much more clear.” She rubbed her eyes with her wings and blinked a few times. “I can see the pores on your face. You should really wash your face better.” She wrinkled her nose at Pyre.

“Just that? Nothing else?” Pyre asked, pinching Cory’s flesh. She smacked his hands away. “Try using your lightning. It should be black instead of red now.”

Cory tilted her head and raised her wing. There was a crackling sound, and white lightning exploded out of her feathers, scorching the ground before it condensed and circled around her body. “White?” Cory asked. “It can’t be that I got weaker, right?” She glanced around. “Where’s that four-armed blockhead? Let me smack him to test it out.”

Palan ignored Cory and Pyre, addressing Raea, Headmaster, and Cleo, “It’ll be easier to enter undetected while it’s still night. There should still be a few hours before the first sun starts to rise, but we should leave now.” He glared at Cleo. “If any of you trigger an alarm because of a shiny object…”

“I shouldn’t have anything!” Cleo said and shook her head. Right? Maybe she should get rid of the shiny accessories just in case. She hopped over to Pyre. “Hold these for me.” She grabbed her belt and lifted it. Hundreds of golden objects fell to the ground, forming a pile taller and wider than Pyre. If Linda were there, she’d probably have a heart attack from overstimulation. Cleo waved her fist at Pyre before running to Palan’s side. “I’ll know if you take any!”

Cory frowned at the pile and picked at it with her talons. “Isn’t this ours…?” she asked herself before glaring at Cleo. The lizardman cleared her throat and looked away.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Cleo said and tugged on Raea’s sleeve. “I was with you this whole time, right?”

Raea nodded. “She only went to use the restroom once.” And managed to steal the harpies’ treasure trove in those ten minutes.

Cory furrowed her brow and shook her head. She wasn’t going to question the harbinger. She placed the trinket back onto the pile and glanced to the side. Her eyes widened. “Where are you going?” she asked as Palan wrapped his tails around Cleo and the headmaster. “I want to come too!” She hopped over and grabbed Crimson Snek, wrapping its body around herself as if she were buckling a seatbelt.

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“You can fly,” Palan said with a blank expression. Cory nodded once in reply, but it didn’t seem like she was going to say anything. Palan shook his head. “Whatever.” He could use her as a shield if necessary. He leapt into the air, and Raea followed after him. They passed over crowds of halflings who had spread out upon hearing Pyre’s orders.

A few houses were already set ablaze, and Raea couldn’t help but frown at the sight. Her parents’ house was located on the opposite side of the capital, so they should hear about the assault before it actually reached them. She wasn’t sure if she was angry or relieved by that. She hadn’t quite forgiven them for neglecting her which ultimately ended up with her being expelled from the capital. And she hadn’t been able to return the favor for kidnapping her and trying to kill Palan. Maybe she was relieved they were going to be unharmed because then she could be the one to punish them.

“You’re thinking unnecessary thoughts,” Palan said, bringing Raea’s attention back on the night sky.

“What makes you say that?” Raea asked.

“Just something about your face,” Palan said and glanced at her.

“Something about my face?” Raea asked. “I thought you were supposed to be terrible at reading other people’s expressions and emotions.”

“What makes you think that?” Palan asked and raised an eyebrow. “If anything, I’ve mastered reading body language. It’s extremely useful to know whether a wild animal is threatening you out of fear or aggression.”

“So I’m a wild animal now?” Raea muttered to herself. She placed her hands on her hips, causing her to wobble a bit in the air. “So why haven’t I figured this out earlier. I thought you treated me terribly because you didn’t know how I was feeling.”

Palan coughed. “Anyways, you have to keep a clear mind,” he said. “You can screw up any other time in your life, but you’re not allowed to get yourself killed here.”

Raea snorted. “Who has to use whose power to survive?” she asked and rolled her eyes.

Before Palan could respond, a surge of heat blasted towards him from the ground. A figure was rapidly approaching him with six blazing wings made of black fire. He reacted almost instantly and pointed at the figure, wrapping its body in a black light. The figure’s speed slowed until it was practically crawling through the air. A dark-green mist formed above Palan’s palm, congealing into a liquid blob which he threw towards the assailant. It screamed with three different voices and plummeted towards the ground.

“What the heck was that?” Cleo asked, blinking at the black flames that were starting to spread below.

“That was Palan using my powers,” Raea said with a smirk. She resisted the urge to say, “I told you so.”

“It’s still alive,” Palan said and frowned. Usually, Raea’s poison would corrode anything it touched in an instant.

“Get down here!” the figure shouted from below.

“Like we’d do that,” Raea said and snorted. “Right, Palan…?”

The black light around Palan had dispersed, and he was plummeting towards the flames below. She blinked once before flying after him, catching his body and slowing his descent. But only slowing it—he was simply too heavy. Her wings struggled against the air, causing her to pant. “Palan! Stop being so damn heavy.”

“We have to go down,” Palan said in a flat voice. His body was engulfed by a black light, and Raea’s arms were nearly torn from her shoulders as Palan’s body became heavier. She furrowed her brow and allowed herself to fall with him, creating a barrier of greed underneath his body, so they wouldn’t be burned by the black flames upon landing.