"This doesn't make any sense..." Glenn muttered, his hands on his waist as he looked at the now-empty room that previously housed all the Seekers. There was no sign of intrusion, no signs of a fight, no, it just appeared as if they magically vanished.

Lioras was sitting on a mud seat, his hands clasped and his legs nervous. He was muttering to himself while Isadora was pacing the room, her Mana twirling furiously around her. The Indigo Bureau's fighters were also restless, wondering the next course of action.

Glenn grimaced before clapping his hands together, drawing the attention of everyone.

"First and foremost, please all shut up," He asked sternly. Lioras' lips sealed shut and Isadora stopped moving, her arms crossed as she looked at him.

"I didn't get on a first-name basis yet with you three, but better later than never, right?" He said as he turned to the three Aura users.

"Tom," replied the sole remaining Crusader, a serious fellow with a mean scar crossing his cold blue eyes.

"I'm Thomas," said the first knight, a gentler-looking individual with light armor and a whip hanging at his waist.

“Call me Nora,” said the last knight, a lady with a very katana-like weapon on her back. She had a silver piercing on her nose and a big wolf tattoo on her right arm.

"Great," Glenn said as the presentation was done. His left purple arm gleamed ominously, giving off a strangely threatening hue. Now, let's think about all this. First, Lioras," he turned to the distraught scholar. Did you see anything? Vilroy mentioned hearing something strange before you all went outside. Can you tell us more?"

Lioras recovered his composure slightly and nodded, "Y...Yes, there..." He grimaced, "When Vilroy and were watching over the camp, we heard a sharp roar echo in the distance. It was something terrifying, the roar of a true predator."

He looked down and shivered, "It chilled me to the bone. When Vilroy heard it, he told me that this roar was probably an illusion, for it imitated the now-long disappeared dragons."

Glenn paused and his eyes shone with perceptible interest.

Dragons? Dragons!

'Ho-oh, this is making my blood boil!' Glenn thought as the corner of his lips curved upward slightly.

Isadora noticed and angrily snapped at him, "Are you seriously grinning? My team members disappeared!"

"Sorry," Glenn cleared his throat and hurriedly dismissed his smile, "Got a little excited. It was inconsiderate of me. Now, back to the subject. After that, you called for more eyes to keep watch, and then everyone disappeared. Did you see anything, or maybe hear that roar again?" He asked Lioras.

The scholar shook his head as he rubbed his hands together, trembling, "I...I don't know. I think the only reason I wasn't...taken was because I was the closest to the conjured house. All the others weren't that far either, and yet..." Lioras shook his head. Glenn rubbed his chin and looked at the room where the Seekers previously were.

For the people on the watch to disappear was one thing. But for those that were safely heating their asses inside the mud house to disappear too made things much more complicated.

"What about teleportation?" Glenn suddenly asked. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't see any other explanations. There was no other way for the Seekers to disappear without leaving behind a single trace.

Isadora shook her head, "That's impossible. The only certainty with the Dark Wall is that teleportation is impossible in its area of effect. That's why the only way to cross it is by foot, either by using the Black Gate or by climbing over the Dark Wall, which isn't done easily. And there are magical detectors to alert the Dark Knights of any intrusion. They were alerted of this expedition, hence the lack of intervention on their part."

Glenn frowned, "And these detectors didn't notice the damned Cube appearing inside the chain of mountains?"

Isadora paused and slowly creased her eyebrows, "That's...an excellent question. They didn't even ask us why we wanted to go up the Wall, they just wanted to know who was participating in the climb."

'That's weird. Considering the size of the Blumar Cube containing the Laboratory, I'm certain it would have broken at least a dozen enchantments and set up twice as many alerts. Or do they just don't care about it? Weird, very weird...' Glenn pushed that thought for later and took a peek out of the mud house. The snowstorm wasn't calming down, and nothing hinted at anything dangerous outside.

No animal howls, no "roars", nothing aside from the sharp wind and the snow falling.

"Lioras, Isadora, do any of you have a spell to detect presences nearby?" Glenn asked just in case.

Isadora shook her head, "I'm a battle mage. All of my spells are fighting spells, and I also have a few war spells too."

"Ditto," said Lioras with a dejected expression, "I mostly possess fighting spells, alongside some related to the Seeker line of work, to evaluate the age of things or stuff like that."

"Fucking useless then..." Glenn blurted out without a hint of shame, a scowl on his face.

"Lioras, don't your Seekers also have that balise we can follow? Check that out with your Recorder."

The scholar's eyes lit up, "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Because you're fucking incompetent..." Isadora muttered with disdain as she looked at the snowstorm with Glenn.

"This..." Lioras gasped, shocked, "They're at the same location as the team we're trying to rescue!"

Glenn froze.

"Oh. That is not good news," he remarked as a pearl of sweat beaded down his forehead.

Lioras frowned with an anxious smile, "What...what do you mean?"

Glenn stretched and made his joints crack, "That means that whatever captured Vilroy and the others is also the same thing that both moved the Cube and kept the team we were supposed to rescue."

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He sighed and sent a hopeful prayer to Onnea, before adding, "And there's only one entity that I know of that is related to the Cube and has the strength to capture so many powerful people at once. And it's called the Lightbringer."

Lioras, Isadora, and the Aura users fell silent, their faces paling and their expressions hardened. Glenn nodded at their reaction.

"Yes, we are all in dipshit. Whatever the previous team did in the Cube, if it freed the Lightbringer of his seal, then we are fucked. Very, very fucked. Well, no, you are all fucked, while I will happily go seal back that bastard, and hopefully breakthrough."

Isadora jumped forward, her eyes blazing with fury, "I'm coming with you. I refuse to leave my team members behind to the claws of some ancient, disgusting monster—"

"Oh no," Glenn interrupted her, "He's actually very handsome, just a little cannibal on the edges."

Lioras gasped, "What?"

Glenn waved his hand dismissively and looked at the Aura users, "What will you guys be doing? I'm taking Lioras with me no matter what because I need their location, but what about you?"

Tom and Thomas exchanged a glance.

"We'll go back and report how things turned out to our superiors," Thomas finally said, "It's the standard protocol in these sorts of situations."

Nora snorted, "That'll be without me. I've been looking for an opportunity to become a Saint for longer than I can remember now. Maybe this will be it."

Thomas nodded respectfully, "Of course, you're free to do so. Please survive, Nora. You're a nice colleague."

She rolled her eyes, "You guys are Chevaliers—worry about your ass instead of mine. You are the ones who need protection."

"Wait, wait, why don't I have my say in this matter?" Lioras implored, terrified, "I...I'm a team leader, alright? Hey—why don't I give you my Recorder to Miss Isadora and go back with them?"

Glenn slapped him in the back with a wide grin, "Come on Mr. Noli, don't act like a fool. We all know this thing is hard-coded so that only you can use it."

Lioras winced and made one last desperate attempt, "Pretty please? I really don't want to die—"

Glenn turned away from him and grinned widely, his Mana twirling around his purple arm excitedly, "We're all set. Tom, Thomas, good luck. I hope you won't get snatched on the way down."

Thomas chuckled, "At least we will serve as a distraction then. Good luck to you too, Sir Glenn. Your bravery is quite inspiring, despite your young age."

Glenn shook his head with a wicked laugh, "Ah, it's not bravery, just unconsciousness and a slight hint of madness. You should try it from time to time, it's very fun."

'At least you assume it,' Diamanes commented with a snarky tone. Nelg sighed deeply, not even bothering to add anything. On these last words, the two Chevaliers left them, dashing away while using Aura to power their movements. They were substantially faster than when they were previously walking with the slow-ass Seekers.

"Lioras, do you have any mobility spell?" Glenn asked as he kept his eyes on the blizzard.

Lioras blinked and shook his head, "Why would I have a mobility spell? I'm not a fighter?"

Glenn sighed and turned to Isadora and Nora, "Wanna draw lots for who carries this idiot?"

The two ladies grunted. In the end, it was Glenn who was stuck with the useless scholar. The four began moving out at high speed, following Lioras' compass to guide them through the snowstorm. Flight spells were deactivated, but nothing stopped them from just launching themselves at high speed in certain directions. Glenn was using his Gravity Manipulation like a sling, and himself as a projectile. He was carrying Lioras like a sack of potatoes, not even bothering to accord a shred of dignity to the poor man.

"You know," Glenn screamed over the winds and the chaotic snowstorm, "I still don't understand why you Seekers came on the expedition! You're all so fucking useless!"

Lioras grimaced as he swatted away a lump of snow, "It's an agreement with the upper echelons of the Order! There is a VIP in the team we're supposed to rescue, who also made a deal with the Magi Brotherhood as insurance in case things went wrong! That's why so many people are on this expedition!"

Glenn hummed in agreement, "That makes a lot more sense suddenly!"

The snowstorm only grew in intensity, forcing Isadora and Nora to stick closer to Glenn to follow him. Unfortunately, they didn't possess Mana Sight or a similar magical sense and were forced to rely on their sight. If they lost view of Glenn, they were as good as dead in this damned blizzard.

"We're almost there!" Lioras shouted with mixed fear and excitement. Glenn's grin only grew wider as he kept on pushing through the storm. He suddenly stopped, his feet buried deep in the snow.

"What's going on—hey!" The scholar yelped as Glenn threw him to the side.

"The hell is that...?" Glenn muttered under his breath, staring at a mass of Mana moving inconspicuously in the storm. It was bouncing up and down and sending trays of pale blue Mana toward the sky every ten seconds or so. It didn't seem like it noticed the group, though.

Glenn raised a closed fist, which Isadora and Nora instantly understood as an enemy presence.

'I might be wrong, but I think that this thing is contributing to the poor weather,' Diamanes commented with an interested tone, 'That Mana doesn't look very high quality though, and weather magic is infamous for needing a lot of talent, Mana, and skills.'

"Since when do you know so much about weather spells?" Nelg asked a surprisingly very relevant question, but Diamanes completely ignored him. Glenn slowly unsheathed his longsword and changed its form to its greatsword. Without another second of hesitation, he hacked down with all his strength and used Cut & Pull to attack the Mana formation. His Mana Sight flared up as the Mana formation fell apart in two slices that flew in his direction.

"Brace yourselves," Glenn warned calmly as he cast the Saturn Rings on himself and used the Lord's Shield to create a direct barrier between him and the incoming Mana masses. This power he stole from King's Rise's statues was quite convenient in these situations. It didn't take long for the projectiles to crash harmlessly against his Lord's Shield, splashing it red.

Glenn carefully dismissed the Lord's Shield and observed the corpse of what he just slayed. It looked like a raptor, the dinosaur, and not the damned truck, but it had arms similar to humans in length. Its skin was pale, white, or a very light blue.

"What the hell is that?" He asked as Lioras scrambled next to him. Isadora and Nora also carefully stepped in, frowning at the corpse's sight.

"I've never seen anything like it," Isadora shook her head. Nora clicked her tongue and looked away, searching through the blizzard for more threats. Lioras adjusted his glasses position as he gently pried open the jaws of the creature.

"Uhm..." He scratched the top of his head and laughed nervously, "I think that might be a Dragonoid. Haha, but that's absurd, right?" Lioras stared at them with a lost look before shaking his head.

"No, I'm probably wrong. Dragonoids have been extinct for as long as dragons, and they're not..." He grimaced as he glanced back at the corpse, "...so bestial. They should have an intellectual capacity equal to us, and a much more humanoid body. But that jaw...It's almost perfectly similar to what I've seen in records and corpses we've been able to find."

Glenn looked at the scholar with surprise, "Damn, so you know your stuff? You are not entirely useless then!"

Lioras glared at him, "Why would I assume I am?"

To that Glenn didn't even bother replying.

"Now, the million-credit question is...what the hell would an alleged Dragonoid be doing on top of the Dark Wall, and why would it mess with the weather?" Nora asked, her katana's blade gleaming sharply as snow piled on it.

Glenn glanced at their surroundings and frowned. There were a few more similar Mana formations that he could now attribute to the Dragonoids. He swung his sword a few more times, killing half a dozen of them and Cut & Pulling their corpses back to his position. They were exact copies of the first specimen he slaughtered, with no noticeable differences.

The snowstorm seemed to calm down slightly, letting through a thin ray of moonlight.

"If we push through for a bit more, we should find them!" Lioras exclaimed as he looked at his Recorder. He pointed forward, "We just need to go this way!"

Glenn looked in said direction, just in time for the snowstorm to clear up slightly more and reveal two sharp mountain cols joining together to create a massive cavern.

'Oh yeah, this smells like adventure alright!' Diamanes exclaimed excitedly.

Glenn gritted his teeth and picked Lioras up, "Let's keep going in, we're almost there." He looked at the two ladies and grinned wickedly.

"I hope you're ready to slay a dragon because I certainly am."