First things first though, I had to get closer to them.

That in itself was going to be tricky.

Sure, I was transparent and not glowing, but still was able to reflect light. One unlucky gaze or accidental flash of light from somewhere and someone would spot me. I probably could crawl, covered behind the sand dune or something, but that would take time, and I had to act quickly, before the rest was going to come back, and the four remaining awakened completely.

Right now, there was only one pair fully awake, the other one was dozing next to each other in a corner of a building some few steps away.

The two were “patrolling” the area, or rather the taller one was wandering from building to building aimlessly, apparently killing time, waiting for the rest, while the smaller was sitting a bit further away, in a shade of a building.

It was technically possible for me to get rid of one, if I was quick and silent enough without other noticing. I just had to get the timing right.

With that in mind I stood up and stretched, checking how my mobility was. Hidden behind the wall, I could without issue test my ability without much fear of being seen.

What I didn’t account for was the noise, though. If I was to move haphazardly, I’d definitely be heard: my body was prone to making some grinding noise if I was to move without thinking. At least the sand was masking my footsteps, though.

A bit reassured, I started moving.

From shadow to shadow, from ruined building to ruined building, I started getting closer to the one patrolling the area.

While he was taller than the other one, he was the most exposed one, especially when he was wandering. Besides that, his mana was not exactly the strongest. I am not sure if that was because of the mana they volunteered for the ritual before, or just because they were that weak.

Nevertheless, some ten steps away, hidden in the shadow, I froze, thinking of the first problem.

Was he able to detect mana?

I conjured a ball of mana in my palm and sent it a bit closer to the one in question, and away from me.

I was hoping that he’d notice it and get interested, maybe check it out. That way I’d be able to gauge his ability a bit better.

But alas, the experiment was a failure. He didn’t even notice the ball. Even when I dangled it in front of his face, he passed next to it, not paying attention.

Good for me… I guess?

It was a bit unusual. Sure, a regular person wouldn’t be able to see that, but someone who was living in this desert had to be a bit more… I don’t know, trained? Experienced? Something along those lines?

But nope.

It was both lucky and unlucky for me.

It meant that I was safe, even if I would be two steps next to him, he’d be unaware of me, that is if I was not going to make a noise.

On the other hand, I wouldn’t be able to bait him with mana.

It meant that I had to use a bit more mundane tactics and get closer.

By then I was already in a building that was right next to his “route”.

I say that, but it was hard to even call it a route. He was randomly walking from house to house. Some he ignored, to some he looked inside.

I sat in a building that looked like it would be on his list and waited in a shadowy corner of a room, right next to a door, waiting for him to poke his head in.

I still had a decision to make.

How exactly should I incapacitate the guy?

I mean, magic was always an option, but for now I was a bit apprehensive to use it…

If I was to get rid of him, I’d probably want to use lighting to paralyze and knock him out, like I used to. The problem was, I was no longer sure of my strength.

What if I was weaker than before?

I’d use mana that I would’ve thought to be enough to paralyze him, for him to just retaliate and get everyone else to attack me in retaliation?

There was also the option of using too much, but as much as I didn’t care much about their lives, especially when their friends were oh so eager to kill themselves, it still would’ve left a bad taste in my mouth.

So, physical damage then?

I mean, my hand was not a worse weapon than any metal club. I would be able to silence them quickly, but what if it was not quick enough?

Before I was able to make up my mind, I ran out of time.

The one in question was already next to the room I was in and poked his head inside.

Not even paying attention, they just walked inside, focused on the opposite side wall.

So I pounced.

They definitely did not expect me, which was good luck for me. I immediately covered their face in an attempt to silence any noise and proceeded to push them on the ground with full weight on my body. At the same time, I did cast a quick spell.

-Eisu jemvy.

In an attempt to completely disable them, I stopped the air, essentially choking them.

Well, choking is not exactly correct…

What I did was stop the air around us completely, so no one was unable to breathe out, nor to make any noise. A bit of a dirty spell, sure, but since it didn’t affect me, I didn’t care.

I didn’t want to kill though, so as soon as we fell down and I managed to trap their arms behind their back I quickly took off the wraps that were around their head and proceeded to create a makeshift gag.

I had to act quick.

He, because after seeing the face I could tell, was not resisting very much, to my surprise. Sure, there was some flailing, but that was about it. For a second I thought that I might have been too rough, or that he was already passed out thanks to lack of air, so I released the spell and proceeded to check his pulse.

It was still there, so there was no problem.

I was already draining his mana since I touched him, so as he stopped moving I released my hold, seeing what he was going to do, but there was no reaction.

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I turned the body over, and looked closer.

He was unconscious. I didn’t drain that much mana, but since there wasn’t much to begin with, it was enough for him to black out. And most likely for a good while.

Relieved, I took off some more wraps from his body and tied him up, leaving him in the corner of the room.

I expected that during the scuffle someone would notice that he’s disappeared inside this building, but to my surprise no one was coming.

The small one that hid closer to the rest was still sitting there, not interested, while the other two were nearby and resting.

Or I should say, one.

The other one was also awake and up now. I could tell that this one would be the problem.

While draining the guy, I realized that he was weak because it was indeed the smith that was hammering the Origin Crystal. He had to pull a lot of his energy towards that effort and so was exhausted even today.

Lucky for me.

The one that awakened was now stretching out lazily on the sand. For now there was no indication that they noticed me, so that was good. I just had to wait and see how that situation would unfold.

But nothing much unfolded before the two that went to the dunes came back.

They got here faster than I expected. Did they turn back for some reason?

I was unsure and annoyed that they were back so fast. I thought that I’d have time to get rid of everyone else, not just the one guy. I guess it was some progress, but would that really be so helpful?

It was clear that discovering their missing companion was just a matter of time.

And on top of that, I think that they realized that something was wrong.

As soon as they came into my range, I could tell that both of them were on edge. What did they find?

It was either they realized that I was missing, although with that fast time I wasn’t so sure about that, or the opposite, that they realized that someone else was at their camp.

I couldn’t hear, but I could see that when they came back they'd immediately woken everyone up and started looking for the missing one, at the same time talking as fast as they could.

Their feelings of suspicion and unease were spreading rapidly throughout the camp, and soon I found myself trapped: they were spreading out and searching through the whole town.

One thing was strange though.

With one less pair, I obviously kept my eye on the singular person, to maybe repeat the process with that one, but as I was prodding at their mana, I felt… something different.

Their emotions… sure, they were also uneasy, but… excited? Almost happy?

That did not sound right to me, and yet there it was.

And to be honest, that was not the only strange emotion that was near me.

One of the tall ones was also strangely excited. Definitely not something that you’d feel during a manhunt.

That did not bode well, yet… I felt like I was missing something. Like something else was there, but I couldn’t place it exactly… something familiar.

But I had to expunge those thoughts and focus, because one pair had just appeared right next door.

I had to be ready to repeat my maneuver, this time with multiple targets. Or at least something adjacent to it.

I didn’t have to be stealthy any more. I mean, sure knocking them both out without alarming the rest would be preferable, but with people literally few meters away, I doubt that would’ve been possible.

So I decided that I shouldn’t pull my punches.

Again, I waited for the first one to poke their head inside my hiding spot.

I didn’t have to wait for long. My next target, just like the one before, walked inside the ruined building.

This time though, they were a lot more careful, and didn’t just stroll in without a second thought. They were standing right at the edge of the entryway, barely one step inside the room.

It was good enough for me. Just as they were to notice the slumped body of the other guy, I pounced right at my target.

As it was not the first time, I already had my spell ready and casted it mid-leap. At the same time, I grabbed their neck and with my other hand covered their mouth, just to be doubly safe, and proceeded to drain the mana immediately.

The feeling though… I was shocked.

The sudden rush of adrenaline and pleasure that coursed through me was unreal. It was so abrupt that I reflexively started draining them faster, to boost the rush…

Wait. That was wrong.

Very wrong.

But so good.

But bad.

Stop.

I already felt that once before.

I knew that mana.

Barely managing to contain myself, I slowed down and started removing the wrappings from their head.

From her head.

It was For.

There was no mistaking it. The taste of mana was unmistakable. And even better after having to endure that much of “starvation”. It was hard to stop myself, but I had to. I knew that if I was to hold her any more, she’d be in big trouble.

I released my grip on her head, just holding her down pinned on the ground and turned her to face me.

She still was unable to breathe, under my spell, so she was visibly struggling. Even seeing my face she didn’t give me any recognition at all, so I quickly took back the wrappings and made a gag out of it and promptly covered her mouth, releasing the spell.

She tried to speak, but she was only able to get out a very silent moan that was promptly deafened by the wind that was still present.

It was clear she didn’t recognize me. I guess my face was still not in the best shape after reforming. And my body was a bit different, so I couldn’t blame her.

-For. It’s me.

She shuddered wildly under me and her eyes turned into plates.

-What the fuck?!

Yeah, that’s an expected reaction.

-Exactly. What the fuck. What are you doing here? Why are you with these people?

-I… It’s a long story… Why are YOU here?! I thought you were dead!

I gave her an intense look. Or at least tried to, I am not sure how my face was working exactly.

-Maybe I was. But I am more interested in the fact that you are working with those people. Why? And no lying. I’ll know.

She shifted uncomfortably under my weight.

-They got Kon. And some others. I was trying to get him out!

I didn’t feel a lie. Good.

-So they are your enemies. What’s your plan?

Before she was able to answer, we heard a voice from some nearby building.

-You found anything yet?

-No!

-Nope…

-And you, F?

-She means me. Ungag me so I can reply!

I was a bit uneasy about that, but I did remove my hand and the gag.

-Nothing here. Did they leave or somethin’?

-Seems like it. Let’s move and check the rest of the place.

-Will be with you in a minute… Just need to get rid of some sand. This shit gets everywhere.

-That’s this place for you. You wanted to come here by your own choice, now suffer our pain.

I heard some chuckles.

-Very funny. Just don’t try peeking, or I will kill you.

-Oooh, I am sorry, mistress.

-There. But I need to move quickly.

-Damn. You have them wrapped around your little finger.

-It’s not as good as you think. I am here by stroke of luck.

-Really? Interesting…

-I’m more interested in how you ended up here, but let’s talk later. What are you planning?

-I mean…

I pointed towards the unconscious guy on the ground.

-Yeah… that might be a problem. And by the way, don’t kill him yet.

-Yet?

-I’ll explain later. They are going to look for him. You go hide, I’ll try to think something out… maybe lead them away…

I nodded and backed up.

She dusted herself off and grabbed the guy, starting to drag him away.

As she was far enough from me I quickly ducked into a corner, listening and scanning my surroundings.