Alden ran through the crumbling ruins of the city.
He didn't just run—he used Shadow Steps, flickering through the terrain to reduce the distance as quickly as possible.
Explosions and magical shockwaves echoed from the centre. It had to be Sorin, still clashing with the Demon Contractors.
Alden too had already defeated dozens of enemies on his way—most of them were Initiate Rank contractors.
The majority of the invaders were either initiates or, at most, low-level apprentices.
Only a handful ranked higher. Their job wasn't to win. It was to stall. To buy time. To keep the academy professors occupied.
Most of the instructors who had joined the expedition were around Master Rank.
Even Sorin was only at the peak of Master Rank.
Aziel's location was near the centre.
And as Alden walked towards the centre, the number of demon contractors was increasing.
That increased Alden's urgency even more.
He has to reach Aziel as soon as possible.
