Chapter 494 - 487. Pursuit
Bassena watched until the last person, Julian, disappeared inside the right hole before turning around to observe the path he would enter. Now that he was standing in front of the entrance, he could feel what Zein had sensed earlier; the leftover corrupted mana of the Fragment.
The compass was pointing steadily into the hole, but Zein had yet to feel the presence of the shards, which meant they were still considerably far away from the shards. That, or the presence of the Fragment overshadowed the guide’s senses.
He turned toward Zein, who was staring anxiously at the dark path. "We’re pressed for time, so--"
"Just carry me."
Unlike usual, Zein readily let Bassena handle him. Usually, he would just run like any esper, unless it was a large jump that was impossible for his physique. But this was an emergency, and Bassena couldn’t use teleport in an unknown terrain.
Bassena pressed his lips. He would have made some flirting comment if it wasn’t for the serious face. "Alright, just concentrate on sensing the shards."
They had no idea how far the shards were, and how many days ago had the Fragment moved. Of course, Zein knew the shards would be able to hold on since there were two of them, but the fact that the Fragment made a move meant it had a way to go past the shards’ barrier.
Perhaps, just as Zein could destroy the fragment, so did they to the shards. And that was what frightened him.
He felt guilty for shoving away his concern about the kids that were pursuing the Specter and a horde of beasts, but between the two options, his priority would always be the shards.
"Do you think that perhaps, the shard at the base could finally sense the twins because they were actively sending out emergency signals?" Bassena asked the guide as he ran through the path. "Maybe they sensed the movement of those beasts around the system and decided to test their luck."
"Maybe," Zein nodded. In that case, it wasn’t a coincidence that they arrived just a few days behind the beasts. "But then the emergency signal caught the Fragment’s attention."