Nova, Alicia, and Hilda ran as fast as possible through the forest while trying their best not to attract attention from predators lurking in these dark woods.
Alicia panted heavily as she moved forward with every fiber of her being and used her life detection technique every few seconds to monitor her surroundings for any possible danger approaching them.
Nova was doing his best as well, keeping a fast pace while carrying a dagger in his right hand for any possible danger.
After some time had passed, Hilda asked in a low voice, "Do you think we might be okay now? There aren't any pursuers following us from behind, right?"
Both of them slowed down when they heard what Hilda said, turning around to look back in the direction of their campsite, where a fire had erupted due to several tents burning down.
Even though it was far away already, they could still see flames and smoke rising in the air, making them tremble in fright because of the unknown possibilities happening at this very moment.
"I'm not sensing anyone close to us, at least. But... we still don't know what could happen later," Alicia replied after making sure nobody was after them yet. "It's better not to stop, and let's continue to put some distance between us."
After saying that, she glanced towards Nova with concern written all over her face before picking up speed again.
Hilda nodded quietly in understanding without saying anything else as she hurried along too.
Though she was feeling worried about Gregory, she knew that she had to focus on her safety first before worrying about him.
For a while, the three of them continued traveling through the forest at a rapid pace and didn't stop even once, despite being exhausted from running nonstop.
All of a sudden, Alicia stopped and raised her right hand up in the air as a signal for everyone else to stop as well.
Her expression became grim, and she stared in the direction they were running from before turning towards Nova with an urgent look in her eyes.
"Honey! Quick! There is someone coming after us! And from what my magic tells me... there are four people approaching at high speed!"
"Fuck!" Nova cursed while staring in the same direction. "How were they able to find us!? And why would they chase us!?"
Hilda clenched her fists and said in an anxious tone, "They must have someone with tracking skills, and they might want to silence everyone who ran away! What do we do now?!"
Both Nova and Alicia frowned because neither of them knew about such special skills.
No, they didn't know any other magic skills except for the ones they were able to perform themselves. So it didn't cross their minds earlier that this might happen to them.
"Okay... Fuck! Now it won't matter if we run faster or slower. They will catch up to us sooner or later!" Nova muttered under his breath before facing Alicia again with a stern face.
"You should run ahead with Hilda and try not to let them discover you! I will hide and ambush these guys if possible! If they do find you, make sure to stall them for a while so I can take advantage of the situation!"
"Honey, no! Why are you being so reckless?" Alicia spoke while reaching for Nova, grabbing him by his arm while shaking her head frantically. "I don't want you to get in danger... Please don't..."
"You don't need to worry about me, Alicia." Nova assured her as he leaned down and pressed his lips on top of hers for a kiss, trying to comfort her a little bit.
After pulling back, he gave her a determined gaze. "Everything will be fine! Trust me! It won't take long until they come closer. So hurry up and keep going straight ahead with Hilda!"
After saying that, Nova turned around and dashed away without looking back once.
Hilda stayed rooted to her spot for a moment, feeling helpless and terrified by their current predicament.
When Alicia noticed Hilda standing there unmoving, she ran over and grabbed hold of her hand, tugging at her to get her moving again.
"Come on! Let's follow my husband's instructions. We don't have any other choice... Let's go!"
***
Nova used his invisibility skill to hide himself from sight and crouched down on the ground behind several bushes where he could ambush their pursuers with a surprise attack if possible.
Although he didn't know if he could handle those attackers alone, he wanted to try because their safety was at risk here.
He had no choice other than to make the decision to put his life on the line in order to save Alicia's and Hilda's lives.
After some time, footsteps became audible, and two men soon entered the vicinity where Nova was waiting.
Both of them stopped at once when they noticed signs of a trail that had been made by someone running.
Just then, two other people caught up with those two men.
One of them pointed towards the direction Alicia and Hilda were heading.
"Why are you two standing around?! There are people headed that way! Are you stupid or what? Let's go!"
That guy who yelled at his companions seemed impatient, wanting them to start chasing after their targets already.
However, the two men who came first exchanged glances and shook their heads before turning to face him and telling him something.
"There's a trail leading in this direction. Something isn't right about this..."
Yet their words only angered him even more as he kicked dirt at their feet and then started shouting at them loudly.
"Fuck you, idiots! Who cares about a trail! It should be obvious that those idiots left it for us to follow! Stop making things difficult and just move!"
His tone was full of contempt while glaring daggers at them like he didn't want to waste time arguing with him any further.
Before the other person had a chance to reply, Nova used this chance to rush out from his hiding place.
He ran as fast as he could in a different direction, drawing the attention of the pursuers onto himself.
"There! Someone ran off! I fucking told you there was something weird about this! Get him!"
As soon as they noticed Nova running away in front of them, their group split apart immediately as if they had been practicing beforehand and began chasing after him.
The man who was yelling earlier clicked his tongue and ignored the two men chasing after Nova as he moved forward while calling out to the fourth person behind him.
"Let's continue moving! There are still others we need to catch and eliminate!"
After that, the two men continued on without stopping or glancing back in the direction Nova ran off to.