That escape had required far more effort than Mochi had imagined.
For hours, she had been forced to calculate every jump with precision, constantly adjusting the amount of ether she sent into her legs to increase her strength. At the same time, she had also been feeding Kero with energy to enhance his abilities and cushion any dangerous falls.
The result was obvious. She felt exhausted.
Not completely drained, but tired enough to feel the weight of every movement.
Mari watched her with concern.
"Are you okay, Onee-san?"
"Yeah... I just need a second."
Mochi took several deep breaths. The cold mountain air filled her lungs.
Then she stood up.
"Alright. That's enough resting."
Mari blinked. "Huh?"
"We need to leave before they find us."
Mochi extended a hand. The girl took it without hesitation.
The two of them quickly moved away from the area. In truth, Mochi would have preferred to sit down for a few more minutes. Maybe ten or twenty.
But they couldn't afford that luxury. They were completely exposed in the middle of the mountain.
And on top of that, the darkness was working in their favor. If they were going to escape, this was the best opportunity they would get.
"I'm sure I saw a trail nearby when we were flying over here..."
Mochi scanned the surroundings.
"There it is!"
A narrow trail wound its way down the mountainside between the trees.
"Come on, Mari."
The two began descending as quickly as they could. The slope was uneven and slippery in places, forcing them to be careful not to trip.
As she ran, Mochi noticed something strange.
She stopped for just a moment. There were footprints. Lots of footprints.
Human footprints.
Her expression changed as she crouched down to examine them. They were relatively recent.
Some looked small, while others clearly belonged to adults.
It didn't make any sense.
Based on everything they had discovered so far, no one should have been living up there.
And yet the tracks were everywhere.
Mochi felt a spark of curiosity but she immediately shook her head. This wasn't the time.
Mari was the priority.
She could investigate later.
She started moving again.
That was when it happened. Her ears stiffened. A distant, rhythmic sound.
The beating of wings.
Mochi came to an abrupt stop, and Mari nearly ran into her.
"What's wrong?"
The young catgirl looked up into the darkness of the sky.
The sound came again.
More than once. More than one creature.
Her expression turned serious.
Instinctively, she estimated the remaining distance to the edge of the mountain.
Too far.
The two of them wouldn't make it, not even if they ran.
The tengu could fly.
No matter how fast they moved, the creatures would eventually catch up to them. And if she tried to fight while protecting Mari, her chances of keeping the girl safe would drop dramatically.
There was only one option left.
Mochi knelt in front of the child.
"Mari, listen to me carefully."
The little girl nodded.
"I need you to keep going down the mountain by yourself."
Mari's eyes widened.
"By myself?"
"Yes."
Mochi pointed toward the trail.
"Just keep heading downhill. Don't leave the path."
Mari looked like she was about to protest.
"But..."
"Listen."
Mochi's voice was firm.
"If you see two girls, tell them I'm up here."
Mari nodded slowly.
"Are they your friends?"
"My teammates."
A small smile appeared on Mochi's face.
"And they're really strong."
The girl lowered her gaze.
"What are you going to do?"
Mochi stood up. She flexed her fingers, then struck one fist against the palm of her other hand.
"I'm going to get their attention."
Mari blinked.
"And then?"
"Then I'm going to beat them up."
The confidence in her voice finally made the child smile.
"Okay."
Mochi watched as Mari started down the trail.
She waited until the girl disappeared among the trees. Only then did she look back up at the sky. The sound of wings was growing louder. Closer.
She still couldn't see the creatures, but she knew they were out there searching for them.
Then an idea crossed her mind.
She slipped a hand into her pocket, pulled out her smartphone, and switched on the flashlight. A powerful beam of light cut through the darkness.
Mochi raised her arm and began waving it from side to side.
"Here I am!"
Her voice echoed through the trees.
"Hey! I'm over here!"
She waved the flashlight again, and the response was immediate.
The sounds of flapping wings changed direction.
Now they were coming straight toward her.
Mochi put her phone away. The forest was swallowed by darkness once more.
She settled into a fighting stance. Her heart was pounding. She was tired.
Far more tired than she would have liked but she could still fight.
And if she managed to land the first hit...
The odds would be in her favor.
Mochi smiled.
"Come on... get down here already."
Her confidence shattered in an instant.
The sound of beating wings became deafening.
One shadow descended between the trees.
Then another.
And a third.
Mochi felt her stomach tighten.
"Oh... come on..."
Three gigantic figures landed in front of her. The ground trembled slightly beneath their weight.
Their bodies retained a humanoid shape, but their crimson faces possessed rigid, inhuman features. Their long, sharp noses jutted out like beaks, while their golden eyes reflected the moonlight without blinking.
The enormous black wings folded behind their backs looked large enough to completely cover a person.
Mochi swallowed.
She didn't need to use an ether pulse.
There was no need.
The difference in power was so great that she could feel it in the air.
It was like standing before a storm.
Two of them were C-rank anomalies.
And the one standing in the center...
Was a B-rank.
The pressure radiating from him was overwhelming.
For a moment, Mochi was reminded of the feeling she had experienced in front of some of the strongest people she knew.
That creature was on an entirely different level from her.
Her fingers tightened around her ether knuckles. This fight was lost before it had even begun. There was no real chance of victory.
Not even if she had been fully rested, and certainly not after the exhausting prison escape.
The only thing she could do was buy time. Distract them. Delay them long enough for Mari to escape. That was all. Mochi raised her fists and settled into a fighting stance.
Her eyes moved from one tengu to the next, searching for any opening. Any weakness. Any possibility. But then something unexpected happened.
"Stop."
The voice came from the tengu standing in the center.
It was deep, calm, and surprisingly clear.
It did not sound like the voice of a beast.
It sounded like the voice of a person.
"We are not here to fight."
Mochi blinked. That was not the response she had been expecting.
The massive tengu took a step forward. His wings slowly spread with a dry creak.
"Our master wishes to see you."
Silence settled over the forest.
Mochi kept her guard up.
"Your master?"
"That is correct."
The tengu's golden eyes remained fixed on her.
"If you come with us willingly, we will not harm you."
She frowned. That sounded far too convenient.
"And if I refuse?"
"Then we will be forced to use force."
The answer came without threats or hostility. It was simply a statement of fact. As though he were describing something inevitable.
Mochi looked at the three tengu, then glanced back toward the path Mari had used to escape.
She quickly calculated the time in her head.
If the girl had continued downhill without stopping, she should be quite far away by now.
Maybe she had even found help.
At least, that was what Mochi hoped.
Besides...
Even if she wanted to fight, she knew perfectly well how it would end.
Those three could defeat her without much trouble.
"Well..."
Mochi slowly raised both hands.
"Alright."
The three tengu remained motionless.
"I'll go with you."
That did not mean she trusted them.
Not even close.
She was simply choosing the option that gave her the best chance of surviving—and of finding out what was really happening on this mountain.
"Excellent," replied the tengu in the center.
No one said anything else.
A few moments later, Mochi once again found herself soaring through the night sky.
This time, however, the situation was different.
She was no longer a prisoner being transported to a cell.
Or at least, that was how it seemed.
The cold wind struck her face as she looked down at the mountain from above.
Now she could make out the structures she had seen earlier more clearly.
There were far more buildings than she had expected.
Some looked like warehouses, others like homes.
She could even see narrow paths connecting them to one another.
This looked much more like a settlement than a simple hideout.
Eventually, they began to descend.
Mochi expected to be taken back to the pit where Mari had been imprisoned.
But that was not what happened.
The tengu landed in front of the largest building on the entire mountain.
It stood out clearly from all the others.
The structure was large and sturdy, and far better maintained than the rest.
They set her down on the ground.
"Go ahead."
Mochi stared at the entrance.
Then she glanced over her shoulder.
The three tengu were still there.
Standing firm.
She did not need to be a genius to understand that any escape attempt would end very badly.
With a measure of resignation, she walked toward the door.
The interior surprised her immediately.
She had expected something dark and neglected.
Perhaps even savage.
Instead, it was the complete opposite.
The room was impeccably organized.
Several lamps illuminated the space with a warm glow.
The shelves were packed with books, scrolls, and maps.
Documents had been carefully sorted and arranged.
There was even a large table covered with papers and open notebooks.
Everything looked like it belonged to the office of a researcher or scholar.
Not the refuge of a powerful anomaly and then she saw him.
Standing beside the table, reviewing several documents.
The master of the tengu.
Mochi froze. Her eyes slowly widened.
Because the figure standing before her was not an anomaly. He had no wings. No fangs. He was simply...
A human.