Last Thaw vanished behind them quickly, as expected given the low cloud cover and rain. The final thing to disappear was the burning light atop the Moon Mother’s temple, which kept them company much longer than it should have.

  Orion finally looked away once it disappeared, feeling strangely lonely despite being surrounded by hundreds of witches.

  “She will be with us, whether we can see her or not,” Pauline said from beside him, easily keeping pace with her sleek broom.

  “I wasn’t worried about that,” Orion answered, barely stopping himself from rolling his eyes. He appreciated that no one was trying to force him into worship, but small comments like that reminded him that the Sanctum was still a cult, whether the people were nice or not.

  Without the distracting light behind him, he was able to focus on his surroundings and had to admit that the army cut an intimidating sight.

  The witches didn’t necessarily wear a uniform, but their clothing was all shades of black, white, and silver, giving them a consistent look. When set against the dark clouds above, they were barely visible from below, which let them drop down on any enemy with very little warning.

  They were moving at a pretty good speed as well. Not as fast as he knew the brooms could go, but that would probably limit their ability to spot and respond to any threat lurking in the massive waterway below them.

  We still need a few more hours to reach the Floating Bridge. This is slower than the carriage we took from Valderun.

  It wasn’t necessarily disappointing, but it did make him realize this whole operation wouldn’t end with a quick strike. It’d take them days to fly across the length of the Belt to the northern sea, and that was without considering the time they’d spend fighting.

  That was quickly proven true as a wall of kelp erupted from the river, reaching surprisingly high into the sky to block their way.

  Orion knew for a fact that the leading group could have easily adjusted their trajectory and flown over it, leaving whatever strange monster had foolishly gotten in their way behind without wasting time. But that would mean letting it get unacceptably close to Last Thaw, which was why he was not surprised when bolts of silver light began raining down on it, shredding the resilient fibers, until more powerful spells were cast as a chant rang out from a dozen witches casting simultaneously.

  “Look closely, Orion. That is why the Lunar Sanctum is regarded as one of the most powerful major factions,” Pauline explained, and Orion had to nod in agreement.

  Tier two witches, despite their experience, couldn’t summon more mana than he from the Field, but when working together, they managed to warp the air around the kelp monster, changing its chemical makeup into highly exotic matter that exploded in silver flames, burning through the vegetal wall instantly.

  It was so intense that even from hundreds of feet in the air, Orion could feel the heat, yet the water of the Belt remained untouched, as only the monster burned.

  It collapsed inward, trying to drown out the flames in the water, but it was too late. Judgment had already been passed, and now it was only a matter of time before its life came to an end.

  Soon enough, they resumed their flight, leaving the charred remains of a tier three creature behind without a second glance.

  Orion rolled a couple of pebbles in his left hand, wondering how that thing would have reacted to his latest spell. It was hard to say without testing, but he was pretty sure the force [Gravity Cannon] could exert was more than enough to pierce through its tough kelp, though he didn’t know if that would be enough to take it out.

  More likely, he would have needed to use a combination of [Null Light] to stop its regeneration and light spells to burn it out.

  It just goes to show that just because I crafted a new weapon that will work wonders against a specific enemy, it doesn’t mean it will work the same against everything else.

  They didn’t talk much as they flew afterward, as several more monsters emerged from the Belt in an attempt to drive out the overwhelming force passing through their territory, and they were busy eradicating them.

  They could have flown higher to avoid notice, but that would have made searching for the wyrms more difficult, and the fact remained that this wasn’t the natural condition of the Belt’s ecosystem.

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  Behenien’s flock from the north caused almost all creatures there to be pushed south. They had to kill them to restore balance; otherwise, the ecosystem would collapse.

  By the third hour, something finally appeared beyond the grey clouds and the massive river.

  Just like the last time, or perhaps even more so now that he wasn’t afraid of being eaten alive, the Floating Bridge stood as a testament to human skill—a marvel of magical engineering unlike any other Orion had seen so far. It glowed softly as its crystalline material reflected the faint light filtering through the clouds, appearing completely untouched by the attack it had suffered a couple of days earlier.

  They descended to a hover over the Sanctum’s bank as Asteria’s hand lifted, the column rippling slightly but holding its formation.

  Several of the local witches rose from their posts at the end of the bridge to meet them, pale and hollow-eyed.

  Asteria dipped lower and spoke with their Magistra, and while Orion couldn’t hear anything over the distance and rain, he could tell from their body language that the news, while not terrible, wasn’t all that good either.

  They were airborne again within minutes, skimming the bridge’s width and crossing into the open stretch beyond, where the Belt grew even wider, almost filling their entire view.

  Slowly, word trickled back along the line about what had been discussed, and Orion didn’t even try to look subtle as he leaned closer to where Pauline was talking with an elderly witch.

  “…They sent more than expected, but I guess that’s a good thing for now. I remember a time when that many mages so close to our borders would have made us nervous, but things are so different now.”

  “Yes, I suppose it’d be good to have our backs covered twice over,” Pauline hummed, still scanning the water below for the occasional monster that dared rear its head. “And you said they dealt with every wyrmling that was left behind?”

  The question was obviously more for his benefit, but the witch seemed happy enough to keep talking. “Indeed, the local post reported three separate attacks that were handled by the mages before the beasts could get closer than half a mile. Pretty sweet deal, if you ask me, but I guess it wasn’t more than the runts of the flock that had been left behind.”

  Behind them, the bridge finally disappeared into the rain, and soon after, the first real battle of the day drew nearer.

  The first thing Orion noticed was that both Asteria and Candra were starting to rise well above the rest of the formation, and while a few witches gave them curious looks, most seemed to know what was happening.

  He didn’t, so he asked Pauline. “Why are they breaking ranks?”

  “They must have scryed ahead and found a decently sized group,” she replied, eyes shining with anticipation. Like every other witch, she viewed this whole expedition as a religious punishment, so it wasn’t surprising that she wanted to unleash her shadows on the drakes. “They promised us the first battle without interference.”

  Oh, great. I suppose I should have seen this coming. At least, now I can test things without worrying about collateral damage.

  The river's surface bubbled as a swarm began to emerge from the depths. Long dark lines glided beneath it, resembling wakes without hulls. Schools of smaller creatures fled from the deadly force below and broke the surface, leaping into the air and dying under the rain of light arrows shot by the nearest witches.

  “Get ready,” Pauline said sharply. “Here they come.”

  Smaller wyrmlings, half the size of those Orion had fought on the bridge, were the first to emerge, the true vanguard, and also the first to suffer the witches’ wrath, who happily chanted wicked prayers and curses upon their enemy.

  Behind them followed larger beings, serpents the length of houses that burst up from the surface, leaping hundreds of feet in a single burst, and snapping their jaws shut the moment they believed they had their prey in sight.

  Brooms dipped suddenly, losing altitude before regaining it just as quickly, allowing the witches to dodge the lethal teeth, while those higher in the sky used the distraction to cast their spells, summoning powerful gusts of freezing wind that turned the wyrmlings into statues. The sea serpents ignored the magic, their scales too tough to fall so easily, and had to be batted back with more effort.

  A drake emerged, roaring with hunger and soaring out of the water like a missile, its maw opening to release a torrent of purple flames that made Orion flinch at the mere memory of Behenien's power.

  Yet that also failed to take hold, as the chants grew stronger, pulsing through the air and summoning silver runes that redirected the energy away.

  One lone witch, who had gotten too low in her maneuvering, was caught up in it and vanished into the fires, never to be seen again. But her sisters didn’t hesitate to punish the wyrm for its deeds, transforming the air around it to freeze it in place and unleashing a communal beam of light that roared with power and punched through its scales with no resistance, slamming into the frothing water below and causing another explosion.

  Orion’s fingers found his pebble again as he contemplated the situation, waiting for his moment to strike.

  Killing the wyrmlings is satisfying, but it isn’t providing me with useful data. I should focus on the bigger ones and see if I can sustain the necessary power for longer.

  He looked up and saw that Asteria and Candra had climbed so high they were almost invisible in the rain, watching and intentionally staying out of sight.

  It’s a test, probably for both sides. They are blooding the younger witches and letting the Magistrae get a handle on the enemy we’ll have to face. It might result in a few losses, but it’s nothing compared to what going up against Behenien unprepared would be like.

  He wanted to complain about the callousness, but he knew better. Most witches were below Tier Two, and while that was still a decent level compared to the general population, it wouldn’t be enough on its own. They needed to unify and work together seamlessly if they wanted to face the tides of the draconic flock.

  “Stay near me, I’ll find you a target,” Pauline said, shifting her broom with her thighs. They shifted a little to the right of the center line, joining up with the group of witches that had been casting the cooperative spells.

  They were tiring, and it wouldn’t be long before something else attacked them.

  Something massive moved beneath, causing the river’s surface to dome, split, and reveal the head of a sea drake. It emerged bristling with fins that were as sharp as knives and scales thicker than those of any wyrm, colorless and slick, belonging to a body twice the size of the biggest monster so far. It coiled as it rose, poised to strike.

  “That’s yours,” Pauline gestured.

  Orion rolled a pebble across his palm and activated the gravity sleeve. The Higgs coupling locked into place smoothly, starting to add mass. He adjusted his window, squared his shoulders in the saddle, and aimed carefully.

  He didn’t overthink it, despite his desire to lose himself in the calculations.

  “[Gravity Cannon],” he said, and let it rip.

  The pebble flew from his fingers with a bang, followed shortly by a roar.

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