“What do you mean it’s the Ultimate?” Jongin asked with furrowed eyebrows.

“Is it that hard to understand?” Mira growled as she pulled herself back up to her feet. The burning sensation had subsided enough for her to pull herself together. “The earthquake must have spurred the Ultimate’s powers, and his sudden outburst affected my magic.”

“Then we should hurry up and head in that direction before he disappears,” Kyungsoo nodded as he tightened the straps of his backpack.

“Should we… should we stay and help around here first?” Suho asked hesitantly as he glanced at the people in need of aid around them.

Kyungsoo placed a hand on his shoulder and firmly shook his head. “They’re not our responsibility. You should know where our priorities lie.”

Suho opened his mouth to protest, but reluctantly agreed with Kyungsoo’s words; he was right, after all.

“Are you alright now?” Haiku asked Mira quietly. He wrapped his arm around her waist and helped her move forward in case she wasn’t stable enough to do so herself.

She chuckled after seeing his worried glance and tapped him lightly on the head. “I’m fine now.”

“Do you think your magic is stable enough to help us detect where he is?” Kyungsoo asked Mira hesitantly. “If not, we should be fine just following the fire.”

“I could use it, but it wouldn’t be much help,” Mira shook her head. “My magic tracks bodies, and I have no idea how the Ultimate looks like so I wouldn’t be able to tell if it was him or just another citizen. My searching is only useful in areas that are supposed to be abandoned by humans, because then it would be easy to detect the odd one out.”

“We’ll just have to follow the fire and see where it leads us,” Chanyeol nodded optimistically. “He can’t stray that far away from it anyways!”

“This is really great and all,” Sehun piped up with a straight face. “But are we going to get something to eat or what?”

***

Chanyeol let out a low whistle as they observed the destruction that had taken place in front of them. “That Ultimate is certainly no joke.”

The forest that stretched for acres before them had been burned down to a crisp. They could see the fire still continuing on miles away from where they were located, for the air continued to grow in grey smog.

“If that kid was here, he’s definitely long gone by now,” Jongin sighed with frustration.

“What do you think, Mira?” Suho glanced at the Ultimate, hoping for a second opinion.

She remained silent for a few seconds as she the charred dirt. She shook her head as she climbed back to her feet. “He can’t be far.”

Suho’s eyes widened with hope. “Really? Do you think you can find him?”

Mira paused for a moment before nodding her head. “Yes.”

“Then what are we waiting for?” Sehun exclaimed eagerly as he practically ran forward. “Let’s get a move on!” He stopped when he realized that Mira had remained in the same position as before, and frowned at her lack of movement. “Why aren’t you moving?”

“You guys are staying here,” Mira responded simply. “I’ll find him myself.”

“I don’t think so,” Baekhyun answered with narrowed eyebrows. He placed a firm hand on her shoulder, but it was quickly knocked away by a growling Haiku.

“Don’t touch her so easily just because you can.” Haiku hissed as he pulled the girl closer to his side.

“Stay here,” Mira repeated firmly. She stared at them all straight in the eyes without even the slightest bit of submission. “Stay here. I’ll find him on my own.”

“Why would we let you go off on your own?” Jongin asked suspiciously. “Why can’t we follow you?”

“You’ll be a burden,” Mira answered simply without hesitation. “So stay behind.”

Suho was taken aback by her response. “We won’t be a burden, Mira. It’ll be dangerous for you to go on by yourself,” he urged kindly. “We’ll stay out of your way.”

Mira stared at him in silence for a few seconds before finally continuing with, “You’ll stay behind, or we won’t be finding the Ultimate today.”

Baekhyun stared at her for a few seconds before pulling his backpack from his shoulders and tossing it to the ground. 

“Hyung!” Sehun protested at how easily the elder gave in.

“You better find him,” Baekhyun growled as he ped the pack to prepare to set up camp. He ignored the appreciative look she offered him.

“I will,” Mira answered as she unhooked her own bag from her shoulders and set it down beside him. “I’ll move faster without it.”

She nodded over at Haiku, and he easily understood what she wanted. He swiped his fingers across his wrist, and two large wings protruded from his back. 

“We’ll be back by sun fall,” Mira stated before climbing into Haiku’s arms. 

Before the other boys could get a single question in, the pair were already soaring across the sky.

“Can we really trust her?” Jongin asked with furrowed eyebrows as he watched the couple disappear from sight.

“Do we have much of a choice?” Kyungsoo responded. “She hasn’t given us any reason to distrust her yet, so I don’t feel nervo