While Chris and Big Mike were still messing around, Skinny Pete slipped over to Ethan.

"Captain—take me to chase those guys down. Let’s grab a few of those as mounts. Imagine it: Fallen Star Squad, one per person. That’d look sick."

"I was thinking the same thing," Ethan said, nodding.

Those red birds were ridiculously fast, could use abilities, and were high tier. Way better mounts than Flint and the others.

Skinny Pete laughed, full of confidence. "Then let’s go. With my current strength, getting one for each of us is easy."

"One each?" Ethan rubbed his chin. "Nah. My plan is... to take the whole pot."

Skinny Pete blinked. "Huh?"

"Captain, that’s like—tens of thousands. You could kill me and I still couldn’t control that many."

"Who said you’re controlling that many?" Ethan shot him a look.

He pointed toward the distant sky. "I’ve already figured out which one’s the leader. It’s been hiding well, but it didn’t fool me. I left it alive on purpose—for you."

Skinny Pete’s eyes widened.

"As long as you can control the leader," Ethan went on, "we basically control the entire Flamebird flock."

"...Oh." Skinny Pete’s face lit up. "Oh, that’s actually genius."

The others crowded in too, having overheard. The moment they caught on, the mood spiked.

"If we can control the whole flock, that’s insane," Big Mike said, already getting carried away. "Take those Flamebirds outside and it’s straight-up cheating. Give one to every Fallen Star Guard—then we just roll over everything!"

Ethan’s expression stayed cautious. "The idea’s good, but pulling it off won’t be easy. That leader never shows itself. And it’s Stage B. It’s surrounded by peak Tier 17 Flamebirds."

He paused, then said bluntly, "If we just wanted it dead, that’d be simple. Controlling it? That’s the hard part."

He turned to the team. "Henry, you’re coming with us. Everyone else stays here and digs out crystal cores."

"Got it," they answered in unison.

Ethan reached into his storage ring and pulled out his poleaxe. With a thought, he lifted it into the air.

Then he hopped onto it like it was a surfboard.

"Get on."

Skinny Pete stared. "Uh... what?"

Henry frowned. "I thought you were doing the telekinesis dagger thing."

"The dagger’s too short," Ethan said, dead serious. "One dagger fits one person. If I use more, I can’t control them all at once. Poleaxe is long enough for three—me, you, and Pete."

Telekinetic flight wasn’t the same as telekinesis attacks. Attacking was simple—lock target, push, dagger shoots.

Flight was constant control. Every second took focus. It was literally multitasking in real time.

One platform was fine.

Two was pushing it.

More than that and he’d end up killing his passengers by accident.

"...Alright," Henry said, still not looking thrilled.

Skinny Pete swallowed. "Sure."

They climbed on—carefully.

Ethan at the blade-end where it was widest, Henry behind him, Skinny Pete clinging to Henry. Both of them looked tense as hell.

Ethan pushed off.

The poleaxe lifted and accelerated, faster and faster.

Wind screamed past them. The world below blurred.

Henry grabbed Ethan like his life depended on it. Skinny Pete grabbed Henry like his life depended on it. Neither of them was breathing right.

This wasn’t a flying mount with a broad back and stable wings.

This was a long metal shaft.

They were basically balancing on the handle.

At this speed, the gusts alone were trying to peel them off.

"Pete—ease up!" Henry hissed, face twisted. "You’re crushing my ribs!"

"Henry," Skinny Pete squeaked, "I’m scared..."

"This telekinetic flight thing is not fun at all..."

"Scared my ass," Ethan called over his shoulder. "You’re Stage B. Even if you fall, you won’t die. Chris just ate the ground a minute ago and he’s fine."

"...Yeah," Henry muttered, not sounding convinced.

Back at the mountain, Chris—still digging crystal cores—suddenly sneezed.

"Who the hell’s talking about me?"

He narrowed his eyes and whipped his head toward Big Mike. "Don’t tell me you’re cursing me in your head again."

Big Mike didn’t even look up. "I’m busy. I’m literally digging cores. When would I have time to curse you?"

"Then who was it?" Chris scratched his head. He couldn’t figure it out, so he gave up and went right back to carving cores out of skulls.

Ethan, with Henry and Skinny Pete hanging on for dear life, caught up to the fleeing Flamebirds in no time.

The whole way there, Henry and Skinny Pete looked like they were about to pass out, but Ethan kept the poleaxe rock-steady. No wobble. No sudden drops. No surprises.

The Flamebirds noticed them chasing—and absolutely lost it.

Seriously? They weren’t done?

This trip had already been a total disaster for the flock. They hadn’t gotten any food, they’d lost a ton of their own, and they hadn’t even been able to retrieve the bodies.

And now, even after they’d tried to retreat, these weird little ground-creatures were still coming. Like the Flamebirds were easy prey.

Fine.

A huge section of the flock whipped around in unison and opened fire. Streams of flame blasted toward the three of them.

Henry reacted instantly, throwing a Divine Shield over all of them.

Ethan didn’t slow down.

He rammed straight through the incoming fire and plunged into the Flamebird flock.

Bringing Henry wasn’t just about the shield. If Ethan hit too hard and crippled the leader, he’d need Henry to patch it up. A controlled leader was worth more alive than dead.

They cut through clusters of Flamebirds, weaving between wings and beaks while Ethan scanned nonstop for the leader.

The shields cracked quickly under the sheer volume of attacks—then Henry slapped fresh ones on, again and again.

After more than a minute of diving through the swarm, Ethan finally spotted it.

The Flamebird leader.

The instant it realized Ethan had locked onto it, it bolted backward—and the surrounding Flamebirds shifted to hide it, folding around it like bodyguards.

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. "Yeah? Run where?"

He inhaled once.

"Absolute Stasis."

The world stopped.

Wings froze mid-beat. Fire hung in the air like solid paint. The entire sky turned into a still frame.

Ethan teleported.

He appeared directly above the leader, his fist already wrapped in that black, annihilating glow.

He drove it down.

"THUD—!"

A heavy, sickening impact.

The leader exploded with blood, its body snapping downward as it started to fall.

Ethan teleported again, chasing it, and clamped one hand around its throat—ready to haul it away.

Then—

Everything resumed.

The flock’s eyes widened as one.

They saw Ethan holding their leader by the neck.

And the sky went insane.

Flamebirds shrieked and dove from every direction, a living red storm surging straight at him.

"How the hell—so fast?" Ethan’s stomach dropped.

That stasis had eaten more than half his mental energy. By his estimate, he should’ve gotten close to two full seconds.

Instead it broke a little over one.

It threw off his timing completely.

But he didn’t have time to dwell on it. He was in a bad spot now. If he kept holding the leader, he was not getting out—especially not with this many converging.

And his Teleportation couldn’t take living targets. If he wanted to blink away, he’d have to let go.

"Captain—help!" Skinny Pete’s scream ripped through the chaos.

Ethan snapped his head.

Without his focus, the poleaxe had lost its telekinetic support and was dropping. Henry and Skinny Pete were dropping with it, falling straight down like stones.

On the way, flaming feathers and fire blasts hammered them so hard it was hard to watch—shieldless for a beat, getting absolutely lit up.

Ethan made the call.

He released the leader instantly and teleported beneath them.

The poleaxe was tumbling down after them. Ethan yanked it back into control, sending it whipping up.

"Grab it!"

Henry and Skinny Pete latched on in panic, arms locking around the shaft. Their fall slowed—then stopped.

Henry didn’t waste a second. He threw Divine Shield over them again.

Ethan pushed the poleaxe hard, dragging them out of the flock’s crush and back into open air, away from the swarm’s center before the Flamebirds could surround them again.