Sweat nearly drenched Harvey's entire body. Fatigue was on his face and weighing down his body.
He clearly hasn't recovered since taking down the last Demonic Beast. Even if he can take out one, the other bird beast would be right upon him to do irreparable damage.
Ervin had a chance to just ignore this, pretending he didn't see Harvey's struggle to preserve his own safety.
But at the same time, Ervin also saw an opportunity. Helping out Harvey would make him feel a debt of gratitude and cause his dependence on him to increase. Allies, even as they are people he doesn't care about, are still greatly useful.
Thus, Ervin decided to lend a hand.
Ervin forced his Mana, pushing out nearly all that was left in his Magical Space. In exchange, glittering flows of Mana rippled from his legs as he blasted out at speeds that rocked the ground.
His silver sword sliced through the air, crossing dozens of meters to kill whoever was in its path. The extreme speed of Ervin pushing himself to the limits was enough to match one of the Demonic Bird Beasts.
At this time, the Demonic Bird was still dodging the wisps of flames from Harvey's leap. Its speed slowed down just enough for Ervin to quickly catch right up to it.
A blinding flash of silver gleamed through the wisps of flames.
Blood splashed out. Ervin's silver sword pierced right through the Demonic Bird's beast skull, instantly destroying its brain!
Without stopping violently swung out his other fist, seemingly unleashing a powerful burst of air.
The strong gust of wind at most slightly rattled the feathers on the other Demonic Bird. However unknown to it and Harvey, within the gust of wind was actually a flow of Ervin's Telekinesis Mana!
The Telekinesis Mana phased into the Demonic Bird without any issue.
Without warning, the Demonic Bird's flight speed began to slowly die. Its large eye widened even more. The unbearable suppression left its body shaking in confusion.
At the same time, Harvey noticed the other Demonic Bird flying far slower in Ervin's gust of wind punch. He simply thought that Ervin's higher Mana power was enough to cause a suppression of the beast.
Using the moment, Harvey reacted on instinct. He quickly shot out his magical gun, unleashing a fiery blaze of destruction straight toward the Demonic Bird.
'Bang!'
The Demonic Bird's painful howls were drowned out by the raging flames. Its entire body was torched to ashes within a few seconds.
"Haah..." Harvey released a large sigh. His body trembled as he nearly fell to his knees.
Seeing the state of his partner, Ervin swiftly rushed up to keep Harvey stable. It was easy for Ervin to keep Harvey standing upright until he caught enough breaths.
"You..." Harvey wryly smiled as he stared into Ervin's calm face. "Where you lack in social skills, you always make up for it in battle. Damn, man. You practically saved my life!"
He had already seen Ervin in a highlight before. That determination he has for Magic is quite infectious in him. But with this new save, Harvey could not begin to express his gratitude towards Ervin. His eyes flashed with a faint sense of reverence.
What Mage Enforcer wants to die?
Many had a bright future ahead of them filled with glory, power, and riches.
Harvey especially had so many goals he wanted to fulfill in what could be his short life. Because of Ervin's help, he won't be in a critically injured state or worse, have his life be taken away. It was impossible for Harvey to not feel a heavy debt of gratitude toward Ervin.
That look in Harvey's eyes was exactly what Ervin was looking for. One secured ally is better than none.
Still, keeping his emotions in check, Ervin calmly said, "Don't mention it, you would do the same. But for now, let's turn our attention to clearing away these demonic beasts."
"Right!" Harvey may be tired, but his eyes still shone with a fiery determination.
The near-death experience gave him that push to face danger head-on knowing that for his partners any day could also be their last!
Ervin calmly swept his gaze through the battlefield. He faintly smiled knowing that they really didn't need to put in any extra work to clear away the demonic beasts.
It only took several more minutes.
With Ervin and Harvey helping out their respective teammates, the demonic bird flock was quickly cleared away.
The ruined destruction of the battlefield was a bit chilling. The main cause of destruction came from John. His slashes of powerful flames incinerated everything in its way.
Ashes continually spread all over the field while large holes split open the ground. The destruction here could absolutely raze through a small town.
With the Demonic Birds all dead, the team finally had a chance to catch their breaths.
They all took little deep breaths while ingesting vials of Mana potions. The vials quickly replenished their lost magical energy reserves. But it could not help with the severe mental exhaustion of continuous use of Magic along with straining their bodies to the limit.
Of course, among them all John was the least tired. He only had some beads of sweat rolling down his face.
In their short period of rest, John locked his gaze with Ervin. Genuine respect flowed through his eyes as he said, "I saw you back there. Promptly after finishing your birds, you went over to save Harvey from a near-critical situation. The superiors will be glad to know about this and your breakthrough."
"You really did that?" Jane and Kane's eyes illumined. They already know that Ervin is a reliable member of their team. But his value increased even more when hearing this.
Harvey proudly nodded to their questions. "That's right. If not Ervin, I may have not only lost my eyes, and I truly could have lost my life..."
Throughout this entire time, Ervin only gave a faint smile while giving seemingly humble answers.
In reality, he was focusing on what John had said. Seeing him finish off the birds could mean he might have glanced upon his Innate Ability.
Several plans ran through Ervin's mind if that were the case. However, judging from how John did not make an attempt to speak with Ervin alone nor did his eyes hold any suspicious glance, Ervin believed he should be in the clear.
But just in case, he kept his plans at the front of his mind. He would always be prepared for the unexpected.
...
Several hours swiftly passed.
Ervin's patrol went on normally. After the flock of Demonic Birds, nothing crazy occurred.
Some other weaker Class 1 Demonic Beast tried to get in their way before it was promptly killed. But that was the usual for them.
When twilight was finally settling in on Lightwall City, the team returned back home. There was no interruption as they made it back to the safe area beside the entrance gates.
For a moment, everyone took a load off. Relieved sighs echoed around.
Large smiles filled Harvey, Jane, and Kane's faces. Kane couldn't help but chuckle at this moment. "Haha...so good to finally be home!"
All throughout the patrol, none of them could get rid of the nagging thought that another Demon Beast flock might ambush them. Their minds absolutely couldn't rest no matter how hard they tried to suppress this thought. It stuck to their cores like glue, resulting in an extra bundle of stress.
All of that stress rippled out of their bodies once they were in a confirmed safe area. Even with a greater mentality than Non-Mages, Mage Enforcers could only take so much stress.
John understood this the moment. He only shook his head in understanding. Turning over from them, he locked eyes with Ervin. "After you're done here, meet me outside to report back to our superiors. With your new realm and deeds done today, you will get a heft bonus in magical crystals."
As he spoke, John swiftly left the safe area.
"You're getting a bonus award? That only makes sense." Kane casually nodded. He felt there was not a more deserving person than Ervin.
"True..." Harvey was about to speak more but he stopped himself. His eyes lit up, just remembering something important at this moment. "Ah! I nearly forgot with how hectic this day was. But Ervin. You should totally come to the New Mage Enforcer party. Among the new recruits, some people talked about your serious personality. And I'll be sure to spread the word of how you saved my life. Join us! It'll be fun and you can probably meet some beautiful women mages over there as well."
He was sure his end offering would sweeten the deal. Ervin is still a man after all. Harvey thought there should be someone's level of desire in his brain.