The Burning Flowers

Chapter XIV

Laying in a rapidly growing pool of her own blood, Jessi Yuahl was unmoving, her eyes glazed and still full of the shock she had experienced seconds before her death. Everything had happened so fast, from the disappearance of Faye into the archway of the entertainment district to their abrupt arrival in a pocket realm full of mirrors, and before Rennigan got a chance to even begin creating a plan of reaction, Jessi had been stabbed in the throat and killed. A member of his team, somebody he had fought beside ever since his very first day at the Academy of Erika two and a half years ago, was now dead. She had been obnoxious, never failing to voice her negative opinions of Rennigan. Her bright pink hair and irises were an eyesore, and Rennigan often privately lamented how embarrassing it was to be seen in public with somebody who thought such styles were a good idea. They were not friends, something he reminded himself constantly, and very rarely in all their battles had she done anything of value. She couldn’t beat Ryokumo Caeli even with Hiro as backup, she lost to Rennigan within seconds during their match in first year, and her abilities were something he could rarely count on. And yet…

“Father, I would ask you to keep your opinions of Pafran and Yuahl to yourself. Yes, I have expressed dissatisfaction with them, which I believe is fair, but there is a difference between being dissatisfied and utterly disrespecting them as people and as mages. I apologize if this is rude, but I will not sit here silently while you speak ill of my teammates—especially not in front of Rio.”

She was his teammate.

At the end of the day, they were bound by the same experiences, so of course there was a reluctant attachment to her, even if he never felt like putting it into words either vocally or within his own mind. But now she was dead, taken from them without any sort of warning and killed before she could cry out in pain. Her last sight would have been their stunned expressions as they watched her ruthlessly robbed of her future, and for that, Rennigan Glaus could never forgive himself.

“Fire mages truly are the bane of our existence so I’m lucky she entered last.”

With that comment followed by an amused laugh, Hakelades Omorossa spun his dagger around in his right hand, as if to show off his talent with the blade, before wiping Jessi’s blood onto the sleeve of his dark blue overcoat. Rennigan raised his head from Jessi’s body as he gazed at her murderer, his rage only growing as he realized the ringmaster was still wearing his usual attire of his purple and yellow polka dot shirt, long orange tie, and large purple top hat. It felt as if he were mocking them in such a getup, but his demeanor had, in fact, shifted into something much more twisted and sinister. Where normally, it felt like he was putting on a performance when talking to them, at the current moment, it was as if that mask had been tossed aside in favor of a cocky yet almost disinterested attitude, as if he wasn’t all that thrilled about being there.

Through the many mirrors on his left and right, Rennigan was able to see Faye’s wide-eyed expression and directly beside Omorossa was Hirokol, his face covered in Jessi’s blood as he, too, was stunned into immobility. Realizing the danger they were in, Rennigan came to the swift and near-certain conclusion that the pocket realm they were currently inside of belonged to Omorossa, which meant that until they could escape, he would have a huge advantage over them, especially now that they were down one member.

Escape from a pocket realm was not hard in concept, for every single one contained two mana ports connected to the outside world by which the caster’s mana could flow inside and maintain its existence. Should anybody trapped within find the mana port, they could use magic to connect with it and eject themselves back outside. The problem was that both of those ports could be anywhere, and a pocket realm had the potential of being as large as the average Ijirian city. Trying to find one of the ports while also keeping Omorossa at bay might actually be impossible, but Rennigan was not about to go down without at least trying.

All of these thoughts passed through his mind in a matter of seconds, and since he composed himself faster than Faye and Hiro, he was the first one to strike.

“Nikirin!” he chanted, slamming his foot down onto the ground and sending a layer of ice across the floor, towards where Omorossa stood.

Given that Hirokol had been closest to the man, Omorossa’s attention had been understandably turned towards him, giving Rennigan a slight advantage. The ice reached Omorossa’s position in two seconds before it blasted upwards into a thick wall that separated the ringmaster from the three of them, extending towards both walls and the ceiling, fully barricading the corridor of mirrors. With his mana still controlling the ice, Rennigan then directed the wall to slide forward, slamming into Omorossa’s body and rapidly shoving him down the hallway. Rennigan’s attack was what snapped the other two back to reality as Faye cast Custou to begin forming her armor while Hiro dropped down and scooped up Jessi’s body into his arms.

“Run! We need to find a mana port now!” Rennigan snarled seconds before his ice wall shattered apart. His head snapped forward as he was startled, for he hadn’t heard or sensed the casting of an incantation by Omorossa. Yet, one of his most durable spells broke into pieces with the rapid slashing of the ringmaster’s dagger before he was sprinting across the forty yards now between them to reach Rennigan.

“Geldai!” he sputtered, forming four icicles out of his own mana in an attempt to pierce his opponent’s body. However, with reflexes faster than Rennigan had expected, Omorossa dodged past three of them before swinging his knife downwards to slice the final icicle out of the air.

What the hell?! I still didn’t sense any magic so how is he this strong?!

Rennigan suddenly felt an overwhelming terror at the oncoming attacker, wondering if his life was about to be ended as well. He was lucky that Faye managed to reach him before Omorossa could as she yanked him back and met the ringmaster’s attack herself. The knife bounced off of her thick armor of stone, allowing her to get a clean and powerful hit on Omorossa’s chest, launching him into the air and back down the corridor. He managed to avoid falling prone as he rolled into the momentum before using both hands to push himself back to his feet, his comical face contorted in fierce concentration. Shockingly enough, he didn’t appear even slightly wounded, as if Faye’s punch were nothing more than a tap.

Are you fucking kidding me?! This asshole doesn’t have armor like Kristoff, so why can he just take Rio’s attack that that?! What are these cultist bastards made out of?!

Rennigan shrieked out his frustration in the quiet of his mind. They had only survived their encounter with Barron Kristoff because Jessi succeeded in sending up a flare, summoning Master Acostav to their aid. But now, not only was Jessi gone, but they were captured inside a pocket realm, meaning they were cut off from the outside world. There wouldn’t be reinforcements this time. Nobody would show up and save them. Jessi was already dead, and Omorossa might very well kill the rest of them.

Out of the corner of his eye in the mirrors, he could see Hiro silently crouched over Jessi’s body. Rennigan didn’t want to look at them, for he might not be able to remain controlled if he did. Yet, as the leader of this team, he felt it was his duty, so he turned his head and took in the full sight of Hiro’s tear-streaked face as he held his childhood friend in his arms. His eyes were wide with disbelief, his mouth moving, but if he was saying anything, it was too quiet for Rennigan to hear. He wanted to order Hiro to get up and help, but he also couldn’t imagine what was going through his mind. He and Jessi had been together for most of their lives, and she had just been murdered right before his eyes.

But if he doesn’t get up, we might all be joining her here in a moment!

Cursing himself, Rennigan cast Geldai and summoned more icicles as he turned his attention back to Faye and Omorossa. In the few seconds he had watched Hiro, the two combatants had already rushed one another again, but for some reason, Omorossa had tossed his dagger to the ground, as if to fight Faye with his bare fists. He exuded confidence, telling Rennigan that he had no doubt that he would be able to succeed, and as the water mage gazed at those features, a memory forced his way back into his head, turning his body cold with realization.

“As many of you may have heard by now, I am also known by the nickname ‘The Strongest Man in all the Lands’, for I have such power that I could crush the armor of a rock mage in my bear grasp! I am sure you doubt me, but on my word and my name, I tell nothing but the truth! My immovable strength is a gift from my grandmother and has been passed down my family for generations! Let me show you!”

“Faye, retreat!” he snarled desperately, but it was too late.

His teammate collided with Omorossa, moving to dodge his attack and strike his skull. She must have wondered why the ringmaster didn’t try to defend his head. The confusion in her features only grew worse when her attack landed directly on his temple and he hardly moved an inch, nor did he seem to feel pain. Rennigan released his icicles, but they didn’t reach Hakelades Omorossa before he slammed an uppercut into Faye’s chin, snapping her head backwards and shattering the rock protecting her skull. It was then that Omorossa was struck by the icicles, but while they forced him to stumble backwards, they were as useless against his bare skin as they were on Kristoff’s armor. Instead, they merely tore a few holes in his suit.

This isn’t fair! Why?! Who is this fucker anyway?! He’s a goddamn clown! How is he this powerful?!

“CONDITE!”

Hirokol’s guttural shriek behind him momentarily startled Rennigan, but he let out a sigh of relief as ropes of wind wrapped themselves around Faye, pulling her away from Omorossa and out of his reach. The ringmaster’s eyes flickered towards Hiro as he soared forward to land beside Rennigan, wind mana swirling around his wrists, his jaw clenched tightly and his features contorted in the most horrifically angry expression Rennigan had ever seen on the young man. His ropes managed to pull Faye back to where they stood, and side by side, they had the corridor completely blocked, ready to defend should Omorossa lunge for any of them. The ringmaster merely cracked his neck, straightened his hat, and clicked his tongue.

“Well, I suppose I can see how the three of you managed to burn Barron’s face the way you did,” the man commented. “You really are a dangerous group. Guess the pocket realm was the right way to go, yeah?”

Rennigan’s lips tightened with rage as he venomously spat, “So you are with the Kosah-Rei, then?!”

“Obviously,” Omorossa confirmed flippantly, as if wondering why he even needed to say it aloud. “Though for the sake of Mr. Omorossa’s honor, I should confirm that I have merely been transfigured to appear like him. The good ringmaster himself has been dead for a while now, ever since the night his little circus troupe entered Stellareid, but given that not even his staff was any the wiser, I’d go as far to say my impression was flawless. I unfortunately would rather avoid giving my real name, so please don’t blame me for my lack of manners.”

He’s not the real Omorossa? So they infiltrated the circus? Why would they do that? What did they stand to gain from posing as Hakelades Omorossa? Did they somehow know we’d be approaching him for information? No, he said he replaced Omorossa before we’d even left Noctalus! So what were they trying to achieve? As he listened to this man speak, something clicked in Rennigan’s mind, a possibility that he didn’t want to accept, but that he would be foolish to ignore. If he’s as strong as Kristoff, then could this be the rumored sixth leader of the Kosah-Rei? The one we’ve only ever heard whispers of?

If that were the case, then they were truly outmatched. Beating this man would be nearly impossible for them, and Rennigan already had a horrible realization that they might never see the outside world again. This hall of mirrors may very well become their tomb.

“Lack of manners?” Hiro breathed beside Rennigan, making the water mage wonder if he was about to strike out that very moment. “You murdered Jessi, you piece of shit! You just took my best friend away from me! Why?! What did she ever do to you?! What did she ever do to your goddamn cult, huh?! And now you gloat about killing the real Omorossa?! Who the fuck do you think you are?!”

“Omorossa” smiled softly, his expression that of a teacher eyeing a silly child. “Don’t misunderstand me. Hakelades Omorossa was a conman, infamous for his manipulation of the masses. Stellareid wouldn’t have experienced it since I took over immediately, but Omorossa had a secret technique known only to him—a gaseous spell that put his audience into a hypnotic trance, making them uninhibited and willing to listen to what he said. The amount of people he sucked dry of their money and left with very little was appalling, especially given the lacking mana residuals the spell left behind, making it hard to prove. To be fair, I gave him a death far too merciful for his sins.”

“And Jessi?!” Hiro screamed. “Please, tell me what she ever did to you! Go on, fucker!”

The man’s eyes turned softer, and to Rennigan’s disgust, there was almost a genuine flash of sadness in his eyes. “It’ll mean nothing to you, Mr. Pafran, but I do wish I could have avoided this outcome. Unfortunately, the four of you are an unknown variable, so for the sake of our movement, you must be removed. You’re right. Jessi Yuahl didn’t do anything wrong, nor have you and Miss Rio. The only one who needs to die is him.” Omorossa then extended his hand and pointed a thin finger directly at Rennigan. “The son of the selfish Kloras Glaus, a man more than willing to watch Ijiria burn for the sake of his ambitions. I’ve heard few good things about his son, as well.” He then lowered his hand and shook his head somberly. “Unfortunately, as we learned in Noctalus, the three of you weren’t just gonna let me have him, were you?”

Listening to the cultist speak, Rennigan felt a chill go down his spine, the memory of Kristoff’s behavior in Noctalus coming back. They had already assumed that Rennigan was the primary target, but the fake Omorossa had now confirmed it beyond all doubt.

And now, he’s saying that my team’s defense of me in Noctalus is the reason he decided to kill us all on sight? Yuahl…died because they wanted me?

He was sick and scared beyond words. Omorossa was a beast they could not defeat, but maybe, if he gave them what they wanted, he would allow Hiro and Faye to leave. Rennigan swallowed his nausea, for the thought of dying was not something he wanted to entertain. He didn’t want to die. He had so much left in his life he wanted to experience.

He wanted to become the Master of Water.

He wanted to finish his studies at the Academy.

Why should he have to die for the Kosah-Rei?

But…Rio and Pafran… Why should they have to die for me? If Omorossa wants me, maybe I should let him have me…? If they live, then they can avenge Yuahl and myself. They could track Omorossa down another time, and make him pay for what he’s done. Right?

“Rennigan,” Faye breathed, speaking for the first time since Jessi died. Her voice was full of agony, though whether it was from the strike to her chin or due to the loss of her friend, he wasn’t particularly sure. “This realm… It’s a small one. I only sense one mana port, so it can’t be any bigger than a mile or two in any direction. We can still survive this—”

“Seeing as you’re whispering over there, I take it the discussion has ended?” Omorossa called out. “Shall we return to combat then? I’d like to finish this quickly, if possible. The night is still young, with much more fun to come.”

“Hold on a moment!” Rennigan cut in, his mind spinning further now that he had Faye’s information. “If you want me, then why don’t we trade, huh?! You can have me, so long as Pafran and Rio get to leave with Yuahl’s body! Is that satisfactory to you?!”

“Rennigan?!”

“Glaus, shut the hell up!”

Rennigan ignored Faye and Hiro’s protests as he took a step forward, facing Omorossa with as much confidence as he could muster. “Come on, you son of a bitch! Make good on your words! You want to claim they don’t have to die, then don’t kill them! You can have me!”

No… I don’t want to die. But I might not have a choice. Even with only one port, there’s still no guarantee we can reach it without losing more of us.

Omorossa cocked a skeptical eyebrow. “You would sacrifice yourself, Rennigan Glaus?”

“I would!”

“Yet your voice shakes,” the man retorted, kneeling down to grip the dagger he had previously tossed aside. “You’re clearly trying your best, but you aren’t hiding the fear in your eyes. A selfish man like you wouldn’t do something so selfless, so I cannot help wondering what the trick is here?”

Rennigan weakly shook his head, realizing that he had brought Omorossa’s doubt onto himself. His behavior had always been selfish and arrogant. He knew that, and he didn’t necessarily think it was a problem. Why shouldn’t he be ambitious? Why shouldn’t he strive for the best life he could live? When Faye, Hiro, and Jessi appeared to be crutches to his goals, he spat at them, argued with them, and declared them to be exactly what he thought they were: idiots who would only hinder his ascension to the Masters of Ijiria.

“We are not friends.”

How many times had he made that declaration? How many times had he sat by himself, or declined invitations to go out to eat together, to study in the library together, or to simply hang out with them?

“There is no trick,” he answered. “I just don’t want them to die because of me. That’s not fair! It’s not—!”

Faye’s sudden grip on his shoulder was painful and he nearly fell on his ass due to how roughly she pulled him backwards. The rock mage then stalked forward, her rock armor having reformed over her face as she addressed Omorossa with hatred.

“You cannot have Rennigan!” she declared. “I don’t know what happened to his head, but he’s clearly talking nonsense! You’re a murderer and I refuse to let somebody like you go back to Ijiria alive! If you’re Kosah-Rei then I’ll happily drag your body back to Princess Ilirianna and display you like a trophy!”

Omorossa laughed to himself. “To the princess, you say? Curious. Well, not that I thought this could end any other way than with the spilling of blood. Very well. Do your best, Miss Rio.”

There was no casting of a spell or movement from the imposter, but as if the gravity of the pocket realm had suddenly gone haywire, Rennigan felt himself pulled off his feet as he topped towards the mirrors on the left side of the corridor. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Faye somehow falling to the right side, while Hirokol was sucked upwards.

Shit! he frantically cursed in his head, drawing his mana as he was about to smash into the mirror, only for his body to phase right through it, spitting him out in some other hallway. Gravity shifted again before he could even hit the wall opposite of where he appeared as he was thrust upwards to sink through yet another mirror. He was certain that Omorossa was going to attack while he was stuck falling, so Rennigan kept his senses as attuned as they could possibly be in a pocket realm, but the problem was that these realms were created solely out of mana, and thus the density made it nearly impossible to identify any individual entity. The only thing that startled him was the pressure on his right ankle, but with each gravity shift and new mirror he went through, he was too disoriented to check what had happened.

After an uncertain amount of time, he slammed into the floor so hard that it felt like his arm had snapped out of place, though a quick check confirmed that it was still in its socket. He choked back the pain and stumbled to his feet, only to feel the disappearance of a rope of wind, followed by Hirokol landing just beside him with a sharp grunt.

“Pafran?!” he exclaimed, internally realizing that the pressure on his ankle had been Hiro using Condite to get pulled in the direction Rennigan had gone.

“The shithead was trying to separate us,” Hiro growled as he, too, got to his feet. “And since you’re his target, I thought it’d be best to stick together. I just have to hope Faye can stand on her own if Omorossa pursues her instead.”

Even though Hiro was expressing his concern for Faye, it was blatantly obvious based on his demeanor that what he was truly focused on was the fact they lost Jessi’s body. At the moment, the wind mage’s features were neutral and composed, but Rennigan could still see the desperate rage just below the surface of his mask. When the adrenaline wore off, Rennigan feared what might happen to Hiro’s mental state, and despite being in danger, Rennigan couldn’t help but sputter out a question.

“Why didn’t you just let me do what I wanted?” he muttered. “I could have stopped this. You should have demanded Rio back down! Why did you remain silent, Pafran?”

Hiro snorted, shaking his head with dissatisfaction as he regarded the other man. “Because, Glaus, I’m not gonna get out of here by walking over your corpse. I don’t want you to die for me, and I sure as shit am not backing down and allowing the asshole who murdered Jessi to run free! I need you…and…” The young man laughed coldly in a self-depreciating way. “Hell, you're my goddamn roommate. We might not always get along, but we just lost Jessi… I don’t wanna lose you, too.”

“Pafran, I…?”

Rennigan saw Omorossa just in time to slam his foot down and chant “Nikirin”, causing a wall of ice to blast upwards between Hiro’s back and the mirror behind him. His friend rushed forward, drawing his mana as Omorossa now appeared in every single one of the mirrors surrounding them. The two mages turned back-to-back, their heads snapping in every direction to identify the real Omorossa, for these were all mere reflections. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find where the reflection originated from, and before either could concoct a plan, the imposter began speaking, his voice seeming to come from every single mirror.

“Honestly, props to you, Mr. Pafran,” he said emotionlessly. “Reaction speed like that is admirable, and while I would have preferred to take Glaus out by himself, I won’t deny myself the opportunity to strike you both down.”

“Yeah?” Hiro spat. “Then show yourself, coward! If you’re so confident then come and kill us instead of blathering about it!”

The ringmaster shrugged. “I could, or I could keep chatting, watching the two of you squirm a bit. I’ll at least be honest in telling you that I am inside one of these mirrors, but the question in everybody’s minds is…which one?”

“Who fucking cares!” Extending his hands towards the corridor he faced, Hiro built up the mana around his wrists, pushing it almost to an unstable state, before he shouted “Corsikei” and set off two powerful shockwaves that ripped themselves down the hallway, shattering every mirror in its path, both to the sides and above, as shards scattered to carpet.

Rennigan could feel the trembling of the pocket realm, but understanding Hiro’s plan, he decided to follow suit. Casting Geldai once more, he formed as many icicles as he could control at once without environmental water before unleashing them on every mirror in sight, watching as they shattered with each attack, the image of Omorossa cracking and falling apart upon impact, though the ringmaster didn’t so much as flinch.

For all we know, he’s controlled every mirror in the realm, so he might not actually be in any of the ones adjacent to us! This might be a ploy to drain our mana then attack us when we’re weaker!

Before they were separated, Faye had made her intentions clear: She would fight her way to the mana port and escape back to Stellareid. That wouldn’t have changed just because they were no longer together, so while Hiro continued to survey for any sign of their opponent, Rennigan reached out with his mana and sought out not Omorossa, but the mana port that would be their salvation. He identified it quickly since it was even more mana dense than its surroundings, and as Faye had deduced based on the lack of a second port, this realm couldn’t be all that large. That was why, even though they had been dropped at a location hand-picked by the fake Hakelades Omorossa, they were still within running distance of the port.

“Pafran, pick me up!” he hissed. “We need to get to the port. It’s only a mile away!”

Hiro exhaled sharply, but like always, he trusted Rennigan’s words. The young man knelt down and Rennigan had wrapped his arms around his neck seconds before Hiro cast Proto and sent them flying down the corridor of shattered mirrors. The extra weight clearly strained him, but Hirokol Pafran managed to remain agile as he blasted around the corner, making sure not to touch any of the mirrors with his feet.

“Hey, why are you running?” the dozens upon dozens of Omorossas mocked. “Was it not you calling me a coward just moments ago and now you’re sprinting for the exit? You have me outnumbered, you know? Are you not confident in your abilities?”

Shut up, you motherfucker.

It took insane self-control for Rennigan to not send more attacks at every single mirror, and he had to whisper in Hiro’s ear to do the same. They needed as much of their mana as they could get, so allowing Omorossa to goad them would only make things worse. It was obvious the ringmaster wanted nothing more than for them to fail at reaching the port, so it wasn’t long before he began to impede their progression. Gravity suddenly shifted, sucking Rennigan and Hirokol upwards, towards the mirrors on the ceiling, but since Omorossa had already exposed this trick of his, Rennigan had counters of his own.

“Nikirin!” he snarled, forming a wall of ice over the mirror that they were being sucked into, allowing Hiro to plant his feet on top of it and launch them back towards the ground before they took off once again.

“Ooh, good one, Glaus,” Omorossa said, but Rennigan shut him out as the gravity shifts became more complex.

Since Rennigan had a means of blocking off the mirrors, Omorossa must have realized his only chance at moving them was to ensure Rennigan couldn’t immediately identify the mirror they were going towards. Therefore, instead of pulling them in one direction, gravity began to rapidly alter itself, yanking Hiro back off the ground and leaving him almost floating in the center of the corridor as they were spun midair. Rennigan didn’t have time to orient himself, so he was about to begin forming ice anywhere he could when, luckily, his teammate pulled out a trick of his own.

Turning both arms behind him, Hiro waited until they were aimed straight down the corridor before he cast Corsikei again, but where before, the shockwaves were meant to destroy the mirrors, this time, they served as a means of creating momentum—enabling Hiro to launch them forward and outside the bounds of the altered gravity. The second he planted his feet on solid ground, Proto sent them soaring around the corner, and given that he was moving straight for the mana port, Rennigan knew he had sensed its location as well.

Omorossa didn’t relent, but neither did they as Rennigan and Hirokol used combinations of wind magic and ice magic to both block off every mirror they were taken towards and to escape any gravity locks the ringmaster created. It seemed they had already witnessed the full extent of the gravity-based magic being used since Omorossa never attempted anything else. They had been underestimated, and for that, Rennigan was grateful.

He wasn’t sure how long they had been fighting against the mirrors, but soon enough, Hiro took them around another corner and roughly two hundred yards up ahead, the mana port came into view. It was a ball of white pulsating mana no larger than his head, floating around six feet off the ground. If they could reach that ball and fuse their mana with it, it would spit them back out into Stellareid. Then, all they would need to do was rush to Castle Saientia and tell the others what happened. Rennigan’s thoughts momentarily lingered on Faye, who was still unaccounted for, but he knew he had to trust in her power and her intelligence to reach the port as well. Fayela Rio was tough, so he would rely on that toughness.

Hiro increased his speed, bolting straight for that port, but when they had crossed three quarters of the distance, he lurched so abruptly that Rennigan lost his grip, feeling his body flying forward with their momentum that he hit the ground and bounced off his arm. This time, it felt like something really had come loose, but he didn’t care to check what it was before he used his other hand to push himself up, his eyes turning towards where Hiro had fallen in a desperate attempt to figure out what had caused him to lose his balance.

Rennigan saw Hiro’s severed leg only a second before the distortion dropped, revealing Omorossa crouched just above the prone mage. Hirokol Pafran raised his head, staring back at Rennigan completely oblivious to the threat above him, just before the blade of the knife came down, stabbing straight through the top of his skull until the tip had pierced the underside of his jaw.

Rennigan was clambering to his feet, feeling his balance thrown off due to all the previous spinning. He cursed himself as he swayed, but he still drew his mana anyway, desperate to save his friend and teammate. Icicles formed in the air around him, speeding in Omorossa’s direction before they were even fully formed, but it was already too late. Omorossa ripped the blade from Hiro’s head and used to slash down each and every attack with a speed faster than he had any right to have. With Rennigan’s attacks neutralized, Omorossa strode forward and slammed his foot down onto Hiro’s skull, crushing it into a puddle of blood beneath his boot.

Hirokol Pafran’s body spasmed only briefly before it went still forever.

***

Faye ran as fast as she could, desperate to find Rennigan and Hirokol before any more tragedy could befall them. Omorossa’s reflections mocked her in every single mirror, but his words were not for her, telling her that he was currently engaged with the others in some fashion. Based on what he had said, Faye concluded that Hiro and Rennigan somehow wound up in the same spot and were currently running through the corridors, almost certainly in the direction of the mana port. Trusting her friends to manage without her for the time being, Faye rounded a corner, sensing the port strangely close to her. She would have expected Omorossa to dump her out as far away as he could, so the fact that it was a mere quarter-mile away was suspicious in its own right.

That being said, perhaps he’s giving me the opportunity to leave. He talks a big game, but fighting three Academy mages at once is going to be hard for even the strongest warriors! By dropping me here, he’s providing me a chance to leave Rennigan behind. Too bad for him, there’s no way in hell I’m doing that!

Unfortunately, her full rock armor made her cumbersome and frustratingly slow, giving her time to ponder on her mistakes. Jessi Yuahl was dead, murdered right before her eyes, and Faye had been unable to stop it. Jessi had lived with her for two and half years, and she was as good a friend of hers as Abigail was. They had laughed together, become as close as sisters, and now the girl was gone. Faye didn’t want to accept that, but she also couldn’t allow herself to deny reality. Abigail had told them that Omorossa was dangerous, and while their guards were certainly still raised, it hadn’t changed the fact that from the moment they met him, they were dancing in Omorossa’s palm.

How could they have known he had a pocket realm? Very few could actually build one, and Hakelades Omorossa appeared as no more than a simple showman. Nothing about him indicated the magical prowess to do something of this magnitude.

I’m sorry, Jessi. I failed you. I failed you so badly…

Sensing the mana port up ahead, Faye forced herself not to cry as she rounded a corner and skidded to an abrupt halt. Hakelades Omorossa’s back was turned to her, fragments of ice at his feet, scattered around a collapsed and bloody form. From her distance, she normally wouldn’t have been able to identify the person below him, but the multiple mirrors along the walls displayed for her the body’s reflection, as well as Rennigan just up ahead of Omorossa, the mana port behind him.

Faye could hardly believe it, for it simply was not fair. Hirokol Pafran was dead, his head crushed beneath Omorossa’s foot, and she knew she should consider herself grateful that she was too far away to see whatever was left of his face, for such a grisly sight may have completely destroyed her.

Hiro? No, Hiro… Please… Damn it…

Faye’s breathing had already been ragged from running, but she found herself suddenly hyperventilating, her armor feeling suffocating. She wanted to run away. She wanted to turn her head from the death of another friend. She wanted to cover her ears and close her eyes, but if she did that, she and Rennigan would die, too. She didn’t know how Hiro was beaten, only that he was, so Faye took off at a sprint without allowing herself to mourn.

“OMOROSSA!”

Screeching out his name, hoping to draw his attention away from Rennigan and towards her, Fayela reached the imposter before he had fully turned around, slamming her rock-covered fist into the side of his head with every ounce of strength she could muster. He took it with a smile, her punch stopping against his cheek as if she had hit an immovable wall, not even damaging him slightly but sending cracks along the rock of her fist.

“The Goddess, Rei, truly has bestowed upon me her favor,” Omorossa said arrogantly. “She will not allow a person like you, who would defend a sinner, to best me. Stand down, Fayela Rio, and maybe you will not become a victim like him.”

Faye was rattled by her utter powerlessness as she stumbled backwards, his words taunting and ridiculing her. Yet even so, she punched him in the face, in the gut, in the chest, in the shoulders, in every possible inch on his body that she could reach. She kicked at his shins and sent a foot into his crotch, but Hakelades Omorossa just laughed and laughed with enjoyment, stretching his arms out as if to make himself a wider target. She attacked, but all it was doing was foolishly wearing her strength down. If she kept up this furious barrage then she would just be providing her life to him on a silver platter. Even so, he had murdered Jessi and Hiro, so how could she possibly just stand down and turn away.

Something had to give.

Nobody could be truly invulnerable.

Every type of magic came at a cost of mana, so at some point, he would break.

Rennigan must have understood this as well, for she saw him come running up behind Omorossa, an icicle clutched in hand that he tried to drive into the back of his exposed neck. The icicle shattered on impact, blasting to pieces in Rennigan’s palm as if Omorossa’s skin was made of diamond.

“JUST DIE!” Faye roared. “DIE, YOU EVIL MURDEROUS BASTARD! GO DOWN! DIE! PLEASE JUST DIE!”

A fast jab to her face snapped Faye’s head to the side, fracturing a piece of rock and exposing a small area around her right eye. Terrified, she jumped backwards and out of range, bringing her fists up in front of her and turning her body to the right, wanting to make herself as small a target as she could. She needed to draw his attention so that Rennigan could safely make it to the mana port. It was around fifty yards behind him, close enough for the water mage to escape if she bought him enough time. Then, once she didn’t have to worry about Omorossa harming him, she could make her own attempt to reach it.

I don’t want to abandon Jessi and Hiro’s bodies, but we don’t have a choice! We have to get out of here—to warn those in Saientia that the Kosah-Rei have made a move! Given the absence of the people in the entertainment district, I doubt this is an isolated attack against us! Something has happened, and we have to stop it!

“Are you done taking your anger out on me?” Omorossa inquired calmly, but she ignored him.

“Rennigan, get to the port and run!” she snarled, having noticed that her last remaining teammate had already backed off from their opponent. “I’ve got him! You can escape!”

“Glaus, if you do that, I will kill Fayela Rio!”

She had seen on Rennigan’s face that he had pondered heeding her words, but Omorossa’s threat caused his body to tighten up. His wide golden eyes were flickering between Faye and Omorossa, lacking in everything that usually filled the expression of Rennigan Glaus. There was no sign of cockiness, no sharp tongue, no bitter demeanor. All she saw was the scared and broken features of a young man who was watching his life fall apart before his eyes. But even so, she knew that if he snapped him out of it, he would save himself.

“Rennigan! In your own words, we are not friends, right?! What reason do you have to remain behind for me?!” she pressed desperately. “Get to the port and go! You’re never going to become the Master of Water if you’re dead!”

But Rennigan was shaking his head. “Rio, I—!”

“Go, you son of a bitch!” she interrupted, remaining light on her feet so that she could rush Omorossa the very second he so much as twitched in Rennigan’s direction. “What the hell are you doing?! Run! Rennigan, run! You have to go! Damn it all, Renni—?!”

A strange sensation suddenly ran across Faye’s body as she screamed, pulsating from her heart and spreading outwards to the tips of her fingers and toes, as well as to her head. Her voice caught in her throat, for she couldn’t identify what it was that she had felt. All she knew was that it was oddly warm, as if the inside of her body were heating up.

A soft exhale of horror escaped her lips, for the temperature was still increasing, her heartbeat speeding up more and more, as if it were overheating.

No… Please, no… How? When? I don’t…?

A glance past the still smug Omorossa showed that Rennigan appeared fine. He wasn’t glowing orange or beginning to scream. Whatever had got her had not gotten him. Faye’s body was covered in a thick layer of rock, meaning that if she bit her tongue and did not cry out, neither of them would realize what was happening to her.

Pressing off her back foot, Faye rushed Hakelades Omorossa, and it seemed her trick had worked. He opted to meet her attack head-on, though his eyes were drawn in a way that it was clear he wouldn’t simply toy with her this time.

He planned to kill her, but he had yet to realize the truth.

Faye lunged forward, shifting from an attack to a grapple at the last minute as she threw her weight onto Omorossa. He had not been prepared for this as they fell to the ground, the imposter losing his footing due to Hiro’s body beneath them. It took everything she had to not scream as she pinned Omorossa down, but at such close proximity, he must have seen her skin glowing orange through the one spot on her face where the armor had shattered.

“Already?!”

Omorossa struggled, and she could feel him slipping out of her grasp, but she refused to yield as she raised her head to gaze at Rennigan and screamed through the agony, “RUN, RENNIGAN! GET OUT OF HERE!”

He must have seen the glow as well, for he moved to rush not away, but towards her. “NO, PLEASE, FAYE!”

Time seemed to freeze in that moment, and perhaps simply due to the dangerous heating of her body, it was like everything in her brain had turned calm for a brief second. She was already dead, for there was no known means to stop the combustions. With that acceptance flickering through her head, Faye knew that saving Rennigan was imperative in her final moments.

I don’t want to die, but you know what? I can’t say it isn’t comforting to know you cared about us, deep down. Honestly… We had a rough relationship, but if I had to put my feelings about you to words, I can say with certainty that I did like you—that we were friends, Rennigan. Please, live. At all costs, don’t become a victim of what’s about to happen.

“Carseka!” she chanted, releasing her hand from Omorossa moments before the heat began to push through her skin. She planted her palm against the floor, sending up an explosion of rock between them and Rennigan that caused him to jump back.

It was just in time.

As Omorossa frantically tried to break through her grip, fire began to sear through the front of her body. It was one of the most painful things she had ever experienced in her life, but it was over in an instant before everything faded away and Fayela Rio passed on with one final thought rushing through her dying brain.

Abi… Goodbye.

***

The corridor of mirrors was engulfed in a violent explosion of fire that erupted from Faye, destroying her armor and shattering the mirrors in the immediate vicinity. Rennigan had already stumbled away due to Faye’s final spell, leaving him powerless as he watched her die right before his eyes, just like Jessi and just like Hiro. He stood frozen in place for a few seconds, feeling the heat against his skin, before Faye’s words echoed through his mind.

“RUN, RENNIGAN! GET OUT OF HERE!”

As if instinct took over, Rennigan turned and sprinted towards the port, his eyes watering with tears as he closed the fifty yards between them and reached the glowing ball of mana. He stuck his hand out and placed his fingers against the ball, sparing only one last look over his shoulder. Time might as well have stopped once again, for he saw Hakelades Omorossa on his feet, his body covered in blackened burns, his clothes mostly seared off and his hair almost completely burned away. Even with all those injuries, he turned his head and stared at Rennigan with eyes filled with raw fury.

Fucking hell!

“Dimiitio!” he desperately chanted, wanting to get away from whatever the hell Omorossa was. Everything around him warped, the corridor of mirrors fading out of existence as Rennigan was sucked into the mana port, away from the pocket realm. It was a nauseating and disorienting feeling, but it was hardly worse than what he had experienced back inside.

As if regurgitated by some large animal, Rennigan felt himself ejected back out onto the abandoned road outside the entertainment district. Losing his footing almost instantly, he collapsed to the road and felt as if his strength had left him. Everything he had eaten that day was heaved onto the ground as he nearly choked on his vomit between breaths. He knew he needed to run, but he couldn’t stop himself from breaking out into tears. He hadn’t cried in a very long time, but at that moment, he broke down uncontrollably.

Jessi, Hiro, Faye…

His team had just been slaughtered in a mere few dozen minutes.

With that thought viciously grinding away inside his head, Rennigan Glaus let everything out in a guttural scream of utter defeat and desperation.