At the far end of the village, Enzo fought on the front lines alongside Damaris and more than a hundred Lord mages. Everyone held on as best they could, but the spell drained their energy mercilessly. No one had light magic. No one could find its source.
Then a figure emerged through the lines, forcing a path between the corpses of the undead.
It was Lusian.
And clinging to his back, as if the world were collapsing beneath her feet, was Emily.
—Enzo! —Lusian roared—. Emily can locate the source of the spell.
Enzo exhaled as if he had been holding his breath for endless minutes.
—Perfect. Emily… show us.
She closed her eyes, feeling the corrupted flow around her.
—It's… near the center of the village. It used to be faint, but now the rotten mana completely covers it.
Enzo nodded grimly.
—Lusian. Adela. Adel. Find Master Clara. Only she can nullify that seal. Quickly!
The orders spread, and while Damaris remained in charge of the defense, Enzo led the advance toward the origin of the spell alongside fifty-two masters.
The square dawned in darkness.
Emily pointed firmly at the government residence.
—There.
There was no hesitation.
Enzo raised his sword.
—We're going in.
But the house devoured them.
A brutal ambush struck them the moment they crossed the threshold. Enzo was thrown out of the building with a single blow. That a Magister could be repelled so easily froze the hearts of his men.
For a moment, the silence was worse than the battle.
But then one of them roared, and the others followed. They channeled their remaining mana and unleashed an avalanche of spells, tearing down walls and roof in a desperate attempt to force their way through.
Enzo rose among the rubble, blood at the corner of his mouth and fury in his eyes.
In that instant, he understood how comfortable the academy had made him.
—Never again.
He imbued his sword with pure mana and surged forward like a storm, cutting down the cult's followers. His men followed—this time not as mages… but as warriors.
That was when Jerges, the cult leader, made his true move. With a voice full of sacrilegious fervor, he activated a corpse that had been carefully prepared: the body of the village chief's wife, corrupted to the marrow with rotten mana. The ritual was no improvisation, but the result of years of preparation—corpses of ancient warriors, fragments of energy gathered from past invasions, and a blood mark that had long awaited its moment.
A crack opened in the fabric of reality.
From the body emerged a specter from the underworld.
A Lich.
It seized a rusted sword torn from the hands of the warrior it once was and lunged straight at Enzo. Though his body was reinforced with earth mana, granting him the hardness of sacred Haxrok metal, he could barely withstand the impact. With him weakened, the other masters began to fall one after another, like pieces on a board tilting toward disaster.
At that moment, Lusian burst in, accompanied by Master Clara, with Agustín and several Lord mages as escort. Clara understood the situation instantly. She didn't ask. She didn't hesitate. She went straight to the front.
What they saw upon arriving was a scene torn from a nightmare.
Enzo, bloodied, on his knees.
The ground turned into an improvised graveyard.
The lifeless bodies of those who had tried to resist.
Agustín moved before thinking, blocking with his shield a blow that would have shattered Enzo. Seeing the reinforcements, Jerges unleashed a rain of spells and ordered the Lich to push forward. He didn't want to exhaust his energy or waste future sacrifices, but neither would he allow them to destroy the circle.
A few meters away, Emily clasped her hands, channeling light to break the sealing magic. Lusian, atop Umber, sensed something even worse approaching… a presence emerging from the storm like a starving beast.
Clara raised her staff.
The sky answered.
A bolt of lightning descended with fury, striking the cult members. The rain amplified its effect, turning the water into deadly whips that pierced bodies and shattered defenses. Surprised by her power despite the weakening, Jerges focused entirely on her, initiating a large-scale magical duel.
The Lich seized the moment.
It lunged at Clara, sword raised… a heartbeat away from piercing her.
—UMBER! —Lusian roared.
The beast unleashed its ability.
A black sphere enveloped Clara, absorbing the impact of both the Lich and Jerges' spells. The crash was brutal. But Clara survived.
Lusian spurred Umber toward the front line like a shadow riding the storm. Before leaving, he had ordered the twins and Aureus to protect Emily; Kara and Isabella remained by her side as escorts. Umber charged like an ancient war creature, wrapped in a dark aura that protected his rider as well. Lusian couldn't cast precisely at that speed, but he didn't need to—his sword carved steel paths through the enemy.
Jerges tried to conjure a greater spell to stop him.
Clara didn't allow it.
Spheres of electricity surrounded him, crushing his defenses and forcing him back. That instant was enough.
Lusian reached the Lich.
And then Emily, exhausted but resolute, cast an advanced light spell. She gave everything she had. Rays fell like sacred spears, striking the magic circle from the sky.
The seal cracked.
It shattered.
And the weakening vanished in a single breath.
Casandra, mounted on her golden eagle, went from resisting to dominating the battle. Her salamander spat fire from above, incinerating enemies near the village entrance.
Allan felt the return of his strength like a violent awakening. His sword burned with pure mana and, with a single strike, pierced the enemy Magister he faced.
Jerges shouted, desperation echoing through the thunder:
—Hold the line! Only thirty-five minutes remain to complete the summoning!
—If you interrupt those performing the ritual… we'll be exterminated! —a follower replied, pale and gasping.
The leader raised his hands as the summoning circle burned with purple light, like a profane heart.
—Don't let them reach the basement! Tear out their throats if you must! The ritual must continue!
The cultists regrouped at the underground entrance, forming a wall of desperate bodies. The air vibrated with dark energy, the ground trembled with every magical explosion, and the cries of the wounded were lost among the roars of summoned creatures.
The battle was no longer just for the village.
It was to prevent something… worse than death… from crossing into this world.
Enzo and Agustín broke through the cult's ranks with unrestrained fury. The broken seal had fully restored their power, and they moved like lightning through rain and fire, cutting down enemies with mana-wreathed blades. But even that renewed strength seemed insufficient against the infernal creature.
The Lich advanced, imposing, each step distorting the air around it as if reality itself rejected its existence.
Enzo barely reacted when the black sword fell. He didn't think—he stepped between the blow and Agustín.
The impact tore through his defense, ripping his side open.
—Enzo! —Agustín roared, rage exploding from him.
Seizing his companion's sacrifice, he channeled all his mana to the very limit of his soul and, with a cry that was half pain, half triumph, pierced the undead's glowing core.
The Lich's body twisted. A spectral wail swept through the village before flames consumed it and it disintegrated in an explosion of ash and broken laments.
For a moment, it seemed they had won.
But victory lasted a heartbeat.
Jerges, trembling with rage at the fall of his puppet, raised a blood rune in his hand.
—If I fall… you fall with me! —he screamed madly as he activated the self-destruction seal.
The ground roared.
Umber, who had been lunging at the creature, reacted like an ancient beast. His body wrapped in a dark aura and, in a desperate leap, he covered Lusian in his shadows just before the explosion devoured them.
The blast hurled them through the air like rag dolls. Both slammed onto the ground several meters away. Lusian lost consciousness instantly. Umber, his fur scorched and flesh torn, struggled to rise. Despite his critical state, he hoisted his rider onto his back and limped away from the battlefield, leaving a trail of dark blood on the stone as if his very life were draining with each step.
The shockwave disrupted the entire front. Several cultists fell, others were stunned, and the ritual began to falter.
—The southern circle has collapsed! —an acolyte shouted.
—Reinforce the other points! If the portal destabilizes, we'll all die! —another replied in panic.
Jerges burst into the basement, covered in wounds and dust, eyes wild.
—They've cornered us! We must retreat now!
—Why are we losing ground? —one of his men asked as another explosion shook the foundations.
—A light mage destroyed the weakening seal! —Jerges snapped—. Now they're stronger than ever! They'll annihilate us!
—But if the ritual fails, the High Council will execute us! —an acolyte whimpered.
—We'll die anyway if we stay! —Jerges spat, striking the stone altar—. Better to flee than be slaughtered!
The ground trembled again.
Agustín descended the stairs, forcing his way through the rubble like a titan emerging from disaster. His armor was drenched in blood—his own and others'—and his gaze burned like red-hot steel.
The cultists tried to stop him, but a chunk of the ceiling collapsed, crushing several survivors and destroying another summoning circle. Outside, powerful lightning bolts fell without pause; ten mages, hidden in the storm, bombarded the structure relentlessly.
Clara watched from a distance, soaked, her face tense. The battle had gone beyond a military defense. It was a struggle for the very soul of the academy.
Agustín grabbed Jerges by the throat and slammed him against the stone wall.
—Talk —he growled—. What are you planning?
Jerges gasped, each word mixed with the metallic taste of blood.
—I-if you promise not to kill me… I'll tell you.
Agustín tightened his grip.
—You'll talk now —he said with unsettling calm—. Or you'll wish you were dead.
Jerges closed his eyes, broken.
—The attack on the academy was a distraction… we wanted to force an evacuation and lure the students here. The cult leader ordered this demonic summoning… they intend to bring a high-ranking demon… a count of the underworld.
Clara descended the stairs and approached slowly, her face hardened.
—What kind of ritual requires such madness?
—Ten thousand human souls —Jerges said, barely audible—. The students… the children… would be enough to complete it. There are four other active points. If you let me live… I can guide you.
The silence was as heavy as the rain.
Clara clenched her fists. Small sparks of electricity danced between her fingers.
—Damn lunatics —she whispered, her voice trembling—. Sacrificing children for your delusions? I won't let you take another step in this world.
Meanwhile, far from the battle's epicenter, Umber ran through the rain with his body torn and covered in blood. Beside him, Aureus, Adela, Kara, Isabella, and Emily cut their way through shadows and undead. The wolf carried Lusian unconscious on his back, while Kara and Adel fought off the enemies pursuing them. Isabella unleashed gusts of wind that sliced through the curtain of rain, clearing the path; Adela, mounted on Aureus, protected them from above. Emily, clinging to Lusian's limp body, channeled the little mana she had left to keep him alive.
Umber's body began to tremble. His steps grew clumsy, his breathing heavier. Finally, he collapsed to his knees in the mud, exhausted. Emily immediately dismounted and knelt beside him. She took Lusian's head and rested it on her lap. Her hands glowed with a faint bluish light… so dim it seemed to beg permission to exist.
—Hold on… —she whispered, her voice breaking—. Please… hold on…
The healing spell faded with the last spark of her mana.
The rain kept falling, washing the blood into the earth, while thunder rumbled like war drums in the distance.
The battle was not over.
But the true cost of survival… was only beginning to reveal itself.
The battlefield was chaos—fire, steel, and roars. The air trembled with every impact, every spell unleashed. Allan could barely stay on his feet; his breathing was ragged, and the mana in his body burned like a candle resisting dawn.
Before him, the leader of the demonic cult laughed hoarsely, raising his sword cloaked in dark energy.
Allan understood, with the clarity only death brings, that if he fell… the princes would be next.
—I… can't… fail… —he muttered, gritting his teeth as he blocked another blow.
The enemy prepared to finish him.
Then a whistle cut through the air.
A spear, wrapped in golden radiance, pierced cleanly through the cult leader's head. The body fell lifelessly, with almost ritual solemnity.
A horse raced past Allan like lightning, kicking up mud, dust, and blood. The rider turned with lethal precision, cutting down another enemy in a single strike. Behind them, a golden lion emerged through the smoke and pounced on a sorcerer, tearing off his head with the force of a contained storm.
Allan looked up.
Duchess Sofía Douglas had arrived.
She advanced like a force of nature. Her armor gleamed even under the rain. Her gaze was steady, and her presence—majestic and implacable—carved a deep silence amid the chaos.
She stopped before him.
—What happened? Why are you here?
Allan breathed with difficulty, gasping.
—Grand Duchess… it's an honor. The academy was attacked by a wave of monsters. We tried to evacuate the students, but we were ambushed by members of the demonic cult. We don't know… what's happening, but the situation is critical.
Sofía frowned and looked at the horizon, stained red. Her instincts screamed that this was only the prelude to something worse. Then she felt it: a vibration in her soul—the bond with Umber, torn. And through it…
Lusian.
Injured. In danger.
She didn't hesitate.
In the distance, a group of riders broke through the mist—twenty warriors mounted on magical beasts, bearing the silver banner of the Douglas family. They had tried to catch up with her, but her mount was faster than reason. Sofía had left them behind, driven by something no general can ignore:
The visceral fear of losing the one she had sworn to protect.
The riders reined in before her, breathless.
Sofía raised her hand, pointing to the flanks of the forest where demonic mana pulsed like a corrupted heart.
—Split into two groups. Eliminate every cult member you find.
The riders nodded and vanished into the trees. The beasts roared, and the darkness swallowed them without hesitation.
Sofía spurred her mount and plunged alone into the forest. The wind lashed her face; the scent of blood filled the air.
Every heartbeat brought her closer to the place where her heart told her Lusian was.
In the distance, Casandra saw her cutting through the forest like a golden bolt. She wanted to call out… but found no voice. There were no words capable of stopping that.
Sofía was light and storm.
Nothing could stop her.