[Some parts of this chapter may be a little confusing. If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading the auxiliary chapter, "The Anatomy of an Umbra," before continuing.]
The air suddenly grew heavy.
There was no mistaking it now.
Thalas Altero...
...was furious.
Veins bulged across his forehead.
A gentle wind drifted across the ground, carrying dust with it.
Beyond them lay the giant crater.
Thirty meters in diameter.
Far too large to be ignored.
Far too perfect to be natural.
Water poured endlessly into its depths.
Twenty meters below, the entire bottom had become a lake.
And around it...
A forest.
No...
A sea of trees.
Towering trunks surrounded the crater from every side, their crowns stretching high into the sky.
Trees like these should not have existed here.
Not in the middle of a half-deserted country.
Not where the soil was dry.
Not where rain rarely came.
Yet they stood there.
Silent.
Old.
Watching over the crater.
As if waiting here...
...for someone to find it.
Sir Hemenor stared down at it.
This is the Fountain of Youth...
Where is all this water even coming from?
"So, this was all your plan..." Thalas said.
His voice trembled with rage.
"Get us distracted while you steal what's ours, huh?!"
Aurora stepped forward.
He raised a hand.
"You've misunderstood. That's not the rea..."
"I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOUR NONSENSE!"
The ground cracked beneath Thalas's feet.
Before Aurora could even blink...
...Thalas vanished.
Then, he was there.
Right in front of him.
His leg was already swinging toward Aurora's head.
Aurora barely managed to raise his arm in time.
BOOM!
A violent gust erupted from the collision.
Dust and loose pebbles scattered across the clearing.
Polish's eyes widened.
He was forty meters away...
How did he get here so fast?!
"Impressive..."
Aurora lowered his arm.
"I didn't expect someone from this era to move like that."
Thalas took a step back.
The anger never left his face.
"SPECULE!"
From somewhere in the distance, Specule's voice echoed back.
"On it! Just... give me a little more time!"
Aurora's eyes narrowed.
Then...
A presence.
Right behind him.
He immediately crouched.
Whoosh!
A kick sliced through the air above his head.
"Damn, I missed."
Aurora glanced over his shoulder.
Sir Hemenor stood behind him, his leg still hanging in the air.
"You really are as fast as it is written in history."
Aurora took a step forward and turned around.
"They've written stories about me...?"
A strange look crossed his face.
"That's honestly kind of disturbing."
Hemenor lowered his leg.
Then pulled it back.
His hand curled into a fist.
"Disturbing, huh? To be honest..."
He lowered his stance.
"I'd rather be part of history than be forgotten."
The ground cracked beneath his feet.
He shot forward.
His fist already driving toward Aurora.
Before it could connect...
Aurora's own fist rose.
CRACK!
The uppercut struck Hemenor square in the jaw.
His head snapped upward.
His expression tensed.
Then...
Thud.
Aurora's foot drove into his shin.
"Oof..."
Kayushi's voice suddenly rang out.
"I can feel the pain just by looking at it. That would've hurt!"
Polish glanced toward Aurora.
"Aurora, need any help?"
"No, I'm fine..."
Aurora's gaze shifted toward him.
"Also, you should care more about yourself."
Polish frowned.
"What do you mean—"
A fist was already flying toward his face.
Closer.
Closer.
Then...
Smack!
Polish's hand closed around it.
"Oh, this."
Mana gathered in Polish's palm.
Then...
BOOM!
He drove the blast straight into Thalas's fist.
The collision threw Thalas's arm backward.
For a moment...
Time seemed to slow.
His body tilted.
The ground rushed toward him.
Then...
His foot dug into the dirt.
He regained his balance.
In the same motion, his fist clenched even tighter.
And he punched again.
This time...
With even more force.
Veins bulged across his forehead as his teeth ground together hard enough to creak.
BAM!
His fist slammed into Polish's face.
A sickening crunch followed.
Blood burst from Polish's nose as his body was hurled through the air, crashing into a tree beside Specule hard enough to shake its trunk.
The impact nearly sent him into the crater.
"—AHH!"
Thalas's face twisted with rage.
"YOU MORON! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN STANDING THERE!? MOVE ASIDE!"
"O... R-Right!"
Specule immediately jumped away from the tree.
Silence returned for a brief moment.
Thalas took a long, ragged breath.
Meanwhile...
Purple mana coiled around Sir Hemenor's arm like smoke.
The grass beneath his feet withered as the energy passed over it.
He charged toward Aurora.
The distance vanished in an instant.
Then...
He leaped.
His fist pulled back.
Ready to strike.
A flicker of concern crossed Aurora's face.
Then...
His focus sharpened.
Just before the punch could connect...
The temperature around Aurora suddenly dropped.
Frost crept across the ground beneath his feet.
Tiny crystals of ice materialized in the air, gathering before him.
Then...
A translucent shield of pale blue ice took shape.
Aurora stood mere centimeters behind the shield, both hands outstretched.
He clenched his teeth.
His arm trembled.
The shield trembled with it.
A drop of sweat slid down his face.
No...
That wasn't right.
He knew this feeling.
The strain.
The resistance.
As if the mana itself refused to obey him.
His eyes widened.
The Mana Crystal...
It wasn't responding.
No—
It was responding.
Just... too slowly.
The flow of mana from his chest felt sluggish, like a river trying to force itself through a narrow crack.
Kayushi's body...
...Isn't built for this.
Why...?
Why can't I maintain it?
I was able to do it back then—
Crack.
For a brief moment...
The shield held.
Then...
A thin fracture raced across the ice.
Aurora saw it.
But he could do nothing.
"No, no, no... it's breaking!" Kayushi shouted from within.
Crack.
Another fracture appeared.
Then another.
And another.
Tiny fractures spread across the shield like a spider's web.
Hemenor's fist kept coming.
Aurora watched helplessly.
The cracks spread faster.
One.
Then another.
The shield screamed beneath the pressure.
Aurora's eyes widened.
Then...
SHATTER!
The shield burst into countless shards.
Hemenor's fist smashed into Aurora's cheek.
For an instant...
Nothing happened.
Then...
POW!
The ground gave way beneath Aurora.
Dust erupted into the air.
Pebbles bounced across the dirt.
Silence followed.
Aurora didn't move.
He didn't get back up.
A dark bruise slowly formed on his cheek.
Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Hemenor stood a foot away from him.
He lowered his fist.
And exhaled.
Sweat rolled down his forehead.
"Guess..."
A faint smile formed on his face.
"...I won."
Polish slowly opened his eyes.
His vision was still hazy from the blow.
He turned his head.
And saw Aurora lying on the ground.
They even got Aurora, huh?
He sat with his back against the tree.
One leg dangled over the edge of the crater.
Blood dripped from his nose onto his pants.
He wiped it away.
Then let out a long breath.
"Well... that's one way to clear my sinuses."
He lifted his leg from the edge and planted his foot on the ground.
Then he looked toward Specule.
The man stood beside a bush a few meters away.
His attention was fixed on something out of sight.
Polish's smile slowly faded.
...What exactly has he been buying time for?
He placed a hand on his nose.
"...Healing."
Green mana flowed from his palm.
The bleeding stopped.
He grabbed the branch beside him and pulled himself to his feet.
His eyes still on the grass below.
Thalas's chest rose and fell in ragged breaths.
Even now...
Even after all that...
The fury burning in his eyes had not faded.
Thalas took a step forward.
Then another.
His gaze never left Polish.
Polish touched his nose.
A dull throb answered him.
He clicked his tongue.
"Yeah... that's definitely going to leave a mark."
Then he straightened.
Aside from the pain in his face...
He was fine.
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"Maybe your face isn't the only thing..."
His eyes met Thalas's.
"...you took from your father."
The next instant—
Polish's foot slammed into the ground.
The dirt beneath him cracked.
He shot forward.
His fist tore through the air, aimed straight for Thalas's face.
You crushed my nose.
So I'm crushing yours!
One meter.
Half a meter.
A hand's length.
Then...
A centimeter.
At that exact moment...
Something surged through Thalas's body.
Mana.
Violent.
Explosive.
It raced through his Magrhizae like lightning.
His eyes widened.
Before even a millisecond could pass...
His head tilted.
Whoosh!
Polish's fist brushed past his face, close enough for the wind of the punch to stir his hair.
And, without a second thought...
Thalas drew his fist back.
Then—
Drove it into Polish's flank.
THUD!
The sound was dull.
Heavy.
Polish's body folded around the punch, as though his ribs had tried to wrap themselves around Thalas's fist.
For a few milliseconds, Polish's lungs seemed to stop working.
A violent cough tore from his throat, and blood spilled from his mouth.
Specule stared at him in shock.
His voice trembled.
"W-Where did... he go?"
Yes.
Polish was gone.
He had vanished into thin air.
Thalas looked around.
Up.
Down.
But Polish?
He wasn't there.
Until he saw him.
Hemenor.
He was thrown away into the air by Aurora.
Aurora stood there with his body forward as he landed a punch.
Hemenor's body was flying away. Thalas extended his arm...
When—
Something pierced his hand.
"Ugh..."
Hemenor's body fell on the ground.
Thalas gritted his teeth then turned around.
Polish had taken Specule hostage.
"It's alright."
"You can heal it..."
Polish tightened his hold around Specule's neck and raised his free hand, pointing a finger at the boy like a gun.
A grin spread across his face.
"Right?"
Thalas took a step forward.
"Nah, uh-uh..."
Polish clicked his tongue.
"One more step..."
He pressed Specule a little closer.
"...and his head ends up looking just like your hand."
Specule struggled against the hold.
"Your legal defense partner isn't looking too good right now."
Polish's expression dropped a bit.
So, it's come to this...
Now I'm threatening a kid.
How did things turn out like this?
Then he straightened his expression.
"Maybe you should just give up now."
For a moment...
Thalas's face fell.
As though he had accepted defeat.
Then...
Specule's hand glowed blue.
And a smile appeared on his face.
Small.
But unmistakable.
"So, tell me, are you now ready to sit and—"
Specule suddenly choked out a hoarse shout.
"It's ready!"
Aurora's eyes widened.
His lips parted ever so slightly.
The look on his face was one of pure disbelief.
"What the f—?"
"How in the world did he summon a whole tsunami?!", Polish screamed.
A wall of water stood before them.
Easily a hundred meters tall.
It cast a large shadow over the ground.
And if Aurora was right—
The sheer force behind it could crush a man's bones before he even had time to drown.
Polish's eyes darted toward the wall of water.
His hold on Specule weakened.
Thalas seized the chance.
He grabbed Hemenor, snatched Specule's hand, and sprinted away from the shadow.
Polish spoke up while his eyes were still on the water.
"...You know, I was about to suggest a peaceful conversation."
Aurora's gaze snapped from Thalas to Polish while breathing heavily.
Kayushi spoke up, "How are we surviving this, Aurora?!"
"We have no time."
"POLISH!"
Polish turned his head back.
Aurora rushed toward him.
But it's too late—
SPLASH!
The towering wall of water crashed down with such tremendous force that it ripped trees from their roots.
And it didn't stop.
The flood kept surging forward.
Everything in its path was swept away.
Thalas stood behind a towering tree, using it as cover from the impact.
It lasted only a moment.
The trunk cracked in half beneath the tsunami's force.
Specule sat on the ground beside Hemenor, who was still catching his breath.
"Shit..."
Hemenor looked across the flooded forest.
"...Did we kill them?"
The water finally stopped moving.
Water covered the ground as far as they could see.
Puddles were everywhere.
Then...
An ice dome emerged from the water.
It began to crack.
"Unfortunately... it doesn't seem so."
Thalas sighed.
Inside the dorm were Aurora and Polish.
Polish immediately clung to Aurora's leg.
"You saved me again, Aurora!" he said through tears.
Aurora nudged him away with his foot.
"Stop acting like a scaredy-cat. You're almost eighty."
Aurora released the spell and the pale blue mana around them gradually faded.
"Well, I'm much older. Only a year younger than you but... o-okay."
Aurora lowered his hands.
He spoke up in a high voice.
"I was wondering what you were planning..."
"I thought it'd be some kind of cage."
"But to think you'd summon a whole tsunami and try to kill us..."
Aurora lowered voice.
"Even I didn't expect that."
"I really underestimated you."
"Maybe I should also get serious now..."
Hemenor pushed himself to his feet.
Aurora sighed.
"Well..."
Aurora slid one foot back.
As if preparing to sprint.
The air around him seemed to grow colder.
An ice sword formed in his hand.
The ground around him also became ice.
"Here we go."
He launched himself toward Hemenor, his sword ready to strike at any moment.
Sword fighting, huh?
Aurora closed the distance.
He aimed straight for Hemenor's neck.
SLASH!
Hemenor met the strike with a sword of his own, forged from mud.
Their eyes met.
"So you use earth magic..." Aurora said slowly.
Polish struggled to keep his footing on the slippery ice.
"Uh—"
His foot slipped.
"AHH!"
He tumbled over the edge.
Down.
Twenty meters.
SPLASH!
The cold water swallowed his fall. Ripples spread across the crystal-clear lake as he staggered upright, the water rising only to his waist.
He blinked.
The battle above had vanished.
The bottom of the crater lay beneath a veil of cool shadow. Dense crowns of ancient trees blocked most of the sunlight, allowing only narrow shafts of golden light to reach the lake. The air was cool and still, carrying the earthy scent of fresh mud mixed with a faint, soothing sweetness that drifted from the Fountain itself.
"Wow..."
Polish looked around in silence.
"...It's strangely peaceful down here..."
Hemenor pushed Aurora away with his sword.
Then he raised it high.
And brought it down.
Aurora took a defensive stance, his ice sword raised and ready to block.
"But still, there's no way it can match an ice swo—"
CRACK!
Aurora's sword shattered.
"I actually use fire magic."
Aurora's eyes narrowed.
He hardened the mud with heat...?
Aurora immediately formed another ice sword and thrust it toward Hemenor's abdomen.
Hemenor jumped away from the spot.
Aurora threw the sword toward Hemenor.
As Hemenor blocked it, Aurora rushed forward.
He grabbed the sword and swung it across Hemenor's leg.
Hemenor quickly placed his hand on Aurora's head and pushed off, launching himself into the air.
Aurora looked up.
Hemenor hovered above him.
His leg pulled back, ready to descend with a devastating kick.
Aurora crossed his forearms before his face, preparing to withstand the incoming blow.
Suddenly—
Hemenor twisted his body in midair.
Instead of bringing his leg down toward Aurora's head, he spun around and changed his angle.
As he descended, his kick slammed toward Aurora's abdomen.
But...
A thin layer of ice formed around Aurora's stomach.
CRASH!
Hemenor's kick struck the shield.
"You have been using ice a lot..."
Aurora smirked.
Hemenor's eyes widened.
He just realized...
His leg was freezing.
Hemenor tried to pull his leg back, but he couldn't.
That's when Aurora grabbed his leg and slammed him into the ground.
Hemenor coughed as the impact drove the air from his lungs.
Before he could recover, Aurora was already standing over him.
"Well—"
Aurora immediately formed an ice shield behind him.
...
Nothing.
He sighed.
"Don't tell me."
"Did you..."
He turned around.
"...get caught in the trap I set earlier?"
Specule.
His foot was frozen to the ground.
"Nnnngh!"
Specule yanked at his leg, but it wouldn't budge.
"I have to admit..."
Disappointment spread across Aurora's face.
"You and Polish have the same level of intelligence..."
Aurora sensed it.
A familiar pressure.
Thalas.
Even after everything...
The anger hadn't faded.
Without turning around, Aurora caught his fist.
"And let me guess..."
"This was plan B."
Specule smirked.
"Actually..."
"That was plan A."
"And..."
Specule vanished.
For a split second, he appeared inside the ice shield.
Then he was already outside.
THUD!
"This was plan B!"
His fist slammed into Aurora's face, sending him stumbling backward.
Specule closed the distance, his fist already driving toward Aurora.
Then he stopped—
A deafening CRACK split the air.
A jagged pillar of ice erupted from the ground.
It tore past his face.
The razor-sharp tip stopped beside his temple.
So close...
...that another inch would have driven it straight through his skull.
Blood trickled down Specule's cheek.
His eyes widened.
His breath caught in his throat.
He slowly turned his gaze toward the spike.
"Spec, are you... O-okay...?" Thalas asked nervously.
A cold shiver ran down his spine.
Only then did he realize...
Aurora wasn't playing anymore.
Aurora wouldn't think twice before killing them.
The freezing air filled the battlefield with a pale mist.
The fog thickened around Aurora.
Soon...
His body disappeared into the white haze.
"The next spike won't miss."
Then...
Aurora slowly lifted his head.
Specule stared into the mist.
His hands trembled.
Only a single glowing eye stared back at him.
Unblinking.
"...I promise."