Eddie’s hands trembled at his side, his fingers brushing the hilt of his wand. His heart was hammering so loud it drowned out his thoughts.

  Beside him, Chippy grit her teeth, fists balled tight.

  “B–Brats?!” she shouted, voice cracking. “Who are you calling brats?!”

  Rin flinched at the sound. The blinding beam of light around her flickered, then vanished in a soft

  Her body dropped onto the altar with a thud.

  “Rin! Don’t stop! What are you doing?!” Steve barked, snapping his head toward her.

  “B-But—”

  “No! They’re distracting you!” he snapped again, voice filled with sharp authority.

  Rin’s hands shook around her wand. She looked past him — to Eddie and Chippy standing behind the barrier, eyes wide with panic.

  “No, we’re not!” Eddie shouted, stepping forward until his shoes pressed against the glowing wall. “Actually—we are! We’re trying to distract you because HE’S TRYING TO KILL YOU AND TURN YOU INTO A ROCK!”

  The words hit her like a slap.

  Her grip loosened. Her lips trembled. And then—

  “I… I know,” Rin whispered.

  Eddie froze mid-breath. Chippy’s jaw dropped.

  “Y-you—” Eddie stammered, eyes wide. “You’re just—just okay with that?!”

  Rin nodded, her lips pressed together thinly.

  Eddie’s eyes twitched, his jaw tightening.

  “Rin! Don’t die! Please! I need you! need you!” Chippy pleaded, her voice breaking. “Why do you—why do you even that?!”

  “My dad… needs me to,” Rin said quietly, clutching her wand. “You—you wouldn’t understand.”

  “What???” Chippy snapped. “No! No, you know what? You’re the one who doesn’t get it!” she yelled, pointing a trembling finger at Rin from behind the barrier. “What do you even mean I don’t get it?! Sure, I have a mom—but she’s asked me to die for her! She’s always been ready to give up life for me, for my brothers, for It’s never, ever supposed to be the other way around!”

  Eddie stayed quiet behind her, letting her lead.

  “No! It’s not like that!” Rin shouted back, her voice cracking. “This isn’t just for him—can’t you see?! He’s going to save the world with this! I’m just… a willing sacrifice! I’m doing this for the good of everyone! So is he!”

  “Oh yeah?” Eddie finally cut in, his tone low and bitter. “Then why isn’t the one sacrificing himself?”

  “I—I’m special! It has to be me!” Rin fired back, desperation flashing across her face.

  “Right. ‘Dragon blood,’ huh?” Eddie said, his voice dropping into a growl. “That’s a bunch of crap!”

  Rin flinched at his words. They couldn’t understand. How could they?

  They had lived full lives — whole childhoods, full of people and memories.

  She had less than a year to call her own.

  “I… I have to…” she whispered, trembling.

  “Dang it! We’re not reaching her…” Eddie muttered through gritted teeth.

  “…Rin.”

  Chippy’s voice cracked — trembling not from fear, but fury. “I don’t have a dad. I’m not even fully related to my older brothers. I’m just… a half-sibling.”

  Rin froze, staring through the barrier.

  “You think you’re the only one who has it bad?” Chippy went on, her words rising. “Try calling your eldest brother ‘Dad’ for most of your life — just for him to sit you down one day and tell you we have a dad. Neither of us do.”

  Her hand shook as she raised her wand, eyes burning.

  “So you wanna think you

  death? That your life’s so bad that dying for someone sounds noble?” She scoffed, a sharp sound between a laugh and a sob. “Fine. Then I’ll join you. Because unlike me—at least you a dad.”

  “Chippy…” Rin’s voice broke.

  “If that’s alright with you…” Chippy said, her tone suddenly steady. She leveled her wand straight at the barrier, at Steve. “I’ll try to kill your dad. I won’t win. I know I won’t. He might fire back, might even kill me. But at least I’ll die knowing I spent my life trying to save ”

  Her body wasn’t shaking anymore. Her aim didn’t waver. Her eyes burned with purpose.

  “Chippy…?” Eddie whispered, cautiously.

  “Kid?” Steve muttered, almost in disbelief. “What the hell was that—your suicide speech?”

  “My ” Chippy snapped, wand already in hand.

  “...D-Dad,” Rin stammered. “You won’t actually… kill her, right?”

  Steve looked back at her. His eyes were soft—but heavy, like something inside him was rotting away.

  “I have to,” he said quietly. “If she tries to stop this… I need to. I—I don’t have a choice.”

  Rin swallowed hard.

  Chippy didn’t wait. She fired first — a Fire Wave that ricocheted uselessly off the golden barrier. She ducked, wincing at the explosive crack that followed.

  Eddie hissed under his breath. He raised his wand and shouted, “”

  A burst of flame crashed against the barrier, bright enough to fill the room. The explosion echoed.

  Steve turned sharply to look at Eddie, his patience snapping with a hissed

  “Alright…” His tone darkened. “You little twigs have been a thorn in my side for far too long.”

  Something changed behind his eyes—something

  For a second, both kids froze. His smile spread too far, his voice too calm.

  Before they could react, he released the barrier entirely and raised his wand.

  A jet of seething, dark green curse-fire screamed toward Chippy’s head.

  She barely had time to gasp—

  —and then

  A sound like thunder twisted with bone. The curse collided with an enormous, spectral ribcage that had manifested between them. Smoke burst outward, hissing as the attack was swallowed whole.

  The room shook. Steve stumbled a step back, shielding his eyes as the haze cleared.

  Standing before the kids was the skeletal soldier— His hollow sockets burned violet. The great bone-saw materialized in his right hand, its edge vibrating like a living thing.

  Steve’s wand trembled slightly. “The is that?!”

  Ra didn’t answer. It raised its left hand, palm glowing with raw, chaotic purple mana. The same word rippled from its chest like a war horn—

  “”

  The beam fired. Pure, demonic force cut through the room like a cannon blast.

  Steve dove aside at the last second, the attack exploding against the crystal wall in a violet eruption. He rolled onto one knee, panting—finally, for the first time, afraid.

  Ra tightened its grip on the massive sword, both skeletal hands locking around the long hilt. The sound was like bones grinding against iron. Its hollow sockets burned violet as it fixed its gaze — empty, merciless — straight on Steve.

  Steve rose to his feet, wand trembling in his grip. He could barely breathe.

  That thing wasn’t a rogue familiar. It wasn’t even a classified summon.

  Ten of Diamonds? No.

  He’d handled two child sorcerers easily — but this creature changed everything.

  “Dad!” Rin cried from behind him.

  “What?!”

  “Don’t! Don’t fight that! Please!”

  “Huh?!” Steve barked, panic twisting his voice. “Just start the sequence again! Don’t let anything here stop you!”

  “But please don’t hurt them! Don’t hurt ”

  “Rin, for the love of g—”

  He never finished.

  In an instant the skeleton was inches from him, jaw split open in a scream that rattled the walls. Its sword came down in a blinding arc —

  Steve vanished in a plume of black smoke.

  The sword cleaved the floor where he stood, the impact splitting the crystal like glass. Shockwaves tore across the room. Steve reappeared several meters away, gasping, his wand shaking.

  He retaliated with a green ray of cursed energy. The beam ripped through the air—

  —and struck a barrier.

  A strong one.

  Cracks rippled through it, but it held.

  Eddie stood behind it, wand outstretched, his arm shaking under the pressure.

  “That little brat’s that strong?!” Steve hissed.

  Before he could fire again, a swarm of pink rose petals filled his vision. They fluttered beautifully for a heartbeat—then sharpened into blades midair, screaming toward him.

  Steve threw up his own barrier. The petals slammed into it with metallic cracks, splintering before dissolving into dust.

  He lowered his wand, eyes darting.

  Ra appeared beside Chippy, sword in hand, silent and waiting.

  “Ra!” Chippy shouted, her voice quivering. “We’re going to try to kill that man!”

  “Yes, Master…” came the ghostly, layered voice — dozens of echoes speaking as one.

  And then the creature vanished.

  Steve barely caught the motion blur before it reappeared mid-swing. Sparks screamed as his wand clashed against Ra’s blade — wand versus steel, magic versus matter. He twisted aside and cast again, a barrage of death-green bolts filling the room.

  Ra didn’t block. It

  Each spell sliced apart mid-air, unraveling into harmless vapor as the skeleton advanced.

  Every barrier Steve raised shattered on impact. Every counterspell dispersed like smoke.

  Rin looked up toward the ceiling, wand trembling in her hand.

  Light burst around her, wrapping her body like a cocoon. The altar beneath her glowed brighter—pulsing—until the whole room filled with radiance. She started to rise, her feet leaving the stone.

  But before she could ascend further, something yanked her down.

  A hand gripped her ankle.

  “Rin! Don’t do it!” Eddie shouted, his voice cracking.

  “Eddie! Please! I have to!”

  “No, you don’t! That’s stupid! We—we need to go back to Kormadyne and finish our finals!”

  It was the worst argument imaginable, but it was all he had.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  The air behind them split apart in thunder.

  Steve and Ra collided again. The sound was deafening. Each strike carved streaks of light and shadow across the crystal walls. Cursed fire, divine flame, and demonic haze clashed in waves that made the floor tremble under their feet.

  Ra was everywhere at once. Whenever Steve darted to aim at Chippy—who was already sweating, her wand glowing weakly—Ra appeared.

  The creature’s massive form blurred, intercepting every spell. Beams of curse-light exploded against its ribcage. Cracks spiderwebbed through the bone, but Ra didn’t falter.

  Then it was gone—vanished into a flash of violet lightning—reappearing behind Steve with its sword already in motion. Sparks screamed across the floor when their weapons met again. Steve’s expression didn’t waver, but his breathing grew sharper, faster.

  From behind her barrier, Chippy clenched her wand harder. Her knees were shaking. Her stomach twisted with fear—but she forced herself to stay put.

  Every truth stabbed her, but she grit her teeth through it.

  Her eyes darted between Ra’s movements, reading his rhythm, waiting for the next opening. Whenever the monster moved to guard her, she whispered her incantations—quiet, steady, precise. Even if she couldn’t overpower Steve, she could him.

  Every time Ra took a hit for her—every time its massive frame staggered and rose again—her resolve hardened.

  She’d never been the brightest. But she’d never once backed down from a fight that mattered.

  But then it happened.

  Ra’s ribcage splintered under the next blow it took for Chippy. The impact cracked like thunder through the chamber.

  “” she screamed, but it was too late.

  The guardian’s body shattered—bones bursting apart into ash and spectral flame before dissolving into the floor, vanishing into its own collapsing purple portal. The last thing she heard was its hollow voice fading:

  “...Ra…”

  Chippy’s heart dropped through her chest. The sudden silence afterward was worse than the noise.

  Then came the next attack—

  A volley of cursed arrows screamed toward her, slicing through the smoke.

  Eddie didn’t even think. He released Rin’s ankle, spun, and threw his wand forward.

  A translucent barrier burst to life in front of Chippy. The first arrow struck—

  then another—

  then a dozen more.

  Each impact sent tremors through the shield, rippling with violet cracks. The final volley struck hard enough to shatter the air itself, but somehow the barrier held—barely.

  Eddie exhaled, sharp and shaky. His lungs burned, his pulse roared.

  He drew his second wand.

  Fire surged from both wands, shaping into glowing, spiraling arrows that launched in rapid succession. The streaks carved through the dark, cutting straight for Steve.

  Steve twisted aside, the barrage missing him by inches. He hit the ground, rolled, and came up panting—eyes wide.

  “What the hell—?! You’re a ”

  His voice cracked with disbelief.

  The advantage he’d gained from destroying Ra evaporated in an instant. Eddie’s duel wands whirled like blinding torches, each burst of flame faster than the last.

  Steve barely managed to dive clear again, his boots sliding across the fractured crystal floor.

  “Tonight,” he hissed between clenched teeth, “just keeps getting harder and harder to complete…”

  Having had enough, Steve flicked his wand up.

  A barrier snapped up around him—thick, shimmering like molten glass—as Eddie’s fire arrows exploded against it in bursts of orange and white.

  “” he roared, voice breaking. “Start the sequence! I won’t ask again!”

  Rin flinched, heart hammering, and raised her wand. The altar ignited beneath her feet.

  A pillar of crimson and violet light erupted upward, swallowing her whole.

  She began to hover, trembling as the radiance enveloped her, pulsing harder with every beat of her heart.

  Warmth filled her chest—then pain followed. It wasn’t gentle. It through her, tearing something vital away piece by piece.

  Eddie’s fury surged. He advanced through the heat, firing faster, forcing his mana to burn harder than ever.

  Each shot struck the barrier, flaring against the glassy surface in wild bursts of flame.

  Steve’s breath came ragged now. Sweat rolled down his face—and then the paint began to run.

  It dripped from his skin like melting wax, peeling away the disguise to reveal the truth beneath.

  Scar tissue marred the corners of his lips, curling into half-healed wounds.

  His hair darkened, streaks of brown fading into chaotic halves of purple and orange.

  And then his eyes—

  they shifted.

  The comforting brown Rin had always known flickered, burned, and turned

  Eddie froze mid-cast. His breath caught in his throat.

  “Wha—”

  That hesitation was all Britlex needed.

  A blinding yellow beam shot from his wand. Eddie barely managed to conjure a barrier before it shattered under the impact like glass. The shockwave hurled him backward—slamming him into the crystal floor.

  “Eddie!” Chippy screamed, sprinting to him. She dropped to her knees, lifting his head onto her lap.

  “…Why do I keep ending up here…” Eddie groaned, wincing through the pain.

  “This isn’t the time!” Chippy snapped, panic threading her voice. “What do we do now?!”

  Eddie looked up. And for the first time, he saw the monster hiding in plain sight.

  Steve was gone.

  The thing standing above them grinned wide, yellow eyes gleaming beneath the fractured light. The scars around his mouth stretched unnaturally as he laughed—a cackle sharp enough to make the air tremble.

  A massive magic circle spiraled open above them, its runes spinning faster, glowing with a sickly blend of green and yellow.

  The pressure pressed down on them like gravity itself.

  Eddie and Chippy froze, staring up into the light as the hum grew louder and louder until the entire chamber shook.

  It wasn’t a threat anymore. It was a sentence.

  “”

  The voice cracked through the chaos like thunder.

  Britlex’s head jerked toward the sound just in time to see five golden motes streaking across the air. Each orb spiraled in tight formation around a man leaning heavily on his cane—coat fluttering, eyes blazing.

  Britlex spun away as the first wisp fired a bolt of yellow energy that scorched past his shoulder. The second followed, then the third, forcing him back toward the shattered altar.

  “Persistent bastard…” he hissed.

  Benneth’s pace was slow but deliberate, cane raised high. The five motes arced overhead, forming a star pattern above him before aligning into a ring. His cane pulsed with electric cyan.

  “Let’s put an end to your circus act,” Benneth growled.

  He thrust his cane upward. A sharp echoed, and a ribbon of violet-cyan lightning split the air, lashing straight into the massive circle hovering above the children.

  The spell shattered like glass—its runes flickering out one by one before vanishing entirely.

  .

  Benneth planted his cane into the ground with a hard

  Green light flared beneath his feet, expanding outward in intricate patterns—sigils, symbols, runes—linking and rotating until they filled nearly the whole room. The energy shimmered like morning dew, calm yet volatile.

  “I knew you were trouble the moment I laid eyes on you!” Benneth barked, voice thick with fury. “Prick! Go to hell!”

  Britlex sneered, eyes wide with wild amusement. “ you old moldy lard! You know nothing! You’ve accomplished ”

  The air between them vibrated—one radiating precision and structure, the other pure, volatile chaos.

  Rin turned toward the sound, her eyes wide and wet.

  “Uncle Remmy…?” she whimpered.

  Benneth’s eyes flicked toward Rin. Britlex stood squarely between them—the altar’s red glow painting his grin like a smear of blood.

  “ What in all hells are you doing up there?!” Benneth roared.

  “U-Uncle, I—I—” Rin stammered, tears forming.

  “Wait—DIRECTOR BENNETH IS YOUR ” Eddie shouted, voice cracking.

  “” Benneth barked without even glancing back. He drew his wand from the hollow of his cane, letting the shaft drop and clatter against the crystal floor.

  Benneth never needed the cane to walk—he carried it out of pride, flaunting it like a trophy. A silent taunt to anyone who pitied him, a statement that he could stand on his own. But now, that same defiance trembled. His legs wavered beneath him, his breath heavy, yet he cast the cane aside all the same. The hatred in his eyes burned bright enough to hold him upright. “”

  A cyan flash ignited at the tip of his wand before launching forward as a blazing star. It streaked through the air, screaming toward Britlex—who smirked and sliced it clean in half with a flick of his own wand. The spell burst apart into shimmering fragments.

  Britlex countered instantly.

  A wave of cursed fire surged forward, splitting into multiple streams that curved like serpents toward Benneth.

  He slammed his wand down. A dome of light erupted around him, the curse crashing against it in a blast that shook the chamber. When the smoke cleared, Benneth had already dispelled the barrier and fired back a chain of violet lightning bolts.

  Each crackle of energy connected to the glowing green circle at his feet, feeding it power until the sigils blazed with fierce light.

  “Rin!” he thundered. “By the gods, if you don’t leave that this instant—!”

  “Wh-what?!” Rin cried, barely hearing him through the ringing in her ears.

  Benneth’s jaw locked tight. Tch!

  He slashed his wand sideways, murmuring a sharp incantation under his breath.

  A purple wisp erupted from his wand, darting through the chaos like a living spark. It reached Rin in seconds, coiling gently around her waist.

  “Uncle—?! Wait—!”

  The wisp yanked her free of the crimson beam with a sharp burst of light. Rin yelped as she was pulled across the room, soaring away from the altar’s shattered glow—

  —and straight into Benneth’s arms.

  Her wand clattered away, and for a split second, the entire room froze.

  Britlex’s grin twitched.

  “...Oh, you shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Oh, dickhead.” Benneth smirked.

  He flicked his wrist. A flurry of Fire Bolts burst from his wand like tracer rounds, streaking across the shattered crystal floor.

  Britlex spun his wand with a flourish, deflecting each bolt effortlessly. The flames splintered and curved around him, harmlessly dispersing into embers.

  “Still playing with beginner spells, old man?!” Britlex mocked. “What’s next, you gonna me into submission?”

  “Wouldn’t be the first time I had to humble a loudmouth dropout,” Benneth shot back, stepping forward with surprising agility for his age. His cane hovered near his side, floating and humming faintly — a secondary conduit.

  Britlex scoffed, slamming his wand down.

  A wave of black fire surged forward, jagged and shrieking. Benneth raised his wand, drew a circle mid-air, and muttered under his breath. The air rippled — the flames hit an invisible field, twisting and folding into themselves before vanishing in a burst of sparks.

  “Conditional inversion charm,” Benneth said coolly wagging his finger. “You’ll need more than volume to beat precision.”

  Britlex’s teeth flashed. “Cute trick. But that’s it. Just a trick.”

  He whipped his wand forward — a golden chain burst from it, spiked and spinning, striking the ground at Benneth’s feet.

  Benneth twirled his wand once and tapped the chain. It hissed, then dissolved into a harmless wisp of steam.

  “Pathetic. It’s almost like I saw that coming from miles away, retard.”

  “Shut up!” Britlex hissed, his smile twitching into a sneer. He shot upward, launching a flurry of multicolored beams — curses, fire, lightning — all woven into one chaotic storm.

  Benneth barely moved. His wand danced through the air like a conductor’s baton, deflecting, redirecting, diffusing each spell in sequence. His barrier flickered between hues — violet, green, silver — adjusting automatically as each new element struck.

  “Every time you raise your voice,” Benneth called out between counterspells, “you prove me right.”

  “”

  “That you’re compensating.”

  Britlex’s veins pulsed in his neck. “I am ” he roared, slamming his wand to the floor. The ground cracked and pulsed with raw mana, sending waves of unstable light outward. “I was To fix what you and your pathetic Council destroyed!”

  Benneth’s eyes narrowed. “You call this saving the world? Killing a child?”

  “Sacrifice is the price of salvation!” Britlex’s voice shook now — not from fear, but from the madness behind conviction. “You think your precious order understands what it takes to change anything?!”

  The floor erupted. A cyclone of color and lightning coiled around Britlex like a living storm. He looked half man, half phantom now — the kind of being only desperation could make.

  Benneth steadied his stance, his wand humming at his side. “I’ve seen your kind before,” he said quietly. “You always end the same way.”

  “Oh yeah? And how’s that?”

  Britlex laughed — sharp, manic, triumphant. “We’ll see, Director!!!”

  “Actually…” Benneth smirked, leveling his wand. “I’m no longer Director. My name is Do your best to remember that—” his grin turned razor-thin, “—as you die!”

  He thrust his wand forward.

  A spiral of green light erupted from the tip, smoke and brilliance swirling together as it launched across the shattered floor. The energy enveloped Britlex completely, wrapping him in radiant coils before constricting inward like a vice.

  The cyclone of lightning that Britlex had conjured turned on itself, snapping violently as if devouring its master. The explosion sent sparks through the air, and Britlex screamed — a raw, guttural sound that echoed against the crystal walls — before collapsing to his knees, smoke rising from his charred shirt.

  Eddie’s pulse pounded in his neck. He tried to process what he’d just seen, but his breath came in shallow bursts. “Did… did he do it?” he whispered. “Did we… ?”

  Benneth didn’t answer. He kept his wand trained on Britlex, chest heaving.

  “Act’s over, clown.” His voice was gravel. “Take your final bow.”

  Britlex coughed — once, twice — then laughed through the blood. “…Not yet…”

  The words slithered through the air, low and venomous. Every sound in the room faded away — until even the children’s breathing felt too loud.

  “…Not… yet…”

  Then his head tilted back, and his grin widened beyond reason. His yellow eyes began to glow—first faintly, then blindingly—as the whites turned to solid, gleaming blue.

  “...”

  Benneth froze. “”

  The air detonated.

  Mana surged so violently it became visible to the naked eye — ribbons of blue twisting around Britlex like serpents of raw power. The ground fractured beneath him, the crystal floor groaning and splitting as the energy density climbed higher and higher.

  To the children, it looked like the air around him shimmered and his hair danced wildly in the unseen wind. But to Benneth, it was something far worse —

  Every thread of Britlex’s mana was condensed, tuned, weaponized.

  “Impossible…” Benneth rasped, his throat dry. “That bastard took a gamble... and "

  A crackling surge of green electricity burst from Britlex’s wand, cutting off Benneth’s thought.

  Benneth barely had time to react. His instincts screamed, conjuring a barrier just as the surge struck.

  The impact was apocalyptic.

  Lightning slammed into the shield, fracturing it like glass. The sound wasn’t thunder — it was the earth itself crying out. The force launched sparks and wind in all directions, forcing the children to shield their faces.

  “Gkh—shit!” Benneth grunted, digging his heels in, his knuckles white around his wand. The barrier splintered further, cracks spidering across it like veins of light.

  He braced his shoulder, leaning into the pressure, his voice shaking as he muttered under his breath. “You bastard… you’re going to bring this whole place down!”

  “Oh, believe me, ” Britlex grinned, eyes flaring brighter than lightning. “I won’t.”

  The barrier splintered again — sharp, thunderous cracks racing across its surface. Benneth groaned, his knees buckling under the force.

  “Gkh—damn it—!”

  The next impact would shatter it. Everyone in the room knew.

  Then, Eddie moved.

  He stumbled forward, planting himself beside Benneth. Both his wands were drawn, trembling in his hands. “Not happening,” he hissed, then slammed both forward.

  Twin streams of blue mana surged from his wands, merging into Benneth’s faltering barrier. The cracks slowed, the surface shivering as it fought to hold together.

  “Eddie! What are you doing?!” Benneth barked, glancing at him.

  “Helping!” Eddie shouted over the roar. “You’re not doing this alone!”

  Chippy ran up next, her black-and-yellow hair whipping in the mana-charged wind. She pressed her wand against Eddie’s shoulder and pushed her power into the barrier. Blue light rippled outward from all three of them, steady but trembling under the weight of Britlex’s assault.

  “Rin!” Eddie yelled without looking back. “We need you too!”

  Rin froze. Her wand quivered in her hands. Through the storm, Britlex’s eyes found hers—cold, glowing, almost pitying.

  “Rin,” he hissed. “Don’t you dare.”

  Her chest tightened. The father who saved her. The only parent who understood her.

  Eddie’s voice cut through the thunder. “Rin, please! We need you! D-Don’t let him kill us!”

  Her breath hitched. Tears spilled freely.

  Then she raised her wand.

  Blue light flared from her chest, flooding her arm and casting the whole room in a trembling glow. She screamed through the surge, forcing her mana into the barrier. The energy around them rippled, solidifying—four flows of power combining into one unified pulse.

  Britlex’s grin faltered. The pressure shifted; the room’s air bent under the weight of their combined mana.

  “Rin…” he grumbled, voice low but echoing through every mind in the chamber. “…You disappoint me.”