Noises filled the air; the guards were about to spring into action. Before they could act, the woman fiercely stomped, pulverizing the wall entirely. She gave me a nod as she stepped into my cell, then strode silently over and repeated her feat with the other cell.

Rushing over to the elf, she also smashed his restraints and hood. The ones the elf had felt like they were designed differently. As if already in tune with the situation, the elf emitted a green wave, breaking the woman's hood and hand seals, which must've been of higher quality. Both then turned their gazes on me.

“Let’s go, rookie savior. Either we make it out of here together or not at all. Funny to think a newcomer could control aura as well as Spiritkept. I'm looking forward to getting to know you, assuming we survive this," she said, a chuckle lacing her words.

The elf opened his mouth, seeming to have taken a few seconds to recharge himself with his breath. Then he spoke in a boisterous tone. "Those foolish church mages won't ever put me in chains again, ha-ha! Let's go, Methuselah and my newfound friend. These pathetic bars won't hold me."

Footsteps approached. "What's happening in the cells? What's all this noise?" We had just moments to act before we'd be caught.

Yet the pair remained unfazed. The elf casually strolled over and bellowed, "These noises will be the last thing you hear, mages! Then, he wrapped himself in an overwhelming amount of green energy, likely nature’s essence. The iron bars may as well have been paper. He shredded the things like they weren’t enchanted black iron. Subtlety did not seem to be his style.

Methuselah and I followed him. Treants sprouted ahead; nature flourished in every direction. The guards were met with the elf's punch as the door burst open. His fist, now encased in pale brown wood, was a weapon of carnage. Symbols of nature danced around the elf, with more wood seemingly sprouting from him. Bloodied remains were all that was left of the guards. There wasn't much left of them to identify; they stood no chance against nature’s fury.

An eerie contrast was formed of burgeoning nature entwined with splatters of blood. The elf had off-handedly sent another wave of green at me and Methuselah. My body was practically as good as new, better even. And Methuselah didn’t look haggard anymore if I could trust the feedback from the touch domain and the soundscape. I was tuning out Aura perception; the two of them were like blazing suns in that perception. One a radiant white, the other a lush green.

"A nature's blessed is always awe-inspiring. Thanks, Gelben," Methuselah stated. She now controlled numerous rotating aura drops with her hands, moving at an entrancing speed.

"Ha-ha, anything for my dear friends! Come, even that annoyance Velexa won’t be able to stop me today. But we better get moving before she shows up to irritate me further. For Quercus!”

“Initiate, I’ll be carrying you on my back. Gelben seems intent on taking the lead here, but someone at your gate won’t be able to keep up once we get moving.”

I didn't protest. I had seen the speed Hadrian could move with, and I had a hunch that these two could easily surpass that.

`As soon as I affixed myself well enough to Methuselah, the two shot off. The feedback from the touch domain and the soundscape became a blur. We were in corridors of stone, mana symbols pulsing rhythmically around us. Whenever we paused, it would be to vaporize any foolish guards or mages trying to stop us. Our captors erected a mana barrier, but one of Gelben’s summoned treants emitted a dark green mist, causing the barrier to corrode instantly along with the mages behind it. Not a trace of blood was left behind this time.

"Return to nature's embrace, you desecrators," Gelben muttered, a tinge of anger edging his voice.

For her part, Methuselah seemed to understand the labyrinthine layout of the place we were in, like the back of her hand. The shadowy maze did not confuse her in the least. Even with the swift pace at which we were moving, the twists and turns did not slow them down one bit. Methuselah had grace in her movements. Extreme movements of agility were like child’s play to her. The speed we were going made Hadrian look slow.

I’m glad I trained as I did. Just holding on required me to have aura strands wrapped around her. My poor body was retaking a beating, but if that were the price of leaving here, I'd gladly pay it with a smile on my face.

We rounded a corner, and there she was. My heart couldn’t help but tremble even with these two beside me. We found ourselves in a vast chamber with two enormous doors pulsating a deep blue hue at the end. None of that was an issue.

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The real issue was Velexa standing defiantly before the massive doors. A clash of power and energy filled the air as Velexa, the grand mage with unparalleled mana abilities, faced Gelben, a master of nature’s essence. The battlefield trembled with the intensity of their opposing forces, setting the stage for confrontation.

Gliben, for his part, seemed thrilled. He almost barked out a challenge, "Come then!"

Methuselah muttered in a low voice beside me, with sheets of aura drops all around us. “We’ll have to get past her and get those doors open. Neither of us can beat her, not in our current state.”

If even these two monsters couldn’t beat her, weakened or not. Then who could? The headmaster? Maybe Elnara, but was she even at the citadel still?

Velexa stood tall, her robes billowing with an ethereal glow, as she summoned forth torrents of raw mana. Arcane energy crackled around her fingertips, ready to be unleashed in a devastating display of magical might. Her eyes blazed with confidence, having honed her skills through years of dedicated study and practice. The two massive globes of mana radiated pressure from her.

On the other side of the battlefield, Gelben stood firm as a conduit of nature’s essence. The elf was an avatar incarnate; an image of a tree god was behind him. Wisps of emerald energy danced around his fingertips, intertwining with the surrounding flora. Gelben’s connection with the natural world pulsed through every fiber of his being, granting a supernatural resonance with his surroundings. The battle began with a clash of elements. Velexa hurled bolts of searing mana toward the nature master, each strike carrying the weight of her potent magical mastery. Gelben, attuned to the energy flow around them, deftly evaded the onslaught, weaving between the incoming projectiles with an almost dance-like grace.

Velexa, who had seemed bored at every point until now, had her eyes lit up instead. A mana globe behind her brightened, and waves of mana pulsed out. Soon, she attributed her mana, and a knight of water materialized beside her with a tower shield taller than himself. Then, as if she were only getting started, a water dragon materialized as well, and then another, finally, a last one came. With the four summons around her, vortexes of mana began to twist around. The three water-formed dragons charged forward. Velexa hurled water lances at Gelben, fast as pressurized pillars of water.

With a grand sweep of his arm, Gelben called upon the forces of nature. Vines erupted from the earth, their verdant tendrils snaking towards Velexa, seeking to ensnare and restrain her. But Velexa was no ordinary mage. She summoned a barrier of shimmering mana, deflecting the encroaching vines with a burst of raw power. The knight with the tower shield crushed any remaining attempts at his master. Gelben’s treants, outmatched by the three dragons, merged into one formidable ancient, matching one dragon in combat. But as for the other two, they clashed with Gelben. He forced them back with the great strength of his barkskined arms. The arcane water bolts of Velexa were going to be too dangerous like that. Methuselah stepped in, her sheets of aura drops stopping the bolts.

Undeterred, Gelben drew upon his connection with nature, causing the very ground beneath Velexa to tremble. Roots burst forth from the earth, entangling her feet and disrupting her balance. Struggling to maintain her stance, Velexa channeled her mana into a devastating spell, sending a wave of energy rippling through the battlefield, shattering the encroaching roots.

As the battle raged, the clash of mana, aura, and nature reached a crescendo. Velexa unleashed a barrage of arcane spells, her mana blazing like a tempest. Methuselah and Gelben responded in kind, manipulating the elements around them to form a shield of swirling winds and crackling aura. Exhaustion was seen on the faces of the two, but Velexa only had a slight panting. She truly was a monster.

I’d let myself down from Methuselah now but then affixed myself to the back of Gelben. “Now’s not the time, dear friend. Velexa requires my full attention." He said with valor.

“Listen, Gelben; you’re the most durable out of the three of us, I can tell,” I started, “Have Methuselah distract Velexa with her sheets of aura drops and follow her perception. Avoid what Velexa throws at us. We can’t beat her, but we can get out of here. The citadel isn’t far from here at all; if we can send signal, they’d be here in minutes.”

Gelben seemed to consider my words, "What do you think, Methuselah?"

"We only have one shot at this, but we don't have many other options. Let's stun her momentarily and get out of here. Ready?" Methuselah proposed.

"Ready," Gelben responded with a fierce grin spreading across his face.

In a breathtaking display, the two unleashed a primal surge of energy, aura intertwining with nature’s essence. The ground shook beneath them as a tidal wave of compressed aura and rampant nature surged forward, engulfing Velexa in a maelstrom of natural fury. Caught off guard by the sheer force of the assault, Velexa's mana defenses crumbled, leaving her off balance and stunned. The knight was destroyed. As if receiving a silent command, the ancient forced itself to take on the three dragons, keeping them occupied for the moment.

With a final surge of energy, their combined strength overpowered the grand mage's mana control. The battlefield fell silent, the echoes of their clash fading into the air. Seizing this golden opportunity, we dashed towards the door. My rescue hadn’t been in vain, for the two’s suppression proved the synergistic power between nature and aura.

Reaching the door instantly, Gelben withered, looking like he’d overdrawn his energy. His wood-encased fist smashed towards the door, with Methuselah imbuing the impact by pounding aura drops at the same pinpoint. The image in my soundscape and touch domain was brilliant, like a spear willing to pierce through anything in its way. The two had found the weakest point of the door and blasted through. The impact practically made my bones creak. I’d have been ejected off Gelben had I not affixed myself to him with aura strands.

Forcing our way out, the escape would be at its endpoint. Velexa had already regained her footing, seething with fury.

“I won’t let you vermin escape, free to infect the world again! This will be your grave. Especially you, Corrupted Conmor.”