The Mother’s Blessing was, perhaps, the single most powerful spell or ability in the world. This was obvious in an instant to both Megan and Eric as they watched how it affected Enri. His body locked up stiff, he suddenly threw his head back, his eyes glowing so brightly that they almost created beams. Then the energy within his body, rather smaller than the average warrior, flared with life, easily ten, even twenty times more than Samuel’s own field.

Eric rubbed his eyes, forgetting that he didn’t have a corporeal body at the moment. An illusion was forming in front of Enri. It was a woman, slender and just a few inches shorter than he was, standing before the warrior. He seemed to have gotten used to the burden of the energy and lowered his head to meet her eyes. She had long straight red hair, piercing violet eyes, and a simple green dress. The energy she emitted was identical to what Enri now possessed.

There was no other explanation for it, Megan and Eric realized. Somehow, through some miracle, they were being treated to a rare visage of Ahya herself, come to life through the power of the spell. Enri went down on one knee before her, and she bestowed a beautiful, calming, kind smile upon him. She lifted one hand and placed it on his head in a sign of benediction. Then the energy quieted down from its roar, settling into a pleasant, calm swirl. Strangely, it was all the more frightening for it.

Take my blessing, child. The deep, powerful voice radiated around the battlefield. Grasp my power, and use it to fulfill your purpose.

More people were aware of what was happening now as Eric rose to a standing position once more. He glanced quickly at the three spirits around him, nodding to each one. “Thirty seconds. Let’s do this.”

Thirty seconds may have passed in a blur in any other situation, but for them, it dragged. Eric, Megan, and Samuel were pulled to Enri in an instant as he darted forward, leaving a trail of energy behind him with the speed of his movement. They all blinked, and then they were surveying the scene from Enri’s own eyes, mere inches from the nearest group of soldiers. Each enemy within reach was trying frantically to flee, but they had no hope of escape.

One long, reaching lunge. Such a simple move, but the damage it caused was devastating. Nearly a hundred soldiers, caught in his path, were vaporized. Several dozen others, the lucky ones at the very edge of the attack, were thrown several feet away. Some of them landed with grunts and screams of agony. Others were more silent.

Several mages, two hundred yards to the right, frantically began to launch a barrage of spells in their direction. They decided to ignore the enemy directly in front of them for the attack, but the risk was well worth it. Enri presented a much larger threat at the moment than any other warrior, regardless of skill or experience. Enri stood fast, surrendering control of his body. Megan felt herself taking his place, and somehow, she knew at once what was expected of her. This was why Arcana had given her new spells, and the price she would have to pay for the knowledge.

Over thirty spells had been launched, and they were feet away when Megan gave a lazy flick of her wrist. Energy surged up from the ground itself, snatching the spells and swallowing them whole. The energy was returned to her, and she returned it then in a long line from both palms, spinning on the spot as a huge blast of energy rushed outward. Once again, those closest to her were deleted by the spell, with others being rebuffed. Over three hundred dead, in less than ten seconds.

Then it was Samuel’s turn. He took over, and created a massive field of anti-magic, effectively silencing any magic, even his own. Eric darted forward with his long crimson blade, whose sheath shifted to form a second sword, and with the aid of Hunter, carved two more large swaths through the enemy ranks. In those short dashes, he’d covered the remaining distance to the defenders of Tyrman.

Just as Enri regained control, he drew his saber in a quick, straight line, cutting through the air between himself and his enemies. A sharp ringing sound erupted, then the explosion that followed wreaked yet more havoc. Great chunks had been taken out of the Attosian army, and the survivors had only one option. All of them, private and officer alike, turned on their heels and sprinted for the exit of the city. Many of them threw down their weapons as they ran, lifting their hands high in surrender.

Samuel took over and, lifting the anti-magic field, raised both hands high in the air. Megan didn’t know when he’d taken the time to learn Michael’s unique magic of seeking electric bolts, but he’d clearly taken it to another level. Over a hundred bolts of sizzling power left his body, arcing gently through the air before streaking down and striking one or two enemies. They all targeted one of those who hadn’t surrendered, and soon more bodies were laying, stunned or dead, on the cobbled high street.

Just under four hundred soldiers made it out of the city gates uninjured, but they weren’t the lucky few. With a deafening rumble, the ground under their feet shook and broke apart. Giant winged serpents burst out of the earth, their massive jaws swallowing soldiers whole, and their long powerful tails sweeping in wide strikes, sending more unfortunate soldiers flying. The Attosians, free of The Mother’s Blessing, were able to account for one or two of the beasts, but their numbers were too low to much else.

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It was all over. The remaining soldiers had surrendered for fear of their lives, throwing down their weapons and pleading for mercy. Accordant to Shigeru Tokugawa’s Divine Law, their lives were spared, though they were restrained and bound in large groups to prevent any treacherous action. They were forced to sit on the banks of the river, out of earshot of the city, while plans were made for their care.

Megan, Eric, Samuel, and Enri, were still busy. There were countless injured to tend to, not to mention rogue soldiers still within the city who needed to be hunted down. Enri and Samuel led the effort while Eric joined in the searching, leaving Megan on her own. She did what she could to assist in tending to the wounded, but a combination of exhaustion and nausea forced her to retire after only half an hour.

Dragons flew over the city with their riders, carrying massive wooden barrels of food and water where they were needed. The citizens of Milagre did their part too, heaving the lightly wounded to safety and salvaging what damage had been caused to the city. Thankfully, due to The Mother’s Blessing, further damage had been prevented. That being said, the workers of the city still had a lot of work on their hands.

After what seemed like several days, night finally began to fall, and Eric and Megan were dragged away from the recovery efforts by their teachers. They were ordered to rest as long as they needed. Battalions of Issho-Ni warriors would see to the defense of the city while it was repaired. To top it off, the Black Hand arrived towards the end of the day, and an agreement was struck between Seer David and the Queen so that the mercenaries would also provide protection.

After watching the last patrol of Black Hands depart from the city to sweep the countryside for potential surprise attacks, Megan withdrew from the window of the Proficient’s Dorm and retired to her room. She was surprised, but also quite pleased, to find Michael and Rachel waiting for her. They were sitting on her bed with expectantly tense looks and leaped to their feet the moment she opened her door and appeared.

“Thank the gods!” Rachel practically screamed, sprinting forward and nearly knocking Megan flat with the force of her hug. Michael hung back behind her, his face white. “Where have you been? We’ve been worried sick!”

“I was helping with the recovery,” Megan said, her voice dry from the exhaustion of the day. “All the fighting exhausted me, so I was slow getting back. Sorry.”

Rachel shook her head vehemently, dismissing the need for apology. She kept one hand around Megan’s shoulders as she ushered her to her mattress, forcing her down onto it with a firm push. Megan was too weak to resist even if she’d wanted to, and flopped down onto her back, looking up at her friends. The loss of Jordan returned to her then, and she felt her eyes stinging with tears.

“I’m surprised the other students didn’t mob you when you reached the campus,” Michael said. His voice was shaky, and he sat down at the end of her bed. “They’ve been talking about you all evening.”

“What do you mean?” Megan asked, stubbornly wiping the tears out of her eyes.

“You haven’t heard?”

Megan shook her head, and Rachel filled her in. “There’s a lot of talk about you taking part in the fighting. Everyone is saying that you were one of the people who pushed the army back. Is that true?”

“Sort of,” Megan said evasively. Then, as they both raised their eyebrows expectantly, she continued with a sigh. “Samuel and Enri cast some spell, I have no idea how it fully worked. But it sort of… combined us. So I was part of the final attack, but I only cast counterspell and one attack spell.”

“Still,” Michael said, leaning forward. “That’s an awesome role to play. The school will be talking about that for months. Maybe even years.”

Megan shrugged diffidently, or as well as she could, laying flat on her back. “I don’t care. All I care about is getting some sleep.”

Michael and Rachel got the hint, and made their farewells. Michael promised to stay just outside her door to ward off interruptions as Rachel moved to the door. Megan didn’t quite know what made her do it, but she shot out one hand and caught the sleeve of Michael’s robe. Rachel, noticing the sudden movement, stopped and frowned at her.

“Can you,” Megan began, but her voice failed her. Why, after all she’d done today, was this so difficult? She looked up at Michael, but could only repeat those two words again. “Can you?”

Over by the door, Rachel let out a soft snort of amusement and exited, closing the door behind her. Michael, looking surprised but agreeable, sat himself down on the edge of the bed, then stretched out beside her. She shifted over to give him room, then, as he put one arm under her head and pulled her close, finally allowed her eyes to close. The torrent of images she’d been expecting did come, but they were lessened by the comfort of another person so close.

She gave a long sigh and pressed herself forward, burying her face in his robes. He smelled strongly of mana, like a faint scent of ozone. But under that was the smell of him. She could finally relax, and in the brief moment of consciousness she had left, she wondered why it had taken so long for her to realize her feelings towards him. She’d always been annoyed by him, and more than eager to put him in his place during one of their arguments. Then all thought left her, and she slipped into sleep.

For the first night since her arrival in Ahya, she did not dream of this world. Instead, her mind went back to her home on Earth. She’d been about to start her college life. A fresh-faced student, easily overlooked in a crowd of other freshman, she had suddenly found herself a key part of some prophecy in a foreign world. Instead of studying to be a nurse, she’d learned healing magic. Instead of taking an oath to do no harm, she’d fought dangerous foes, and even killed.

Strangely, she found no sense of regret in her choice to come to Ahya. She regretted the violence that she’d witnessed and caused, but understood that it was unavoidable. She’d enjoyed the year and some time that she’d spent in this strange world, even if it had been challenging. Suddenly, she realized that she wasn’t quite ready to return home.