Gradually, the snow turned into a storm.

Derick had once again joined the fight above the mansion.

With the help of his two companions, they slowly cornered Lily, who was trying to send her purple mana towards her opponents' eyes.

It was in vain, as Derick had prepared a spell that burned any trace of mana that came near him.

Lily made herself and her father invisible and tried to command the enemies to attack each other.

However, the three of them surrounded Lily's position in a triangle, resisting her commands and launching their spells towards her.

Some of them managed to hit, breaking her invisibility, but her wounds closed thanks to the orb in her hand, which emitted turquoise healing pulses through the sky.

Her father tried to fight back, but he couldn't do much.

It seemed like the three mages from outside were going to win.

When one became stiff due to Lily's control, the others attacked her, breaking her concentration and releasing their companion.

Flashes of different colors illuminated the snowy sky, like fireworks celebrating the start of the new year.

Perhaps this was what Sophie had hoped to see that day in the desert.

The inhabitants watched the fight from a distance.

Fabio, carrying Sophie on his back, ran as fast as he could towards the fight.

When he was beneath them, he shouted at the top of his lungs.

"LILY, YOU HAVE TO GIVE ME THE ORB! SOPHIE IS DYING!"

But the fight continued.

Perhaps they were too far away to hear him.

Perhaps the snowstorm blocked his voice.

"LILYYYY!"

No one reacted to his shouts.

His back began to be covered more and more with a thick, warm liquid.

"AAAAAGH! AAAAH!"

As always, he had no power to do anything.

Fabio screamed and screamed until his throat began to hurt.

They were alone under the cold winter.

'Fabio.'

Then, a voice echoed in his head.

'You have to go to the castle, to the mirror in your room.'

It was Nolva.

'Quickly, if you want to save Sophie!'

Fabio looked at the sky once more. The fight showed no signs of stopping.

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He properly positioned Sophie on his back and ran towards the mansion.

His body was panting, exhaling puffs of vapor.

When he arrived, he could barely feel his legs.

He hurriedly entered his room.

"Nolva, what do I have to do?!"

Fabio shouted at the mirror, whose reflection showed the girl who had lived with him this past month, while gently laying Sophie down on his bed.

Nolva spoke calmly, as if everything was under control.

"It's simple, put your hand on the mirror and inject your mana."

"..."

"This way you will break my seal. I will end the fight and then we will save Sophie."

Nolva sharpened her eyes, like the day they met, and filled her voice with irresistible persuasion.

"Just put. Your hand. On the mirror."

She uttered the sentence part by part, causing Fabio to approach closer and closer.

But at that moment, the starry mana within his body began to resist.

Fabio's muscles tore as Nolva and he struggled against the last and strongest block in his mind.

"AAAAGH!"

Finally, after an intense struggle, the mental block broke, obeying Fabio's wishes. He placed his hand on the mirror and mobilized much of his remaining mana towards it.

The mirror began to fragment little by little until it shattered completely.

Then, Nolva came out of the mirror.

Fabio fell to the ground, unable to move his torn muscles, but he saw Nolva smiling.

It was a much more sinister smile than any Lily had ever made.

Her small body suddenly tore apart, growing exponentially in volume, rising into the sky as it turned into an abomination of endless, red, translucent hands.

Lily's fight stopped.

All the mages watched Nolva in fear.

"What happened to her seal?!" Shouted the wind mage.

"Nolva..."

Lily, who was full of cuts and burns that were still healing, smiled when she saw her only true friend, despite knowing she should never leave the mirror.

Despite it being the highest directive she always gave to those she controlled.

In truth, she was happy to finally see her.

The enormous abomination made of red hands turned towards Fabio, whose room was still relatively intact, except that the entire mansion and its own roof had disappeared, leaving him at the mercy of the storm.

"Fabio, thank you for freeing me."

Nolva's broken voice echoed in the sky before her abominable hands moved through the air, stretching towards the group of mages who had been fighting, as if she wanted to reach them.

Derick and the wind and lightning mages fled in different directions, leaving Lily and her father alone.

Lily welcomed Nolva.

But Nolva's hands pierced her torso, breaking her body into bloody pieces.

Her father didn't survive either.

Then, the hands crawled through the city, destroying everything in their path, but not before leaving a familiar-looking orb next to Fabio and Sophie.

The orb shone, emitting healing pulses, causing their wounds to vanish in seconds.

Seeing how half the city had ceased to exist, Fabio trembled on the ground.

'No...'

His mind couldn't process what had happened.

The confused screams of the villagers thundered in his ears, making Fabio's instinct react. Lily's mental control was gone.

'I have to get out of here.'

Fabio picked up the orb and mounted Sophie, who was still asleep, once again on his back.

Using the little mana left, he made their bodies invisible and slowly walked towards the horizon, not knowing where he was going.

The stars in the sky shone, sprinkling some last flakes of snow.

It seemed like the storm was subsiding.

That winter night, under the frigid wind and the tinkling of the snow that still remained, Fabio and Sophie lost their home for the second time.

(End of the second arc: Magic.)