The puddle of energy Nunac was sitting in had swallowed his tail, his legs and was now approaching his stomach. However, the man could not sit still. Confusion, anger, and curiosity swirled inside his mind like a storm.

“Why, how, who are you people? Are you hiding crystals up your bum? I do not understand.”

Nunac summoned spatial distortions and shot lightning bolts into them. The distortions added mana to the spells, amplified them tremendously and sent them hurling at Annie. They smashed into her shield which took them on like a champ.

“That’s not how this works. Unless you’re hiding a blue crystal the size of your skull, there’s no way a grade one shield can take this much damage. How are you doing this?”

Nunac stood up from his chair and leaned over like he had found a premier specimen. The puddle was still drawing him in, but now he had half a mind to cancel the spell entirely.

“What is that light you’re sinking into?” asked Annie.

“What’s that shield you keep using!?”

“Err, I think I know the answer.”

All eyes turned towards Reina, who had just raised her hand.

“The thing below zap zap fox-man is a long distance teleportation array, and the shield…”

“The shield!?” Nunac clenched his fists.

“The shield is really strong because… Annie’s the strongest.”

Reina gave a thumbs up and Nunac hurled the mother of all lightning at her. Again, Annie blocked it, and although sweat started to gather on her forehead, the shield still held up.

“What kind of a monster are you?”

“How did you make these arrays?”

Countless spikes rose from the floor around Nunac, a full-on tornado formed in front of him, and fire poured from the ceiling above his head. Everything hit the mage all at once, and he let out a growl while taking it all.

After the magical storm had settled, a bubble could be seen around Nunac. Numerous inscriptions were drawn on this bubble. They twisted and tied together, separated and formed again on its surface, like a myriad of shiny, blue ants forming various patterns.

“Is that a grade two shield?” Annie could not hold in her grin. She snapped her fingers and a transparent wall appeared in front of her with a tiny pattern in the middle of its surface. The inscription and her wall soon fell apart, but she kept trying to recreate it.

Before Nunac’s very eyes, his defensive masterpiece was being replicated like some cheap parlor trick. Thoughts of understanding her abilities, swaying her to his team, or even bothering with questions quickly left his mind. As he leaned forward and placed both palms on the attic’s floor, only a single thought and intention remained: ‘I must kill her. I must kill her now!’

Suddenly, shiny dots appeared all over the floor. Light could be seen flowing out of them like tiny streams that merged with each other, forming rivers which flowed in circles with Annie at the center.

Immediately, Annie summoned a large shield which separated Nunac’s side of the attic from everyone else’s. Unfortunately, a moment later, her legs gave in, her eyes rolled in their sockets, and her body collapsed. When all was said and done, all that remained were her thoughts.

‘This is… New. Vision… gone. Hearing… buzz, but… I can still. Feel.’

Since childhood, Annie had felt the duality of the world. A flower was not a flower. It was the physical plant and the mana hidden within it. Her body was not a body. It was the physical flesh, and the mana which permeated and duplicated her cells.

Each object, plant, animal, and person had a physical side and a magical/spiritual counterpart, smushed together to form a whole existence. So, what happened when you tore apart the magical and physical counterparts?

Mana particles which should have formed Annie’s brain were now stuck in her arm, her shoulders, and scattered in the air.

‘Come… Come. Back.’

Annie’s spiritual brain started putting itself back together. She could have molded normal mana to replace it too, but that would have taken infinitely longer.

To pass the first floor of the building, all she had to do was absorb the mana that was weighing her down. To pass the second one, she did the same. Since her connection to mana was so great, once her spiritual body was frozen on the third floor, it took several minutes for her brain to snap out of it and realize her predicament.

However, from there it was easy. Annie had more control over her spiritual body than over the physical one, so how could anybody even think of taking it away?

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

‘This array's a bit more complicated though.’ With around half her spiritual brain recovered, Annie could finally focus.

None of her energy was where it should have been. Mana particles from the wooden floor were mixed into her heart with bits of mana from the air and even some of Reina’s golems. Instead of forming the shape of a human, her mana was more like a large, dirty ball, filled with impurities that was enclosing her body.

‘How many arrays did he use? If only I knew there were crystals inside the floor. I should have searched for them. I should have improved my mana sense by now.’

Since the previous arrays had covered most of the rooms, Annie could not pinpoint their origin.

‘I should have asked Reina about how arrays are made. I should’ve been more thorough. I've made so many mistakes, I hope she’s safe.’

Suddenly, many of Annie’s mana particles started flying in a certain direction.

‘He's attacking, although, at least the shield’s still active. But, why does it need so much energy?’

Back in the real world, Nunac’s half of the attic was filled to the brim with electricity. Countless distortions smashed into Annie’s shield and along with lightning, they tried to tear it to pieces.

However, the transparent shield did not budge. Its surface shook violently, Annie’s skin was turning pale, but nothing went past aside from Nunac’s frustration.

“This is ridiculous, what is she!?”

“Ha,” Reina puffed her chest. “Annie’s first in class, Mr. zap, zap, no clap. Her magic is leagues ahead of your puny lightning.”

The light in Nunac’s rings started growing dim. Several crystals cracked and two collapsed onto themselves and then dissolved into nothing.

“Damnit! You stupid girl, can’t you see? That much power isn’t normal. To take this much damage, she’d need a crystal the size of her entire body! Her… body…”

Nunac’s arms suddenly fell by his side. His face was losing color fast and his mouth was opening wider and wider. There was a stiffness in his movements, like he had seen a ghost or the lion had entered the room.

“Cat caught your tongue, Mr. zippidy zap zap?”

Reina’s comment brought him back to his senses, and Nunac sat in his chair. He crouched as much as possible and even plunged his arms into the white puddle, allowing the teleportation array to suck out his crystals’ mana.

To his horror, Annie’s body was already starting to twitch. First a finger, then a hand. It was like the awakening of one of the zombies below, except this time, death was coming for him.

“Hey kid, what’s your name?”

“I’m not a kid,” Reina crossed her arms. “I may be older than you, how would you know?”

“Shut up and listen: Your friend isn’t human. She may have been human when you met her, there may still be some humanity left inside her, but I assure you, she is no longer a person.”

“Have you zapped your brain?”

“She is a monster in the making, a mutant in human form. Soon, she will lose control over her energy and go berserk... or worse.”

Slowly but surely, Annie’s arms went up and her palms rested on the floor. Like the undead, she lifted the upper part of her body while her head still dangled in the air.

“Listen, dwarf girl, I am getting out of here, but if she wakes up, you and the entire empire will be in danger.”

“Annie wouldn’t do that.”

“Wake up! She gave you her crystal and still took on everything I threw at her. You can’t possibly think this is normal.”

“I…”

Reina hesitated as she watched her friend rise to her feet. Annie was wobbling, like her limbs refused to listen, but she was regaining control, slowly but surely.

“Where… are you going?” she whispered while raising her head towards the mage.

“Away from you, mutant.”

Nunac had sunk into the array down to his neck by now. Bright light swirled around him as if the magic was about to activate.

“This is your last chance, dwarf girl. Once she is fully restored, she’ll be unstoppable.”

“What are you… talking about?” Annie tried to summon a fireball but her whole arm caught on fire. “Don’t run away. Tell me… how you made these arrays.”

“Like hell I will. Go burn with your kind, wench.”

Annie was gaining control over the flames and she started smiling. “I don't know what you're talking about, but it doesn’t matter. You have embedded crystals into the floor. That’s all I need to know.”

“Will they still work once they’ve dissolved?” Nunac grinned. The teleportation array was quickly absorbing his head to the point where his smile disappeared within it.

“What do you mean?” Annie looked at the floor. She summoned several earth spikes and shot them down to uncover the crystals.

However, no sooner had Nunac sunk up to his forehead, that the light of his array increased three-fold. The crystals in the floor grew bright too, and the entire building started shining like the moon. A moment later, Nunac was gone and every single crystal inside the two story house, including Reina’s and Annie’s gems, crumbled into nothingness.

It was only then that Finn regained consciousness. He looked displeased for a moment, but then he stretched out his charred limbs and gave the other two a puzzling look.

“Annie, are you still you?” asked Reina.

The girl lifted an eyebrow but then lowered and shook her head. “I’m fine. Finn… I have lost.”

To her surprise, Finn walked over, patted her shoulder and ruffled Reina’s hair. “Well, at least you’re safe. How about you, Rei-chan?”

“What!?”

“It doesn’t matter. What does matter is that we’re all fine, only half my clothes are charred, we still have our health, no need to worry.”

The boy rambled on for a good ten seconds. His smile was growing larger and larger, and he averted his eyes like he was hiding something. Eventually, Annie noticed and muttered “Have you…”

“Yep.”

“You have?”

“Part one at least. Although, considering the insanity of what I’m trying to achieve…”

Finn picked up a pile of mud off the ground. He squinted his eyes, furrowed his brows, and a couple of seconds later, the mud started floating. The girls took a step back and the boy grinned.

“No doubt about it: Today, I have won.”