-YOU!

She immediately turned to me.

Before I even spoke a word, she tossed a spell right at my face. I don’t even know what that was, it was so sudden.

I found myself on the ground a few meters away from them, looking towards the sky.

It already was covered completely by that strange membrane, but that was not the main thing I was worried about.

-WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! - she yelled at me. - YOU THINK I WILL JUST LET THAT GO?!

What was she talking about? I haven’t done a thing, just was confused, looking up.

Not for long. Another spell shook me awake.

This time I was able to recognize it and the lightning that zapped my body definitely brought me back to my senses.

-I haven’t done anything!?

She scoffed at me, angrily and waved her hand.

-I CAN TELL WHERE MANA IS COMING, YOU MORON! AND THAT WAS YOU!

Again, what was she on about? I haven’t done…

Wait, what was I doing?

I was standing up? I didn’t want to do that… What’s…

-Defensive measures activated. Lockdown protocol engaged.

Lockdown?

Wait, that was me talking?! How? What?!

That was definitely my voice. But not me speaking. What’s going on!?

-Ah. Amazing.

For some reason, she suddenly calmed down. She knew what was going on?

-I thought I had all my pieces together. Guess not.

Without warning, she stepped forward and grabbed my face.

I felt a sharp sting.

Did she slap me?

No… It definitely felt like it, but she didn’t move.

But, the moment I felt pain, I also felt relief and a lot of mana left my body.

She drained me.

-Should’ve known that you’d be a sleeper.

-A sleeper…?

I could speak again. But my voice was weak, barely audible.

-Your mana is tainted. And I bet it was this idiot - she said, kicking the corpse of the “boss” that was still lying there.

-What are you talking about…

-Just like this thing - she pointed to the ground where the “missile” landed - you were a “precaution”. Or, are rather.

-I don’t understand…

-You don’t have to. The main fact is that you have to die.

That’s a sudden development.

But she was not kidding.

Before I even managed to process her words, I already had her hand on my neck and I felt mana leaving me.

I couldn’t retaliate even if I wanted to: the first “slap” already drained so much from me that I was barely conscious.

Was that going to be the end of me…?

Well, I still had a piece of crystal, maybe again, some of me will be able to survive…?

But, it didn’t have to come to this.

The one who defended me was none other than Il.

As she was draining me, she lunged at her and managed to break our contact and the drain.

-What do you think you’re doing?!

No answer.

Instead, she blasted her with a spell.

Of course, the effect was minimal. The lightning she created just fizzled right when it hit ILMA, but it did manage to push her away a little bit.

It also gave her enough time to jump towards me, still facing her.

She was protecting me?

Well, that was a first.

I didn’t think Il’d be on the offensive like that. I had to thank her later…

Wait.

What am I doing?

I was extending my hand towards her…?

But… I didn’t want to… What is that…? Mana?

Am I creating a spell…?

No! Il! MOVE!

I wanted to yell. But nothing came out of my mouth.

I was stuck, my body not responding to my own commands.

A fiery explosion.

A ball of fire that engulfed the two of us, sending me back onto the ground and her back to ILMA.

-AH!

-You fucking…

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

-I should’ve known that this idiot wouldn’t be enough…

Who’s voice was that?!

It was muffled, but I felt like I’ve heard this one before..

The answer came pretty swiftly.

Along with a small rumble.

Something… was moving under us.

From the ground between us… a person emerged.

It definitely looked like the body of the “boss”, or rather just the goon that was sent here to keep an eye on us, but his mana… was different.

It was gone before, so I thought that he just might have regained some: ILMA must have not been too through with her drain, but that was not the case.

This one was new to me.

-Mire.

Huh?

MIRE? What did she mean by that?

-Ah. I see you even heard that name. I guess our database had a little bit of leak.

What was he talking about? A leak?

-I never expected for you to be in person.

-Because I am not. This is just… a little bit of an extension of me - he said.

-Extension… you…

-Yes, made thanks to your example. And, of course, the rest of the team… - he said, suddenly turning my way.

-What’s going on… I don’t understand… - I wanted to say, but was still unable to move.

-Yes, that’s right, you’re not disobeying orders any more, Mike, or whatever your name was. You better sit tight and not complicate things any more before I change my mind.

Disobeying orders? What?!

Even without me asking, he promptly explained.

-Your task was to pacify her. And what happened? - he gestured towards the sky. - The whole organization is up in arms because she broke confinement.

His monologue didn’t last long.

ILMA didn’t let him.

She grabbed his neck with swiftness I’ve never seen from her. It almost looked like she teleported, yet she did not use any spell that I could detect.

-Oh please - he said, not bothered in the slightest. - This body is dead. I am just here to make sure you’re safely contained. And that’s done, just for you know.

He pointed towards the horizon.

The membrane, the strange foil that was not so long falling on top of us, has disappeared, and the sky was just as it was before all the strangeness happened.

That’s besides one thing.

Far on the horizon… there was a fog? Wait, not a fog. A very dense, but very far mana. A very strange sight…

-We have created a barrier along this continent. It is now cut off from the outside world for the foreseeable future. You are now confined to this place. Good luck trying to get out - he added, grinning.

-No getting out you say… what if I have an anchor?

-Anchor to outside? Ha, no - he laughed. - Every single one has been disrupted as soon as the veil took hold. You think we’re that stupid? We can’t let the prisoners get out.

-Oh, but I have a fresh one.

-Fresh… wha…AAAAH!

As she said that, she grabbed him harder and squeezed out… something?

It was… I honestly don’t know. It just looked like she squeezed mana out of him, if that was even possible.

It looked like blood, but was glowing like crazy.

Maybe it was just blood? After all, where’s the most mana in a human body if not in blood.

But there were no visible wounds on his body, he looked fine, despite the apparent intense pain that he was feeling.

-Open.

With one word, the liquid she spilled from him started boiling and turning to smoke. From the vapors, a circular gateway was forming.

But, it wasn’t like before. Neither was it that ornamented passageway she made at first, nor was it a regular portal.

It looked irregular, the inside of it filled with dark-red mist.

She dropped the, now unmoving again, body onto the ground and wanted to step through the formed passage, but… she couldn’t.

She… bounced?

That was the strangest thing. It looked like the passage was rejecting her? Like there was a barrier that prevented her from walking through.

-Fuck.

But, when she bounced back, the fog suddenly shifted, and the gateway formed fully. It was now akin to a mirror, or rather just a window now, because we could see on the other side a very panicked man.

He was sitting alone, in a very nice room. It looked like his home and he was just awakened from a sleep: laying in a bed, or rather now sitting up with his back against a white wall.

I have never seen this man in my life. Small, almost dwarfish, although fit and surprisingly good-looking.

It definitely was giving me mixed feelings.

-A-h ha… ha! - he half-laughed, half-panted, clearly distressed. - I told you you cannot leave! You are trapped!

It was definitely the same voice that just moments ago was threatening us from the body lying face-down on the ground.

-Lucky bastard… your half-baked protection spells…

-Not so half-baked if they stopped you! - he said proudly, but it was clear that he was just trying to stall for time.

He definitely was not expecting for her to be able to open a portal right to his home!

Not like anyone would expect that, really. Every modern house was always protected with spells blocking teleportation. For someone that high up the rankings, supposedly at least, I’d think his would be even better, not just some everyday systems, but even then, she broke through it. Halfway, but still. For a look was enough to a half-decent mage.

-You can’t get me here, you…

He didn’t get to finish his sentence.

-Move.

The portal was blocking her physical body, sure. But it was not blocking her mana. And since she was able to see him clearly, she could just push him right towards her.

The wall behind him moved suddenly, and the whole brick wall shifted, pushing him violently towards the portal.

It was blocking her. Not him.

-AAAH!

One single spell and he was lying on the ground right next to her.

He didn’t even understand what happened to him. He rolled on the ground, flailing like a puppet, trying to grab onto the non-existing edge of the portal.

Even if it was still there, it would’ve been pointless.

-Well, well, well… - she said, dispelling the portal.

The remaining bloody fog vanished, scattered on the wind.

-Don’t! If you try anything, you…

-Silence.

She didn’t let him speak.

I don’t think she felt threatened though. She just didn’t like the sound of his voice.

Honestly, me neither.

-So, what should I do…

She shouldn’t have played with her food.

He took the opportunity. He was not silenced nor blocked from casting spells in any way.

So he did.

I am not sure what kind of spell he used, but I could tell that he released quite a bit of mana.

Wait, never mind. I recognized that spell.

He was trying to teleport.

Did he have some kind of anchor hidden somewhere?

Apparently not. Or he just was not good enough to pull it out with an anchor or not.

I was flashbanged by a sudden burst of magic.

Not even just mana, magic. It was so unexpected that I had to turn my eyes away, and that was true for everyone.

Even Mor.

That was also the last time I’ve seen him.

He was gone.

But not only him. Also, a certain man that just was dragged here had no longer been with us…

Alive, that is.

The moment ILMA noticed what’s going on, she tried interrupting the spell. And that was the reason the light disappeared.

While she did that, Mor was already gone, but not Mire. The guy, or rather half of him was inside the bright light that I now knew was a portal to… somewhere.

And when she disrupted the spell, it managed to collapse on him.

I think you can imagine the result.

Half of his body was gone.

Luckily for him, the effect was immediate so I bet he didn’t even know what happened, it was done in an instant. Half of his body vaporized by a spell.

Or maybe rather just somewhere else.

Not like it mattered. The perfectly clean cut didn’t give much chances of survival.