All at once, the earth beneath their feet began to shake and cracks formed. Seconds later, a pit appeared and engulfed the creatures like light in the darkness, while Cale sent his flames after them, burying his opponents alive. He, on the other hand, winged himself into the air with the help of wind magic and shot toward the two Thormods, who were already waiting for him in attack position. But Cale was quick, quicker than they had expected.

"Take cover, Viron!", the female Thormod shouted, pushing the boy behind her aside before blocking Cale's attack with both swords. Cale slashed at the weapon with a clenched fist, accompanied by a wave of fire, before she gave away and dodged to the side. As suspected, she couldn't stop magic attacks with her bare hands. But Cale didn't give her a chance to create a clear thought, raising his leg and kicking her full force against her charge. Both Thormods flew in a high arc against a tree, knocking it to the ground. Somewhat annoyed that the female Thormod had withstood this pressure, Cale shot a two-meter-wide fireball at the two, but the young Thormod beat him to it. He stretched his hand forward protectively, neutralizing the fire the moment it reached them.

"Nice skills you got there", Cale commented in surprise, opening a pit under his legs. As the boy Viron plunged, the warrior grabbed him by his hand and pulled him to the side before starting to sprint. Cale hurled his magic like a madman against the two Thormods, but each attack was neutralized by them.

Inevitably, he recognized a pattern and wondered if these two leaders had also been present in his past lives. The possibility existed that they had mingled with the creatures during the chaos and escape action of the second wave, helping to kill the High-Magicians. Cale could well imagine that the male Thormod must have been quite a problem, let alone what he could accomplish in 3 years.

Cale lifted a rock next to him into the air using wind magic and hurled it full force at the two Thormods. He had noticed that the male Thormod could block all magical attacks, but what about a massive rock that wasn't created with mana? With a loud, metallic sound, however, the woman returned the attack and severed the boulder, sending both pieces crashing to the ground sideways behind them, kicking up debris. But Cale took advantage of the moment of no sight between them and shot toward her unnoticed. Without having time to react, Cale knocked her short sword out of her hand and grabbed her by the neck with his right hand while holding her other arm with his left. Immediately, he began strangling her with his bare hand while the woman desperately tried to free herself from his grip. She scratched him with her free hand and slammed her legs against him, but she didn't get very far with it. While she certainly hit him, Cale found that pain laughably minor. In the past, he would have lost the fight in the first minute, but his physical abilities and alertness were at a new high.

"Stop it...!", the male Thormod yelled, but Cale only hurled wind at him again and again, forcing him to focus on his own defense. The woman in return was set on fire by him. She now dropped her second sword as well and tried to get Cale's right arm to grab while she lacked the air to scream. The second leader came to the rescue and blocked Cale's flames, but in return cashed in a full charge from the gust of wind, which threw him back and caused a sharp cut on his torso. With a loud scream, he crashed to the ground and began to bleed, while the female Thormod hung lifeless in the air. She was gasping for breath and tears as well as spit were streaming down her face, but Cale remained relatively unfazed by it. It wasn't the first time he had watched someone suffocate. But he still didn't like the sight of it.

"And I thought you were strong opponents...", Cale muttered, playfully throwing the sword into the air with his feet. He deftly disengaged one hand and caught the weapon before separating the warrior's head from the rest of her body in the next instant. Blood splattered his clothes, but the smooth cut decapitated the woman without major consequences. Horrified, the second Thormod - Viron - cried out, but Cale hurled the woman's weapon in his direction and impaled him. It narrowly missed the heart and the Thormod stuck to a rock wall behind them like a defenseless animal. Immediately, Viron spat blood and Cale could feel his mana weakening. With one hand, he wiped the sweat from his face and walked toward the Thormod, who had no physical strength to extricate himself from his predicament.

"What a waste of time", Cale muttered, and was about to reach for the second sword on the floor when he remembered at that moment that he was carrying Karekama. Having used his magic significantly more often over the past few decades, he had completely forgotten in the heat of the moment that he had one of the 3rd legendary swords. "Damn it."

With a somber look, he turned back to Viron as he used his null magic to make the sword appear. Viron, meanwhile, watched him with nervous eyes, but when he spotted Karekama, he abruptly turned pale.

"Wait", Viron brought out in a nervous voice and raised his hand. "Please. I didn't mean to do this. I really didn't. They made me do it!"

"Where's Hosik?", Cale retorted annoyed, stopping in front of Viron. With bloodshot eyes, the Thormod stared at him, and it wasn't until he took a closer look that Cale really realized how young he actually was. From his appearance, he strongly resembled Ezzedin, the first Thormod that had ever been sighted. Immediately, Cale wondered how such a child as Viron had made it to the top. The woman was strong, anyone could tell. Normal people would have a problem against her, probably the reason why Aaron hadn't gotten very far. But Viron?

"Hosik?"

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"Your chairman, if I recall correctly. The Thormod who controls the creatures", Cale replied, swinging the sword threateningly a few times as he stopped in front of the stranger. From all the movement and excitement, Cale's heart was beating like crazy, but he forced himself to become calm with a few deliberate breaths. He didn't want to waste time unnecessarily.

"I don't know, I swear. I was ordered to accompany leader Naustra... ", the Thormod brought forth, but Cale only sighed in disappointment. He didn't have time to deal with something so troublesome, his job was to kill the leaders and the chairman. With a neutral look, he slammed the legendary sword into the shoulder of the already heavily bleeding Thormod, who immediately cried out loudly.

"Where is he?", he repeated in a serious voice.

"On his way to the Mage City, that's all I really know..."

That was enough information for Cale and he pulled the sword out of the flesh again. For a brief moment, a spark of hope appeared in the Thormod's eyes, but Cale decapitated the young opponent seconds later. At the same moment his head hit the ground, he felt the power of his Igrikum again and took a deep breath as he formed the inner barriers once more. With a slightly trembling hand, he let the sword disappear and turned to Aaron, who by now had collapsed on the ground, watching the quick fight with lazy eyes.

<"Caleb!">, the Eledst shouted as he reconnected with Chioni and the rest of the group. <"What...?">

<"A Thormod had the ability to block nature's mana. Aaron is badly injured. What is the situation with you?">, Cale jerkily interrupted the unnecessary questioning and hurried back to the High-Magician's side, who welcomed him with a faint smile on his face. His face had lost much of its color, yet he managed to reach a hand in the air, which Cale took. Carefully, he scanned the man's body, checking his pulse as well as his wound on his abdomen, which continued to bleed unchecked.

<"Chairman Hosik is at the first line of defense. Rangar is dead.">

Shock formed abruptly on Cales when he received the information. While he had spent the last few minutes killing two leaders, the Chairman had slipped past them unnoticed and had arrived at the rest of the High-Magicians. And one of them, who loved to fight, had died in that short time. Cale felt a pang of despair. He had expected casualties, but Rangar? With his advanced age and fighting zeal, Cale had been sure the High-Magician would not give in so easily. What had happened?

<"Luc?">, he immediately inquired.

<"Badly injured and not conscious, but still alive">, the Eldest calmly explained. Reluctantly, Cale shook his head and focused on the more important things.

They were in the middle of a war.

<"What is the situation at the first defense itself?">, Cale stated dryly, taking the weak Aaron in his arms before he began to fly carefully. Protectively, he generated a barrier around himself and Aaron before quickening his pace.

<"They were attacking us until just now, but it seems they are changing their plans. They're all disappearing to the east">, Odin reported numbly, out of breath. Cale let his eyes wander over the horizon and watched as the dragons set their beloved land on fire. His eyes fixed toward the capital, but he was much farther south than he realized.

<"Do you have Hosik in sight?">

<"Not really, no. He's gone into hiding">, Sefra reported in a distressed voice, followed by a loud scream. All at once, Cale understood what must have happened. Rangar and Luc had encountered the chairman of the Thormods and lost the fight against him, giving Hosik the opportunity to break through their position.

<"Damn">, Cale muttered as his fear caught up with him. Thanks to the Elder's Igrikum, the help of the other High-Magicians and the Dragons, and the cooperation of the lands, Cale had hoped that he was several steps ahead of the Chairman. However, even that did not seem to be enough. Cale was needlessly sacrificing the lives of his colleagues and putting hundreds of thousands of people's lives in danger.

Hesitantly, Cale looked down at Aaron, who was being carried like a woman by him, and got goose bumps. Aaron had not connected with Chioni, even though he was supposed to have the mana to do so, which Cale had not realized until just now. Instead, he looked up at Cale and watched as he intently followed the conversation.

"We'll be right there, just hang in there a little longer", Cale gave a pep talk and tightened his grip, but he didn't like the look on Aaron's face at all.

"Caleb...", the old mage began softly, but Cale quickly took his eyes off him. He felt Aaron's body slowly grow cold, but most of all he realized how calm Aaron was. It almost seemed like he wasn't in pain. "I'm really glad I met you."

"Save your strength, we'll be right there", Cale replied, warming the mage's weak body with the help of his mana. A skill he had learned from Aletta several centuries ago and used often. But now he regretted never trying to learn healing skills. Frignez guarded her knowledge with great care, but Cale would surely have managed to join their ranks and learn it. In a pinch, he could have learned it from Aletta herself, so why had he never done it? Because he had thought it's unnecessary, since he had his Igrikum? Or because he was too focused on gaining strength and influence?

"You know...", Aaron continued to mutter, completely ignoring Cale's statement. Instead, he raised his arm and pressed his bloody palm against Cale's chest as he stammered on. "... Working with you has ... always been a ... chaos of emotions. I've always had great respect ... for you and your knowledge, but ... above all, for your abilities. I remember well ... the long discussions with Damian about you and your intentions. I wish I had known you ... much earlier. I wish I ... would not have been so blinded ... by my hatred and my ... admittedly... envy. I wish I had been more open, and I wish I could see Eevie's artwork one last time."

He laughed softly, but his laughter turned to coughing and he lowered his arm. Instead, he leaned his head against Cale's torso and closed his eyes.

"Keep an eye on Damian for me."

Cale could feel the body in his arms losing all life energy and looked down with tears in his eyes at the mage, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully. But his breathing stopped and a moment later his heart also stopped beating.

"Aaron...", Cale cried desperately, shaking the mage gently, but Aaron did not respond. His short, dark hair stuck to his face with some blood and sweat, making his strong features look feminine.

"Aaron", Cale repeated a lot more softly now, letting his tears run down his cheek without slackening from his pace. He could feel the presence of the creatures below him, but he ignored that. In the distance, he could feel Grischa's mana, but he blanked that out as well. Screams and other sounds of battle reached his ears, but he ignored them. He blanked it all out and stared at the man, who made no reply.

Cale looked at Aaron, who had died in his arms.