Going toe to toe with an Awakened one who possessed a stronger mana core and was more experienced with magic had already pushed Lith to his limits just to keep up . Even with his core and Solus's resonating, he was barely at the cyan upper stages, while Nalear had a blue core .
Now that he had to face her along two other Professors, Lith felt his heart sink . He had long learned not to underestimate fake mages . The only advantage he had against stronger mages was usually the surprise effect, but Nalear countered that .
There was nothing he could do that she couldn't, making his odds of victory non-existent .
'Damn! If I put my life on the line, I can kill one of the Professors, maybe both . Not Nalear, thought . She can always use them as meat shields to buy time and recover . ' Lith thought .
'Should we run away?' Solus hated not being strong enough to help him . Reality was a harsh mistress, all her battle spirit meant nothing in the face of true power . It was better to survive to fight another day .
'Exposing our back? No, thanks . A tactical retreat may help, though . Divide and conquer . If I manage to fight them one by one, we can still do it . '
'It's a big if . ' Solus was worried, the three Professors were all casting something big .
***
Meanwhile, Jirni and Yurial were quickly bleeding out .
Orion was using all his medical skills in an attempt to save them . He forced Jirni to drink top class healing potions while he used magic on Yurial's neck . Neither seemed to work well .
"Her organs are too damaged . She needs tier four magic . " His wife was dying in his arms, but Orion managed to keep his emotions in check, assessing the situation .
"Yurial too is in a bad shape . The wound is too wide and is sapping his life force very fast . We need a Healer, fast!"
Phloria felt the ground crumbling under her feet . Her whole life was going down the gutter and there was nothing she could do about it .
'Why didn't I learn healing magic too? Is my mom going to die because I didn't push myself hard enough?' She thought . The truth was she never showed particular talent toward healing magic .
The academy was a demanding environment, so Phloria had applied to the Mage Knight specialization only to not waste her energies . Even if she did try the Healer specialization, she would have flunked after the first trimester .
It was just her helplessness talking, filling her mind with "ifs" and "buts" about what she could have done in the past to have control over an uncontrollable present .
Instead of despairing, Phloria activated Full Guard before Yurial's body could even hit the ground, quickly moving near Friya . Nalear plan was the basic of the basic: always get rid of the Healer first .
Since Lith had told her about his vision, she had practiced Full Guard relentlessly, even creating a better version of it . The moment Phloria touched Friya, the blue aura expanding from her body enveloped her sister too, allowing Phloria to share her multi sensory awareness of the space in a two meters radius around them .
Contrary to everyone's expectations, Quylla didn't strike immediately, retreating to a safe distance instead .
"She wants to prevent us from receiving help . " Phloria understood what was happening . "Friya, go save mom . Now!"
Friya was still frozen in place . She had no idea what to do . She could only save one of them . The situation forced her to take an impossible choice . Phloria's order nudged the balance in Jirni's favor .
"Dad, give Friya some space and call Manohar . We need all the help we can get . I'll keep Yurial alive . "
Orion nodded, understanding his daughter's plan . It was unlikely for Manohar, or anyone else for that matter, to have the time and the strength to help them . Moving them while in critical condition was also out of the question .
It was only a trap to trigger Nalear's orders .
'Quylla is a Healer too . If we snap her out of the slave item control, we can save them both . My little Flower has grown into a capable leader . ' He thought .
Quylla Blinked, appearing at Friya's back only to find Phloria waiting for her . She struck Quylla's throat with her extended fingers, preventing her from spellcasting without doing her any real harm .
Only then she grabbed Quylla by the arm, twisting it into a submission hold and forcing her face down on the ground .
"Dad, search for a ring, a bracelet . Anything! If it's on the neck we're doomed . "
Quylla struggled like a mad beast, but Phloria was taller, stronger, and ruthless . She pushed her full weight on the knee pressed against Quylla's back to keep her pinned on the floor .
Orion took off Quylla's rings one by one until he found one that couldn't be moved . A quick spell later, he knew what he was dealing with .
'It's the same model that Poltus guy purchased . Finally some good news . ' Orion took out a tool looking like pincer clamps from his dimensional amulet, using it to grab Quylla's ring . He then channeled a Forgemaster spell that temporarily neutralized the slave item, allowing his daughter to regain her free will .
***
Amyla Farg had done her best, saving as many students as she could and bringing them to safety . The chaos and violence were overwhelming . Despite her efforts, she felt like she was trying to stop the tide using a spoon .
The mind controlled students would either Warp away from her or attack innocents, forcing her to defend them while they got away and found another victim .
She was starting to fear everything was lost when the artifact Tyris had entrusted to her picked Lith's signal again .
'Thank the gods he hasn't run away, yet . If I can convince him to help me, maybe together we stand a chance . ' Professor Farg chose to fly instead of Warping, she had already consumed part of her mana trying to stop the disorders .
The scene at her arrival made even too much sense . Three Professors against one student, keeping him on the defensive . Farg recognized the crazed look in her colleagues' eyes . The thought of how deep the scheme was made her shiver .
It didn't take her much time to understand Nalear was in control of the slave rings . Cursing at the Kingdom's bad luck, she unleashed three tier four true spells, one for each target .
Sunray generated a white hot beam aimed at Nalear's back . Stormclaw conjured a small tornado which released wind blades in all directions . Lastly, Thundersnap released a chain of lightning that engulfed the whole corridor .
Farg would have replaced Thundersnap with an earth based spell, to maximize the destructive power of her combo, but inside the academy there was no earth to manipulate . The stones composing the castle were resistant to magic, even with the power core offline .
"Watch out!" Nalear warned her minions who otherwise would have no regard for their personal safety . The three spells converged a few meters in front of them, causing a chain reaction .
Stormclaw absorbed the massive heat from Sunray, exploding outwards in a massive fire pillar releasing scorching shockwaves while Thundersnap bounced off the walls, attacking the Professors from all sides .
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