Nerya followed Arinya and Telyssia, who were moving at a hurried pace.

  But she noticed they were not heading toward the dwellings: they were making for the city’s exit.

  “W-want mama… Tatayssia, me want home,” Nerya babbled, panicked.

  The two women stopped.

  Telyssia bent down to her level.

  “I know, my girl, but we can’t take you to your mama.

  She’s surely already joined the others.

  Stay with us, all right?

  Everything will be fine, I promise,” she explained softly.

  Telyssia then took her in her arms.

  Nerya, a little surprised, still wrapped her hands around the young woman’s neck.

  They set off again, passing through various gates and stairways until they reached the ramparts surrounding the village.

  Even though this was no moment for ease, Nerya was awed by what lay before her.

  A vast clearing stretched as far as the eye could see, bordered in the distance by immense trees of many kinds.

  And far beyond the foliage, a chain of massive mountains enclosed the whole landscape.

  “I hope those mage idiots don’t fuck everything up again…

  The last time a double warning sounded, they nearly killed our own men themselves, those morons,” said Arinya, her voice tense.

  “Yes, but this time, I dare hope they’ll behave.

  Last time we had some so-called prodigy who tried to cast a fourth-circle spell.

  Given the fury of the guards and the magic instructors, I doubt anyone will dare try again,” Telyssia replied.

  At these words, Nerya remained perplexed.

  What are they talking about?

  What are these circles?

  But I see mama use magic all the time…

  I don’t understand, she thought, her gaze lost in the void.

  Then, in a deafening din, a horn sounded again, followed by a metallic rumble.

  The guards were opening the great gates to let the village army through.

  The soldiers poured out in masses, an unbroken flow.

  Nerya, eyes wide, felt as though it would never end.

  Eldran, who had positioned himself before the assembled troops, reined in his horse and turned toward his men.

  “The scouts have seen a group of Oakmaw heading this way.

  These monsters are not to be taken lightly, understood?

  Riders, you will strike head-on: no one falls back.

  Mages, you protect the village and the civilians: no one falls back,” he shouted so all could hear.

  “You swore an oath to defend at the cost of your life.

  One step.

  One voice.

  One end.”

  All together, they repeated those final words.

  Nerya watched the scene with admiration and dread.

  She, who had never yet seen a single monster of this world, was suddenly confronted with a brutal reality.

  She gripped the fabric of Telyssia’s top a little tighter, waiting to see what would happen next.

  But as everyone stood waiting in a heavy silence, as if death itself had imposed it, a dull crack resounded in the forest.

  Trees collapsed one after another in a racket that rolled toward them, sharp and threatening.

  Then, from the forest, Nerya finally saw them: the famed Oakmaw.

  Immense beasts, resembling boars, at least by what Nerya knew.

  But their size was monstrous, as large as a kodiak bear.

  Their dark, thick hide was covered in greenish moss, and with every step they took, the ground trembled beneath their massive hooves.

  About thirty monsters stopped several meters from the guards, frozen in anticipation.

  Eldran gave the order not to move.

  It was then that Nerya saw a shadow pass above her, forcing her to lift her eyes.

  In the sky, a jet-black bird cut through the air.

  Its plumage streaked with lightning-like lines, its red eyes scanning the scene with a strange intensity.

  It did not seem hostile… just sad.

  Nerya turned her gaze toward Telyssia and Arinya, but neither of them seemed to have noticed this presence.

  This is all really strange…

  I know it’s different from Earth, but still… this is the impossible, she thought, perplexed.

  But as the tension rose, a person stationed near the ramparts stepped forward.

  His stride was determined, despite the hands trying to hold him back.

  He pulled back the hood that covered his face.

  It was a young man.

  Too young, in Nerya’s eyes, to be here.

  “Let me handle it, seriously.

  As if fucking knights were capable of outdoing Mages.

  Go play with your swords and let the real saviors do their job,” he said, his voice filled with contempt.

  People were shouting in every direction, trying to make him come back.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  Some even tried to go after him, but Eldran raised his hand in a firm motion, stopping everyone.

  A simple gesture, but coming from Eldran, it meant far more than a mere “don’t move.”

  “Captain, we have to stop him.

  He can’t face them alone,” said a woman near Eldran.

  “Let him be.

  That’s an order.

  He wants to prove his worth, fine.

  If he succeeds, I’ll put him on the front line.

  But if he fails… if he fails, I hope for his sake he knows the price of arrogance,” he replied in a firm voice.

  The man, now close to the OakMaw, raised his hands into the air and focused.

  His body began to give off a strange aura, like a blurred shape surrounding him.

  But from the looks around her, Nerya understood that something was wrong.

  “Velth Aruma...

  Ka?r Selym Thuranak,” said the young mage in a confident voice.

  The sky then began to fill with thick, gray, threatening clouds.

  A sharp crack rang out like thunder, the young man’s mana being drawn into the cloud.

  A shadow grew as the cloud fed, its color taking on a bluish hue.

  Then lightning raged within it, swelling the cloud even further, as if it were about to implode.

  “Poor fool…

  You want to play God without knowing your limits,” Eldran muttered.

  Then everything happened in a fraction of a second.

  The cloud imploded, a vivid, blinding light spreading across the entire area.

  A bolt of lightning, far too dense, burst from it, heading straight for the young man.

  A white flash, a deafening roar that followed the light…

  then absolute calm.

  No one moved.

  No one spoke a single word.

  The lightning had struck without deviation, leaving only a charred body in its wake.

  The corpse then fell to the ground, the weight shattering ankles already reduced to embers.

  And in the impact, everything broke apart, leaving behind nothing but a heap of reddish ash.

  Nerya was frozen by the scene.

  Tears flowed on their own as she tightened her arms a little more around Telyssia’s neck.

  No…

  that’s not possible.

  It’s just… not possible.

  I’ve read so many stories…

  Since when does magic act like this?

  What kind of world is this?

  If you can’t control your magic, you… you die? she thought, completely shaken.

  Telyssia, feeling Nerya’s fear in her grip, placed her hand on her head and gently stroked her hair.

  But she herself was stunned by what had just happened, while Arinya nervously twisted her fingers together.

  But there was no time for tears.

  Eldran raised his sword, staring at the troops still frozen in place.

  “You can mourn later.

  We have something more serious to deal with right now.

  Unless someone else wants to show off their talents?” he barked in a dry voice.

  No one answered.

  Only the metallic sound of blades being drawn from their scabbards broke the silence.

  A guttural cry then rose from the monsters’ side, and they began to charge.

  Their hooves reduced the remains of the body to dust, which the wind carried away with the debris.

  “For Solva?l!

  For your families!

  CHARGE!!!” Eldran roared, as his horse reared beneath him.

  But just as the riders began to move, an explosion thundered between them and the Oakmaw, raising a massive cloud of dust.

  Under the deafening blast, monsters and soldiers alike froze.

  Nerya tried to understand what was happening, but she couldn’t see through the thick, opaque haze.

  The dust slowly settled, letting a silhouette appear.

  “Zephyra?

  What are you doing?

  You’re supposed to be protecting the villagers,” Eldran asked.

  “You may be strong, but you think even less than Nerya.

  Your memory leaves much to be desired, my dear husband.

  These creatures are protected by magic.

  Your swords, even reinforced, wouldn’t pierce their skin,” she replied, exasperated.

  “Now fall back.

  I’ll handle this.

  Kill their leader, and the others will leave.”

  The soldiers retreated on Eldran’s order.

  Nerya watched the scene, torn between wonder and the fear that something might happen to her mother.

  Zephyra raised her right hand toward the sky, then closed her eyes, focusing with all she had.

  She could not afford a mistake.

  “Vareth Enso Kal’mur —

  Thir Elym Vaen,” she whispered in a steady voice.

  The air around her began to change.

  Her long hair and garments rippled as if dancing.

  The currents of air became visible to the eye, all converging toward her still-raised hand.

  Mana escaped her body and mingled with the flows of wind, creating undulating waves that slightly distorted the landscape.

  “Flagra Orbis, third-circle spell…

  form,” she murmured calmly.

  A veil of crystalline water wrapped around her hand.

  The mass it held activated, spinning at great speed.

  Then, an ignition: a sphere of fire appeared and grew, again and again.

  Though far away, Nerya saw it clearly.

  Those reddish filaments running through it, like veins of magma pulsing.

  “Mama fire…

  Mama fire…

  Tatayssia, bow bow,” Nerya repeated, tears in her eyes as she looked at Telyssia.

  “Don’t worry, nothing will happen to her.

  Trust me,” Telyssia replied with a slight, crooked smile.

  Then a wave burst from Zephyra’s hand, making the landscape as clear as if seen through glass.

  A detonation followed, so violent that Nerya covered her ears in pain.

  A volley came next, a succession of spheres breaking away from the mass and streaking toward the Oakmaw.

  The roar lasted several seconds, until the sphere finally died out, launching its final projectile.

  Nerya held her breath, the cloud of dust mixed with heat making visibility terrible.

  After what she had seen happen to the young man, not seeing her mother frightened her more than anything.

  Please mama, give me a sign.

  Don’t leave me alone, I beg you, she thought.

  The smoke gradually dissipated, the sound of hooves becoming audible.

  But they were retreating, growing fainter and fainter.

  Zephyra was still there.

  She turned toward the soldiers and pointed her thumb behind her, at an Oakmaw left behind.

  Motionless, its body smoked from multiple holes made by the spheres that had pierced through it.

  “It’s fine…

  it won’t move anymore…” she said, breathless.

  Then she collapsed to the ground.

  Eldran dismounted and ran toward her.

  He lifted her head and cradled it in his arms.

  Her body was limp, but her breathing showed she was still alive.

  “Foolish woman…

  You know perfectly well that this magic drains all your strength,” he murmured with a nervous laugh.

  “Thank you.

  What would I do without you, my love?”

  He stood, carrying his wife in his arms, and headed back toward the city.

  A few guards stayed behind to make sure the danger was truly gone, while everyone else returned, relieved, toward the dwellings.

  Though it was all over, Nerya understood for the first time that this world would grant her no mercy if she did not prepare herself properly.