Keiser barely had time to brace himself before the ground erupted.

The explosion hit like a shock, dust, debris, and raw force slamming into him from all sides. Instinctively, he raised his sword, shielding himself as chunks and stone tore through the air.

He felt the impact ripple through his arms and legs, forcing him to slide several steps backward. Even so, he managed to keep his footing, barely, and caught Olga's brother by the collar before the boy could be flung away.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the Princess of Hinode. She had lunged forward, seizing the young beast girl and anchoring herself with one arm while stabbing her short blade into the ground to keep them from being hurled to edge. The strain was visible, she was kneeling, body leaning low against the sheer force pressing down on them.

Aisha, however, hadn't moved from her spot. It wasn't through strength, Keiser could tell that much. Her cloak whipped violently, nearly tearing free from her shoulders, but her body stayed rooted to the ground. Then he saw why, a dome of hardened earth had formed over her, shielding her from the brunt of the explosion.

Above them, the people who had been peering down into the crater stumbled back in panic as the force and debris surged upward. Even from that distance, the blast reached them, sending dust and loose stones raining over the edge.

And through it all, the entire building trembled, beams groaning as if the foundation itself had been struck.

Shielding his face from the dust, Keiser shouted over, "Brat! You said something about Aisha controlling your crazy lordling over there?"

His voice came out as a growl, sharp and strained. He yanked Lenko behind him, the boy stumbling, clutching the pouch at his chest. Lenko's eyes were wide, fixed on where the prince now stood at the center of the pit Keiser previously had put there. But the pit had grown larger, the ground around it hollowed and blackened.

Everyone's eyes turned toward the prince.

Fire marks scarred the ground, still smoking, the heat rolling out in waves. The prince stood at its center, silent, unmoving, wreathed in haze and embers. Even from this distance, Keiser could feel the oppressive pressure bearing down on them, the air thick and hot, the ringing in his ears now doubled.

"Yes, but that's… it's, " Lenko stammered, his voice trembling. His gaze flicked toward Aisha, who peered over her shield.

Then, a voice cut through, high and desperate, ringing clear over the ringing of the wind and the groan of shifting rubble.

"He's alive, he's still alive!"

Keiser's head snapped up. The voice came from above. Through the swirling dust, he spotted the green haired girl with ruby eyes clinging to the tilted floor, her grip white-knuckled.

He narrowed his eyes, straining to see through the haze. Something was wrapped around her, bands of fabric, a writhing, living threads, coiling over her body in layers. Something like a cocoon.

And she wasn't the only one.

Others were caught on one too, suspended or dragged back by the same red material, pulled away from the epicenter, away from the very heart of the blast.

"Who the hell is she?" Keiser demanded.

Lenko blinked at him, confused at first, then his eyes widened in sudden realization. He hesitated, lips parting as if to answer.

Keiser caught the look and sighed, irritation flickering across his face. "Oh, don't tell me…" He glanced back toward the girl, his mind piecing it together. 'Olga's here… red eyes…'

He frowned. As realization hit him... but... "Wait, did she dye her hair?"

He rolled his eyes at his own thought, while Lenko had gone completely pale, ignoring the question entirely. Instead, the boy shouted hoarsely toward the green haired girl above, "What do you mean?"

Keiser's patience finally snapped. The Saint had shouted something back too, but her words were swallowed by the rising, deafening ringing that filled the air again.

"That's it," he muttered through his teeth. He grabbed Lenko by the scruff of his collar. "Let's get this straight from the source, then."

Even as the pressure pushed back against him, he forced his way forward, boots grinding over the cracked ground, until he reached Aisha's position.

"Make your rock shield bigger," he grunted.

Aisha scoff, not even glancing up. "Why are you here? Can't you see there's no space left?" she muttered, but lifted an eyebrow. The barrier expanded, stone rippling outward like liquid as she kept her kneeling stance.

"Is he under your control?" Keiser asked, jerking his chin toward the prince, still standing motionless in the pit, though his body twitched faintly.

Lenko's glare snapped toward Aisha. "She controls anything that's dead!" he spat.

"Not just dead!" both Aisha and Keiser snapped at the same time.

Lenko gaped between them. "You knew? But you still didn't believe me?"

Keiser scoffed, eyes cold. "I told you why... Why the hell should I believe you?"

Keiser glanced at the boy, Lenko's face had gone red with anger. 'Good. At least he wasn't pale anymore.'

Before Lenko could snap back, Aisha exhaled sharply. "No. This… wasn't me." Her voice was low, steady despite everything, despite the destruction around them.

"The Saint's probably noticed it already, he never actually died. His breathing stopped, yes, but his heart didn't. For a moment, maybe. And now…" She flicked her gaze toward the crater. "Now he's like that."

Keiser caught her eyes, cool blue, but shadowed beneath the dim rock shield.

"But that thing out there," she added, "that's not the prince anymore."

Lenko hissed, voice trembling with fury. "As if I'd believe you, after everything you've done!"

Keiser didn't bother interfering. He just let them snarl at each other like alley cats.

Aisha's lips curled into a grin. "Then I'll just do it all over again. And I'll start with you next time!"

Keiser sighed and kicked lightly at the sole of her heels. "Enough. You'd better tell me, is this Gideon's order?"

The name dropped made both Aisha and Lenko froze.

Lenko's eyes widened. "The… Fourth Prince?" he whispered.

Aisha looked at Keiser, face hardening. "That's classified."

Keiser scoffed. "Ah. So it is."

Without another word, he vaulted off the rock shield, landing hard on the fractured ground below.

"Then I'll do this myself."

Both Aisha and Lenko gasped in unison.

"What?!"

He looked back at them through the dust.

"Dead, alive, or barely breathing?" he said flatly.

With a sharp glance, Keiser caught Lenko's hiss through the rising wind. The boy struggled to stand, clutching the pouch to his chest, his knees buckling under the weight of the force that still surged around them. It hadn't faded, it had intensified.

Keiser planted one boot against the jagged rock shield, crouching low to steady himself as the pressure rippled through the ground. The air crackled. The sound of stone splitting filled the undercroft.

"You don't get what the hell is happening!" Lenko shouted hoarsely. "Why are you taking action without knowing who---"

Keiser waved a hand, dismissive, a grin twisting his mouth. "Oh, I know plenty."

And without another word, he launched himself forward.

His sword caught the faintest shimmer of light as he vaulted toward the pit. The force tugged at him, but his focus was set, his momentum carrying the blade in a clean downward cleave toward the motionless prince.

Too easy.

Then instinct screamed.

He dropped into a low crouch just as a violent gust of wind tore past the space where his head had been. It was sharp, razor sharp, and he heard the 'shink' as it sliced through a falling rock behind him cleanly in half. A grin tugged at his lips despite himself, adrenaline surging.

"Now that's more like it…" he muttered under his breath.

He slid backward, boots skidding against broken stone until he steadied himself at the edge of the pit. The uneven ground trembled beneath him, fractured edges glowing faintly with residual mana.

Even without moving, the prince 'was moving'. His body was still, but the air around him, the invisible force Keiser couldn't see, was alive.

A mana. A kind he recognized.

It reminded him of the hatchling.

A small dragon's egg, trembling in a nest of shattered crystal. They had found it deep in the ruins near the border, a dangerous, pulsing thing. When it hatched, the air around it became blades of pure force.

The first knight who reached for it lost his hand. The next, his arm. The academy mages called it 'raw mana resonance'.

Keiser had been the only one reckless enough to step closer. He remembered the searing air cutting at his skin, the roar of the hatchling's cry. He had thrown his cloak over it and, bleeding and half-blind from mana burns, carried it out himself.

Gideon had been furious. But he'd agreed when Keiser told him the sacred beast needed to be returned to the Sacred Lands, not chained in a cage.

He still remembered the weight of that hatchling, how every heartbeat felt like standing next to hearth.

And now, this prince felt the same.

A mana he can't see but he knows that could cut. Mana that lived.

He tightened his grip on his sword. 'Nothing new.'

He'd fought worse. He could handle this.

If only the 'idiots' would stop interfering.

A flash of steel caught his eye, he twisted, blocking just in time as another, but smaller blade slammed against his own. The princess of Hinode had appeared between him and the prince, her short swords crossing his path.

"Tch, stay out of this!" he deadpan.

From the left came the young beast girl, claws flashing, slitted eyes burning with fury as she lunged toward him. And on his right, Lenko again, this time clutching a dagger, his hand trembling but raised nonetheless.

Keiser bared his teeth in something between a grin and in pain for dealing with 'pain in the asses'.

"Wonderful," he muttered. "Let's make this a crowd."

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