—"What are you going to do, Ms. Lynn?!"—

Leo, Senna, and Casey shouted in panic the instant they saw Lynn kneel beside Cliff and draw the dagger sheathed at her belt, hidden behind her waist.

"I'm going to put him out of his misery," Lynn said in a serious tone, holding her dagger in a reverse grip and brandishing it above Cliff, who lay face down on the floor groaning in pain.

—"Please stop!"—

Leo and Casey exclaimed, each grabbing one of Lynn's arms and pulling her away from Cliff.

"He's still alive... so there's still hope for him..." Senna said through tears, clinging to Cliff to shield him from Lynn.

"That's why I said I'm going to put him out of his misery!"

—"No!"—

Everyone inside the room where they were hiding—both mage students and instructors—watched Lynn and her students argue, all understanding Lynn's reasoning.

They didn't have a priest in their group who could use the divine blessing Heal. The ones at the town church had probably already been turned into Visages as well. And even if they were lucky enough to find one from the Annual Caravan who had survived in town, Cliff's injury was far beyond the ability of an average priest to heal.

It would have been better to put an end to his misery than let Cliff continue suffering.

Or so they thought.

"That should be enough of your mischief, Lynn," Arezu intervened as he stood behind her.

"Can't you be less mean to me, Mr. Arezu?" Lynn pouted, glancing over her shoulder at him.

Confused like everyone else, Leo, Senna, and Casey looked to Arezu, silently asking what he meant.

"She may not look like it, but Lynn is a priestess... a self-proclaimed one, though."

"Don't say it like you're doubting your own words, Mr. Arezu!"

Once Arezu convinced Senna that Lynn wouldn't stab Cliff, Lynn was finally able to begin healing him.

She knelt beside Cliff again and brandished her ancient relic dagger above him. After offering a silent prayer to the goddess Isleen, she cast her divine blessing—

"Heal"

Her dagger began to release a faint glow of light, the same glow that enveloped the large wound on Cliff's back as it slowly healed and closed. And when it was complete, Cliff stopped groaning in pain and opened his eyes.

—"Cliff!"—

Leo, Senna, and Casey rushed to him, hugging him tightly in relief as they helped him sit up on the floor.

"Don't move him yet," Lynn said. "I may have healed his wound, but I can't restore the blood he's lost or his strength—"

As she gave her advice, Lynn tried to stand to leave and give them space, only to suddenly lose her balance, the strength leaving her legs. But before she could collapse to her knees, Arezu was already there to catch her.

"My, my... As if you were standing behind me just so you could catch me when I fell, Mr. Arezu."

Ignoring her teasing remark as best he could, Arezu slowly set her down to sit on the floor.

"Don't overexert yourself, Lynn. Just sit tight and recover your strength."

It wasn't just the physical and mental exhaustion from using a divine blessing that drained her strength, but mostly the repeated use of her advanced-level mystic spell Glacier, which she had cast over and over so they could reach and rescue Leo, Cliff, Senna, Casey, and the other mage students and instructors as quickly as possible.

Lynn and Arezu's plan of running across rooftops and leaping from building to building had ended when they reached a wide street, where the distance between rooftops was too far for even Arezu to cross while carrying Lynn in his arms.

The situation forced them to resort to Lynn's Glacier, conjuring massive crystal-clear ice bridges to connect buildings until they reached the Mages Guild.

Though it was only an improvised plan, the ice bridges Lynn created served a second purpose: an escape route from the Mages Guild, which was swarming with more dangerous Visages of the local mages. Luckily, none of the mage students or instructors slipped while crossing, falling to the street, and dying like idiots.

But regardless of their successful escape, they were still pursued by Visages—even after shutting off their lights while traveling rooftop to rooftop—and eventually trapped on the third floor of the building where they were now hiding.

"Those ice walls won't keep us safe forever. We need to decide where to go or what to do next."

As much as she felt insulted and wanted to complain to Arezu, saying her ice was as fragile as a thin layer of glass—

"I didn't say anything like that, so don't glare at me, Lynn."

"But that's what you're implying, Mr. Arezu."

"No, it's not."

How can they still flirt in this situation... everyone thought, watching Lynn and Arezu squabble.

Inside the room where they were hiding, all the doors and windows had been barricaded by thick ice walls conjured by Lynn with Glacier.

Outside, hundreds of Visages swarmed the building, trying to break through not only the ice barricades but the walls themselves.

"How about making a run toward the northern gate?" one of the mage instructors suggested.

Their current location was in the residential area, near the boundary of the western and northern districts of town. With the short gaps between the houses and buildings, even the students could make the jumps from rooftop to rooftop, hiding from the Visages on the streets.

Lynn also wouldn't be forced to keep casting Glacier to conjure multiple ice bridges.

It was a decent and less dangerous plan—though it had two crucial flaws.

"We're not sure if the northern gate is actually the Entrance/Gate of the dungeon that leads outside the town," Lynn said, addressing the first flaw. She then glanced at Arezu, prompting him to back her up.

Humoring her dramatic flair, Arezu explained the second flaw.

"The residential area probably holds more than half of the town's population. That means more Visages would swarm us if we attracted their attention."

"Then what would you two suggest?" the instructor asked.

Lynn immediately—rather arrogantly—responded.

"Obviously, we should seek shelter in the town's strongest stronghold, which is—?"

She ended with a questioning tone, urging everyone to think for themselves about the place she meant.

If it's the town's strongest stronghold, there can only be two obvious answers, Arezu thought.

The first was the Marquess's manor, where most of the strongest soldiers, knights, and valkyries were stationed. But since the manor was in the eastern district, reaching it from the west would be a suicide mission, requiring them to cross the entire town.

The second was the Adventurers Guild, home to many fighters. Remembering the tourist map he had bought earlier that morning, Arezu was sure it was at the boundary of the western and southern districts—a much shorter distance than the manor.

However, considering what had happened to the town and the locals, especially the Mages Guild incident, the Marquess's manor and Adventurers Guild were likely the most dangerous places of all, filled with powerful Visages.

If not the manor or the Adventurers Guild, then—

"The Crafters Guild," Arezu said, not exactly to answer Lynn's question but because he remembered they still needed to find Beatrix, the last member of their group.

"The Crafters Guild is the strongest building in town for obvious reasons, and the crafters aren't all fighters, so their Visages won't be that strong," Lynn said as she stood, leaning against the wall for support.

"That's where our group is going. It's your choice—stay here and die, go somewhere else and die, or follow us and probably not die."

Lynn expected another lecture from Arezu—or perhaps another smack to the head—for how straightforward she was. However, neither came. Instead, a hand was offered to help her stand.

"Aren't you being too attentive to me, Mr. Arezu?" she said with a cheerful smile as she took his right hand.

"Don't push yourself too hard and collapse," he replied, pulling her closer and supporting her back with his left hand to steady her.

"Then I'll have you bridal-carry me again."

"I know... so just tell me when I need to."

Just how much are you two going to flirt, damnit.

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