Corrin couldn't help but notice the wards were failing.

It might not have been obvious to someone without mana sight, but he could see the weakening mana above as easily as he could see the rain falling lighter as the day broke. The sigils drawn along the top of the inner wall had begun to fray as well, leaving black marks on the white capstones as though they were slowly burning under the strain.

No—even if it wasn't obvious, even the non-channelers amongst them could at least feel that something was wrong. The collapsing of the children had only been the final straw.

Only a few feet away, a mother was clutching her child as he groaned in pain, his forehead slick with sweat. She kept whispering it would be alright, even as tears welled up in her own eyes.

Corrin turned away, not wanting to watch any longer, only to see Bruno looking at the same sight. The expression on his face wasn't one that Corrin could easily place, something between anger and envy, though it vanished quickly as he realized he was being watched.

"How are you holding up?" Corrin asked.

Bruno held a hand to his head, wincing. "It's strange. On the one hand, I feel stronger than I ever have before, as though I could hold an anvil above my head. On the other hand, my head feels like I dropped the anvil. I find myself jealous of my sister once again."

"Mana poisoning isn't fun, I can attest to that." Corrin winced a bit thinking of his own experiences with the phenomenon. He wouldn't wish it on anyone, though it seemed at least the symptoms weren't so bad as those he'd had—at least in adults. Those with blessings, like Aria, had yet to experience the negative side effects for reasons he didn't quite understand.

"I must ask, have you come up with a plan?" Bruno asked. "It seems to me that continuing to sit here isn't a wise course of action."

"We're waiting for Wyn. He should be here soon. Until Eryndor wakes up, I'd doubt there's anyone in this city more capable of killing monsters than him."

"Monsters aren't the only thing out there," Bruno reminded him.

Corrin met his eyes for a long moment, but didn't say anything else.

It was hard to figure the exact numbers sieging the estate—the walls weren't battlements, and so they couldn't see out any more than the cultists could see in. But by perching atop the manor, they'd come up with a few estimates in the hundreds of monsters, and at least a score of cultists. Of those, most seemed like mages, who would fall quickly if they could reach them through the hordes, but a few had been spotted through the front gate wielding curved blades, much like the man who had attacked Corrin and Luscien in the branches above.

He glanced back up towards the wards, weakening further with each moment. He fiddled with the pommel of his sword nervously.

"I'm going to check on Eryndor," he finally said, leaving Bruno there.

They hadn't bothered moving those with mana poisoning into the infirmary, as there wasn't anything they could do for them there. After a day's worth of tireless work, accompanied by the strange butterfly technique, the infirmary had mostly cleared out. Only those with particularly grievous injuries remained.

Luscien was sitting in a chair near Eryndor's cot, his head slumped back against the wall in defeat. Corrin felt his jaw tighten as annoyance wormed its way up into his chest. The boy's attitude bothered him for reasons he couldn't fully explain. Sure, the resignation made him angry, but there was something else to it. Why did it bother him so much?

He shook his head and refocused.

At the end of the room, Elis the healer was bent over Eryndor's body, a tiny blade in one hand as he cut into the spirit knight's skin with precision.

"Corrin," the healer said without looking back. "Good timing."

Corrin paused. "Wait how'd you do that?"

The healer turned, amusement dancing on his lips. "Not going to ask me about Lord Kaelburn?"

"How is he? The sun's up, so why isn't he awake?"

"Well, I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"

"Bad, always bad."

Elis smiled, but was quiet for an uncomfortably long time. Corrin was just about to say something when he finally spoke. "The good news is—"

"Why'd you ask?"

"—our savior will definitely wake soon."

Corrin sighed. "But not soon enough."

"His physical injuries are mostly healed, however I underestimated the damage to his soul. The backlash was severe."

"Backlash?"

"It means he drew too much mana," Luscien said tiredly. "Flame channelers have to be careful about keeping our mana under control. If we don't, we can… well, for lack of a better term, burn our channels. Internal techniques like mine aren't super common amongst us, in part for that reason. My bond lets me pull Kita's inherent resistance to fire to strengthen my own."

Elis nodded. "In the heat of battle, straining, or even damaging one's channels isn't uncommon. But Luscien here is right, fire mana can be dangerous. You should be wary of strain yourself Corrin—ash isn't as bad as fire, but you'll still wear down faster than many others. I knew an ash channeler in my youth, and any time he wasn't fighting, he was sleeping to help himself recover."

"So, Eryndor's channels are burnt?"

"Something like that." Elis sighed. He started back up healing Eryndor, but paused after just a moment. "Miss Kei. Nice of you to join us."

Corrin turned to the door. "Seriously, how are you doing that?" He hesitated. "Kei, why don't I like the look on your face?"

She looked anxious, and it wasn't just the slight pain in her eyes from the mana poisoning. Her gaze flicked towards an empty space in the air repeatedly as she rubbed her arms. "I just heard from Eia. Sloth was defeated, but Wyn had to change plans and head west. He won't be coming."

Luscien frowned. "West? What could be more important than—"

"If Wyn had to go, then Wyn had to go," Corrin said. He trusted Wyn more than he trusted himself, and there wasn't any point in doubting his friend's decision. "More importantly, we have to figure out what we're going to do."

"There's more," Kei said. "Whatever is rotting the tree has gotten worse. You need to get to the sanctum and put a stop to it as soon as possible… Whatever it takes. Eia says she'll show you the way."

"Eryndor isn't healed yet." Luscien shook his head. "We can't. Even if the monsters weren't surrounding us we—Corrin where are you going?" Corrin felt a hand clutching tightly to his shoulder, holding him firmly. "Where do you think?"

"You can't."

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Gonna stop me?"

"I shouldn't have to."

"I'll find a way through, with or without you." Corrin brushed off his hand and looked back. "If I go quickly, I might just be able to lose them."

"That might work on the monsters, but not the channelers, they'll hound you! How long am I going to have to be the voice of reason?"

"Until you finally learn to shut the hell up!"

Luscien's eyes flashed with anger, and Corrin actually took a step away, hand instinctively going to his sword.

But the instant passed, and Luscien just scowled as the air settled. "Kings damn you. Why are you smiling?"

Corrin touched a finger to his lips. He hadn't even realized, but for a moment, seeing Luscien worked up, he'd gotten excited. "Sounds like we're in a bind." A new voice interrupted. Kevs, the captain of the Kegslayers, appeared in the doorway. Corrin hadn't seen much of him since they'd returned from their attack on the western entrance. His hair was matted with blood and grime, falling down to his shoulders without being tied back. Despite his disheveled appearance, there was something hard in his stance. He'd clearly been listening in.

He looked almost nothing like the captain that had set out just a day before, joking with his party.

"I'm sorry about Lesia," Corrin offered, thinking of the mage Kieran had run through.

Kevs shook his head, eyes dropping. "We got careless when things started going well. As her captain, the fault is solely my own, and I'm the one who will answer to her family when this is all over. But after everything she gave, we're not just going to roll over and die."

"You'll help me then?"

"What you need is an opening, an opportunity to sneak out unnoticed. As luck would have it, about ten minutes ago, around sunrise, there was some sort of disruption outside, and a good number of the monsters seemed to wander off."

Sloth, Corrin thought. Wyn killing him must have released some of the monsters here. Without him, they can't control as many.

"That's our good fortune then." Corrin clenched a fist in front of him. "We have to exploit it before they can adapt."

"I thought the same. And considering the wards might fail at any time, it would be better for us to take a fight on our own terms."

"You're suggesting we fight them off?"

"It will take too long, even if we can somehow win. No, both my team, and Bough's Arrows will act as a distraction while you sneak out and do what you need to do. There were some volunteers among the survivors too."

"Is that safe?" Kei asked.

Corrin shook his head. "But we need everyone we can get."

"Mana poisoning isn't without benefits," Kevs reminded them. "Until the symptoms worsen, most of the non-channelers here are more physically capable than normal. We'll use that to our advantage."

"Should I pick up a sword?" Kei chuckled nervously.

"We wouldn't want to make things too easy would we?" Corrin smiled, resting a hand on her shoulder. "I think it's for the best if we bring the non-combatants inside. It will be cramped, but the manor should last a while longer, even if the wards fail. I'll leave that to you."

She let out a breath, then nodded tightly. "Got it. I'll find Venish and get the staff to assist."

As she ran off, Kevs turned back to Corrin. "Do you have an actual plan for once you get through?"

"Honestly?" Corrin rubbed the back of his head. "I was going to focus on stalling them. If I can win, I'll fight of course, but we just have to delay until Eryndor wakes up. It'd be easier if you came with me."

Kevs looked back down the hallway. "Better to obscure our motives. A whole team moving out is impossible to miss. But one fighter slipping away in the chaos? That's a lot more realistic."

"You're both insane," Luscien grumbled, shaking his head. "Corrin, do you even know what's waiting for you at the sanctum? In case you haven't figured it out yet, that three-armed man is going to be there. I know you felt his power the same as I did, so you know just as well—none of us have a chance against him besides Eryndor."

"Three-armed man?" Kevs questioned.

Corrin stepped out into the hallway. "You're just speculating. And even if it is true, I can't burn that bridge until I get to it."

Luscien let out a groan of frustration, and his shouts faded as Corrin kept walking. "You know what? Fine then, go die for all I care! Kings know I tried!"

***

Bruno was envious, and as much as that wasn't new, it still bothered him, just a little.

From beneath a tent, he watched as the adventurers prepared themselves for whatever plan they'd decided on, discussing it in hushed voices so as not to scare the refugees being shepherded into the manor.

His sister came up beside him. "Bruno, let's go inside. There's nothing we can do out here."

"Not yet Aria." He didn't take his eyes off the scene in front of him.

Perhaps it was the mana poisoning, but his heart was beating faster, and his mouth was dry. The clouds were clearing in the wake of the rain, and the sun breaking through cast visible streams of light from above. He felt as though they fell just ahead of where he stood, shining down on center stage.

Corrin stood near the gate, speaking seriously with the captains of the two adventuring parties as he wrapped strips of white cloth around his hands.

The adventurers were preparing to fight, Kei was comforting the citizens and leading them inside, his sister… was his sister. If the sun, moon, and stars vanished and cast the world into darkness, he had no doubt she would still shine all the same.

"In this story, I'm nothing but a background character, aren't I?" he muttered.

"What?"

"Forgive me, I was thinking aloud. It's nothing."

"Bruno, are you alright?" She grabbed his arm gently.

He couldn't take his eyes off the adventurers. The rapier at his side felt heavy, despite his strengthened body, but meager swordsmanship and mild mana poisoning did not a warrior make. And yet, for reasons he couldn't explain, he took a step towards the group, shaking off his sister, who didn't follow.

"Where are you going?"

"I just want to wish them luck," he said. Was that true? He couldn't tell.

Corrin broke off from his conversation as Bruno arrived, grinning like he didn't have a care in the world. He leaned in conspiratorially, like he was about to share a secret.

"Hey, do you think your sister would give me a kiss on the cheek before I go? It's supposed to be good luck."

Bruno blinked once, then snorted as the odd feeling passed. He crossed his arms. "Some brothers would kill you for saying something like that. You might be stronger than me, but you still have to sleep."

Corrin laughed and slapped him on the shoulder. "Sorry, you just seemed so out of it walking over here. I couldn't help myself. Why'd you come over here?"

"I'm… not sure," Bruno admitted, chuckling. "I guess I just wanted to wish you luck. Something tells me you're the lead role in this performance. You'll need it the most."

"What can I say? It's just my natural aura." Corrin slowly ran his hand through his hair. "So, good luck huh? Well, that's close enough."

"Corrin!" One of the adventurers called over. "We're about ready.

"Gotta go," he held out a fist. "Thanks man."

Bruno tapped his fist against Corrin's and let out a breath. This stage wasn't meant for him. No, his was much further away, and his act was entirely different. There wasn't a need to get worked up over nothing.

Corrin turned to the voice. "Coming! Hey do any of you—"

A soft crackle ran along the top of the wall, like the last embers of a great fire. The sigils brightened, flickered, and then singed black, scoring the white stone with their charred impressions.

And all at once, everything collapsed.

The gate, constructed of reinforced iron, buckled under the weight of a terrible blow. The second shattered it completely, and a monster burst through the gap, followed by a dozen more. They surged forward, slamming into the adventurers closest to the gate, who scrambled to rally.

Bruno spun, locking eyes with his sister across the yard. Dozens of people were still filtering through the door. She wouldn't make it inside in time—none of them would.

"Oh hells."

Before he could even run, they were on him.

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