Selica stares as the glistening blade of the Silencer leader pierces her friend. His trusted rifle, one Selica recalled he carried with compassion and care since the beginning, lies broken in half across the ground. The cold realization of his demise reminds Selica once more of what Gallian just said to her a while ago. ”They’ll lose their memories when they die.” Does that mean Shellon would forget about all of this if he dies right now? Selica tries to stand up towards him, but Shellon immediately raises his hand to stop her.

“Don’t!” Shellon says, still reeling from the wound he has just received. “Go back to the cave now!”

“Look back, little girl.” The Silencer Leader notices Selica and warns her as well. “You don’t want to see what happens next to your friend.” He puts both of his hands on the rapier’s hilt as it starts humming.

Ashlin has already reached Selica by this point and is urging her to move by pulling her by the arm. “Come on Selica! We’re sitting ducks here!” But Selica doesn’t move as she stares helplessly at her friend’s demise. ”Mana-huh?” But before the Silencer could finish Shellon, he felt a quick tug on the other end of the blade. He tries to pull it out, but the blade is stuck in Shellon’s chest. ”Now we got you.” In response to the Silencer leader’s actions, Shellon has already grabbed the blade end of the rapier with one of his hands. “Captain now!” His other hand rummages through his pocket and finds a coin, which he then flips high in the air.

“What are you-? Fine then this is your end. Ma-” The Silencer leader suddenly struggles to get his words out. Selica watches as the leader grapples with his tongue to say the words of his next action.

Selica looks back at Deringer and sees him in deep concentration staring at both the Silencer leader and Shellon. She also notices that he has holstered his gun while his hand is slowly reaching for it, as if timing the coin Shellon flipped earlier. “Keep him nice and steady, Shellon.” Selica can feel mana flowing from the old man, but she doesn’t know what it’s for. She traces it with her innate senses and feels a faint pulse connecting Deringer and the Silencer Leader.

“Selica!” Finally Ashlin breaks through Selica and pulls her away. “Come on! The old man is casting something.”

Selica realizing that Ashlin’s beside her stands up, follows her, and runs away from the conflict by heading towards the cave. Whatever’s happening right now, she knows that she can’t afford to be caught in the crossfire. ”You stubborn old man,” The Silencer places his hand in front of his lips with both his index and small finger up, “H-!” But when he tries to speak, nothing comes out. He looks again at the coin now falling from the sky and then back at Deringer who’s hand is getting closer to his revolver.

“Shit, a “Duel” spell. Shoot the old man! Disrupt him!” The Silencer Leader shouts at his men when he couldn’t stop the spell himself. The rest of the Silencers pick up on their boss’ command and swiftly do the same hand gesture their boss was doing earlier, aiming at Deringer.

“Oh no you won’t!” But Despi and the rest of their crew quickly aim at the Silencer unit, firing at them blindly to force them back into their covers.

“Come on sonny,” Deringer’s hand is a few inches away from his gun. “Let’s dance.” Selica at this point can feel Deringer’s mana swirling in intensity, coating both him and the Silencer leader specifically. The climax is close.

“Shit!” The Silencer Leader finally realizing the futility of his position decides to release his grip from his rapier and jumps away instead of confronting the old man. He ran through the barricade and into the newly built sniper’s nest for cover. When he did so, Selica quickly felt Deringer’s mana dissipated into nothing.

When the Leader retreated, Shellon kneels forward in pain as he tries to remove the rapier from his back. “AAHH!” He slowly crawls forward through the battlefield as his blood trail gets quickly washed away after every inch. “Selica help!”

Selica, who’s at this time about a few steps away from the cave, sees Shellon free and swiftly dives towards him. He reaches for Selica as she grabs him by the hand.

“I got you!” Selica casts a “Wind Shield” big enough for both of them to avoid getting hit by any stray gunfire from the enemies. ”Thanks! Come on, get me out of here and bring me to Mirna.” Shellon’s is smiling but shaking at the same time, “I’ve already spent my heroic quota for the month. I don’t want to die here.” ”Fine, fine, let’s go.” There’s something amusing for Selica watching his friend Shellon desperately crawl for his survival after displaying such a reckless feat of bravery just a minute ago.

Ashlin comes to Selica’s aid after running back to the battlefield to help carry Shellon towards the cave. Thanks to Despi and the others cover fire, along with the attacking reinforcements pressuring the enemy, the Silencers are too distracted to notice them as they are able to reach the cave in one piece. Inside the cave’s interior is full of mages all running back after hearing the ruckus that has just started outside.

“Mirna!” Selica shouts inside the cave as she puts pressure in Shellon’s wound. From her point of view the wound is almost non-existent. She can only see a blooming rose of blood underneath his shirt originating on his chest, and when she removes his clothes she can only see a pin-prick hollow dot that’s barely visible. But when Selica tries to sense Shellon’s internal mana, she’s greeted with a chaotic torrent cocktail made up of it instead. When she tries to touch his wound directly a sort of static discharge pushes her back.

But instead of Mirna, the first to respond to Selica’s call is Gallian herself. From what Selica can recall, Gallian was already inside the cave when she was dragged behind by the Silencer a few minutes ago. When Gallian finally reaches her friends, she kneels as she examines Shellon herself. “That’s unnecessarily bloody for a wound like that.” She reaches down and tries to touch Shellon’s wound but a static kicks her fingers back instead. “Damn, that’s a Silencer’s weapon for you.” ”Wait, what do you mean? Mirna can’t heal her?” Selica asks Gallian, “What is this static?” She wanted to touch Shellon’s wound again, but fears that it may cause more harm to her friend. ”Not really sure,” Gallian ponders, “There’s something agitating his mana right now, if Mirna heals him with anything mana-based it might actually kill him.” Gallian tears a piece of her shirt and carefully bandages Shellon’s chest with it. ”That’s alright.” Shellon responds to the two. Trying to keep his bandaged chest covered back with his shirt. “I’ve lost my gun anyways, I’m useless. All we need to do is stand our ground before she comes.”

“Who will come?” Selica looks outside and sees utter chaos. From their side of the cave, Despi, along with her friends and some mages who have returned to fight back, are providing cover fire for the mages Shellon brought back to engage the Silencers. Selica can see that some of the attacking mages are engaging in melee and are quite similar to the type of mages Shellon is compared to hers.

One of the more notable things Selica sees are a man and a half man, half snake wearing very flashy armor literally wrestling down the Silencers.

Two orcish warriors clobbering their enemies with axes of all things.

Another she notices is a hound-riding hunter commanding his oversized dog to maul the Silencers as he attacks them with his bow.

And is that an angel? Like a real life angel with white wings and all fighting a hammer-handed Silencer...with a spade?

Selica is starting to doubt that any of these individuals are mages at all, but she guesses that’s the point of it. All these people (except probably that angel person) are the kinds of people one will not consider to be a mage and be accepted in Magecraft City normally. But in these circumstances, their uniqueness is what’s making them strive and survive against all odds, and winning.

“Hey someone’s coming!” Cartrid aims his long rifle at an individual running straight towards the cave. The person lacks any of the SIlencer’s unique white apparel so at the very least she’s a friendly. Her figure is feminine and her posture is...feral? Selica stares at her as a savage-running woman is going towards the cave with two pieces of something in her hand.

“Shellon!” The woman shouts as she raises the two pieces of things on her hand. Those are Shellon’s guns! Selica finally realizes. Upon closer look the woman is definitely wild in every sense of imagination. Blonde haired, barely clothed, tattoos all over her body, and a pair of...elven ears? ”An elf?” Selica utters as the elvish wildwoman slides into the cave. ”Hiem’rie!” Shellon shouts as the woman offers the split pieces of his gun to her. ”I thought you might have dropped something.” The elf named Hiem’rie drops the pieces of Shellon’s destroyed gun by his feet. Now that she’s really close to them, Selica realizes that she is carrying a familiar axe behind her, what she could barely describe as a loincloth. Then it hit her, it’s the same axe that started this fight. Selica observes her movement, her standing posture is hunched, her facial expressions are very readable, maskless, and again her clothing options are very revealing. Polar opposites on what Selica has read elves are supposed to be. ”Enough about my gun.” Shellon pushes his broken gun on the side. “Where. Is. She??” Shellon once more emphasizes an individual that is supposed to arrive.

“She suppose to come right about...oh here she is!” Hiem’rie smiles like a child as something starts to rumble at the very center of the building canopies. Even from here Selica and rest can hear something approaching. Its footsteps tremble the earth at every step as the building crumbles as it enters. ”Hey...isn’t that-?” Gallian is the first to response to source of the rumbling. ”That’s not possible. She’s here?” Ashlin also reacts, but this time she seems to have more understanding on what is approaching. Selica watches as the buildings gives way to a...giant? A towering metallic giant covered from head to toe with metal. It’s like looking at an armor-clad knight but is wearing three times more armor and is as tall as the building themselves. Everyone in the conflicts pauses to stare at awe at the gigantic figure that has just arrived. ”To think the rumors are true.” The Silencer Leader stares at the behemoth of a creature lumbering straight for them. The other Silencers, ones Selica has now seen as more capable compared to those she has met earlier, are shaking as this person approaches. ”Hey Ashlin.” Selica finally asks, “Who is that?” ”Oh!” Ashlin shakes herself, surprised by Selica for a moment, “Ah yes, if the rumors are then this person should be-!” ”The Ditch Demon herself, Karroun.” Hiem’rie cuts Ashlin dialogue. Selica waits for more explanation, but it seems like Hiem’rie is done. Ashlin sighs in disappointment. “Karroun is a legend amongst combatants deployed in conflicts, military and mercenary alike. Her first appearance is recorded in the En’twir marsh war a few decades back where she decimated the rebellion as she stalked the swamps like a swamp monster, thus earning her title.”

“Okay...But is she a mage?” Selica is utterly confused, how is any of that explain how she was able to enter the test?

“Yes...I think. To be honest I’m not really sure myself.” Ashlin replies lacking in confidence herself.

“USE YOUR FULL ARSENAL, NOW!” The Silencer Leader commanded his unit at the top of his lungs as he threw silver coins in the air. Instead of falling, these coins suspend themselves in the air and surround him.

“Oh no you won’t-!” One of the mages inside the cave tries to cast a fireball at the leader, but before he could cast one of the silver coins zips past him and pierces his skull, killing him instantly. ”What the-!” Selica stares at the corpse of the mage in amazement. She couldn’t even process what just happened. ”Stop your magic! Shellon screams as well. Trying to save as many people as he can. “They’ve released their stingers. We're as good as dead if we ever cast anything.”

Karroun, noticing the silver coins The Silencers are deploying, immediately channels her mana within. Selica braces herself as she expects the amount of mana she can produce would be as massive as her size.

“Wait, what?” But she is somewhat disappointed when Karroun only produces as much mana as Selica can do. She was expecting a legendary soldier like her to have as much mana as Dimas or even Aesir, but the amount she’s producing right now is something Selica can do when she’s in full strength.

However, the Silencer’s stingers didn’t discriminate in power level and immediately zips straight towards Karroun, but instead of piercing her the thick armor surrounding her barely got nicked at all by the coins.

“Damn it all,” The Silencer Leader is now pissed. He grabs his rapier which he has recovered earlier, and hums at it making it glow an illustrious white shimmer underneath the rain. “I wasn’t expecting to actually fight for my life today. But I guess fighting the legendary monster herself is quite an honor.” He positions his blade close to him as he starts chanting under his breath. Selica can feel mana swirling around the leader, but not the kind she’s familiar with. It’s very different compared to what mana a mages uses, it feels sinister, scary, like it’s antithetical to herself. As the suspense in the battlefield rises more as new participants enter, it all crumbles as a static noise scratches in the air. ”STOP THIS MADNESS!” A female voice echoes once more from the monument. “THIS TEST IS OVER!”

Everyone is standing still confused on what is happening, but the Silencers seem to have breathed a sigh of relief the moment they heard that voice. ”By the gods, Lady Caspian’s timing is impeccable.” The Silencer Leader literally releases his grip on his rapier and kneels down on the ground. His face shows as if a great burden has been lifted off from him. The other Silencers did the same, disarming themselves and shouting in happiness that this is all over. ”My name is Caspian Astergia, head of export and internal goods of Magecraft City.” The voice announces herself. “We have just detained the person responsible for this horrible test, and by the power vested in me by the City’s council as of right now this bloodbath is over! Silencers! Mages! Put down your weapons! The nightmare is over!”