"..."

Her words were gentle yet held such great authority that it wasn't at all unusual when the trio bowed down, calling her,

"Master."

Naell was once again aggravated, as just by that logic she was the prime instigator of all their hardships.

Seeing his mana suddenly shift, the lady then giggled softly. Yet under her mask, no one could truly tell if she was really smiling.

"It'd be best if you calmed down, boy."

Her words were accompanied by unforeseen shadow magic that clashed swiftly with Naell's ice crystals.

Simultaneously, the [ Snow palace ] had been engulfed inside-out with light, followed by an attack called [ Light Laceration ], yet Owly's preemptive dark magic, matched its output and was able to fend it off.

"It's strong, HOOT!"

Just from those spells, Naell and Owly ascertained she was far stronger than anyone they had ever faced. Her versatility in that room far surpassed anyone there.

"Mm...To defend against my magic, I am now inclined to let neither of you go." The lady harmoniously threatened with the room flickering all whilst she spoke,

Immediately, the pricking sensation Naell and Owly felt had risen, and it made them both fearful. They now understood that woman was way out of their league.

Yet to add insult to injury, a rising fog followed by a burst of dark magic erupted beside the masked woman. A roar emitted from it as U'los, the rook of Lucile, arrived with other awakened monsters that snarled and growled.

"Reyna...this weakling has taken much of your time. It's time to lea—."

Before he could finish his words, sharp golden needles flew at them. It was then followed by Earlteria's elegant voice,

"As if I'd let a deceitful coward like you escape."

"Tsk, they're here." U'los said while blocking all her needles with one of his heads.

Naell and Owly's faces lit up as they turned to the entryway. There beheld them the arrival of their strong reinforcements.

Yet even with their numbers, the being called Reyna, merely smiled under her mask and added on,

"Well, I suppose today is your lucky day."

Lesjon Star, Earlteria Gem, and a few others had arrived at the scene.

"...Naell." The dark-haired mage muttered hesitantly upon seeing his cousin's quaking mana.

Compared to the already massive amount he possessed when they fought, the white mana was now much fiercer in strength. At the same time, it was erratic and not completely stable.

Beside Lesjon was Aive Noeidia who had already imbued her steel fans with aura; Cleave, whose aura was blaring under his hands as it accumulated into an orb; and finally, the powerful upperclassman Rizaul had lost to, whose mace-like weapon was itching for a fight.

Behind them was the graceful yet stern Earlteria who had been glaring at U'los since their arrival.

"I admit...That one is strong." U'los snarled and said to the masked woman, all the while angrily glaring back at the school's headmaster.

"I commend your brave---"

Earlteria took a breath, paid no mind to the vicious eyes, and briefly observed the situation. She then decided to act.

Without any second to waste, she quickly conjured several large bird-like figures that flew to Pierd and the monsters' direction.

Thinking it was a simple attack, Awthra shot at the birds with fire magic in an attempt to be rid of them in one go. Yet the headmaster's magic only absorbed Awthra's element, before raining combinations of elemental magic with great intensity.

"Hurry, reposition while they're dealing with my [ Metamorphosis ]. Marcha and Noveam--- provide the potions to those in that snow palace."

"Understood, headmaster." The two girls nodded before quickly being teleported alongside Earlteria herself.

In the mere second of their arrival inside the protective magic, the protagonist party smiled in utter relief, knowing help had finally arrived for them and their unconscious friend.

"Principal!"

"Headmaster!"

"Marcha and Noveam, thank Magi you're both okay!"

Earlteria smiled, hiding the frustration from seeing her weakened students. She then spoke in a mellow voice to reassure them, "You'll all be okay now. Thank you for doing your best."

One by one they were each given a potion that glowed a bright hue of light. The following words were plastered across each container:

86% Infused Light Magic produced by Escuel Co.

"..."

Meanwhile, outside the protective snow, U'los had grown enraged. His pride was shaken upon being snubbed once more by that woman. Immediately, he breathed chaotic flames towards the snow palace and the party of newcomers.

"Don't ignore me!!!"

Yet the blonde senior student deflected it by coating her weapon with aura, all the while Lesjon and Naell used that chance to combine ice and thunder to counter-attack.

With the immense power of their fused magic, the two cousins were hopeful of its efficacy. Thus they were taken aback by how quickly it was disregarded by a mere layer of light.

"Oh my... the other curse of Winter and an aura master to boot. Aren't I welcomed?"

Lesjon's brow twitched when he heard her words, while Rumi, the girl who seemed to be the other person Reyna referred to, boldly clenched her shield. With disdain, the irritated girl then asked,

"Who are you?"

"...I am Reyna D'ialim, the loyal Queen of the great celestial Lucile."

'Queen...?'

"By my side are the pawns of Lucile." With her introduction, Pierd, Sult and Awthra were engulfed in light magic. Everyone then bore witness to how their injuries were healed.

Albeit the amputated arm of Sult did not regenerate, the burly man was glad to have been provided with a chance to redeem himself. He clutched his fist and glared at Naell with a grin.

Yet contrary to his expectations of a fight, he was disappointed to hear Reyna speak once more,

"Had these other beings not intervened, we would stay for the boy and his owl. Regretfully, this has become rather taxing to deal with, let us go back now."

"...We understand." Even Pierd was dissatisfied, yet he of all people knew their Master's words were absolute.

Enraged, Earlteria Gem teleported outside the snow palace.

"Don't think for a second we will let all of you go!"

Yet U'los only shrugged with his many heads and said,

"Weak fools! I am U'los the Rook of Lucile. Upon the bidding of my master, none shall live--- yet at this moment it appears it is not his wish for me."

Pierd's gaze remained the same, even as the Hydra he tamed shook the ground with his mana.

"Fate shall let us gaze upon one another once more. That is, if it permits you to live through this..."

Reyna then brought her hands to the air as the arcane words on her hands burst into light. The writings presented themselves and encircled her subordinates slowly coating them in darkness.

All the while, the rest of them in the vicinity, Naell, Owly, the protagonist party, and the reinforcements, were being engulfed in blaring light.

While the fiendish group vanished into the shadows, the rest of them were faced with a predicament.

"Hey, get back here!" Cleave said as he threw his aura at the now missing enemies.

Gripping his axe in slight annoyance, he turned to the bright light, and together with Noveam and the others they uttered in surprise,

"Huh, what is that---"

Naell's eyes shook upon seeing the source of the light surrounding them: a frightening capsule of mana. It didn't take much of his detection to know it would undoubtedly kill them.

In an instant, Owly hectically threw feathers in every direction, conjuring shields from it that befell everyone. He had even cast shields for the party within the snow palace.

Yet even then, the owl knew none of it would be enough.

"True destruction magic...HOOT!" In a panic, Owly spoke without telepathy, yet none reacted as the danger was far greater than a talking owl.

A concentrated orb with the sigil of a flower, and its pure light mana emanating chaos, floated above them. It spun erratically as it began to shatter.

It was then when Earlteria let out a gasp and shouted,

"[ Alchemia Protection ] Shield yoursel---!"

"Naell, HOOT!"

That life-threatening second seemingly took ages, with everyone holding their ground. Yet as the massive wave of destructive mana erupted, Naell instinctively held his staff, turned to the explosive, and allowed his seal to break.

Had Awthra been there to witness Naell's mana bursting into the air, she would have felt embarrassment as even civilians outside the campus saw the beams of light pierce through the sky more than hers.

To those who watched, it was the most immense display of mana- and then it was nothing.

Unbeknownst to them, that one catastrophic destruction magic--- one that was supposed to make history and result in the demise of a well-protected city, had just been frozen in place by Naell.