Akari lowered her gun and withdrew her knee from Arturo’s chest. Her legs shook from kneeling for so long, and the left one was half-frozen. Kalden and Zukan had only been talking for a few minutes, but it felt more like an hour.

Meanwhile, Arturo didn't budge an inch. His face had relaxed after the standoff, but his gun barrel stayed fixed on her forehead.

Akari narrowed her eyes and re-adjusted the grip on her own weapon. “Gonna lower that thing or what?”

“C-can’t,” Arturo said through chattering teeth. She glanced down and saw a web of ice spreading from his chest to his arm. Pale blue mana crystals froze the limb in place, but his finger kept a safe distance from the trigger.

“Oh.” She stepped back and dropped her own weapon on a nearby table. “Sorry …”

Zukan sauntered over a second later, and Akari did not cringe at the sight of the massive dragon. Talek, how tall was he, anyway? Her head barely reached the middle of his chest, and his biceps looked wider around than her waist.

Zukan knelt beside his wounded friend and formed a flaming dagger in his right hand. The dragon made several gentle slashes, turning the ice mana to mist.

Relia healed Kalden’s wounds and made her way toward Arturo. The others eyed her as she approached, but Relia seemed unfazed, smiling broadly as if they were already best friends. “Is it cool if I heal you?” she asked Arturo in a soft voice. Then she glanced down at the half-melted ice. “No pun intended.”

Arturo hesitated, his eyes darting between her outstretched hand and the bullet wound in his chest. For a moment, it seemed like he might object on principle. But he finally gave her a weak nod and relaxed his head against the concrete floor.

Relia pressed a hand to his stomach, and his body worked to push the bullet out. His skin re-knit itself over the next few seconds, and some of the color returned to his cheeks.

Akari’s hands fidgeted with her hoodie strings as she watched them. Finally, she turned to Kalden. “Nice moves, Corozono.” The words sounded sarcastic as they left her mouth, but she meant them with all her heart. She honestly hadn’t believed he’d talk them out of that one.

Kalden frowned. “Corozono?”

“What?” Her eyes widened in shock. “You’ve never seen Corozono?”

“Let me guess, it’s one of those old Mana Arts movies you like?”

Akari stared at him for another moment before shaking her head. “We gotta have a date night soon.”

“We keep saying that, but we always end up training.”

“After the qualifying rounds,” she said with sudden conviction. “I’ll show you some good movies.” A grin crept across her face, and she lowered her voice to a whisper. “Then you can finally—”

He cleared his throat. “Don’t forget we’re on TV.”

Akari closed her mouth, but her smile never faded.

Relia finished her healing rounds, and all five of them gathered in the middle of the lab. Arturo reclined in one of the rolling chairs while the rest of them eyed each other warily.

“First thing’s first,” Kalden said. “Only Zukan and I agreed to this alliance. Is everyone else on board?”

“Of course!” Relia practically clapped her hands together. “It’s the best idea you’ve had all day.”

They looked toward Akari next, and she quickly nodded her agreement. She’d always respected Arturo as a Mana Artist. Despite having thin channels, the boy kept finding clever ways to keep up during their classes. And while she didn’t know Zukan personally, she couldn’t deny his skills.

“I’m in,” Arturo said. “But how long does this last? I mean, let’s say we win this game, but we all hate each other.”

Relia looked at him if he’d just punched a puppy.

“What? Just trying to avoid a fight later on.”

“It’s not a bad question.” Kalden paused for a moment to consider. “Let’s re-evaluate things at the end of the school year. Until then, we’ll all do our best. No games, no plots, and no betrayals.”

“This deal is acceptable,” Zukan said in a formal voice.

Arturo nodded and flipped a pair of metal tongs in his hand. “Works for me, shoko. But first we gotta win this match. Any idea how?”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Kalden said. “Elise has us outnumbered ten to one, but we can negate that advantage.”

“How’s that?”

“We hunker down somewhere. Force them to come to us in a narrow space.”

“Anything’s better than running from helicopters,” Akari muttered.

“But where?” Relia made a show of looking around. “This little house won’t cut it.”

“The Artegium library,” Arturo said.

They all looked at him, and even Zukan raised a clawed finger to his chin. “The others were just there, were they not?”

“They were up on the roof, draco. I’m talking about the inside. We can turn that into a fortress—filter Moonfire’s troops through the front door.”

Kalden furrowed his brow. “Won’t they just collapse the building on our heads?”

“Not if we re-activate the defenses.” Arturo pushed his chair back and formed a pair of golden ring Constructs around his head. It looked like a simpler version of Irina’s Second Brain technique. Tiny Missiles flowed between the rings and his body, and he projected a golden hologram on the table between them. A map of the Artegium?

Arturo zoomed in on the library. “The game designers made everything weaker. If I had to guess, I’d say these buildings are five percent their usual strength.”

“Makes sense,” Kalden said. “The audience likes mass destruction.”

“And the buildings are running on backup generators,” Relia added. “At least, the Healing Arts Center was.”

“Those aren’t generators,” Arturo waved his hand and highlighted a pair of thick pipes that intersected beneath the library. “Mana still flows through the conduits, but it’s a fraction of what we’re used to.”

Akari gave a slow nod. She’d never call herself a manatronics expert, but she’d heard how power plants output less mana without regular maintenance. An abandoned plant seemed to fit the whole apocalypse vibe.

“How do you know the power’s coming through?” Kalden asked Arturo.

“I already reinforced the Combat Arts Center for Sun Army. But see this?” He gestured back to the intersecting pipes. “The biggest conduits run beneath the library. That means we can take all that power for ourselves.”

“And that will be enough to reinforce the building?” Relia asked.

“Hell yeah, spira. No Apprentice is breaking through that.”

“Just one problem,” Kalden said. “The library’s at the center of campus. How do we get there without being seen?”

“Or shot at,” Akari added.

“No problem.” Arturo raised the projection to focus on the crisscrossing pipes. “Maintenance tunnels always follow mana conduits. The library has an access point …” He zoomed back out, gesturing to a small structure on the south side of campus. “And there’s another a few blocks away.”

“There are tunnels beneath campus?” Kalden blinked as he took in the images. “Who else knows about these?”

“I didn’t,” Relia spoke up. “And I’m a second-year.”

“Well, I’m a fifth-year,” Arturo said with a grin. “We worked down there a lot in Sigilcraft.”

Fifth year? Raizen had mentioned him switching his major from Sigilcraft to Combat, but Akari hadn’t realized he’d been here long enough to graduate. “Then how old are you?” she blurted out. “Twenty-one?”

“Nah, shoka. Got in when I was fourteen.” His grin widened as he turned to face her. “You’re not the only one who can skip grades.”

They hashed out a broader plan over the next few minutes, tossing around ideas for how to beat Moon Army. Most of their plans involved explosions, but Relia didn’t object to these the way she had with the poison. Neither did Akari. If Moon Army wanted to gang up on them, then bombs seemed like fair game.

Things were calmer when they stepped outside, and Arturo led them to a simple brick building with a web of vines snaking around the front door. Zukan stepped forward and sliced the lock with a flaming dagger. With that done, the rest of the group rushed inside. It was a tight fit, but they couldn’t risk being spotted. That part of the plan came later.

Tools and machinery lined the walls, and a large workbench filled most of the room. A second door sat opposite the first, and Zukan cut the locks in a matter of seconds. Arturo yanked open the steel handle, and a burst of icy air sighed through the gap. Akari had to stand on her tiptoes to see over the others’ shoulders, and she saw an old brick staircase that reminded her of the catacombs in Creta.

Zukan took point down the stairs, with Arturo hot on his heels. Relia and Kalden followed them, while Akari brought up the rear. Darkness shrouded their path, and the only light came from Zukan’s flaming weapon.

These tunnels extended far deeper than any basement. Probably two or three stories, judging by the number of stairs. Akari had never considered herself claustrophobic, but in that moment, she could get on board with the idea. What if Elise knew they were here, the same way she’d known about their rooftop hideout? What if a Stone Artist buried them alive?

Talek. She should have left a portal on the surface. At least that would give them an escape route.

They walked in single file for several minutes, with Arturo checking his map whenever they reached a junction. The giant mana conduit hummed eerily beside them, and their footsteps echoed endlessly in both directions. Even her ears felt the pressure of the earth above.

Finally, they reached an old steel ladder, and a vertical tunnel that extended straight up through the ceiling.

“We’re here,” Arturo said. “This leads straight to the library basement.”

Zukan climbed up first, pushing open a hatch and bathing the tunnel with the faint light of morning. Akari followed the others up, and the thunder of footsteps and mana echoed from above.

The fighting had already started.