Gathering mana was a child’s play in our current environment. Even though it was no longer underwater, the caves were still full of it and in a span of maybe ten seconds I managed to gather a considerable amount.

-Good enough or should I go for more?

-It’s definitely enough for two regular portals and then some - agreed Kon. - I don’t know about our needs.

I took a glance at For, but she was not saying anything, mesmerized by the ball of mana that was now hovering in the middle of the room.

-Just to be safe, I am going to gather a little bit more but you can continue at any time.

-Okay.

He took a deep breath and started concentrating.

I could feel his mana starting to fluctuate and him attempting to gather along with me.

Noticing that, I did just as we decided on beforehand and started pouring the magic towards the two anchors that we placed next to each other on the slab of rock in the middle of the room.

-Nemgisny me qusfup em me itipdu loyp no fupet em wo.

-Nemgisny me qusfup em me itipdu loyp no fupet em wo.

I heard the incantation echoed, targeting two of the anchors at once.

At first it looked like everything was going fine.

The two streams of mana that we were pouring towards the anchors were merging together in one spot and right in the middle of the slab, a portal was starting to take form. It took the slab where we placed the anchors as a base, creating a magical hole right on top of it.

Just as I thought that the spell was done and we succeeded, suddenly I noticed another source of mana, right next to the portal that was just about to form.

And this one was also looking like a portal.

My first thing was: “Damn, so we did fail and make two”, but almost immediately realized that it was not it.

If it was indeed the case, the portal would form at the same time right? And it would have to come from the mana we gathered? Or at least from one of us if the connection failed, right?

But the second one was definitely appearing out of the blue, from mana that wasn’t connected to either of us.

And, strangely, it was also hovering mid-air. Whoever made it had to be pretty skilled in that technique.

I had a bad feeling about this.

I was not the only one that noticed this.

For at first had a similar thought to me, because she just sighed in disappointment and was about to say something, but stopped and stared closer at the mana that was forming a second portal, just to pop up in our minds and speak directly to us.

-Something’s wrong. This doesn’t belong to any of us! That mana is not from this cave!

Kon, while definitely startled, didn’t interrupt his spell. The portal didn’t really need that much concentration to form, as much as just a stable source of mana to feed it.

That, and he probably just was used to her talking in his head.

-Someone’s found us?

-Kon, don’t stop. We move as soon as the portal is formed.

Both of them nodded, and I felt Kon direct even more of mana to the portal.

Sadly, for naught.

The second portal, while definitely the last one that started forming, it looked like was the one which would finish first.

After not even a moment of debate and consideration, I shoved my fist right towards it, in an attempt to drain it and prevent it from opening, but I was already too late: my hand just slipped right through it and I was about to be pulled inside if I didn’t catch myself in time.

What I did feel though was something hard on the other side of it, that pushed me away and poked through.

And someone stepped out.

I couldn’t even tell who exactly that was, because they were completely covered in clothes.

They were wearing a white robe that covered them from head to toe, not leaving even a speck of skin uncovered. Same with the head: a full turban of white cloth tied up with a piece of rope that left only a small opening for eyes. Those on the other hand were covered with a thin veil that almost looked like silk.

Their hands were covered with bandages and while they were unarmed, they definitely were not powerless; in terms of mana capacity they were on par with Jacob at least.

And they were not alone.

Just behind the first one another person popped out of the hovering hole. Same clothes, same everything. They were a little bit weaker in mana capacity, though, albeit not much.

At first I thought that we were dealing with Axelrod’s men, but the clothes make no sense: they looked like no one I’ve seen before.

Were they elves? Maybe, who knows, with the faces covered I wasn’t able to tell.

-Identify yourselves! - barked For, extending her hand with a decent amount of mana gathered.

When did she even manage to prepare a spell?

The person who appeared out of the portal did not pay attention to her, instead was focused on the portal that we were attempting to open.

They said something to the one that emerged behind them and I felt they also started preparing a spell.

I wanted to at least attempt to try and resolve this peacefully, so I stepped in between them and raised my hands.

-Let’s calm down! We are not here to fight anyone…

But, apparently they were.

Just as I was finishing the sentence, both of them attacked.

The first one, who was focused on the portal… I want to say he cast a spell, but it was not it.

It was closer to the way I was manipulating mana without using spells, like when I would during the time in the Red Edge and when the magic was suppressed.

They gathered a rather large amount of mana in a split second and directed it towards the portal. Even though the mana was “unaspected”, or pure, without trace of any spell in it, it formed a lightning. It definitely looked like an electric current, but the fact that it was not doubling in my eyes meant that it was only visible thanks to my enhanced vision.

I honestly was unsure what they were expecting from that action.

Normally, if you’d hit something like this with pure mana, you’d just empower it. Especially in this case, since Kon was still in the process of forming the portal: the stray mana would’ve just got converted into the spell.

Sure, it was from a different source, so maybe the portal would’ve come out unstable, but it was not enough for the spell to fail completely…

Right?

Well, apparently wrong.

Because as soon as the sparks of lightning hit the portal-to-be, it immediately fizzled.

The almost-formed portal turned into a cloud of vapor, the mana scattering all around the cave.

At the same time, the second person that came out was casting a bit more conventional spell.

I was able to recognize it almost immediately: it was just regular lightning this time.

Blue sparks were arcing between their wrapped fingers and with one gesture they flew right at us.

It hit me directly in the head.

Of course, the damage was non-existent.

Even with their wraps, I was sure that it startled both of them.

Just looking at their mana, it was clear that they did not expect that kind of outcome.

But that was not the end.

At the same time as those two were launching their spells, the third person was coming out of the portal. The turban was already half-way out of the hovering opening when the spell that For was preparing fired right at them.

It was a very familiar fireball.

And what a fireball that was.

I think For was not used to her new mana capacity, because the spell rivaled in magnitude the one that I was hit by in the Red Edge. And I don’t mean hers, I mean the one that was a combined effort of Jacob and Odar.

Destruction it brought was definitely comparable.

Even though back then it combined two elements and was probably enhanced by the Red Edge itself, this one brought similar destruction even though it was just pure fire.

She was lucky that I was standing nearby, because as soon as it flew in front of me, I felt its power and moved so I would shield both of them with my body.

The explosion was deafening.

It shook the cave so hard I was stunned that it did not collapse instantly, although it definitely singed the whole cavern.

Even though I was able to absorb some of the magical fire and the floating mana that was in the air, it definitely used most of it as fuel to enhance the effect even more. Plus, the walls of the cave were slick from the infused water, and that also added to the magnitude of the explosion.

Even with my resistance, I got tossed backwards and indeed right on them, barely not crushing either of them.

I definitely did some damage though. I was just glad that I didn’t hear any crunch indicating broken bones. Although I couldn’t be sure if that was not just because I got deafened and concussed by the blast.

On the other side of the blast the damage was comparable.

The two people who came out of the portal were on the opposite wall, splattered and charred.

Their clothes were mostly burned, revealing that both of them were wearing some kind of armor under their clothes.

So that’s what I hit before.

Strangely though, the armor was completely black. Almost like it was charred from the spell.

I noticed that the portal that they came through was also gone, along with the third person that was about to come through it.

-Can we not…

I wanted to disarm the situation somehow, but for naught.

From the side of the two invaders I felt another surge of mana. Even two in fact.

First one was clearly another portal, this time it was not opening from the other side here, but instead it was being opened by one of the people on the floor. At the same time, the other one jumped in front of them and cast another spell.

They raised their arms and from the ground rose a large wall of rock, separating us from them.

For, who was already holding another fireball in her hand, hesitated and shot me a look, unsure if she should toss another one at them.

Before I was able to answer her, our guests did it for me.

Stony wall suddenly sprouted about ten spikes, at least full arms length and in the blink of an eye, shot towards us.

-I see that peaceful conversation is impossible…Visu nysu!

I mirrored their spell and raised a wall of my own.

Out of all the spells I was not sure about my resistance to blunt trauma, so I decided to be safe and block it with something normal.

-You can say that again! - I heard For reply.

She immediately leaped towards the wall I created and hid behind it, pulling Kon with her.

He was still a bit stunned after his failed spell.

I didn’t notice that at the time, but when his portal got dispersed, it seemed like he got hit with some kind of backlash. He was just standing there, shaking his head, like some confused dog.

Good thing that I shielded them both times, because he would definitely be hit by both of those, being an easy target.

-Who are those, any idea? - I asked, while the wall was still getting pelted by the spikes from their assault.

-I have seen those clothes before, but never like this. Those are usually worn by the people from the Wildnorth.

-Aren't they supposed to be unaffiliated with Axelrod?

-Apparently not any more! I am as stunned as you are.

-That is a problem.

-No shit.

-No, I mean behind the wall. Focus.

While talking I was paying attention to what was happening behind the cover on the other side of the cave.

And it was nothing good.

While being covered by the constant barrage of rocky spikes, the other person had already opened another portal and was just stepping through it.

-They are… running…? But that’s good…

As she was saying that, from the portal emerged another mana signature. Followed by another one.

-Reinforcements.

As I pointed that out, to the barrage of spikes joined another spell.

-Fire!

Yeah, it was fire alright. Along with the rocky spikes now we were also being pleated with flaming arrows.

The spell was somewhat similar to the one I remembered Jack using, although this time not with ice.

It was definitely more powerful, though. To the point where I started feeling heat through the wall that I erected in front of us.

-Annoying… Visu nysu!

I added another layer of protection to my spell, but that didn’t help much.

Sure, the heat was somewhat less problematic, but not for long.

The spell they were pelting us with was potent enough to actually melt my rock. I was honestly surprised. Why would they boost the fire while also using the stone? Wouldn’t that also melt their attack?

And it did. But not in the way I was hoping.

Instead the two spells were starting to combine together, and now instead of a barrage of two different spells, I was now under attack by a combination of two: red-hot spikes that looked almost like sharp teeth, were biting into my shield and creating a VERY uncomfortable temperature.

And that’s an understatement.

-I assume you don’t have any issues with me attacking back? - I asked.

-You kidding? I think my first reaction was enough of an answer?

-Better be safe than sorry. I don’t want to break your treaties or some shit, I don’t know!

-Stop talking and do something! I can’t exactly fight fire with fire. It is hot enough in here already!

She was right. As we were shielding ourselves from the assault, the temperature in the whole cave was constantly rising. And if we add on top of that the overall dampness of the place, it was getting absolutely unbearable. Even for me.

-If you are going to do something, do it sooner rather than later!

-Right, right.

I took a peek outside our shield and I realized that the situation was worse than I thought.

The wall I made was actually melting. At least the first part of it.

I knew that they were using a pretty powerful fire, but considering the amount of mana I didn’t expect for it to be THAT effective. But I guess that was the power of their combined spell.

Even though the damage was a pretty important detail to keep in mind, I instead was more interested in the other side of the cave and the actual physical part of the wall they made.

Sure, I was able to tell, no problem, where they were at, but that didn’t mean that I was able to precisely tell where the wall was ending.

Something was off. The wall was strange, but I couldn’t really tell why.

From what I could see, they were actually pretty decently covered with the wall, although it was just as I thought it was: a wall and nothing else. There was nothing to shield them from the attacks from above.

Good.