The strange trap had flung them out into nighttime ruins.

  Looking up, the moon hung in the sky, its light faintly illuminating stone columns arranged in a circle. Arc rose to his feet and surveyed the area. Mina peered at his face with concern.

  “Arc… where are we?”

  Arc traced his fingertips along the reliefs of warriors and beasts carved into the walls, then looked at Mina.

  “The central plaza of Carnage.”

  Mina glanced around, but it was too dark to see much.

  “So we’re outside the labyrinth?”

  “Yeah. I was worried about where we’d end up, but honestly… I’m relieved.”

  Seeing how exhausted he looked, Mina felt a pang of guilt.

  “I’m sorry, Arc. This is all because I stepped on that stupid trap…”

  Arc looked surprised for a moment, then smiled and ruffled her hair.

  “That’s how labyrinths are. What matters is we all made it out in one piece.”

  He said it with quiet sincerity, then stood and stretched long and wide.

  “I know you’re tired, but let’s get moving. We don’t want anyone catching up to us.”

  Mina gave a small nod and got to her feet immediately.

  “Right—let’s go.”

  Arc stood and held out his hand to her.

  “Come on, I’ll carry you.”

  Mina felt her face flush and turned away, starting to walk.

  “N-no, it’s fine. I can walk.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.”

  Arc flicked a finger upward. Mina’s feet lifted off the ground and she floated into the air—his gravity magic at work.

  “Eek!”

  “What are you squealing about? If we walk, it’ll be dawn before we get anywhere.”

  Mina bobbed gently in the air. Arc crooked his finger toward himself, and her body drifted into his arms in a princess carry. Nox, in her black cat form, hopped onto Mina’s lap. Arc smiled.

  “It’s a bit of a distance, but there’s a cave about two hours’ flight from here. We’ll eat and rest there.”

  He rose gently into the sky. Mina gripped his arm tight.

  “Scared?”

  Mina looked up at him and shook her head.

  “I’m getting sleepy, actually.”

  “Already? We just took off.”

  Arc chuckled softly. He adjusted his hold on her and whispered near her ear.

  “I’ll wake you when we get there. Sleep for now.”

  Mina glanced at his face, gave a tiny nod, and closed her eyes.

  ◆

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  How much time had passed? The sky was beginning to lighten. Dawn was near. Arc had been flying through the night without rest, Mina cradled in his arms the entire time.

  Then—with an ear-splitting crack—multiple bolts of lightning struck all three of them.

  CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

  “AAAGH!”

  As a tremendous shock tore through Mina’s body, the Stormcrystal Armlet on her wrist blazed red.

  Mina screamed.

  “ARC!”

  The three of them were blasted apart by the impact.

  Arc grimaced in agony but held Mina and Nox tight, refusing to let go. The three of them tumbled through the air as one, plummeting toward the forest at terrifying speed.

  “Arc! Hang on!”

  A direct lightning strike. None of them could be unscathed. Arc struggled, his face contorted in pain. Mina looked down—the forest canopy was rushing up fast.

  “Gravity… Wall…”

  Arc murmured the words, and a magical platform materialized beneath their feet. They collapsed onto it. Their descent slowed, the deceleration pressing them flat against the surface.

  “A-Arc!”

  But it wasn’t enough to stop them. They plunged into the forest, smashing through branches and leaves before slamming into the ground.

  “KYAAH!”

  The impact scattered all three of them in different directions.

  Mina crashed back-first into a dense thicket of low shrubs.

  “Ungh…”

  She rubbed her lower back and sat up. Arc and Nox lay motionless on the ground. She rushed to their side.

  “Arc! Nox! Wake up!”

  No response from either. Mina could only hover over them in a panic. Then the sky darkened with black clouds, and a deep voice rumbled from above.

  “Well, well… you took my lightning and survived. Impressive.”

  Each time the voice spoke, flickers of lightning pulsed within the dark clouds.

  “So that was YOU! You bastard!”

  The voice dissolved into laughter.

  “Spirited little girl. But that attitude will get you killed.”

  “Who are you? Why did you attack us?”

  “You may call me the Mediator.”

  “The Mediator? That doesn’t mean anything to me.”

  “My name is irrelevant. What I have to say is this: report to Seraphim immediately.”

  With every word from the Mediator, lightning flickered across the black clouds. Mina glared at the sky.

  “Are you one of Seraphim’s people?”

  The clouds pulsed with light.

  “I am not his ally. But I despise those who go sniffing around the ruins. If you wish to investigate them, do so under Seraphim’s supervision.”

  “Seraphim killed my parents! I wouldn’t trust that man if my life depended on it!”

  The flashing in the clouds intensified. Bolts of lightning arced between them.

  “Let me be clear—I could fight you here and now, and kill you. With your familiars unconscious, can you fight alone?”

  Mina stared at the sky in silence.

  “This is an order. Disobey me, and your short life will come to an end.”

  Mina glared at the black clouds, her face pale but defiant.

  “Oh—I nearly forgot. I have a present for you.”

  “Hmph. I’m sure it’s nothing good.”

  The man in the clouds laughed.

  “I think it’s quite the gift, actually. It will reach you shortly. When you see it, you’ll agree that the Mediator gave you something remarkable. In the meantime… do your best to protect those familiars of yours.”

  The voice fell silent.

  “Protect my familiars?”

  Mina squinted at the sky, puzzled. Before long, the oppressive weight in the air lifted, and the black clouds cleared away completely.

  “A present, he said…?”

  The man had told her to do her best to protect her familiars. Thinking about what that meant, it didn’t sound like something she’d enjoy at all.

  “More like a disaster.”

  Then she noticed the Stormcrystal Armlet on her right wrist. It glowed a vivid green, sparkling with light inside. She raised her arm and studied it. This was the bracelet that absorbed all lightning magic and converted it into her own energy.

  “This armlet… it saved us.”

  Mina felt a renewed wave of gratitude toward her grandmother. Lilisia must have anticipated something like this when she’d given her the Regalia. And it had ended up saving Arc and Nox as well. Mina let out a long breath.

  “I’m exhausted. But I have to get Arc and Nox somewhere safe.”

  She went to Arc’s side and peered at his face. He was unconscious. During their fall, he’d used the very last of his strength to create that anti-gravity platform—the Gravity Wall. That must have been his absolute limit.

  Tears stung her eyes.

  “I can’t leave them lying on this rough ground.”

  She slipped her hands under Arc’s arms and tried to drag him. He was impossibly heavy. She managed barely thirty centimeters.

  “Nngh—! How can one person weigh this much?!”

  She wiped the sweat from her forehead, panting.

  “What am I going to do?!”

  She was at a complete loss.

  Then the ground began to tremble—faintly at first. She thought she was imagining it, but no—it was real. She strained her ears. A low, rolling rumble: duh-duh-duh-duh…

  “I have a very bad feeling about this.”

  Mina narrowed her eyes and peered into the distance. Beyond the forest, across the grasslands, an enormous cloud of dust was rising. Her face went white.

  “Wh-what? What’s coming?!”

  A truly terrible premonition gripped her.

  Was this the “present” the voice in the clouds had promised?

  “Wait! Hold on!”

  Mina was spiraling into panic.

  “Arc! Wake up! Please!”

  She whipped around for another look at the grasslands. The dust cloud resolved into a stampeding herd of boars, thundering straight toward them. Mina screamed.

  “Arc! What do I—what am I supposed to DO?!”

  Tears streaming down her face, Mina grabbed Arc and pulled with all her might.