Sen 

He swept his gaze around the battlefield. The other groups had joined with his own to mop up the remnants of the cult and demons after Joseia and Samara had made their move. Though he had to admit, Ano had surprised him. He’d assured Sen he could handle the threat, but the pillow? That was a nice touch. Bodies littered the ground, but none of his allies had died. At least…not permanently. Girch walked up. “I’ve died enough for a lifetime.” He shuddered. “I’m over it.” 

[I have to admit, your acting was good. They really believed we’d fallen for their trap!]

Sen smiled. He’d known whoever had constructed the barriers had caught on the day before. He’d detected that the barrier could distort the passage of time, though its effect was limited. There was a reason he’d sent Mori in first. Even though he was technically weaker, his resurrection abilities surpassed even Sen’s. He was naturally gifted at keeping firm control over multiple souls, and he’d kept a careful hold over their allies the entire time. That was probably exhausting though, so he’d need to make sure Mori had time to rest soon. Their deception had worked, and they’d caught the cultists off guard. 

Of course, there wasn’t much they’d have been able to do to prepare. Samara and Joseia now had high-grade artifacts in their possession. Joseia was a third-year strong enough to compete in the Academy War for the prestigious Brightsail Academy. With the special boots Sen had crafted for him, he’d been elevated to new strength. Samara had grown experienced at wielding a two-handed sword and channelling her magic through it. She’d adapted to the Shade Flame sword far more quickly than he expected. There was a reason he’d chosen each of them for his personal team. He was experienced fighting alongside them, and they had potential he wanted to see develop further. 

Ano was the top student at a rival school, and Sen had the feeling the guy was capable of far more than he’d shown off so far. 

Sikar’s group approached; he paused to stab his staff into cultists and demons from time to time. They’d already decided not to leave any survivors if they could help it. The cult had attacked them one too many times to show mercy now. Laurette’s group wasn’t far behind. Everyone looked at the dark castle ahead. A long flight of steps led sharply upward for a while. The castle was high above them and appeared to be built into the side of a mountain. It was made of black stones infused with a deep and powerful magic. It was a fitting home for a god, and Harpis had chosen this place well. The castle inhabited an island, and though the dark clouds above blotted out the moon and stars, making it hard to see, the island emanated a barely noticeable light that made the area around them visible. However, the seas beyond were clad in total darkness. A quick enhancement of his vision allowed Sen to scan the ocean in every direction, but there was no land in sight. There were only two ways onto the island that housed Harpis Castle: either by boat, or the distortions. 

There was a sudden shift in the air, and Sen turned to look toward the first distortion. It was the portal he’d sent Sikar’s group through, on the left side of the island, though Sen felt a similar feeling from the portal on the right. Cultists marched out of the gate and onto the island. Lesser and greater demons walked amongst them. He knew before looking that the same would be true of the portal on the left. Sen had taken authority over a single portal and forced it to transport them onto the island at three locations. Their camp guarded the portal that led directly toward the castle, but the ones that normally led to Harpis Castle’s other portals were undefended. Their enemy had taken advantage of that. Now they’d called for reinforcements, and suddenly, Sen’s victory had turned into an ambush. To make matters worse, the two portals behind the small armies shattered as soon as they had finished entering. Then the enemy’s plan became apparent. 

“They’re trying to trap us,” Sikar said. He wore a grave look on his face. 

Sen nodded. “Sikar, Laurette, take your teams and guard the remaining portal. It’s still under my control, so they won’t be able to destroy it unless they hit it from either side. Crosp and the other students will protect one side, and you’ll protect the other.”

Ladia frowned. “There’s a lot of them,” she said.

Laurette sighed. “We’ll handle it.” She turned to Ano. “Save the others. Dean Withershade and Dean Calle will owe us if we save their star students. We need this, Ano. Don’t fail.”

Ano clutched his pillow to a face to stifle his groan. “Ugh. It’s always, don’t fail, Ano. It’s never ‘it was so cool of you to kill a noble demon with a dorm room pillow.’ This isn’t even enhanced with magic! It’s a normal pillow. That was impres—” He turned and noticed their eyes on him. “Right, not the time. Fine, I’ll do my best, but I won’t like it.” 

Sikar eyed the armies. They hadn’t moved yet. “We need to get to the portal before they do.”

Laurette nodded and gestured for her team to follow. She took off without checking to see if they’d listen. Professor Ladia looked unsure, but followed after her. Dasai shook his head. “This is gonna suck,” he said.

Marin frowned. “I spent so much time trying to lure that noble demon into a trance just for it to die. Now I have to start over,” she groaned. The two of them followed the professors. 

Sikar looked at Sen. “Be careful. You’re strong, but this is a cult, and we’re outnumbered. We’ll hold the portal open. You just find the others.” He turned to lead Susanna, Girch, and the others away.

Sen called out after him. “Don’t die for this. If the portal’s closed, we’ll find another way.”

Sikar looked over his shoulder in surprise for a moment before continuing forward. 

The armies on either side didn’t make a move. He felt hundreds of eyes on him.

Samara stepped beside him, holding the hilt of her sword on her back. “We going or what?” she asked.

“We are. But first, let’s leave a parting gift,” Sen said.

“Whatcha got in mind?” Ano grinned. 

Sen held his hands far apart. He focused his spell so that it would stretch across a wider area than usual. It would hit the enemies on either side of the island. But he ensured it wouldn’t spread to the allies he was leaving behind. 

“Tri-Infernal Hellscape Maxim.” 

A field of molten cracks formed, and the surrounding landscape changed. Just because they were waiting on Sen to go inside didn’t mean he wasn’t going to kill a bunch of them before he left. 

He turned and nodded to his teammates as the explosions and screams started. 

Ano chuckled. “Man, it never gets old seeing that spell.” 

Ilm

She’d done her best not to draw much attention to herself for the last few days. She ate what she was given, and she never spoke unless she was asked a question. Her only objective was to survive and channel her own energy into the ward Sen placed on her to prolong it as long as possible. She had to, to make up for the mistake she’d made on their first day here. 

A comforting hand touched her knee, and she saw pink hair in her peripheral vision. “Are you okay, Ill?” Milim asked. 

Ilm turned and nodded subtly. So subtly that no one would notice if they weren’t already paying attention to her.

The students were in a large room on the upper floors of the castle. They were chained in a row along a single wall, side by side. The cultists let them free, a few at a time, to use the bathroom every three hours or so. They subsisted on bread and water, but they were given plenty of both, so at least they didn’t go hungry or thirsty. The room looked like an emptied-out ballroom. A fancy chandelier hung in the center of the room, and the carpet beneath them would actually be kind of comfortable to sleep on if they weren’t chained together. Luckily, she was next to Milim, and they often leaned against one another to rest. 

Cultists patrolled the room casually. It wasn’t like the students could break the chains, and there hadn’t been any problems since they’d arrived. Aside from the blue-haired boy from Green Book freaking out. Milim said his name was Ano. He hadn’t said a word until they arrived at Harpis Castle. Then he’d gone wild and started thrashing the cultists, trying to escape back through the portal. They hadn’t been able to stop him until the flesh golem got involved. She shuddered, remembering that thing breaking through the door of her dorm room alongside a man in black robes. He’d stabbed her with a syringe much like the one they’d used in the sewers underneath the festival. Except this one had worked even on her, despite her powerful wards. The Cult of Harpis had a few powerful members amongst a slew of average magicians, but the man in black was an entirely different story. 

He scared her. 

The guards suddenly froze and turned to look as that exact man entered the room. Tatter and Professor Calabari followed him. “Master Marrow, will we be able to proceed soon?” Tatter asked. 

Marrow waved a hand. “We’re just waiting for that spell to wear off. We can still continue with our experiments for now. Grab the boy,” he said. Some guards hurried over to Snake and pulled him out of the line. His chains snapped for a moment and reformed around just his hands. Behind him, in the spot where he’d left, the chains of those on either side of him connected. They altered automatically according to this Marrow guys will. It was a powerful technique. 

Snake lunged for one of them, but whatever they were doing to him had weakened him. They’d taken Alari on day one, and she hadn’t returned. Snake came and went. Each time he returned, he came back beaten and bloody after a few hours. Ilm found herself feeling bad for him, even though he wasn’t her favorite person in the world. 

The guards waited for Marrow. He was usually the one who took Snake away. 

Professor Calabari frowned. “Tatter’s right. We’re wasting time. Let me start teaching them. There isn’t any point in treating them like cattle. If you want them to join you, you need to treat them well.” He gestured to Snake. “Him most of all, that boy will be a monster one day.” 

Marrow paused his evaluation of the students. He’d been feet away from walking in front of Ilm. “Teaching them? Do you believe that? That we were going to teach them?”

Calabari shot a look at Tatter. “What do you mean, do I believe that? Tatter said the cult of Harpis needed promising recruits. What…” He shook his head, trying to piece it together.

Tatter smirked.

Marrow burst into laughter. He patted Calabari on the shoulder. “These kids aren’t here to learn anything. The Cult of Harpis wants to resurrect their fallen god. But the spell that sealed him destroyed his mind, body, and soul. Only a few pieces remain. He needs a new vessel. None of the cultists fit the requirements. Some are strong enough, but you need someone young enough to adapt. Gods almost always choose the young as their avatars. People they can mold into their image. Now where would you go about finding extremely powerful people who are young enough to meet the requirement of a god’s avatar? Perhaps a few of the most prestigious academies on the continent?” Marrow mused.

Calabari’s eyes widened in shock. “You’d sacrifice one of these children just to bring back your god?”

Marrow shook a finger. “One of? No. Of course not. We have them all. We’re going to use them all. Harpis will be hungry when he returns. He’ll feed on the power of the others. Come on, Calabari, you’re a professor.”

A rage overtook him. “You will not use me as those fools at Brightsail did. I will not stand for this—” 

Marrow stared at him. 

Calabari froze. 

Ilm swallowed. The professor had probably been just a few words away from death. 

“Will you help us, my friend? I know it’s not what you expected, but we’ll take care of you. And we will need to do some recruiting once Harpis returns. You can train the new guys. See? Everybody’s a winner,” Marrow smiled. He turned and fixed his attention on Ilm. He squatted in front of her. 

“How much longer on that barrier of yours?”

Her blood ran cold. How had he known? They knew there was a barrier, but it shouldn’t be obvious who it was centered on. She looked away, but felt herself shaking under his gaze. She’d grown so much stronger since coming to this world. But not strong enough for this. If it was her brother Mori, or Master Sen in this situation, then they’d know what to do. But Ilm didn’t. She just—

Her thoughts came screeching to a halt as a boot rammed into the side of Marrow’s face. It knocked his hood off, and green hair spilled out from under it. His face had a jagged scar that ran diagonally across it and was absolutely covered in stitches. Not just the scar, his entire face. Milim’s kick had knocked some of them loose; others had ripped apart. Marrow snarled, and blood rolled down his cheeks.

“Leave her alone!” Milim doubled down. Her pink eyes glowed, and Ilm felt like the girl was about to attack with magic as well. The chains on their hands weakened them, but it was theoretically possible to use their magic, as dampened as it might be. There just wasn’t much of a point against stronger opponents. 

Marrow let out a breath. “I was really trying not to kill anyone. But that…that just pissed me off.” He turned to look at the door outside and whispered. “Come.”

A footstep resounded throughout the room, and the room shook. Ilm’s breath came more rapidly, and beside her Milim’s courage ran cold. That thing was coming. Ilm closed her eyes and focused on the barrier. At most, it would last fifteen more minutes. She should have longer. She should have had hours longer. But she’d tried to stretch it not only to the students in the room but also to Alari. It was a mistake she’d regretted since she tried it. Alari wasn’t protected like the rest of them were. And trying to find her and extend it to her had strained the spell. Her master would believe that he still had plenty of time. But…he didn’t. If he didn’t move soon, then the cult would begin its ritual. The creature ducked, and its flesh contorted to fit through the doorframe. Milim tried to scramble away, and that made Marrow smile. “Too late for regrets, little one. Face your fears,” he said with a smile. 

Snake was tense, and Ilm suspected he was going to attack the golem to distract it. 

Before he could, an explosion rocked the castle and stained-glass windows exploded. The flesh golem stopped in its tracks, looking toward the broken window. 

Marrow smiled. “Well, change of plans. The main course has arrived.” He looked toward the golem. “Go break our white-haired friend. Kill anyone around him. Make it…horrifying.” 

The golem nodded and shuffled off. 

Marrow turned back to Ilm and smiled. “Don’t worry, we’ll reunite you with that…brother? Cousin? Well, whatever he is, you’ll see him again soon. It’ll probably just be whatever’s left of him, but that’s still a reunion, right?” 

Ill looked toward the window and felt a trace of hope. She knew that technique. It was tri-infernal hellscape. 

She turned and squeezed Milim’s hand. “He’s here.”

Milim’s eyes lit up with hope.

Ilm smiled.

The God of Magic had arrived.