Sen ducked. Alari swung a fist over his head and plowed through the face of a flesh golem. He deftly moved to the side. “Flesh Sculpt Maxim.” He dragged a cupped hand through the torsos of three golems in a single movement. A quick kick in the opposite direction destroyed the core of another. This was the third wave of flesh golems they’d faced now. It’d been a long time since he’d felt such exhaustion during a fight. 

These golems weren’t as powerful as the one from earlier. They were smaller and only human-sized. But between their abilities being diminished and the sheer number of foes they faced, Sen and Alari weren’t finding the fight as easy as they once would have. 

A flesh golem lumbered into his field of vision, the five-foot circle his enhanced eyesight allowed him to see well inside, and Sen went to strike it down. Alari was closer, and she brought both hands together around the creature’s face. It was a clap of blood, embers, and flesh. 

She shook her hands, trying to free them of the viscera to no avail. Her breaths were quick and ragged as she turned to shoot a glance at Sen. He could fight for quite a while longer, but doing so was wasting time. “We need to find the way out,” he said. They needed to make a plan while they had a lull in action. 

Alari stood up straight as if she hadn’t been sucking in air a moment ago. “I know the way out. It’s blocked, but you might be able to break through it.”

Sen eyed her. “Then why are you still here?” he asked the obvious question.

“Because Flamesaber is down here, but I don’t know where she is,” Alari said. She eyed the corpses all around them halfheartedly. “Man in black took her and put her inside one of these things. Haven’t been able to find it. There’s some kind of barrier here. My connection to her is weakened, but I have this feeling that if I leave without her, it’ll snap altogether. I’d rather die than that.” From the conviction in her voice, Sen believed her. 

“Wait, have you been in here the entire time?” he asked, taking a step toward her.

“Three days. Give or take. Like I said, can’t leave her,” Alari said. This time, she sounded tired. 

Sen sighed. What were his options here? He could make her leave, but he’d probably create more enemies than one if he did that. Her father was the Flamelord, and he had quite a reputation. Though that wasn’t enough to deter him. Sen had no problem antagonizing powerful people. The truth was, he sympathized with Alari for not wanting to abandon a weapon she had a connection with. What kind of person would he be to force her to abandon it after she’d fought for three days and risked death to protect something precious to her? Besides, based on the seemingly endless waves of flesh golems and the barrier weakening their magic, he had a theory of what Tutor might tell him any moment.

[Master!]

There it is. He nodded for Tutor to continue. 

[I believe there’s a mana core in here! A powerful one! Time is limited, but this could prove invaluable to us!]

Sen smiled. That it could. Mana cores were the equivalent of magic batteries. Sen had no shortage of mana, but mana cores opened up a slew of options that were nearly impossible without them. Most of his had shattered during his trip through time, and while those had been impressive, this one was from modern times. It would almost certainly have more power. The impact on his research would be monumental. Not to mention it would weaken the castle’s defenses. It was likely powering far more than just the creation of these flesh golems and the magic-dampening barrier. If he could remove it, then this would be a major wrench in the cultists’ plans. Not to mention, he could help Alari find her sword. She’d be a greater asset against the cultists armed with it. 

“Any idea where it is?” Sen asked in his mind. 

[Not one!] 

He turned to Alari. “Well, let’s find your sword then. The others are waiting on us to save them.”

She blinked. She hadn’t expected his offer of help. “I don’t need your help. Exit’s that way,” she pointed. 

Sen stopped himself from chuckling. She thought he was only offering to help to find his way out of here. “Great to know. We’ll head that way after finding your sword.”

Alari didn’t say anything. She simply nodded. 

They made their way through the dark, fighting waves of flesh golems as they did so. If Sen didn’t know better, he’d have sworn that this dark room stretched on forever. Each step forward was a shot in the dark. By their very nature, mana cores could mask their presence. He could tell they were within its field, now that he knew what to look for, but it was difficult to discern where exactly the core might actually be. 

As they walked over the corpses of the ninth wave, Alari finally spoke again. “How’d you end up here? They go back for you?” 

Sen looked over his shoulder at her. “No. I came with a few others to rescue the students who had been taken.”

Alari raised a brow. “Anyone from Fire Kite?” she asked. 

“Actually—” He stopped as a flaming sword lit up the darkness. It was familiar, and it radiated pure power. He stared at the flesh golem holding it. It wasn’t like the weaker ones they’d been fighting. That much was obvious. This was twice as tall, skinny, and had a face with a grin so wide each tooth looked as thick as two fingers. Its eyes were perpetually wide, and only a few strands of long brown hair hung from its head. 

“Hehehe.” It stared at them. It jumped from side to side in excitement, clapping its hands with the hilt of the blade still gripped in one of them. 

“I thought you said the blade was inside it?” Sen asked. He didn’t take his eyes off the monstrosity. 

Alari sneered at the creature. “It was. It shouldn’t be able to use my weapon, seeing it holding her is really pissing me off.” 

Sen reached up and withdrew his necklace from his neck. He stared at Flamesaber as he formed the sword in hand. When he was done, a perfect copy of Alari’s sword was in his hand. It had the same shape, but lacked the burning intensity or molten glow of her blade. Still, it should be a weapon she was familiar with. “Use this for now,” he said, holding it out to her.

She blinked. “You’re loaning me a magic weapon? Won’t it be more effective in your hands?”

Sen smiled. “Malleore is…versatile. It won’t mind helping you do this. But…you’ll have to get to know me more than you’d like.”

She took a step back. “What?” 

“Get your sword back, Alari.”

“What will you do?” she asked, taking it. 

“I have a feeling this thing is guarding something important. I think it’s our key out of here, and it’ll shut down whatever’s suppressing our powers and creating the golems. If you need help, I can stay and fight, but—”

“Go,” she said simply. 

As he suspected, this was a matter of pride for her. With that, he saluted her and moved slowly around the creature before them. When he was directly beside it, the creature made its move. It swung Flamesaber toward him, and a flash of fire moved rapidly toward him. But Alari intercepted it in a flash. The flames dissipated on Malleore’s surface. 

Alari was exhausted, and likely hadn’t slept, eaten, or had any time to recover in days. So, of course, Sen wanted to keep an eye on her. As he ran further into the darkness, he muttered an old favorite. “Sync Headspace Maxim,” he said. Normally this spell wouldn’t work except in precise conditions. But Alari was holding a literal link to him in her hands. Malleore, after all, was meant to extend his power. Without him around, it might as well be a normal sword. So Sen left behind a piece of himself. 

Another wave was coming. He could sense it. Fortunately, it felt as if their attention was all on him. He could handle the wave while Alari fought the sword-wielding flesh golem.

“What the hell? Why am I hearing your thoughts?” Alari asked in his head. 

“The price of the extremely powerful weapon in your hand. Besides, our tasks are one and the same. The object I’m looking for is likely linked to that creature. I need you to cut it down for good when I tell you. Precisely when I tell you.” 

“I’ll cut it down now!” 

“It’ll just come back. Buy time.”

“Ugh, you—”

Images like memories played out in his head. Alari defended against Flamespear’s relentless assault. Malleore was more than capable of handling that. But she was used to a sword made specifically for her. Even if Malleore had taken the shape of her mythical blade, she didn’t have the same bond with it. Nor did she particularly like its owner. 

Sen realized that last thought was more her thought than his. “Hey!” 

“Well, stop navel-gazing and get on with it already!” 

“Point taken.” 

[Shou—]

Sen choked Tutor’s voice down. Not the time for that. They weren’t alone in here. 

“What was that?” 

He ignored her. The flesh golem wave reached him. 

“Flame spear Fireking!” Alari shouted. Sen heard it both in his mind and through his ears as the attack echoed throughout the room. 

Just in time, he thought. Using his own techniques would reveal them more conceptually to his mind partner, so instead, he used Alari’s. “Flame spear Fireking!” A spear of flame formed in his hand. He knew intuitively he could send it flying forward, but it would be more convenient not to. Instead, he gripped it in his palm and swung it methodically. That single spear left half the wave with decapitated heads. At least the wounds were cauterized. 

“What the hell? Did you just steal my technique?” The anger in the thought seemed almost as strong as the anger she had for the flesh golem swordsman in front of her. 

Sen could understand that. Most magicians were pretty careful about not revealing their techniques. In the spirit of fairness, he’d have to share one of his own techniques. Nothing too valuable, of course. He brushed past the other flesh golems circling him, and his eyes lit up when he saw the prize. A mana core. It glowed dimly, pressed into the wall of the room. There were blue lines like a disjointed spiderweb leading in every direction that pulsed with each wave of magic from the battery. Sen smiled. He reached it and tried to pull it free. 

It didn’t budge. 

In his mind, he saw the flesh golem swordsman push Alari back and turn to look directly at Sen through the darkness. Its connection to the mana core would force it to prioritize him as a target now. It swatted Alari away and broke into a run. 

“Oh, I didn’t really see that coming, if I’m being honest. Well…” Sen sighed.

“He’s coming right for you!” Alari called out. He felt her heavy breaths; pure adrenaline was the only thing left to fuel her as she ran after the flesh golem. 

[If only you had a sword of your own.] 

Sen grimaced. He should’ve silenced Tutor with Adamantine Mind before activating the share mind spell. 

“Well, you shared one of your techniques. I suppose I’ll share one of my own!”

Alari grunted. “Who is that? And I didn’t share it! You stole it!”

 Sen smirked. He held a hand out toward the flesh golems honing in on him. The swordsman was close. Without a way to meet Flamesaber head on he had a massive disadvantage. But he wasn’t alone. 

“Butterfly Swarm Maxim!” This was a variation of the spell he’d only created recently. A swarm of butterflies appeared before him, given real form. They shot forward in waves. The first ones obliterated the weaker flesh golems, but a swing of Flamesaber ate right through them. A magic weapon of that level was strong. But he wasn’t willing to share his stronger maximizer with someone else. That would be irresponsible. Besides, his partner may not have the mana, but she had the power they required. 

She groaned. “I’m never working with you again after this. You hear me?”

Sen sighed. “I’m about to get cleaved in half, you know.”

Alari skidded to a stop and held out a hand. Sen did the same. A perfect line formed between them. In unison, they chanted.

“Butterfly Fire Swarm Maxim-Fireking!”

On either side of the approaching Flesh Golem, a swarm of fiery butterflies formed. They looked like illusions, but flames danced atop their molten red wings. Alari’s butterflies shot forward and crossed with Sen’s. It was as if the two swarms had swapped places in an instant. The flesh golem looked down for only a moment, perhaps wondering what had happened to it. 

Before it could process, its body turned to ash. 

Sen reached back to grab the mana core and saw it already floating out of its hole. “What?”

Alari smiled. “I knew it was him.” 

A man appeared. A student of Fire Kite Academy. Dasai River was holding the mana core. He cradled his stomach. “That wind spell really hurt, man. I know you couldn’t see me, but it still felt personal.” He tossed the mana core to Sen. He caught it. 

Sen realized Alari was happy to see her old classmate. It wasn’t a romantic happy, more like a brotherly kind of—

He felt a fiery sword press into his back. 

“Alright, fun’s over. Get the hell out of my head,” she said. 

Sen smiled. “Release.” 

[Fireking is a new maximizer. We should be able to utilize fire swarm in the future as well. That was a profitable gain for us. Oh, also, I did hold back something. I figured it was best if Alari didn’t see this. Here!]

[Level up.] 

Sen nodded his approval. More power. A modern mana core. A hint at the power of the Flamelord’s daughter. This was total victory. It was time to go create some more.