Long, long ago, Maxwell had devised a plan that would grant him immortality. He would scatter orichalcum coins, imbued with magical formulas, throughout the city of Ode and drain mana from the citizens. After all, currency is a concept inseparable from civilized society. It was there to be spent or saved; it was rooted in all aspects of daily life.
Back then, Laplace had put a stop to this dastardly plot... and as thanks, she was sealed away for 300 years. But now Maxwell was holding one of those cursed coins in the palm of his hand.
She snapped her fingers—
“Wh... What...?! No...!”
—and activated the very spell he himself had concocted: the mana absorption spell. And because she was the one who’d cast it, its power was tenfold. But unlike Maxwell, she wasn’t targeting the entire city. She was targeting only him.
Mana flowed out of his body and into the coin.
“D-Damn it...!”
Desperate to fling the coin away, he tried to move his arm... but his borrowed body wouldn’t respond. All the repeated regeneration had dulled its senses.
“Hee hee! After everything, you still think all you have to do is drain more mana from the city, don’t you? It’s written all over your face.”
Just then, the floor beneath them began to shake.
“Wh-What’s happening?”
Was the clock tower shaking?
“Too bad for you... I’ve already drained you dry. As of right now, you’re running on empty.”
No... This was no earthquake.
“Mana, as you know, is life energy. And because I’m never short on mana, I can never die. But if an immortal were to lose all their mana—why, they would be rendered mortal, wouldn’t they?”
The vibrations were coming from Laplace herself.
“What?! Your mana flow is making the whole tower shake?!”
“Surely it’s not so infeasible for a Great Sorceress, non?”
Brimming with mana, Laplace radiated an ominous aura from head to toe. The coin’s absorption rate was tremendous, easily outpacing the spell that was siphoning the entire city. Actually, no—for some reason, the latter wasn’t draining properly. Why? What’s going on?
“Dites-moi: how does it feel to lose the power you stole?”
A chill ran down his spine. He had spent 300 years running from death, and now it had caught up to him once more.
“It would be so easy to kill you right now.”
His expression stiffened. Am... Am I going to die...?
“D-Don’t...!”
Lit by moonlight, her hair and skirt billowed with the flow of her mana. And the smile on her face exuded all the charm and confidence befitting of a Great Sorceress.
“At this point, I could just snap my fingers and get it over with... but that would be a little too anticlimactic, don’t you think? Instead... I think I’ll kill you with one of my own custom-made spells.”
She took a deep breath... and began her incantation.
“From twilight I summon the ultimate destruction...”
✦ ✦ ✦
“What the...? What’s going on?!”
“Perhaps Tanya and Laplace are behind this?!”
Back in the underground laboratory, Katherine and Nadine shrieked in surprise as all the Brides suddenly slumped to the floor like ragdolls. Why? Because their mana was being drained away.
“Wh... What’s happening?” gasped Vis. “My mana... It’s returning...!”
Mana was flowing out of the Brides—specifically, out of the orichalcum coins Nadine had affixed to them—and back to its respective owners. Everyone present felt a revitalizing wave of strength wash over their formerly sluggish bodies.
“Oh, Katherine! Your complexion’s looking nice and rosy again!”
“Likewise.”
“Now all we can do is trust in Tanya and Laplace, I suppose...” Nadine smiled brightly. “Thank you, Katherine. We couldn’t have done this without your support.”
Katherine chuckled. “I’m glad I had the opportunity to win back your approval after I totally humiliated myself in the Sparring Tournament.”
“Don’t be silly! I never thought badly of you. You were always an excellent student back in school!”
Katherine felt a burgeoning warmth in her chest. It was clear that Nadine trusted her without question... a sentiment she returned in full.
The two of them had done what they could; now all that remained was to believe in Tanya and Laplace—the ultimate duo who had taught them that anyone, regardless of gender, had the right to stand up for what they believed in.
Staring at the lifeless Brides, Katherine let out a sigh of relief. “It was a close shave, but fortunately it all worked out and stuff!”
While her Fox-Fireballs were streamlined for maximum mana efficiency, she’d been running on fumes back there. Any more and she probably would’ve passed out.
“I gotta say, that was a lot of mana—uh, what the heck are you doing?!”
“Hmm? What do you mean? I’m administering first aid.”
“Excuse me?! Just leave them! What if they get back up and start attacking us again?!”
Katherine stared in shock as Nadine started to cast Heal. I swear, this chick’s too nice for her own good. It was almost hard to believe that just moments prior, she’d been darting around the room Assassin-style.
Just then—
“Pardon me, ladies,” Vis cut in. She staggered to her feet, then drew herself up to her full height. “It would appear the mana is flowing in the direction of the clock tower.”
It was obvious that she was worried for the safety of the young princess. Quietly, yet firmly, she declared:
“I want the two of you to escort me there.”