Tbate-The Reincarnates

The recital of flourishing individuals

From Ayla Leone's point of view

Nailing my feet to the ground as I leapt forward, I used a vine of mana to pull myself to the nearest enemy mage.

The startled Alacryan didn't even have time to turn to me before my staff sank deep into his waist. Blood flowed as I drew my weapon, leaving its pale blade unstained.

"Ayla, get down!" my teammate's familiar voice sounded from behind.

I immediately threw myself back, giving Syria space to dive into another Alacryan from the tree she was on.

"Good!" I shouted back as I released a gust of wind to knock down an enemy that was closing in on Poet.

"It cost!" he screamed. His artifact had finished charging, releasing a burst of mana directly into a crowd of oncoming enemy soldiers.

Harlequin appeared, his dual axes creating sparks and trails of fire as he slashed flesh and steel to support our little magician.

"We can't let them pass this point!" I reminded them as Syria also sprang into action, her gauntlets wrapped in thick mana.

We can do this, I reassured myself, watching my companions battle alongside our other mage unit. With his fists wreathed in flames, Hiosaki, one of our new recruits, stood out even from this distance as he was a head taller than everyone else.

Suddenly, a beam of glowing ice fell from a nearby tree. Syria managed to dodge and Hiosaki barely managed to dive out of the way, but an elf nearby on their team wasn't so lucky.

Damn it, I cursed, watching as my ally went down.

With a mana-infused leap, I landed on the branch where a ranged mage was perched. Before she could let out a noise, a fatal wound had already been inflicted. Her body swayed and fell from the tree.

Letting out a sharp sigh, I scanned the battlefield below, making sure there weren't any other enemy mage within range to harm my comrades.

Instead, what I saw was chaos. With the foliage blending in with the trees and ground, as well as the ever-present thick blanket of mist, it was hard to tell exactly how many enemies there were and how many of my allies were left.

A scream pierced my ears. Came close. Unsure if it was friend or foe that made the cry of pain, I spun toward the source.

It was an elf. From the leather apron clumsily fashioned from sheet metal across his chest, presumably a baking pan, I could tell immediately that he was a civilian who chose to stay and defend Eidelholm, his city.

The elf fell lifeless to the ground as a pool of blood formed around him. My eyes couldn't believe he the assassin, or rather assassin, Rias had a ring of wind swirling around her open hands. She wore a proud sneer as she stepped onto the elf's body.

"Rias!" My blood burned with righteous anger at the sight. Landing deftly on the floor, I ran towards my former dorm roommate, intending to remove her from this battle.

"Ayla! Where are you going?!" I heard Poet's voice behind me.

"I'll be back!" I replied, not bothering to go back.

My vision narrowed on Rias's figure as I easily cleared the distance between us, but just as I was about to plunge my blade into his body, a golden panel of light flickered between us.

I looked down at the floor where the item Rias had dropped pressed against my boot: a pyramid-shaped steel box, engraved with chains that curled around the edges. As I watched, Rias' foot groped forward and hit the spiked top.

Several things happened at once.

The artifact at my feet unfolded, letting out a brilliant golden light, which opened like a flower and was glowing brighter by the moment.

Lifting one leg, I started to descend towards the artifact, intending to crush it under my heel, but... I froze, unable to move. The golden light emanating from the open pyramid enveloped me, shining over every inch of me like a second skin. I could just make out the ethereal form of currents within the light, wrapping around me.

"I never thought you'd lose your composure so easily, Ayla."

"Shut up." I spat back, looking like I was talking with my head underwater. "Well, damn you, you really do have a power cage." Even though my voice was muffled by the layer of energy the force cage had wrapped around me, I was more surprised than shocked as I tried to move his body. "And a very good one at that."

'It's some kind of mana nullification,' I thought with a sense of wonder, felt the mana do from my core to reinforce the barrier.

Rias smiled and said, "Pretty troublesome, isn't it?"