Chapter II: Fiancé II

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I went back to the place where I discovered the barrier.

"Explico magicis obice." 

A second closer look at the barrier yielded no new information.

"Vi aer ignis aqua spiritu quaseo obice laxo." 

I tried to break it, but nothing happened.

I found a weak point, yet my magic proved too weak to overcome it. Remembering Akois's words, I let out a long, dejected sigh. I had to break the ice magic as part of a test. He knew I couldn't break the barrier directly, but removing the ice magic might trigger the barrier's natural collapse. My initial approach to the problem may have been incorrect. I wanted to unfreeze everyone after I found a doctor because I thought it would be best to show them how I found them. I worried that a longer period of unfreezing could have a bad impact on the reanimation, but I guess I'll just have to act quickly after I unfreeze everything and everyone.

"Dona mihi ignis."

Nothing happened.

"Dona mihi ignis!"

Again, nothing.

Odd. Something was seriously amiss. I've always succeeded in casting magic, particularly fire magic. Flames would come out naturally whenever I wanted. Perhaps my focus wasn't sufficient.

"Dona mihi flamma ignis spiritus!!!"

I was sweating profusely, feeling incredibly hot, yet unable to produce any flames.

My incantations were flawless, and I focused intently, but my magic was inexplicably blocked. The option that I lost my magic was impossible. To begin with, I doubt anyone can actually lose magic. A myth about a wicked old witch mentioned it, but the requirements were extraordinary and didn't apply to me. Something may have blocked my magic; however, I was completely unaware of what it might be. I doubted a spell could block magic. I saw nothing capable of absorbing magic so far. My magic worked perfectly during my fight with Akios in the mansion. Perhaps going back inside will enable me to use magic again.

I went back to the mansion where only me and the frozen sculptures were present.

"Dona mihi ignis!"

A weak flame appeared.

I managed to cast magic, but it was weaker than I wanted. I walked around as I tried to clear my head of all thoughts and focused on the essence of flames.

"Dona mihi ignis."

A flame of the desired size showed up, but it extinguished quickly because I called it forth as a test.

"Dona mihi ignis."

A weak flame appeared.

Since I nervously paced around, I found myself at the position where I called forth my first weak fire. Perhaps the location was significant. The reason remained a mystery, but testing confirmed the theory's validity. Circling the mansion, I summoned my flames to test their potency. The flames' strength guided me upstairs to the main study, where Leo was frozen. Possibly, Leo's bond with the fire spirit intensified my magic at that location. 

I was left with no choice, so I commenced my fire incantation inside the mansion. With a powerful focus, I began to thaw everything around, starting in the main study area. Although the flames were intense, their gentle nature melted the ice gradually. With one area thawed, they continued to the remaining part of the mansion, leaving it pristine. After my flames melted everything in the mansion, I focused them on the outside. A sudden large thud behind me made me instantly lose all of my focus. Every single one of my flames vanished instantly.

Leo's body was entirely thawed, yet I couldn't find any indication of life. He just collapsed.

"No!" I exclaimed.

Despite the thawing of everyone, there were no signs of life. I concentrated harder and spotted signs of life down the hall, which seemed to have appeared suddenly.

"I knew you could do it," I heard Akios' voice from the hallway.

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