Jin was already standing by the time we reached him, although he looked a little wobbly. Marissa silently helped steady him, but Jin waved her away. She looked like she was almost ready to collapse herself.
I slowed down for the two of them. “Jin, how are you feeling?”
Jin grimaced. “The healing was thorough. I am well.”
That was a tremendous relief. “I’m glad to hear it. Let me know you feel any resurgence of pain, though.”
He gave me a hasty nod, looking a little uncomfortable. I was still concerned, but it was clear he didn’t want me to press further.
Marissa stumbled, nearly falling, and Jin had to catch and steady her. She blinked, looking about as surprised as I was. “My head feels swimmy.”
“You probably overused your mana. You need help walking?”
She paused and then nodded. “If you don’t mind terribly.”
I slipped an arm under her shoulder and we continued walking.
The rest of the group was steadily making their way toward us. Teft still looked unsteady, nearly tripping more than once. I’d never seen him anything other than completely collected and in control. The sight was disconcerting.
Especially since Mizuchi had taken that much out of him with a single attack, and one that wasn’t even directed at us. Just how much of a gulf was there between that serpent and an ordinary monster?
I knew intellectually that monsters from higher up in the tower were supposed to be progressively stronger, but the sheer difference in scale was mind-boggling.
I could still see the vast creature flying toward the top of the tower. On an impulse, I activated my attunement for just a moment.
Mizuchi’s aura was a deep green. It was the first Emerald-level aura I’d seen in person. Mother had called herself an Emerald, but I’d only seen her aura in a vision through someone else’s eyes.
I knew Orden’s tunic was supposed to carry an Emerald-level enchantment, but I’d never been able to see the aura. Presumably her Illusionist abilities were keeping it hidden.
Emerald. I glanced at Teft, confirming my suspicion that his aura was a golden yellow. Citrine was on the higher end of what I’d seen within the school. I suspected Orden’s Illusionist Attunement was in the same range.
Only two levels below the monster and he’d still barely been able to defend us from collateral damage.
If Katashi decided to unleash Seiryu, the God Serpent, what chance did any of us have? As powerful as Mizuchi was, Seiryu was hundreds of times more massive. Total mana generally correlated to the size of a monster. I doubted the entire force of our military could stand against Seiryu for more than moments.
I shivered, turning to look at the area where Mizuchi had been attacking. Bodies everywhere. Some still moving, but most lying still. Dozens of dead. Maybe hundreds. I could only see one area that had been attacked, there were undoubtedly others.
If I wanted to prevent the death of thousands, I had some serious work to do.
Vanniv flapped his wings, clearing the distance to Sera in a few moments. “Ah, my Summoner, you push yourself too far! You must be more careful.”
Sera folded her arms. “Concerned, Vanniv, or do you just want something?”
“Can’t it be both?”
Sera sighed. “We’ll finalize the details of your contract soon. For the moment, we need to go help triage any survivors over there.” She gestured toward the line of demolished buildings where Mizuchi had struck.
I nodded to her, grateful that Sera was thinking about the wounded like I was.
Teft shook his head. “Absolutely not. We are going straight back to the university. It was a mistake to ever allow you children out here. What happened with Katashi? I couldn’t hear everything you were saying from a distance.”
I folded my arms. “Katashi is leaving for now. The danger has passed. We should be able to go help the injured safely.”
“Incorrect, Corin.” He pointed upward. “What do you see?”
I didn’t want to take the bait, but I scanned upward anyway. “The complete absence of a weather shield.”
Teft nodded. “And what do you think might have caused such a thing?”
Patrick trudged up next to me, interjecting before I had a chance to reply. “Giant monster serpent, obviously.”
The professor sighed. “The ‘giant monster serpent’ never left this area, Mister Wayland. And the shield has several redundant mana generators, located throughout the city.”
“Meaning sabotage,” I cut in.
“Quite. Sabotage on quite an extreme scale. Katashi himself would not bother with such an action. If he wanted to eradicate the city, he could do it himself. Rather, this implies an opportunistic action from a third party. One that was either already poised to strike as soon as anything gave them a good window, or alternatively, one that was aware that Katashi was about to launch an assault.”
Patrick frowned. “Who could have known that Katashi was going to come out here with monsters?”
I had some ideas about that. “Katashi said that there were people in high places that already knew what he wanted. He seemed to think he was being deliberately obstructed by someone in our government. He used the term ‘conspirators’.” I waved in the direction of the academy and the group started walking. Near the back, I could hear Sera talking quietly to Vanniv, presumably solidifying their arrangement.
Teft ran a hand through his hair. “That’s not surprising, but it’s dire news if it’s true. We’ve been on the brink of a war with Edria for months. This could mean someone supporting them has infiltrated our government. We need to get you to safety, then I need to know everything Katashi told you.”
“Resh. Traitors?” Patrick mumbled. “This just gets worse and worse.”
I clenched my fists at the possibility. Fighting monsters was horrible enough. I didn’t like the idea of harming any kind of living creature. War against other humans?
It was disgusting to me that someone could justify that idea. But it was also all too typical. I couldn’t stand how little human life meant to so many people.