Mana, the source of magic, is essential for any living creature to exist.
Without the existence of mana, life would cease to continue, and the world would crumble into nothing.
For all living beings, the heart is the core of the mana that connects the soul with the physical plane.
When the physical existence reaches the end of its life, mana persists in the soul and undergoes the cycle of birth to fulfill its destiny.
As long as the soul exists, it retains its core and awaits its next journey under the goddess's blessing.
While creatures like dragons are the apex of magic, other beings, from elves born with natural magic to a small squirrel in the depths of Eldom, contain mana adequate to survive in the world.
Once the mana within the heart is extinguished, the soul ceases to exist and breaks away from the cycle of life to be eternally lost.
Magic transformed the once devoid land into a beautiful world that enabled life to thrive and prosper to its fullest. It enabled creatures of different species to communicate and coexist, performing wonders as time went on.
But, as beautiful as it is, the more dangerous it could turn.
Mana accumulated over a prolonged duration of time without any means of release could induce adverse outbreaks and eruptions.
It was the very first mana outbreak that ultimately led to the creation of the universe and life as we know it.
The phenomenon was later interpreted by the name 'The Big Bang' by the philosophers of the era.
When mana is tethered from flowing through the body, it accumulates in the heart unbeknownst to the host. After reaching a breaking point, the constricted energy gets forcefully released to the surface to regain stability.
Throughout history, cases of pent-up mana have been sources of activating catastrophic destructions amounting to insurmountable damages.
Dragons release massive quantities of mana through breaths of fire to sustain a stable core. Mages and magical beasts with extraordinary magic purge excess mana at least once in their lifetime.
Whereas beings with lesser mana, expunge excess mana in their heart naturally through the course of their lifetime.
A condensed mana outbreak could be lethal enough to level a whole city to smithereens if not handled properly. To avoid such scenarios, the imperial palace keeps track of the mages in the country.
Thus, as a person who was born with nothing more than the bare minimum Ann couldn't accept the fact that she was having a mana outbreak.
"What? That's not possible... Ughhhh!"
'Cause I don't have any' Ann was unable to finish her sentence.
*clang* *clang*
She dropped Loki to the ground and clenched her chest. Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead onto the pavement as her vision blurred and, the world started to revolve.
"Arghhhh!"
Ann groaned. The pain was unlike anything she had ever experienced before.
It felt as if her whole body was being torn apart into pieces while being put together at the same time.
'This is way worse than the time I was hit by a car! So much for surviving twenty-one!'
Ann bit her lips in an effort to hold in her screams. She didn't want to freak out the twins more than they already were.
Her entire body throbbed to the point that she even considered getting hit by a car again instead of going through such torment.
The energy in her body gradually drained as she struggled to stay keep her eyes from shutting close.
Meanwhile, Noah and Oliver helplessly watched Ann struggle to breathe.
The feeling of watching a loved one writhe in pain while being unable to do anything was eating them alive.
"Arghhh!"
The more she withheld her groans, the more they felt powerless. The temperature of her body had increased twofold in a matter of minutes and was still on the rise.
With the army surrounding them, there were only a limited number of options left. Regardless of the reasons, the army would imprison them for the damages caused during the battle.
Since the trio was seen battling the assassins that attacked the merchant headquarters, they would be the obvious suspects under the eyes of the law.
Even if they were to somehow talk their way out of the mess, Ann was in no state to wait till the end of the negotiations.
Noah and Oliver's thoughts came to a halt when Loki entered their unspoken conversation with a big reveal. The urgency in his voice was enough to define the seriousness of the situation.
"You two are in no position to twaddle! This place is no longer safe!"
Though his attitude towards them was rather aloof, having spent the last few days together with the rowdy bunch, Loki had taken a liking to the Nero mercenaries. Especially the twins, who were around Ann all the time.
Furthermore, it was his duty to ensure the safety of the people under any and all crises.
"Evacuate the people in this city and move. You don't have much time left"
"Ugh..."
Ann's ears started ringing. She was barely able to hear anything when Loki advised the twins to gather the residents of the city and flee. The longer they stayed, the lesser became their chances of survival.
"GO!" Ann pushed off Oliver's hand.
She recalled reading about mana outbreaks during her last days in the Frost residence.
If Loki's words were true and she was indeed having a mana outbreak, a densely populated city like Parthellam would be annihilated in mere seconds.
According to the book she had read, an accelerated heartbeat is the first sign of a mana outbreak. Once the heart stops beating it expels the excess mana in the body.
The massive energy produced by the act, clashes with the natural energy present in the atmosphere. The friction would cause a massive explosion on a scale equal to that of an atomic blast, destroying anything and everything in its path.
"Ha!" Ann managed to show a wry smile through the pain, thinking about the irony of the situation.
Three years ago, before leaving for the temple of Eir, she had rambled on and on to a comatose Edward to be careful for he was prone to mana outbreaks.
And now, it was not Edward, but Ann who was struggling with one.
"But you..."
"How could we leave you..."
The twins hesitated, visibly shaken.
Although the inane instincts of a predator were warning them of the danger up head, they didn't want to leave a member of their pack behind, especially when she was in distress.
"JUST GO!" Ann grunted, pounding her fist on the ground with all her might.
"..."
Noah and Oliver exchanged glances.
With Ann's hair on the way, they were unable to see her expression, though it didn't take much effort to guess it.
They had no knowledge of mana outbreaks or that Ann even had mana. The only thing that remained in their mind was to think of a way to save her.
"Listen to her and leave!" Loki prompted the twins to evacuate.
With their eyes fixed on Ann, Noah and Oliver reluctantly walked backward till they reached the edge of the square.
From where they stood, they were able to get a proper view of Ann amongst the wreckage. Her complexion was worse than ever and she looked like she would lose consciousness at any moment.
"Do you feel that?" Oliver clenched his fists.
It may be hard for a normal human to sense, but as a beastmen, he was able to feel the subtle change in the air.
"What do we do now?" Noah asked anxiously.
The way her sword warmed them made it clear that it was beyond their abilities to intercept. Even the imperial army had halted before entering the square sensing the sudden change in the atmosphere.
It was then Noah heard a faint buzzing sound behind him.
But when he looked back, there was nothing present aside from the relic stuck to the wall that got them into the mess in the first place.
It was discarded to the side after the stunt that Ann pulled and took down the majority of the masked assassins in a single strike.
Shaking his head, Noah turned his attention to the matter at hand. They didn't have the liberty to have such needles thoughts. It was just his tired mind playing tricks as a way of distraction.
As they rummaged through their broken brains to think of a plan, the twins sensed a familiar presence above them.
*thud*
Three distinct silhouettes emerged from the shadows and revealed themselves. It was Raeden, Jade, and Eugene who were supposed to be at the merchant headquarters.
They seemed to have run through the rooftops to avoid the imperial army that was surrounding the square.
"Noah! Oliver!" Eugene called out to the twins.
Having run through the roofs to avoid confronting the army, he was worried when the scent of blood became thicker as they got close to the city square.
His eyes widened as he ran his eyes over the masked men scattered over the square. They were the same people who had bombed the merchant headquarters.
"What happened here?" He asked hastily, feeling a bad premonition.
"Where is Ann?"
The blood on his face drained when he saw a pale-looking Ann struggling to breathe underneath the decapitated statue of Theodore.
For some reason, the atmosphere was desolate and cold. When he tried to reach Ann, the twins blocked his path and glanced at Jade.
The perceptive Jade instantly recognized their desperate call for help. For the usually playful twins to have such a forlorn expression, he could only assume the worst.
But Raeden on the other hand was far from understanding. In the blink of an eye, he rushed towards Ann disregarding his instincts.
"Wait Raeden!"
Jade tried to stop Raeden.
But before they even realized what hit them, a strong gust of wind thrust them back violently against the wall.
The windows surrounding the place shattered into pieces from the shock while the men on the ground swept across the floor.
"Ugh!" Eugene hit his back against the wall.
When the wind died down, he dropped to the ground holding his head. It was the second time in a day that he had been thrown across the sky.
The wound on his forehead had started throbbing from the sudden impact.
"Err.."
"Ow..."
Beside him, he could hear the twins groan as they regained consciousness.
Using the relic as a boost, Eugene stumbled to his feet and searched around him.
The floor was covered in pieces of shattered glass and lint from the wreckage. And at the front of his feet were two of the masked men whose bodies were swung by the wind.
However, Jade and Raeden were nowhere to be seen. They were the closest to the square when they were thrown into the air.
At that moment, Eugene noticed something move in the distance.
'What is that?'
Narrowing his eyes, Eugene leaned in to have a closer look, only to have his vision blinded by a bright light.
"!"