Aura behaved like an energy with mass, controlble through thought and breathing. Therefore, most of its specialized techniques could be expined as physical phenomena, unlike Mana which behaved spiritually by nature.

  Er Long's techniques leaned heavily on angur momentum. Aura spun at high speed on his spear's tip, built up kinetic energy, and an act of deceleration caused it to fly out as bde projectiles. The DRAGON'S THRUST worked according to this principle: a bde of Aura made visible through concentration and amplified by velocity like a projectile from a sling.

  Once unleashed, the attack could carve through mountains and alter the very ndscape. The Second Prince's grin usually stretched proud at its destructive power, but that glee had vanished now, repced by fright.

  Nuan's AMBER CLOUD—an unbridled nce of heat and power—cshed against the high-momentum Aura dragon and punched through it.

  Er Long and the others in the ravine could never have anticipated this outcome. Their ignorance stemmed from Nuan's reluctance to reveal her imperfect technique. As the inventor of GIANT ROTATION BULLET, she had created numerous alternatives, though her diminishing enthusiasm due to reputational burden had only increased her secrecy.

  AMBER CLOUD employed the same principle as AURA SPIN, from which her signature technique emerged: unleashed Aura mass spinning like an eddy. While her GIANT ROTATION BULLET weaponized this phenomenon into a self-contained rotating projectile, AMBER CLOUD elevated the concept through compression.

  Unlike liquid, Aura could be compressed. The gargantuan shear force generated by her signature technique concentrated into a whip of heat and pressure so massive it made the air glow orange from subatomic screams.

  The amber torrent sliced through the purple energy, shattering it like pulverized yarn and roaring through the air like a prehistoric beast. It struck the Second Prince, charring his flesh to white bone before disintegrating his limbs into nothingness. His cry of pain rang out, but the consequences of Nuan's attack utterly deafened him as AMBER CLOUD carved another dendrite through the ravine behind him.

  Nuan terminated her attack, but her unfamiliarity with its recoil became apparent. AMBER CLOUD exploded, its mass of Aura bursting from the nce's entire length. The cliff face shattered, raining debris upon the newly amputated prince. More rubble flew from the tunnel she had carved. Heated winds bit their master's arm, branding her robe sleeves with burnt and bloody shes from poorly controlled pressure.

  Er Long colpsed amid the rocks. His opponent prepared to leap in and finish her task, only to be stopped by Ciel.

  "Enough, we need to run," he said, tossing away something that resembled chalk from the corner of Nuan's eyes.

  "But--"

  "No but," Ciel continued, then shouted into the distance. "Xia, get going. We need to leave."

  Xia, barely healed from Er Long's previous barrage, decided to send out two parting gifts for the professionals emerging from their stupor and awe.

  WHITE MAGIC RANK VI: SANCTION

  Lights concentrated in her hands like a beacon to heaven. It sailed up with a single toss and opened the gate for endless light to fall; all enemies beneath the shining order were suppressed: strength drained and Aura turned sluggish.

  But she wasn't done, her hands lit with another shining mass of White Force.

  WHITE MAGIC RANK V: WRATH OF SOL

  She cut the sky open and welcomed the salvo of stelr comets. The rain of destruction annihited the entire ravine, sending the men—both royal guards and bck-cd soldiers—running for cover or being shaken by countless bsts.

  The First Bride joined the two upon accomplishing her task. Together they ran out of the ravine as everything behind them crashed and burned.

  "You think that will stop them?" Xia cried.

  "Not for long, they are elite," Nuan answered through a grimace, her arms still stinging.

  Once again, the Lord of Union himself delivered a solution. "Don't worry about that." And not a moment after those words were uttered, a screen of blue light emerged from a thinly drawn line of chalk behind them. It smelled like spring and glowed like a translucent membrane of luminescent jelly, an aria to entrap time and motion towering against the semi-recovered men of Yulong.

  One particur trooper--quicker to recover than his comrades--charged at the light, his fist coated in Aura, only to be stuck inside Ciel's parting gift like a fly in a wall.

  Both women watched the barrier at work, stopping everything from rock to spear, and turned toward Ciel.

  "You had that all this time?" Xia shouted.

  "Why didn't you do that earlier?" Nuan scowled.

  "Because I needed an opening," Ciel shut both of them up with a retort and sped up. "Keep going! The faster we can get to Mandrake, the quicker we can end this farce."

  Both women shared a gnce and regrouped while their companion led the way out of this mess. It took a while, but an opportunity to talk arose when Ciel halted. He took out a compass, catching his breath near a conveniently found rock, and began searching for direction.

  There, both maidens decided, deep in their subconscious, their situation must change.

  "That attack of yours was excellent," Xia commended. Half of her was genuine, but another part saw this as an opportunity. She noticed her comrade's wounded arm. "That looks painful. Here, let me take care of that."

  WHITE MAGIC RANK I: HEAL

  The White Force, through her spell, flowed into those injuries: cuts sealed, bruises reversed, burns faded into pink marks. Nuan felt the ebbing and rexing force flowing into her body. She looked at the ptinum blonde woman with newfound appreciation.

  "Thank you," she squinted at what felt like a 180-degree turn in attitude. "Why are you so nice to me all of a sudden?"

  The First Bride greeted the doubt with a friendly smile, a perfect blend of true sisterhood and barely contained self-interest. "You are sharp," she admitted, but tied the truth up in another yer of harmless deception. "Nuan, I need you." Her voice lowered to a whisper as she pointed at Ciel, who navigated busily with his compass. "If nothing changes, that guy will lead me to a dead end." She shivered. "I can already imagine it."

  "He is not that kind of person," Nuan gossiped, taking Ciel's side for unexpinable reasons. "He is pretty nice when you get to know him." Her gaze sharpened. "And what is it between you two anyway?"

  Xia's mind ground to a halt. If she pyed this incorrectly, the other girl would certainly catch on to her pn. She dug out every feminine instinct she had and dealt her card.

  "He promised me he will help clear my father's name, and this meant getting to your father," she confessed. "But a part of me thinks he is keeping a lot from us." She csped her hands, as if begging. "Nuan, I need a favor. I want your help in sabotaging that shell of his."

  "Why me?" asked the confused Yulong princess.

  "Because he is already aware of me," the Curtis girl whispered and dropped her coup de grace. "You have a better shot, so I will help you get a shot in."

  "Shot what?"

  "A shot to tie him down," the Celestial Bride beamed at the candidate. "He is not the type who disregards responsibility, you know," she winked. "You have feelings for him, right?"

  "N-No," Nuan tried to avoid Xia's eyes. They scared her.

  "You look so doubtful for someone who was refusing."

  Cornered, the red-hot girl in love nodded, dejected.

  "Look, I am not bming you," spoke the melodious voice.

  Nuan looked into the pair of glittering blue eyes, brimming like they saw a kin.

  "He is cool, considerate, and capable," Xia listed the good qualities, gesturing at the said man in question with her eyes. "And a pretty good kisser too." She gave out a genuine blush.

  The Dragon Scion felt the earth fall beneath her when the word "kiss" was uttered. "Y-You did wh--"

  Xia silenced Nuan with a finger on the plump, kissable lips. "Shh," she pointed at Ciel. "You don't want to embarrass him, do you?"

  Nuan shook her head obediently.

  "Look, I trust you, sister," Xia craned her mouth to Nuan's ears and trickled down her temptation. "So I am going to share those lips with you for a day."

  The young maiden's eyes spun; her brain short-circuited.

  Ciel chose here and then to interrupt, "I got the direction. We need to move." He paused to observe the steaming red maiden and the beaming Princess of White. "What are you two talking about?"

  "We are talking about patching our differences," spoke the blonde girl, trying to keep the honey-ced monster in her heart contained.

  "Y-Yes," chimed the bck-haired girl with a seemingly boiling highlight. "We are talking about how to be great friends."

  Feeling something amiss but too busy to care, Ciel decided to ignore the bud of the disaster he never experienced, "Okay, let's go. We are nearly there."

  ---

  Tension blew in from distant horizons. A final obstacle awaited in the form of a hastily constructed fortification on the hill. White tarps fpped courageously against demoralizing winds as a scout hurried back to his base.

  He stepped through narrow fences and knelt before the man in deep cquer armor, "Sir, the information sent to us was correct. Nuan and her helpers are pnning to storm the capital. Prince Yi Tong and Er Long have failed to stop them."

  Ming Xuan heard the report and responded with a small nod. "You did well," he said, reaching for the quiver filled with arrows and a pre-strung bow steeped in history. "Is Shuguang in position?"

  "Yes sir!"

  "Good," the Third Prince commended, arming himself with his trusty weapon, patting his comrade on the shoulder. "Tell the rest to proceed as pnned." He breathed. "It is time for me to greet my little sister."

  He stepped past the bowing man, walked through the blowing tarp, and nocked an arrow into his wooden bow. Legs rooted to the earth and posture firm, he drew his strike, sensing the movement of his target across the earth. He aimed high and let his experienced hands loose the steel-tipped arrow packed with Aura.