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The original was posted on /r/hfy by /u/ralo_ramone on 2024-09-06 20:29:44+00:00.

Icy tendrils invaded the arena, and the air froze to the point that it was painful to breathe. The crowd's screams flooded my senses. Thousands fought to exit the arena through the western side. The crowd huddled together as the rime conquered ground, and the mass of people turned into a stampede that invaded the arena.

“Firana!” I yelled as the stampede wallowed her.

A screech pierced my ears, and I felt my body getting numb as a sickly yellow mana surrounded me. Over my head, a flock of Undead Harpies flew in circles. I tried to move, but my vision darkened.

“Discharge mana!” Holst yelled across the pavilion.

The spell constricted my mana pool, but I had magic to spare. With a blue flare, the binding spell disappeared, and my vision returned to normal. Most of the spectators were paralyzed or lay on the ground. The harpies dove into the defenseless crowd.

Firana shot a wind gust from the tip of her sword, destabilizing the monsters and forcing them to scramble. The rime continued gaining terrain, reaching the unconscious bodies of the spectators who had fallen behind. Elincia siphoned my mana and released herself from the spell. Then, she grabbed my hand and dragged me to the weapons rack. She grabbed a bow and pointed at the harpies as mana surged through her body. The arrowhead shone bright, and like a tracer bullet, it stuck to a harpy’s side. The creature screeched and turned towards us, seemingly unharmed.

Undead Harpy Lv.12 (Corrupted).

“Damn undead,” Elincia said as she nocked the next arrow.

Ilya appeared by my side and grabbed a small bow.

A wave of Ice Wraiths soared over the inner wall into the arena. Zaon and Wolf remained paralyzed by the undead harpy spell, and so did the crowd. This was about to get ugly. I used Mana Manipulation and summoned my mana blade.

“Aim for the wing bones,” Holst calmly said, grabbing an arming sword and a wooden round shield. “Or not.”

Prince Adrien jumped down the VIP box with an old iron sword in his hand and strolled to the middle of the arena at a leisurely pace. Mana surged through his body, and the illusion surrounding the sword shattered. Where a moment earlier was an old piece of metal, now was a slender red sword with shining runes all over the blade. Energy pulsated from the weapon like it was a living being, but I had to look away and tone down my mana sense.

“Baram’s Cursed Runeblade,” I muttered.

Sensing the strength of the sword, Firana decided it was a good idea to move away. Energy crackled around the blade, sending red sparks and electric arcs all around the Prince. The hair on my arms stood on its ends as I watched the scene in awe. Ice Wraiths and Undead Harpies saw Prince Adrien still standing and pounced on him. They didn't get to touch him. Prince Adrien raised the sword, and a storm of red and white lightning enshrouded the arena. The sun dimmed, the day seemed to become night, and the sword screeched.

I tried to channel a shield spell in front of the pavilion, but my mana didn’t react. Where there was a deep pool of mana inside my chest, now was a black hole. I focused. Mana Manipulation, Awareness, Minor Illusion, there was nothing there but a void as if someone had ripped the System away from my body and mind. Even Identify stopped working.

Thunder exploded in the center of the arena, and every last trace of mana disappeared. When I opened my eyes, there was no sign of the undead monsters or the ice area spell, only Prince Adrien with the sword on high, the sleeve of his jacket torn apart, and the black tentacles of Corruption running under his skin. I blinked, unsure if my eyes were showing the truth, but the Corruption seemed to be ripped out by the sword before the Prince put it inside the sheath once again.

[Awareness] set off all the alarms in my brain, but I ignored them. There were no monsters left, and the spell that kept the crowd paralyzed was lifted. The invasion hadn’t finished yet. Undead Harpies and Ice Wraiths still soared through Farcrest’s skies, and [Awareness] made me notice the distant sounds of combat. Royal soldiers entered the arena, and the Fortifiers cast a barrier around the inner wall.

“We need to return to the orphanage,” I said.

“A bunch of small monsters is nothing for Captain Garibal’s barriers, so unless the main gates are overrun, the orphanage is safe. The most dangerous thing right now is the people,” Janus said, sword in hand and putrid viscera covering his arm to the elbow. He pointed his sword toward the exits where Guardsmen were helping the victims of the stampede.

Where had he come from? I assumed he had blinked in.

The orphanage was far from helpless. Thanks to the ‘stalker’ situation, we had two veteran Guardsmen, Captain Garibal, and a royal soldier watching over the manor. There was also Loki, Astrid, and Risha. I hoped Loki was awake. I knew Janus was right, but a part of me wanted to keep everyone together so I could look over them. Zaon and Wolf were vulnerable against the Harpy's paralyzing screech, so it could be dangerous to take them to the streets. The Great Hall was the safest place for them at the moment.

“Go help the guardsmen, kids. If there is anyone gravely wounded, use this,” Elincia said, handing them her potion pouch.

The kids nodded and Ilya guided them out of the pavilion. Over our heads, a flock of undead harpies gnawed on the Fortifier’s barrier, but after a moment, they decided it was an impenetrable obstacle and flew away. The nobles in the VIP box were unfazed by the scene.

Captain Kiln finished giving orders to a group of guardsmen and entered the pavilion.

“Why so pale, Rob?” She greeted me.

“Not fond of the undead,” I replied, unable to find the source of her good mood.

“Don’t glare at me. This is just another Monday near the frontier,” she shrugged. “The city is prepared for a small undead incursion, and there’s the royal army outside the walls.”

Magic arrows and spells crossed the sky into the flocks of Undead Harpies and Ice Wraiths. Whatever skirmish was happening outside the wall, it didn’t look like a small incursion. Elincia, at least, seemed calm. She put the bow on her shoulder and watched the surroundings. The Fortifier’s barrier was unscathed.

Prince Adrien was chatting with the other nobles back at the VIP box, but I had a bad feeling. The Corruption spot in my chest gripped my flesh, and it wasn’t because of the cold. It tugged me like the ring on my finger pulled me towards Elincia.

“The Lich is alive,” I said.

Captain Kiln put one of her heavy hands on my shoulder and gently squeezed it. “I understand you are worried about the kids, Rob, but it’s just an incursion. It happens at least once a year. Even little kids know what to do.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Like forming a stampede?”

In the arena, healers tended to the civilians hurt in the panic.

“They are trained to run indoors and close doors and windows, so I guess that was what they attempted to do,” Captain Kiln sighed.

“I’ll go check on the orphanage, then. Don’t let the kids get out of the barrier,” I said, grabbing a sword from the weapons rack and putting it in my belt.

“I’ll go with you,” Elincia replied, her mask of composure cracking.

Captain Kiln squeezed my shoulder a bit more. “The streets can be dangerous.”

“You said citizens are trained to get indoors. I think by now, everyone is locked under seven keys,” I replied. “Besides, a couple of low-level flyers will not be a problem for me.”

Captain Kiln let me go.

Maybe, the Lich’s electric blue eyes were only a trick of my mind due to the traumatic event. I tried to not think about it: Elincia getting struck by the orc spear, the Lich injecting Corruption into my body, the ceiling of the cave collapsing over my head. It had been too close of a call for all of us, and the memory still haunted me in my dreams.

“Let’s remain vigilant. Even if it is just a small incursion, we shouldn’t lower our guard,” I said, walking through the pavilion’s entrance. Elincia followed.

My fast pace alerted the kids, and they abandoned their jobs and jogged to meet me.

“Where are you going?” Ilya asked.

“The orphanage. I’m going to see if everything is in order,” I replied.

“We are coming with you,” Firana said.

“No, you are going to stay inside the barrier near Captain Kiln. The streets are dangerous.”

The irony in my words didn’t go over my head. My policy as a teacher was to be as fair and just as possible, but as a caretaker, the kid’s safety was more important than anything else. I was about to continue my way when the ground trembled, and a vine slowly crept around my ankle.

“Very funny, Ilya, but we don’t have time for this,” I sighed.

“What? I agree inside the barrier is safer for us. I’m not doing anything,” the girl replied.

The vine gripped my ankle, and the thorns buried deep in my flesh. Firana unsheathed her sword and severed the vine. I grunted as I pulled it from my skin like the suction cups of an octopus’ tentacle. The vine was rotten like the flesh of the undead.

“Undead plants? I muttered, but before I could get an answer, the ground trembled again.

Hundreds of rotten vines emerged from the ground, some thin as whips, others thick as old trees. The vines slithered out of the ground, getting intertwined and forming strong muscle-like braids. I wasn’t going to wait to see what undead abomination they were going to shape, so I summoned my mana blade and cut the nearest vine.

I us...

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