The cloaked mages began to gather the magic energy needed to destroy the three sisters on the orders of the Elite Mage Abner, who stood with a hand raised. Risebelle spoke in a hurry. "Wait! Before you destroy us, there's one question I think it's only fair you answer."

  Abner’s gaze lingered on Risebelle. His hand remained raised, yet he made no immediate move to give the final order yet.

  “Speak,” he said coolly.

  Risebelle exhaled and tried to speak steady. “That Mana Extractor we saw earlier… was it some kind of illusion magic?”

  The gathered mages murmured among themselves at the question. Abner’s lips curled slightly. “Illusion? No.” He gestured lightly with his fingers. “That Mana Extractor was created with my own energy. It was not a mere illusion, but a trap. Anyone who attempted to interfere with it would trigger the spell I placed upon it, resulting in a violent knockback.”

  Elon, the same mage who had nearly attacked them earlier scoffed. “It worked on this so-called ‘leader’ of theirs.”

  Abner’s eyes flicked to him with a shadow of disapproval crossing his face. “Elon, you are out of turn.” Then, after a pause, he added, “But… that appears to be correct.”

  The frown Roselle was wearing deepened. Abner lowered his hand slightly and let out a slow breath. “I must admit… I had expected such an outcome. Unlike the other Elite Mages, who likely set their Mana Extractors up somewhere and placed guards around them, I took a more… personal approach.”

  A faint golden glow pulsed from his body and he placed a hand over his chest. “While they were busy guarding, I spent last night merging the true Mana Extractor… with my own body.”

  Roselle, Risebelle, and Runebelle stiffened.

  Abner’s smirk was serene. “If you wish to destroy the Mana Extractor, you will have to eliminate me first.” He spoke filled with divine certainty. “A feat that is impossible in your current state.”

  Roselle's eyes widened in shock. Runebelle, on the other hand, wore an even deeper sadness on her face, with tears only moments away from forming.

  Risebelle let out a dry chuckle. “Well, you got us good, didn’t you?”

  Abner inclined his head. “I believe you know enough to be well executed.” He turned. His golden and blue robes shifted elegantly while stepping away. “I have been fair. I have been patient. Now, it is time for you to meet your ends.”

  His voice took on a finality. “Since you refused to give me the lab’s location, you will receive no last words—other than those you have already spoken.”

  Then, with a flick of his wrist, he issued the command. “Destroy them.”

  The mages responded instantly, especially Elon who grinned wide. He lifted his staff, gathering the same overwhelming holy energy as before with golden arcs crackling in the air around him.

  At that moment, Risebelle shifted her eyes toward Roselle and then pointed slightly downward—toward the ground beneath Elon.

  Roselle blinked. Her liips parted slightly while following her sister’s silent cue.

  Then she saw it.

  Beneath the feet of the gathered mages, a faint swirling blue energy had been forming, nearly invisible against the dirt and grass. Risebelle had been secretly working her magic all along, swirling energy beneath their enemies with slow, subtle movements.

  And now… the magic took effect.

  The ground beneath the mages became slick.

  A sudden, unnatural slip sent several of them stumbling. Elon, caught mid-cast yelped before falling like the others. His holy energy flared wildly but lost focus in the end.

  Roselle clenched her fists and pulled with everything she had. She felt the burning strain against her wrists. The cuffs resisted as their enchantments were designed to keep them locked indefinitely—but Roselle had been trained for this.

  Her body trembled, but she gritted her teeth. ‘Okay… remember the hacking training.’

  Both Dr. Kintovar and Risebelle had told her before that she took too long because she overcomplicated the process. So this time, instead of trying to focus on breaking the mechanism, she aligned her magic with it.

  She felt the structure of the cuffs, their magical locks with the woven energy inside them and used her own in line with theirs to form a key to the lock.

  And then—

  Click.

  Her cuffs fell away.

  As soon as Roselle’s cuffs hit the ground, Risebelle and Runebelle wasted no time.

  Risebelle clenched her fists and used her own hacking magic on the cuffs around her arms. The restraints shattered into fragments. Runebelle followed suit, though her magic was more like a gentle pulse, making the cuffs loosen and slide off her wrists without resistance.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  The moment they were free, Roselle took a deep breath and called out:

  “Weapon.”

  The mages barely had time to react before a massive black-and-gold cannon materialized in Roselle’s grasp.

  "Impossible!" One of the mages gasped. “That thing was left behind in the other clearing!”

  Roselle grinned. "Surprise!"

  She wasted no time and pulled the trigger, releasing a devastating blast of pure yellow lightning energy toward the gathered mages.

  The blast consumed the mages instantly. Their bodies were thrown like ragdolls before they could even scream. The sheer impact disintegrated some on contact, while others were left convulsing in pain.

  Elon was caught in the center of the devastation, and could do nothing but stare with his eyes wide in disbelief.

  Risebelle, with the element of surprise dashed forward with incredible speed. The moment she reached the nearest mage, she spun and drove her knee into their gut with brutal force. A muffled gasp escaped the unfortunate victim before they were launched backward across the dirt.

  Another tried to counter with radiant energy coming from their staff with the intent to blast her away—

  Too slow.

  Risebelle slammed her palm into the staff, forcing it upward just when the spell discharged which caused a beam of light to shoot into the sky instead. Before the mage could react, she grabbed the collar of their robe and wrenched them forward.

  Her forehead met their face with a sickening crack.The mage yelped, clutching their now-bloodied nose before Risebelle delivered a devastating side kick to their ribs, sending them careening into a nearby tree.

  She exhaled sharply, twisting to assess the battlefield. Five mages left standing.

  Roselle wasn’t idle. She whipped her cannon around and took aim at the two furthest enemies attempting to regroup, and with a flick of her fingers—

  BOOM.

  Another lightning-infused shot ripped through the clearing. The explosion engulfed the two mages instantly.

  Runebelle moved with her usual sorrow. As one mage turned to face her sisters, Runebelle glided behind them. Her hands trembleed only slightly while it coiled with ice. She placed her hands on the mage's back.

  The mage barely had time to scream before their body was encased in a pillar of solid ice. When the pillar shattered with a crack that echoed across the battlefield, the mage crumpled to the ground, lifeless. Runebelle’s sad eyes remained locked on the fallen body.

  Another mage, slightly different in appearance—his cloak a shade of white tinged with gold watched in disbelief. His eyes flickered between the fallen and the sister. He shouted, “What are these monsters? The light cuffs didn’t affect them... And they summoned their cannons instantly…”

  Abner closed his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "Vincent, Head Mage of the Society of Light… You are to report this to the Headmaster. We have underestimated the capabilities of Dr. Kintovar's creations."

  Abner opened his eyes, which now gleamed with a sharp, calculating light. His gaze swept over the battlefield, resting momentarily on each of the sisters.

  "We need to rethink our strategy," he muttered under his breath before his gaze shifted back to Vincent.

  Vincent flinched at Abners words. "B-But, Sir—"

  "I have given you an order, Vincent."

  The mage swallowed hard. He could barely keep his breathing stead. He turned, ready to flee, but Roselle raised her cannon. Her once-innocent blue eyes now gleamed with something darker.

  "You’re not going anywhere," she shouted.

  However, before she could unleash the powerful blast from her cannon, Vincent tapped into his psychic magic. He extended his hand and with a powerful display of telekinesis, he lifted the dead bodies of the fallen to shield his body.

  Vincent seized the opportunity created in suprising them with his psychic powers to levitate himself into the air. He began to make his escape by soaring above the treetops and disappearing into the Mystic Forest.

  Vincent’s heart raced. He barely had enough focus to keep his levitation stable."I can't hold this for long…" he muttered under his breath over the rushing wind. "Damn it," Vincent cursed. "Now Abner’s alone with them. That… that’s bad."

  Despite the panic clawing at his insides, his thoughts briefly flickered to the elite mage they had all been serving. Abner was the Chosen One. He had the power to destroy them. He had to.

  Vincent could feel his psychic magic waning. He thought to himself, ‘ Abner will win. He has to win. Our goddess has spoken it, and she is never wrong!’ He pushed the thoughts away once his body began to lose altitude. "Focus! Focus!"

  Meanwhile, down below, Elite Mage Abner, who had observed the entire skirmish, finally spoke with a firm tone. "Negotiations are off the table," Abner announced."I have observed enough. You possess far too many humanistic traits. One of which is cunning."

  His gaze briefly settled on Risebelle, the one who had first spoken out, the one who. "You fooled my mages into believing those cuffs truly restrained you." His lips pressed into a thin line. "That alone was impressive."

  Then, his eyes moved to Roselle, who still held her massive cannon. "And you created the perfect opening—striking when my men least expected it."

  Finally, his gaze settled on Runebelle, who stood silent as ever. "No. You are not just machines. You think on your feet. You adapt. You plan. You execute. That makes you dangerous."

  A small, humorless chuckle escaped the Elite Mage. "So no, I will not treat you as mere artificial constructs. I will not view you as just robots with cannons."

  Abner’s stance shifted slightly with magic gathering at his fingertips. “Oh no. I will treat you as the threats you truly are."

  Elite Mage Abner began to chant an incantation from a book he summoned to his hands. The words flowed from his lips with authority and power as he called out the spell's name,

  "Luminous Beacon!"

  A colossal pillar of golden light erupted into existence, towering above the battlefield. The sheer intensity of it was blinding, suffocating, all-consuming. The entire side of the Mystic Forest was illuminated as though the sun itself had descended upon them.

  Roselle let out a sharp cry and raised her arm to shield her eyes. "Urrgh! It’s too bright!"

  Runebelle stared at the beacon in a daze. Her usually sorrowful look twisted in discomfort. "It… it hurts…" she whispered while squeezing her eyes shut.

  "Down!" Risebelle shouted. She reached out, grabbing both Roselle and Runebelle by their arms and yanked them down. With her eyes barely open, she dragged them behind a fallen tree.

  "That was only one spell?" Roselle muttered with disbelief.

  Risebelle growled. "Looks that way. That bastard means business. If we mess up here, he’s really gonna erase us with that power."

  Runebelle’s usual sadness deepened. "If that light is this strong… what else can he do?"

  Roselle gritted her teeth, forcing her mind to push past the searing light. “How do we even fight that?” The sheer radiance of the beacon felt suffocating, pressing down on them like a divine force meant to erase their existence.

  Risebelle growled lowly. "Damn it." She peeked over the fallen tree but quickly recoiled once the blinding light intensified.

  Abner, standing firm amidst the golden storm turned the page in his book with deliberate precision. His emerald eyes gleamed with finality.

  "And now… the purge begins."

  At that moment, the light exploded outward.

  Project Mage