Astraea steps out of the main building of Alpha Primary, glancing behind her. She walks briskly with lightly-clenched fists, stopping when she is within earshot of the two men on the stone arena.

  “Novus has requested our presence. Come with me!”

  Vis and Hunter look at each other and shrug, and they both jog over to her. She speaks again as they reach her.

  “I have heard that something abnormal is happening that he must elucidate.”

  They follow her back to the entrance while they chat but just as they are about to enter, ?elare’s voice loudly calls out from behind them.

  “Is that Novus?”

  The two men quickly turn to look with confused expressions, and the healer opens her hands, holding two marbles in her palms. In a single motion, she steps forward and slams one into each of the two people.

  A huge flash of dark blue light emerges from the point of impact as the orbs shatter, and waves of orange energy are launched from Vis’ and Hunter’s heads. Both fall to the ground as Astraea lets out a sharp exhale. She takes an arm of each of them and begins dragging them inside, grunting as she strains herself to move as fast as possible. After a minute, she reaches an open door, which appears to lead to a study. ?elare, who is standing in the doorway, helps move the unconscious men.

  Just as they manage to pull Vis through, leaving only Hunter left, a door behind them is flung open. Novus, with an enraged look, steps through and regards them.

  “You! Do not interfere with my plan!”

  Reacting quickly, ?elare claps his hands in his direction, amplifying the noise massively. Simultaneously, Astraea tosses another marble taken from her pocket. The sound waves are intense enough to shatter the fragile sphere, and a cloud of green, intensely-concentrated gas blasts out between the two parties. Novus stumbles and grunts as the sound impacts him, and begins coughing due to the gas. The two of them quickly drag Hunter through and ?elare shuts the door. He shouts, “Drain it now, Worldgorger!”

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  A second later, a loud crash sounds out as the door is completely ripped from its hinges, revealing the furious, brown-haired man who just kicked it down. The space above the threshold distorts as he tries to dash through. He extends his arm, reaching for ?elare, then what is visible beyond the door changes in an instant from the hallway to a forest. Novus' hand falls to the ground, severed by a perfectly clean cut along the wrist. It creates a small pile of blood on the floor.

  The mage and the healer stare at each other for several seconds with widened eyes before they embrace one another in a tight hug. More silence passes until ?elare speaks with a shaky voice.

  “We did it, Astraea. We did it.”

  The girl remains silent and pats him on the back before they release each other. Astraea looks above where the door once was, observing the Worldgorger as it drops to the floor and opens its mouth, eating the severed hand. She winces as its voice enters her mind.

  “My faith was not misplaced after all. Your efforts were rewarded, and I have been delivered perhaps two of the most delicious morsels in eras.”

  She raises an eyebrow as ?elare responds.

  “Do you mean the artifact and his hand? Were they that good?”

  Astraea hums a quiet, inquisitive note as she hears the serpent's response.

  “The scholar behind such a work must be one of the greatest in history. As for his body, I would elevate it to a level beyond even that. Your enemy’s soul is extraordinary. It has been modified severely, granting a clearly-exploited capacity for many schools of magic, but even more importantly, I sense that he has entered into a contract with the divine.”

  The purple-haired girl’s jaw drops and she says, “The divine? Elaborate.”

  After a moment of pause, the Worldgorger mentally says, “He has been freed from the constraints of aging by the Time Dragon. In exchange, he follows rules not unlike what you people call a Unique Monster such as myself.”

  The beast ceases telepathy for a few moments, clearly showing interest in Astraea.

  “Unlike yourself,” it adds eventually.

  She tilts her head to the side and awaits clarification, but their conversation is interrupted by a groan from Vis, who stands up shakily and looks around. His gaze snaps to the monster and he steps back, slamming his bracers together and conjuring a greatsword.

  “Do not fret, warrior,” it tells him, “for I am acting as an ally.”