“Took you long enough, Carlisle,” Codrin wheezed from his position on the floor. It was clear he was well and truly spent.

“Shut up. You had Nadrina to help,” Alek shot back, though he looked tired as well. “You looked really heroic for a second there, till you fell on your face and needed saving.”

Codrin opened his mouth to retort back, but Headmaster Elmaris interrupted the by-play. “Caffaret, no more heroics from you. You’ve exhausted your mana pool. Carlisle, you will need to keep watch for any more void beasts breaching the barrier, and see what you can do about that thing on the ceiling. Flemming, I don’t know where you got spell paper from, but I hope you have more of it. I still need to assist with the barrier’s mana cost. Asimov, keep up the good work.”

Lilianna could only nod mutely in reply. She was nearing her limit.

“Professor Aldric gave them to me,” Nadrina answered, looking at the still floating and snarling monster with wild and fearful eyes. “He told me to experiment with them, that they probably weren’t dangerous, so I should be adventurous.”

“Of course he did,” the headmaster sighed, rolling his eyes. “He was kidding, dear. Use them as you see fit until those two out there can—”

An ominous rumbling, followed by a massive shift in the ambient mana around them, made all of them turn to the two people still outside. Professor Glory was still fighting, but Professor Aldric was on the ground, scribbling in the dirt with what looked like blood. He appeared to be chanting while completely drenched in sweat, taking gasping breaths.

Lilianna stared, transfixed, at the absurd amount of mana coalescing around the professor. There was so much of it that Lilianna could actually see it. It cast a purple and black haze that slowly thickened as the professor continued his chant, moving slowly but surely towards the still open portal.

Even as she watched, the portal was slowly shrinking as the cloud grew heavier. She took in the mana cloud, the professor, the dwindling portal, and the circle of blood. Despite everything her family had ever taught her, Lilianna immediately knew what the professor was trying to do.

This was a summoning ritual. A very mana hungry ritual. The kind that would take several summoners to cast.

Never mind the ridiculous amount of mana that one would need to cast such a thing, or that one man channeled that much power through his body without exploding. What Lilianna wanted to know was how a sorcerer, of all things, was using summoning magic.

Professor Glory was still fighting. Lilianna was more than impressed that she was hanging on by herself, but she was slowing considerably. Lilianna’s own reserves were just about gone, as well. Whatever their professor was doing, she hoped it would start moving faster.