Mana Ripples

The mana ripple radiating from inside the city walls strengthened until the people all around her could feel something was wrong. The ones near the Fleur went quiet first, and silence spread among the people still waiting in line.

Next to the Witch, a little girl clung to her mother, whimpering softly with tears streaking down her face.

“Mommy, I’m scared. I feel something weird inside my belly,” the child said through uneven breaths. Her face was pale as a sheet and her lips tinged with purple.

Compared to adults, children were more sensitive to mana. Mana overexposure in children could affect their health.

The Witch said to the mother, “May I put a protection charm on your child? It’ll help with the mana overwhelming her.”

The mother didn’t think twice and nodded. She brought her daughter to the Witch.

Taking the little girl’s trembling hands, the Witch spoke an incantation, and runes wrapped around the child’s body. The little hand stopped shaking, and the Witch returned the child to her mother.

“Thank you so much, Ms. Witch. How can I repay you? We don’t have much, but please let us know what we can do for you,” the mother said.

“There’s no need. I offered my service for free,” the Witch answered. “Your child should be fine for a while.”

Down the line, other children were also suffering from the mana infusion in the air. The Witch reached for her cane and flourished it. A protective dome appeared in front of her.

The Witch turned to the mother and the people around the dome. “This is a barrier that will shield mana for children. Please let the others know, and if their children feel uncomfortable, please bring them here.”

“Yes, of course, Ms. Witch,” the mother said. “We are grateful for your kindness.”

Kindness? To do something so simple that barely required any effort or time wasn’t something the Witch thought of as kindness.

“I’ll leave it to you,” the Witch said, gesturing to the dome, and turned to head back to the city.

The Succubus watched and followed wordlessly. Her duty was to protect the Witch, and if the Witch deemed to help the city's citizens, she must also stay by the Witch’s side.

“Looks like a portal is about to open,” the Witch said softly to the Succubus.

“You mean an elemental portal?” the Succubus said, excited.

“Yup, and you know what that means,” the Witch said. “It’s time to–”

“Go hunting.”

“Go seal the portal.”

The Witch and the Succubus answered simultaneously, and they turned their surprised faces to each other.

“Why would you seal up such a wonderful portal with all those elemental monsters to hunt down?” the Succubus asked, exasperated.

“Do you demons not seal up the portal?” the Witch asked, then realization dawned on her. “Oh, right, you guys are strong enough to handle the monsters in the portals. No wonder you always let them out in Pandemonium.”

Turning to the humans, the Witch shook her head ruefully. “Unfortunately, humans are too weak for that. If the elemental monsters come out, they’ll get killed in one shot.”

“It’s true that the monsters can’t kill us as long as we’re careful,” the Succubus said. “Elemental monsters make very good pelts, and their meat boosts mana and physical energy. In Pandemonium, the portal appears as a tiny hole, then expands over a few days, so we have time to prepare if someone notices it beforehand.”

As the duo returned to the gate, the soldiers were all confused, unsure of what was happening. The soldier who had left before returned and looked relieved to see the Witch.

“An elemental portal is about to appear. You need to evacuate people out of the city,” the Witch told him.

“An elemental portal in the city? That’s unheard of!” the soldier replied.

“That’s because a section of the barrier is down,” the Witch said. “I’ll deal with it if you don’t mind letting us in.”

“Yes, please,” the guard said, stepping aside.

“Wait,” the Fleur said. The green-cloaked traveler grabbed the Witch’s arm. Their grip was surprisingly strong. “It’s too dangerous. We need to leave.”

“It’ll be fine,” the Witch said, shaking the Fleur off.

Truth be told, she wasn’t sure if it would be fine. However, she could buy time for the people to flee to safety.

When the Fleur made to protest again, the Succubus cut the traveler off. “My Lady has me protecting her, and she is strong. If you feel you might be in danger, please feel free to escape somewhere safe.” The Succubus gave a courteous bow to the Fleur and returned to the Witch’s side.

They didn’t have to go far to see the center of the mana tremor. It was just two streets into the city. There was not a single person in sight, and the stands were left unattended. On the city walls, the warning bell finally rang.

Hovering over the street, a mana storm raged. The mana concentrated on a single point that shined brightly in the middle. If the city’s magical barrier had been fully functioning, it would have absorbed the excess mana, preventing a portal from spawning.

The air thrashed about, throwing everything into a whirlwind. A chair came dangerously close to knocking the Witch down, but the Succubus smashed it to bits.

If only the Witch could diffuse the mana storm over a wider area, she could prevent the portal from spawning. However, it was too late.

Before she even reached the spawning point, a sonic boom ripped through the air, and the portal appeared.

It was taller than all the houses on this street.

The portal, ringed in red flame, opened to reveal a fiery, mountainous landscape.

Off in the distance, volcanos erupted and thunders clapped. The ground stretching to the portal’s edge cracked like desert ground. Red lava ran between the dry cracks, forming bubbling red pools and gushing lava geysers.

Trees, their bark dried and fractured, twisted as if bereft of all moisture. From within the fissures, embers burned and crackled, spitting out sparks. The trees reminded the Witch of an old wrinkly man being burned alive from within, screaming and twisting but never dying.

As terrible as the terrain looked, it was nothing compared to the monsters that roamed within.

“Fire Elementals! Wonderful!” the Succubus said.

“Shoot any that try to get through. I’ll seal the portal,” the Witch said.

The monsters, seeing the portal, started charging toward it before she even finished the sentence.

“Such a waste,” the Succubus complained, shaking her head. “How about just one? A small one?”

“No, it’s too dangerous. We don’t know when someone will come to help us,” the Witch said. She turned to the portal with her cane in her hand.

“Yes, My Lady,” the Succubus said, sighing at the wasted opportunity.

The first ones to approach the portal were lion-like monsters with flaming manes and teeth long as swords. Even though they were still far away, they roared at the Witch. From their mouths spewed fire lances.

The Succubus rushed in front of the Witch. With a large mana shield on her arm, the Succubus braced against the impact and blocked all the fire lances, fires falling all around them like burning petals.

The lion monsters charged at them, their manes of fire blazing even brighter with anger.

The Witch threw up a quick dome barrier about twenty feet inside the portal, but the lions were too fast and slipped past the dome right as it was forming.

From their mouths, fire lances shot at the Witch once again.

A black crackling whip flashed out from the Succubus’s hand and extinguished all the fire lances, keeping the Witch safe. The demonic energy on the whip was so strong that it obliterated the lances with one hit. The Succubus didn’t waste time and launched into the portal, charging at the fire lions.

In the distance, a horde of fiery hyenas started to gather. The smell of the human world must have attracted them.

“I’ve got this. Please prepare the sealing magic,” the Succubus said.

“Please keep yourself safe, too,” the Witch said, patting the demon’s shoulder.

The Witch backed away from the portal to a safe distance and began her preparation for the seal.

Inside the safe zone, the Succubus flung her whip at the first lion, smashing the fire lion’s face in and cracking its skull. The fire lion behind leaped into the air. It somersaulted, its fire-bladed tail and spinning body forming a disc thrown at the Succubus. At the same time, the third and last lion opened its mouth wide and assaulted the Succubus with fire lances.

The Succubus jumped back, avoiding the whipping tail. With a flick of her wrist, she created a shield, blocking the lances.

The fire-tailed lion landed softly and immediately charged the Succubus’ right without a moment of delay. The Succubus flung her whip at it as the lion made a circular charge at her.

The third lion relaunched its fire lances, blocking the Succubus’s whip attack on its comrade. Successfully blocking the demon’s attack, the lion charged the Succubus without giving pause. Having escaped the whip attack, the other lion went for the Witch. In a pincher move, the two lions attacked the Succubus from both sides.

“Ha!” the Succubus laughed. The more she fought, the more excited she got. “These little kitties think they can get past me. Time to show you who’s the real mama around here.”

When it looked like the third lion was about to pounce on the Succubus, she turned and ran after one of the pincer-attacking lions. She arrived in the blink of an eye, grabbed its tail, and yanked it upwards.

The monster yelped painfully, but the Succubus didn’t stop there.

The monster hovered in the air. Without letting go of its tail, the Succubus grabbed its leg, securing the tail with the leg so the lion won’t attack her with its flipping tail.

Making the lion eat dirt, she dashed to a spot where the two running lions lined up in a straight line.

The muscles in her arms ballooned as she swung her monster in circles and hurled it. The elemental zipped through the air faster than the eye could follow. It hammered into the two running lions in a loud and bloody crash, and they slumped to the ground.