Mindy barked a low laugh. "You can't. There's no taking it away."

Father Petrov eyed her. "You don't seem surprised."

"I made friends with a bird who told me about it. I just had to see it for myself. And so did you." Mindy admitted.

"So… what do we do?" Sir Ivan asked.

Alexei was inspecting it. "This crack… it seems to be a leak in some sort of seal. The mana we have now is just what's leaking out from the seal."

"Or its what came out before the seal was put in place." Father Petrov mused.

"Well, you can't do anything with it." Mindy shrugged. "I guess this brings our trip to its conclusion."

"Not exactly. If mana is what it takes to stop the war, then…" Father Petrov hesitated.

"Then if there were a way to remove the seal, mana would pour into the world undeterred and everyone would have so much mana, we wouldn't need to fight for crystals." Sir Ivan said. "Something like that?"

"That sounds great. Let's do it. We'll be famous." Alexei lit up. "At least then our efforts would not be for nothing. We'd be the heroes who saved the world."

"Presumably." Father Petrov grimaced. "But that's a.s.suming the best. There are a lot of things that could go horribly wrong."

"Like?"

"Like removing the seal causes the whole world to get sucked out like water in a sink after you remove the stopper." Father Petrov suggested.

Alexei shook his head. "Mana is coming in from there, and I don't feel any suction. More likely it's that other world on the other side that's going to get sucked into ours. a.s.suming that it really is another world on the other side of that seal."

"Which is just as worrisome. What if it's not a world? What if it just leads to an endless ocean of mana, and mana just keeps pouring into our world until…"

"Until what?"

"I don't know! Until we drown in it, or explode, or something!" Father Petrov grunted. "The legends claim the Source of Magic is evil. Haven't you even been wondering why?"

Alexei turned a bit red.

"You haven't?" Petrov stared. "Since discovering the seal, you didn't even consider whether what kind of consequences could arise if we somehow unleashed a terrible evil upon the world?"

"Unleash an evil…? That's absurd." Alexei began.

"That's exactly what it sounds like you're about to do." Sir Ivan cut in. "We don't know what's on the other side of that seal! If mana is so great and the Source is sealed up, then that Seal must be there for a reason! All the stories about evil at the Source must be there for a reason!"

"Whatever it is, it's beyond ancient! Whatever dangers our ancestors were so terrified of, the power of modern man and magic can easily handle it!" Alexei bristled.

"We can't even handle the Wilds." Mindy cut in. "And the Wilds themselves wouldn't come near it."

"If I didn't have to, I wouldn't want to enter these dead lands either." Father Petrov confessed.

Sparks ignited. Mindy and Petrov turned to see Alexei raising both hands, purplish energy gathering in them as he chanted something in a low voice.

"Alexei! Stop! We didn't agree to this!" Father Petrov yelped.

"Don't do it! No!" Mindy jumped at him.

Alexei's eyes narrowed. He lowered his hands – toward Mindy.

Mindy halted, staring. She tensed, feet primed to dodge.

Petrov grabbed at him. "Wait! Alexei! Think about it…!"

Alexei snarled, flinging Petrov aside. Magical energy burst out. There was a clap like thunder; Petrov took the full blast of the gathered power and went flying, literally flying through the air.

"Father Petrov!" Sir Ivan abandoned his ragged armor and leapt into the air to catch him. They collided painfully and went tumbling several meters over, but finally, Ivan managed to land on his feet, with his ward secured.

Alexei turned his back on his old friend, and a sustained burst of writing purple energy began to bore into the Seal.

Mindy laid her hand on her sword. "Don't make me do this."

"You think you can threaten me with a sword?!" Alexei scoffed. "Go play with your toys somewhere else, girl! Better yet, go home and do your homework, or I'll have you in detention!"

"What's wrong with you?" Mindy barked. "You're not thinking straight! Wake up, Professor! Something is wrong!"

"Nothing is wrong! I am thinking more clearly than ever!" Alexei proclaimed. "I have never been so clear in my life!"

"Is it the mana density?" Mindy gasped. "Professor, are you drunk?!"

"Power! Everything comes from power! All the glory… all the fame…" Alexei suddenly fell quiet. A tear actually dripped from one eye. "They'll finally appreciate me. They'll finally listen to what I say."

"Professor!" Mindy shouted. "Wake up! This is no time for a drunken sob story! If you don't stop casting, I'm going to have to draw my sword! The moment that happens, you're going to die!"

"Why?" The professor suddenly asked Mindy in a pleading voice. "Why do you still try to stop me?"

"Because I promised my friend!" Mindy braced herself. "She told me about the Source of Magic! It is a great evil, and it was sealed away, and the Wilds always watch it with a wary eye! I promised her! We can see it for ourselves, but then we have to stop! We have to leave it alone!"

"YOU promised? I must fail my life's greatest ambition, because YOU promised? After coming all this way, surviving all the horrors of these wastelands, all for this hope of salvation… and we must give it all up because YOU promised?" Alexei roared. "GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

"No!" Mindy braced, hand gripping her sword hilt tightly. "Stop… or else… or else…"

The air began to shake. The ground began to ripple. The previously invisible seal began to glow, revealing a large arch shape over the ground.

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"It's… a gate." Father Petrov coughed.

"It's about to explode!" Sir Ivan turned and fled.

"Ivan! Wait! Mindy…"

"I can't carry any more!" Ivan didn't stop. "I'm sorry! But my job is you, only you, and there's only so much I can do!"

Meanwhile, Alexei was cackling madly. "Power… such power…"

But as for Mindy, she finally closed her eyes. She sighed, all the tension leaving her body. At last, she said, "I'm sorry."

Alexei didn't respond, as if ignoring her, but then Mindy drew her sword.

And the world exploded in fire.

***

There are a few important things of note at this point.

First, they were standing in an oil field. Despite their best efforts, the movements they made, especially toward the end, definitely stirred up some fumes.

Second, Mindy's sword, like her information, could only have come from her new friend.

Third, Mindy's new friend was known as the Flame Emperor.

So let us speculate; what kind of a sword would the Flame Emperor give to her new friend?

The explosion that resulted when the sword was exposed to the fumes pretty much says it all.