The forest air was thick with tension as the Whimwood response squad crouched beneath the shade of twisted pine boughs. The smell of smoke drifted from the east. Distant thunder? No—it was the echo of firebombs hitting caravan carts.

  Master Rivel held up a gloved hand. “Visual on the target ridge. Two summoned beast marks... and five hostiles. Heavy armor, coordinated movement. Definitely mercenaries.”

  Kagami crouched between Mikay and Elias. His pulse was steady, but the hum of mana within him thrummed louder than usual.

  He clenched his fists. I can feel it. My chakra wants out.

  Elias whispered beside him, not looking his way. “Keep your fusion stable. Don’t mix chakra unless it's an emergency. Your magic is enough.”

  Kagami nodded, jaw tight.

  They moved in.

  The battle began in silence—and then exploded.

  Master Rivel’s incantation was swift: “Verdant Chains of Nuls!” Emerald tendrils burst from the underbrush, wrapping around one of the mercs, yanking him to the ground before he could react.

  Mikay flicked her staff and sent a fan of crystalline ice bolts forward, disabling the feet of one of the summoned beasts—a scaled bear-like creature with molten eyes.

  Elias moved like a bde in wind. Silent, efficient. His incantation clipped: “Thunder Verge—Shard Pulse.” A volley of razored lightning surged through the air, striking pressure points in the beast’s shoulder. It fell limp.

  Kagami’s turn came fast.

  One of the rogue mages raised a talisman, chanting a summoning in Old Tongue.

  Kagami didn’t hesitate.

  “Terra Voltus: Spiral Fang!”

  He smmed his palm into the ground. Runes spread like wildfire in the earth. In an instant, a thick bolt of thunder-wrapped rock burst from the soil, spearing through the summoner’s stance and knocking the talisman flying.

  “Sh—who’s the brat?!” another mercenary growled, trying to retaliate.

  Kagami exhaled hard. That was close to a fusion spell already… but he held back. No chakra. Yet.

  A fsh behind him.

  One of the mercs had slipped through. Kagami turned—and nearly too te.

  Then—

  CRASH.

  Zack nded between them, twin short bdes gleaming. He parried the attacker’s axe, spun, and kicked him into a tree.

  “You focus on one front, kid,” Zack said, fshing a quick grin. “Let the hunters guard your back.”

  But things changed quickly.

  A second beast—a summoned warhound with a pted jaw—let out a screech that disrupted the mana air. Kagami’s incantation faltered. His body tingled. His spell fizzled mid-cast.

  A silence spell? No. A mana-drain field?

  The warhound charged at Minna, who was supporting a wounded caravan guard.

  Kagami felt the instinct rise.

  No time.

  He clenched his fists. I'm sorry, Master.

  “Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!”

  Small orbs of fire shot from his mouth, exploding midair to redirect the beast's charge. It skidded, howled, and fell sideways, stunned.

  “Kagami!” Master Rivel shouted, eyes narrowing. “You—!”

  But Elias raised his hand. “He held back. It was controlled.”

  The battle ended quickly after that. The remaining mercenaries surrendered once their summons were downed and their leader bound by Master Rivel’s sealing glyphs.

  Silence fell in the aftermath. Smoke drifted low across the clearing. The caravan survivors slowly returned to the path.

  Kagami sat on a tree stump, arms across his knees, breathing hard.

  I didn’t use my full power. But still... I slipped. Just for a moment.

  Master Rivel stood over him, quiet. Then she said, “You used chakra again.”

  “I had to,” Kagami muttered.

  “You also made the right call.”

  Kagami looked up.

  Master Rivel wasn’t smiling. But neither was she angry.

  “You protected your friend. And kept it small. You chose restraint, Kagami. That’s not weakness. That’s growth.”

  Elias appeared behind her, arms crossed. “Just don’t expect praise every time you break a rule.”

  “I don’t,” Kagami said, smiling faintly.

  Mikay and Zack joined them st, with Minna and Iren limping behind, both scuffed but smiling.

  “I guess I owe you a snack,” Minna teased. “You saved me from a dog. A big, ugly, cursed dog.”

  Kagami ughed. “I’ll take something spicy.”

  As the group made their way back toward the city, Kagami looked up at the clouds rolling overhead.

  Thunder cracked gently across the sky.

  He wondered—was it his own magic calling back to him?

  Or something bigger coming from beyond the horizon?

  ---