Can't they just open the gate? Miko is surprisingly patient. We've been standing here for 5 minutes, and she knocks every now and then, calling to the other side. They know that we are here, and we know that they are there.

"Maybe we should leave. There's no point in being overly confrontational."

“Sorry, Kayla, I can't do that.”

Miko sighs and places her flat hands on the gate in front of her, and without making a move, it sounds like fists smashing against the steel. Just a moment later, the gate breaks its hold and slams to the ground. My eyes wander around, and I see civilians running away and distancing from us. The mages on the guild grounds stand still in their places and just observe us.

“Why are they staring so stupidly?”

My words get a little stuck in my throat. What can I say? Before I can think of anything, Miko starts walking off. Simply because I can't help it, I follow her.

“Where is Reena? I want to talk to her.”

“She's not here. Please leave the premises.” It is Johann who answers her and walks a little ahead, separating himself from his guild members.

"Then I want to have a look around. I somehow have the feeling that you're up to no good."

“You're breaking the law right now. And you have no right to demand to look anywhere. Get out now, and I'll refrain from pressing charges.” His voice is loud and firm, but I can't imagine he's that stable inside. He was the one who almost collapsed after seeing what Miko was capable of.

“Have you noticed what's happening in our country right now? I doubt your little problem is getting any attention. So just leave me alone.” Miko averts her eyes as if the conversation is over for her, and just as naturally, she walks off in the direction of the entrance to the main building. I stay close to her and go with her; I don't want a fight, and I don't think there's any reason for the guild to show any aggression towards us as long as we're just looking. But my heart is racing like crazy, the tension is palpable, and I just can't let go of my worries.

"Kayla, please bring her to her senses," Johann says when we're roughly next to him, and for some reason, he reaches for me and grabs my lower arm. I pull myself free, and without giving it much thought, I activate my mana flow.

“Who do you think you are? Never touch me again."

I turn my gaze away and look at Miko, who just keeps running ahead. I was briefly afraid that his assault would provoke her to strike at him, but she is more composed than expected. With mana flowing through me, I can only now see the endless magic circles scattered around the grounds and on the buildings. They all look pretty simple, and some clearly appear to be protective spells. But I don't have time to look at them closely if I don't want to lose sight of Miko, who is getting faster and faster.

“Why are you running?”

"I don't know, intuition or something like that."

Behind a door, we find stairs leading downwards. Miko continues to run ahead as if she has a feeling of where we have to go, which is finally confirmed as we end up in a corridor where a bunch of mages and Johann are standing. I don't know how they got here before us, but it doesn't matter.

“Pretty obvious when you get in the way like that. What is it that we are not allowed to see?”

“I don't know.”

“Poor excuse.”

“Apart from Reena, no one has access to this room. I assume she wants to protect us by not letting us in.”

“Then why don't you get out of here and let me see what's going on?”

“You have no right to just come in here. Do you think you can do whatever you want just because you're strong? We mages also have to obey laws, and you two are no exception."

“Can you please just shut up and get out of the way already? This doesn't have to end in me smashing your face in.” The seriousness with which she says that gives me goosebumps. Miko hates violence; she can live with killing monsters who are hostile towards her, but she is very restrained towards other people.

“I'm sorry, Kayla,” Miko whispers, and I notice how her sword liquefies and forms into gauntlets around both her arms.

With mana flowing through my index finger, I draw a simple but potent defensive spell that forms a veil around me, protecting me from both magical and physical attacks. This was the first thing I wanted to learn from Luna because my vulnerability in a fight is what would hold back any team around me.

“Hold back a little.”

“Sure.”

Miko shoots forward like a bolt of lightning, and Johann, who is on the front line, is completely incapable of reacting in time. The magical barrier drawn from his equipment is still in time before Miko's fist lands in the pit of his stomach. It shatters into countless tiny mana particles and proves to be utterly useless against her force.

You can't use area magic in such a narrow corridor. Anyone who casts a spell here can be sure of hitting their comrades. So, everyone is forced to enter into a fistfight with Miko.

The cracking of bones and the partly lifeless knocking to the ground of the hopefully just unconscious mages is a gruesome scene. I just hope that we can find something that can make all this somewhere not excusable but understandable.

Not a minute passes before more than 15 people are lying on the ground, some unconscious, others in so much pain that they are writhing and can't even think about continuing the fight.

“Go ahead and help them. If anyone wants another round after that, they might deserve it anyway."

She didn't have to tell me that none of the people present really did anything wrong, so I planned to heal them from the start. And honestly, I can't see people suffering pain, which I blame on my overly strong empathy. I go from person to person and just shoot a portion of healing magic into them. That's enough to take away their pain and mend at least the most severe injuries for now. I don't have enough faith in these people to use up more mana to heal them completely.

While I'm still crouching a few meters away from the door we wanted to get to, Miko is standing right in front of it, staring at it, waiting. Then she turns to me and starts tapping her foot impatiently on the floor.

“What do you want?”

“There's a spell on the door. Maybe you can read it before I just walk in.”

“What makes you think I can read this stuff?”

“You can draw magic circles.”

“Yes, memorized. I have no idea what they mean exactly.”

“That sounds dangerous.”

“Tell that to Luna. I'll do it like she showed me.”

“Okay, let's see what happens.”

Without further hesitation, Miko grabs the door handle, and with a brief flash of magical particles, she is gone. As if swallowed up by the ground. I'm sure it was teleportation magic, but still, my heart stopped for a moment. 

Most likely, it's a trap, but I don't care, and let's be honest I couldn't think of anything better, so I walk to the door and put my hand on it. With a blink, I'm in another room. The first person I spot is Miko, then my eyes wander, and I recognize Surako sitting on a bed.