Risebelle approached Dr. Kintovar with a look of on her face. She khat they were about to head out to deal with the remaining Maractors, but there ressing issue she o discuss.

  “Kintovar,” Risebelle began, “there’s something we o address regarding the Maractors. The mages guarding them are now aware of our presence, and they’ve pced protective barriers around the extractors. It will be difficult to disable them with those barriers in pce.”

  Dr. Kintovar nodded, aowledging the challehey faced. “I anticipated that the mages might take such measures,” she replied, “But there is a way to ter their barriers. You see, the barriers are likely powered by magid if we disrupt the flow of mana to them, they should weaken or colpse.”

  Risebelle listened ily, “So, how do we disrupt the flow of mana to the barriers?”

  Dr. Kintovar expined, “Each barrier should have a tral source of power, which is likely a mana crystal. If you locate and disable the mana crystal, it should weaken the barrier signifitly. Just be cautious while doing so, as the mages will likely guard these crystals carefully.”

  Dr. Kintovar expined further, “Just like how humans lod unlock doors, you have the capability to do the same with yic system. You o get your hands on the barrier, disrupt its e to the mages guarding the extractors, a tnize yic as its source. Do you uand?”

  Risebelle, Runebelle, and Roselle nodded, beginning to uand the cept

  “So,” Risebelle asked, “we o essentially ‘hack’ into the barrier’s magic sourd make it reize ic source as the valid one?”

  Dr. Kintovar smiled, pleased with their prehension. “Precisely,” she firmed. “Once you’ve taken trol of the barrier, you disable it or manipute it as needed. Just remember to be cautious, as the mages guarding the extractors will likely notiy interfereh their barriers.”

  Risebelle took a deep breath, preparing herself mentally for the task at hand. “Thank you, Kintovar,” she said, “We’ll do our best to hahe barriers and disable the extractors.”

  Dr. Kintovar nodded in approval. “I have full fiden your abilities,” she said. “Now, let’s move out and put our pn into a.”

  Roselle, Runebelle, and Risebelle split off from Dr. Kintovar, each heading toward their respective targets.

  As they ventured deeper into the Mystic Forest, their senses heightened, and they remained vigint for any signs of the mages guarding the Maractors. Roselle suddenly notices that there was ge in Risebelle’s demeanor asthey moved through the Mystic Forest. Risebelle appeared slightly annoyed, and she distanced herself from the group, although she remaiealthy.

  Curiosity got the better of Roselle, and she decided to quietly approach Risebelle .With a hushed speech. she asked, “Hey Risebelle? Is something wrong?”

  Risebelle didn’t respond immediately a on the move. After a moment, she gnced back at Roselle with . “It’s just...,” she began, “I’m frustrated with myself. Back there, during the battle with Aliana... I did everything I could... I still couldn’t beat her. She outcssed me in all areas.. I let a filthy humahe better of me, and nearly destroy me. That’s uable.”

  Roselle offered some words of reassurance, “Risebelle, don’t be too hard on yourself. Aliana was very strong! And I could see why you would have trouble with her. We ’t alredict every situation or oppo we enter, you know?”

  “You don’t uand, Roselle,” Risebelle said, her eyes showing a hint of anger. “I’m the older sister, and I thought I could take on all four of those elite mages. But when it came down to it, I couldn’t even handle one! I…I am not strong enough...”

  Roselle took a moment to gather her thoughts, her gaze filled with sadness for Risebelle’s struggle.After a brief pause, Roselle spoke from her heart, trying to find the right words. “Risebelle,” she began softly, “You know, strength isn’t just about physical power ical abilities. It’s also about resiliend the will to keep moving forward, evehings get tough. We all will have our moments of doubt and weakness, but that doesn’t make us any weaker. What matters is that we learn from those moments and use them to grow stronger. She tinued, “You’re also not alone Risebelle.” she said while looking towards the ground.

  “When I arrived to save you all, I was doing well against her at first. But then... she activated her Swod Form. I couldn’t keep up with her power, and she overwhelmed me. If it weren’t Runebelle, I might not have even found a way to ter attack... I would have beeroyed. So I’m not strong enough either… but so what?”

  Risebelle’s frustration began to lower as she listeo Roselle’s words of encement. She turned her gaze to Runebelle, who peeked out from behind a tree.

  She turo see Runebelle behind the tree, her sadness evident.

  Roselle tinued, “Risebelle, we’re a team, and together, we’re strohan any individual person. If we have to fa elite mage, we’ll do it together. We’ll support each other, cover each other’s weaknesses, and find a way to win. Strength isn’t just about being the most powerful; it’s about w together and having each other’s backs.”

  “You know, Roselle,” she said, “You always find a way to be positive, no matter what.”

  To her own surprise, Risebelle reached out aly patted Roselle on the head. It was a rare and ued gesture, ohat seemed to shock even herself. She couldn’t help but think, ‘What the hell am I doing? This is so unlike me…’

  Roselle looked up at Risebelle, her eyes wide with surprise at the ued dispy of affe.

  Runebelle, who had been the exge with a small smile, simply ented, “It’s o see you two getting along.”

  Risebelle gestured for Runebelle to e over with one hand. “Runebelle, e here quickly,” she said, motioning for her younger sister to join them.

  Runebelle, always with a sad look, made her way over to Risebelle, her blue and pink hair swaying as she moved. Risebelle, with an embarrassed smile on her face, did something quite unusual for her—she gently patted Runebelle on the head.

  It was a gesture of affe, something she wasn’t used to giving or receiving. But in this moment, with her sisters by her side and their bond growing stronger, it felt right.

  Runebelle looked up at Risebelle, her usual sad faentarily repced by surprise and then a faint smile.

  Risebelle gathered her sisters closer and huddled together.

  “Listen, Roselle, Runebelle,” she began,“we’re about to take a strategic route here. We’re fag elite mages from the Magic Academy, and we ’t afford to be reckless. If any of us end up... destroyed during this mission, I want you both to know that we did everything we could to protect each other from the humans.”

  She paused for a moment, her gaze log onto each of her sisters in turn. “As much as I would rather go out there guns bzing ahem all to hell, we have to prioritize the mission. oal is to disable those Maractors and ehat we survive while we are on this nd. But make no mistake, if we have to fight, we will do it together. We’ll watch each other’s backs, just like we always have. And we won’t let anything stand in our way.”

  Roselle and Runebelle nodded in agreement, their resolve matg Risebelle’s.

  Risebelle, Roselle, and Runebelle Moves further in the southern part of the forest. They were soo with the sight of a heavily guarded Maractor within a clearing. The barrier around it shimmered with magical energy, and it was clear that the mages were on high alert.

  Risebelle sed the group of mages, she tensed as she he ice-covered robes of some of them. It was evident that these were the same mages who had been victims of Aliana’s previous attack. Their injuries hadn’t fully healed, but they were determio protect the Maractor.

  Roselle g her sisters. She whispered, “We o disable that barrier, but it won’t be easy with so many mages guarding it.”

  Runebelle, her blue and pink hair standing out against the forest backdrop, spoke softly, “We have to be careful. If we ehem head-on, it could get dangerous.”

  Risebelle nodded, “Agreed,” she said. “Let’s try to find a way to disrupt the flow of mana to the barrier, just like Kintovar taught us.”

  They tio observe the mages, looking for an opportunity to disable the barrier without alerting the entire group.

  The three sisters, cealed in the shadows, watched as one mage broke away from the group, sparking a heated argument among their ranks. It was clear that there was something happening among the mages.

  Mage A, with a look of frustration on his face, spoke up with anger. “I ’t believe Aliana did this! She nearly destroyed us with that st attack. We’re supposed to be proteg the Maractors, not being casualties ourselves!”

  Mage B, standing in Aliana’s defense, retorted, “You don’t uand, Aliana had to do whatever it took to elimihe intruders. She’s ae Mage, and that’s her duty. If we had done our job properly, this wouldn’t have happened.”

  Mage C chimed in, trying to mediate the argument. “We all know that Aliana is incredibly powerful. Maybe she just uimated the intruders. But we ’t bme her really. I would have dohe same in her shoes. We should focus on proteg the Maractor now.”

  Mage D, who had remained silent until now, spoke up with a hint of bitterness. “Proteg the Maractor? How we do that when we’re barely rec from Aliana’s attack? She went too far, and now we’re paying the price.”

  As the argument among the mages grew more heated, with accusations and disagreements flying bad forth, a group of mages stepped forward to try to break up the frontation, but the tensions remained high, and a few mages couldn’t tain their frustration any longer. One mage, Mage E, spoke up, “This arguing is getting us nowhere. I need some fresh air to think clearly. I’ll be back soon.”

  Ane, Mage F, nodded in agreement. “I’m with you, Mage E. This situation is a mess, and I need a break to figure out how to proceed.”

  Mage G, who had been silent during most of the argument, joihem. “I ’t stand all this bickering. I’ll go with you. Maybe some time away from here will help us find a solution.”

  With that, the trio of mages turned and headed away from the clearing, leaving the rest of the group still engaged in their dispute.

  As the trio of mages made their way away from the heated argument, a new figure arrived on the se. The mage with short, fiery-red hair and a strikingly handsome appearance, appeared puzzled by the otion. His presence drew the attention of those still engaged in the discussion.He approached the mages who had remained, his eyebrow raised with curiosity. “What’s all this fuss about?” he inquired. He had a smooth and fident tone. “I left for just a minute, and I e back to find everyone in an uproar.”

  The mages who had stayed behind exged gnces, some of them still caught up in their heated discussion. One of them, a mage with gsses, stepped forward to expin, “It’s about the argument over Aliana, the Elite Mage. Some of us are upset about her as, while others think we should focus on the mission.”

  An raised an eyebrow, his emerald green eyes sing the group. “Aliana, huh?” he mused, running a hand through his red hair. “Well, that’s certainly a ‘hot’ topic, but maybe you should focus on the ‘spies’ first?”

  One of the sister’s silently said “Uh oh...”