Lenko stumbled, the remnants of his burned 'help' parchment crumbling into ash under the pulse of his own mana, just as the arrow struck his chest.
Keiser skidded to a stop, spinning around the moment he felt Aisha's mana flare behind him.
He let the dragon child dart past him toward Lenko's fallen body while he held his ground, stance firm, shielding them both.
From the edge of his vision, Keiser caught sight of movement up on the rim of the crater. The princess stood there, her mana weaving through strips of the carpet that now wound tighter and tighter around Olga.
The archer, in turn, had her bow drawn, arrows trained directly on him. She was fighting the restraints, snarling through the struggle, trying to break free just long enough to take another shot.
The fallen mercenary, now a puppet under Aisha's mana manipulation, clawed at the writhing fabric, trying to tear it off Olga again with stiff arms.
