[A/N: I would have loved to use 'Miasma' instead of dark mist, but for the clearer picture I am using mist. Also, excuse me for dividing the chapter into 3 parts.]
…
The two spectral armies continued to march toward each other. Then, just as the armies were about to collide, something shifted in the air.
A subtle ripple spread outward, like the soft disturbance of water when a stone is tossed in.
The ripple began at the spot where Lina and the Emperor Academy's elder stood. It moved across the battlefield slowly, methodically, as though it were a tide, a wave of magic sweeping through the land.
The spectral soldiers, suddenly froze, sensing the change in the air. The once-illusion figures began to tremble, their forms flickering and warping, like smoke caught in the wind.
At the center of this magic stood Lina, the pulse of her magic surging outward.
The four protectors surrounded her, their imposing presence forming a protective barrier, shielding her from any danger.
