They awoke to an earsplitting sound of tearing metal and crumbling stone. Kennon glanced at his twin sister Bev. Her piercing blue eyes, the same color as his, told him she heard it as well. Before they had a chance to wipe the sleep from their eyes their aunt Margie burst in.

  “It is time for you to go!” she said. Her voice firm, it was clear she would brook no argument. Her clothes were ripped with burn marks showing despite the defensive enchantments.

  Kennon bolted out of bed without thinking. They had been forced to practice this several times. He was dressed in moments. It wasn’t till he reached for his pack that his brain caught up with his actions.

  This wasn’t a drill was it?

  They had practiced escaping for as long as he could remember. But he never thought it would actually happen. Their cabin was a fortress. It would take a dragon to tear it down. Assuming it even found them through the illusion arrays. And aunt Margie, she was so powerful that the local villagers would trade their firstborn for a drop of her mana.

  But as the crashing and tearing got louder, closer, Kennon was forced to accept that this wasn’t a drill. He glanced at Margie. She gave a slow nod, then disappeared. Without the system his mana sight was weak. But he could tell that she hadn’t left a shred of power to watch them. In fact the room seemed to empty of mana at a rate he had only seen before that one time she teleported them to the capital.

  He had finished donning his pack. He felt that Bev was ready as well. It was time for the next step. He placed his hand on a seemingly random brick on the wall then his sister placed her hand over his. They closed their eyes and began drawing on their mana.

  It was a slow thing, manipulating mana without any system skills. But all they had to do was inject a little into the wall. They grabbed clumsily at the energy that suffused their bodies and forced it out of their hands to enter the brick. The moment both of their mana entered it they felt a familiar dread. It sucked greedily at their energy. In moments they were completely dry. Then everything went dark. In that sickening moment between realities they realized. They never even said goodbye.

  Margie nodded goodbye to her charges. She had hoped this day would never come. That the church would never find them. That the Vonn twins would be able to train in peace. A part of her hoped that they could live in peace as well. But that was not her decision. And the moment the first inquisitor arrived at Greentown village a year ago she knew they were on borrowed time.

  If only they had one more year. They would have received the Growth system’s offer in just two months. In a year they would have been able to survive without her easily. They would have received a full explanation. Now she had to simply hope she had done enough. Given them the training they needed to ascend alone.

  The moment the alarm went off she devoted her soul power over entirely to the intent of destruction. Only enough resistance to survive her own attacks. The speed to outrun a dragon. And the mana gathering capacity to drain all signs of teleportation activity for hundreds of kilometers.

  Now she ran straight towards the inquisition. She felt them shredding the barriers of her home as if they were a part of her own being. They were in a way. She appeared outside and got her first look at them with her eyes.

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  It was an entire army. Either the church was not taking any chances and sent most of their military branch, or they had more soldiers than reports indicated.

  High level spells were flying over their heads to impact her home. Each enough to level all of Greentown. But they still only weakened her barriers. The moment she appeared three hundred spearmen charged with reckless abandon. Their eyes were empty of the spark of life.

  They were being puppeted. They had given their minds over to the system as well as their souls. Even if they lived through this reckless charge they would never truly be alive again.

  No need to hold back.

  Normally she would be quiet. Subtle. At their speeds a trip wire was just as effective as a wind blade. But she had to make a scene. She would not survive no matter her tactics. She just needed to distract them. What better way than a lightning storm.

  Quicker than thought, heaven’s fire raced towards the spearmen. Blinding even to her enhanced vision. When the spots in her eyes went away the spearmen were ash. She checked her counter forces. She let out a sigh of relief as she saw the cabin still stood, and the forest remained untouched. The cabin surviving was only for show now that the kids were gone. But the last thing she wanted from her last stand would be to level the forest the good people of Greentown relied on.

  The enemy commander raised his hand, ordering his troops to cease fire. Stepping forward he said, “in the name of the church of the system. You stand convicted of heresy. Surrender, and we will let the children live.”

  Firing off a quick identify she saw the man’s level

  Human - Paladin - LV 300

  Any hope she may have had died in an instant. The system favoured warrior in front of her had passed her level. A difficult feat indeed. But if she could land a single solid blow she could die knowing she had dealt the inquisition a true injury.

  She gathered her mana into a pure burst, crude, but impossible to counter. When she started to pull on the dregs of her mana she began to burn her soul as well. The paladin lifted his hand. She felt an impact. As the world went dark she felt her spell ignite.

  I hope they made it.

  As she returned to the world Bev leaned over and promptly attempted to empty her stomach on the golden grass. Not having eaten for several hours she simply heaved while she fell to her knees. The unstable portal behind her fizzed and sparked as it lost its form.

  Reaching zero mana was no fun.

  Looking around she began to gain her bearings. The first thing she noticed was the golden grass so common in Colville. Quickly followed by the clear blue sky with the everpresent hint of pink. The portal never dropped them in the same place twice. So she was happy to see they were in a clearing near the river.

  She looked at her brother. He was safe and sound. Good. They had passed the drill.

  If it was a drill.

  The memory of escape returned to her mind. It wasn’t like any of the other drills. Not at all. The look on her face. Quickly Bev pulled at her necklace. Grabbing the glowing purple gem she stared at it in relief. Margie was still alive. That meant drill or not she would be here to pick them up soon.

  She felt her brother’s heart drop then looked at the gem again. It had just gone dark.

  Margie was dead.

  They were alone.

  And they could never go home.