The giant Undead paused—then roared at Bella Noll with rage, as if suddenly sensing a massive threat from the tiny woman before it.

  It charged toward Bella Noll with violent, heavy steps that shook nearly the entire cemetery.

  Undead minions followed behind, but they weren’t as fast as the Rank 2 Undead, who swiftly appeared in front of Bella Noll.

  The moment it appeared, it raised its right hand and punched toward Bella Noll with its bulging, rotting fist.

  "FLOOD OF LIGHT!"

  Bella Noll leaned forward slightly and unsheathed her blade completely in a single sweep, slashing toward the undead.

  As if a flood had been released from her blade, the entire area brightened with dense white light covering the Rank 2 Undead along with its mortal undead and almost the entire cemetery.

  The onlookers gaped at the phenomenon.

  "Light Element!" Jarvis's eyes trembled with shock.

  Elements were already quite rare, and among the infamous 'White Category Elements,' Light Element was rarer. As far as Jarvis knew, he didn't think there was a second person who had Light Element within Battle City or its surroundings.

  Eric, Lyria, and Livy heard Jarvis's shocked murmur and were confused, but they ignored him—they were smart enough to know they were dumb and didn’t know anything related to Mana Wielders.

  Their entire focus was on the magical sight before them, which they couldn’t describe as it was their first time witnessing such a mystical event.

  The punch of the Undead Leader never arrived. After being flooded with white light, it was obliterated, followed by its minions. The flood of 'Light' didn’t pause, covering the area with its glow for a few short moments before slowly fading away.

  When the light disappeared, what everyone saw took their breath away.

  Ringwood Town’s founder, Chris Laroche—the mid-stage Rank 2 Undead—along with perhaps a hundred or more mortal undead had vanished without a trace. The entire graveyard was cleansed: corrupted trees, grass, coffins—everything was gone, as if they had never existed. The foul stench and horrifying energy permeating the cemetery had disappeared, leaving behind a clean field.

  The onlookers stood wide-mouthed in shock, including the three mortals.

  Eric, Lyria, and Livy had never imagined something like this was possible. Especially Eric—he was deeply moved by something so 'magical' and overpowered.

  It was such a clean AOE attack that, if only he had known this in his past life, he could have used it to earn trillions by removing overgrown grass around the world! Not only grass—he could have also solved the trash problem that the advanced 21st-century people were breeding around the globe.

  Eric was truly impressed by Bella Noll's attack. He didn’t know how tough the undead's bodies were, but obliterating trees, 'humans,' and coffins from existence was undeniably badass and ridiculously powerful.

  Even Riya was shocked speechless. She once again started to reevaluate the depth of so-called Mana Wielders and Mana attacks.

  Lyria and Livy gasped at this power. They had never seen such a powerful display in their 'ex-house'—in fact, they had never witnessed any spell except for a few unimpressive Elemental Controls. But now, they were truly amazed by how skilled and formidable Mana Wielders could become. They wondered if they would ever wield such immense power in their lifetimes. But first, they needed to force Bella Noll to teach them the fundamentals of Mana Wielding! As they barely knew only a few things.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Unknown to everyone's amazement and shock, Bella Noll, who had lost a huge chunk of her lifespan, wasn't bothered by it and was currently staring at her silent Juliane.

  A large crack appeared and soon spread across the blade. Before it could crumble to the ground, Bella Noll quickly put Juliane back inside her scabbard.

  A silent tear fell from her eye, which no onlookers managed to see.

  Bella Noll whispered silently, "Good night, Juliane. We shall meet again."

  She closed her eyes for a moment. After a few short moments, she took a deep breath and glanced around the graveyard.

  Umbroxia was now completely cleansed.

  Bella Noll silently nodded to herself, then turned around and started heading back toward the gate, where everyone stared at her with deep admiration.

  After arriving, Bella Noll muttered silently to Eric, Lyria, and Livy, "Let's return." She then started walking south—toward the orphanage.

  Bella Noll paused after taking a few steps and reminded Jarvis without turning back, "Jarvis, it's better you check on the neighboring human settlements and help them before those troubles reach Ringwood." After saying that, she sped up and disappeared from the six Mana Wielders' sight, who stood frozen in place, their earlier shock still lingering deep in their minds.

  Jarvis' face paled as he understood that trouble was still not over.

  He decided to take a few Mana Wielders and began journeying to all other villages and towns early in the morning. Though he doubted those places needed help, as all towns and villages had far more Mana Wielders than their Ringwood Town.

  Bella Noll didn't speak a word throughout the journey. Eric, Lyria, and Livy could somewhat sense that Bella Noll's mood was quite off, so they didn't ask anything and sprinted behind her as she walked very fast—to the point that the three needed to run at full speed.

  As soon as Bella Noll arrived in front of the orphanage gate, she suddenly spewed out a massive amount of blood from her mouth and started falling forward.

  Eric, Lyria, and Livy's hearts nearly leaped out of their mouths. Lyria and Livy swiftly reached beside Bella Noll and caught her before she fell down.

  "G-Grandma, w-what’s wrong?" Livy asked with tear-filled eyes, but Bella Noll didn’t answer and frowned deeply with her eyes closed, while blood kept slipping out from the corner of her mouth.

  Eric noticed that even in her semi-unconscious state, Bella Noll was still grasping her blade tightly and didn't even let it touch the ground, despite the fact she was suffering so much.

  But her hand had started to loosen.

  Eric swiftly reached out to catch the blade before it touched the ground while quickly ordering both Lyria and Livy, "Carry her inside first!"

  The moment Eric grabbed the blade, he nearly threw it away.

  It burned like lava and was extremely heavy. He guessed it weighed way over 300 kg!

  Lyria and Livy didn't speak a word and quickly carried Bella Noll inside.

  After entering the hall, they swiftly made their way toward the stairs. Bella Noll's room was on the second floor, not too far from her office.

  Just as they arrived near the stairs, Bella Noll regained consciousness.

  She quickly stood up straight as if she was ready to fight at any moment.

  After seeing the situation and Lyria and Livy's red eyes, Bella Noll chuckled, "Don't worry, I am fine and will still live. Take a break from morning exercise, as it’s already late. I will begin weapon training in the evening."

  She then turned toward Eric, whose face was calm and even indifferent.

  She felt her mouth twitch.

  'He seemed ready to bury me at any moment now.'

  She laughed in her heart and was very satisfied with Eric's calm demeanor, as that was a proper response—especially when others were panicking. At least one person must remain calm in any situation.

  Bella Noll reached out with her palm, "Hand me my... Juliane."

  She could see Eric was already suffering, his hands were completely red and burnt, but she was very grateful, as he still hadn't dropped it or dragged it. Juliane was, in a sense, far closer to her than her dead family.

  “Let me carry it to your room.” Eric shook his head and started climbing the stairs.

  Bella Noll shrugged and climbed behind Eric, while both Lyria and Livy followed behind her as if she were a prisoner in between.

  Bella Noll once again chuckled silently while shaking her head. She understood that both girls were worried she might fall down the stairs, but even if she did, with her constitution, she would barely feel any pain or receive a single scratch.

  She avoided speaking anything more, as she needed some good rest now. Her insides felt completely hollow, with almost no sensation.

  After they all reached Bella Noll's room, she once again requested her blade.

  Eric hesitated. He felt it was better to carry it inside, but then he realized that to Bella Noll, neither the weight nor the heat was a problem. So, he handed it over while feeling his palm had almost melted.

  After grabbing Juliane, Bella Noll waved her other hand, "Go back, all of you. Good night." After saying that, she went inside and closed the door behind her.

  Eric, Lyria, and Livy glanced at each other. They were still worried, but there was nothing else they could do. So, they all went back to their rooms to grab a set of night clothes, as they weren't going to sleep without taking a fresh bath.

  After entering her room, Bella Noll gently put her blade on her wooden table.

  She lovingly caressed the blade handle and its scabbard, then softly muttered, "Good night, Juliane. Wait for… three, maybe four more years."

  She had lost quite a good chunk of her lifespan in a single night, but she wasn't regretful.

  She was just a little sad that her previous plan to accompany Eric, Lyria, and Livy until they became adults would probably fail.

  She would be extremely happy even at her deathbed if she at least learned that they had all become Mana Wielders, but that was just her wishful thinking.

  Bella Noll sighed quietly.

  She planned to seriously teach Eric, Lyria, and Livy every skill she knew or thought of from the next day onward. And only after that would she answer all their queries related to Mana Wielders, as knowing these things before would only distract them. They had already swallowed their curiosity for so long—a few more years wouldn't change anything.

  Juliane, on the wooden desk, stayed completely silent and no longer shook or responded to Bella Noll.