The upper half of the N'theris was gone.
Eleanor's ears rang as if someone had screamed into them.
Dust flooded her vision.
Around her, people groaned and struggled to get up.
Some of the weaker awakeners clutched their heads, blood trickling from their ears.
Eleanor coughed as she stood, brushing off chunks of gravel from her arms.
Her heart was racing, but her focus was clear.
Something had pierced the serpent.
She stepped around a chunk of rubble and saw a tiny metal spear embedded in the base of the creature's tail.
It wasn't just embedded.
It was lodged so deep it had stopped the serpent from thrashing in its death throes.
Then she noticed the flames.
Flickers of golden fire burned around the serpent's wounds, searing through its flesh and halting its regeneration.
She could feel the warm and overwhelming mana.
"That's Alice's flame. Only she can use this type of mana," Eleanor muttered.
