The golden blur of Jaune's rage was closing on Glynda Goodwitch, the lightning on his hand ready to shatter her defenses.
Amber, the newly healed Maiden, arrived in a flash of wind and fire.
Unlike Glynda, who was focused on defense, Amber focused on the core of the attack: the overwhelming emotion.
She didn't lash out; instead, she enveloped herself in a brilliant, soothing wave of Maiden Aura—the calm power of nature and seasons.
She thrust her palm out, not in attack, but in intervention.
The green-and-gold energy of her nature magic gently collided with the red-hot fury of Jaune's Dragon Aura.
The collision didn't explode; it resonated.
It was a massive mental push, a soothing stream of calm cutting through the madness.
The force of her power caused a flicker in Jaune's eyes.
He hesitated, his attack momentarily stalling, the raw, ancient rage inside him recognizing the immense, balanced power of the Maiden.
Amber's power successfully calmed him down a little bit, pulling the pure fury back just enough for his core system to intervene.
Then came the high-pitched whine that only Jaune heard.
It was the desperate plea of his system.
[HOST! You must cease. I am enacting Emergency Control Protocol: Level Three!]
Ciel's voice, usually detached, was filled with desperate urgency.
In that instant, a subtle, cold force—purely mental, powered by Ciel's core processing—collided with the fading inferno of the Dragon God's rage.
It was the final, devastating blow to his emotional state.
The effect was instantaneous and agonizing. The golden light faded, the overwhelming heat of the Dragon's Aura snapped back, and the lightning around Jaune's hand winked out.
His eyes, seconds ago filled with primal fury, cleared into confused, exhausted blue.
Jaune hung suspended in the air, his body limp.
The combination of Amber's elemental soothing and Ciel's forced shutdown left him completely drained.
He dropped from the sky like a stone, only to be caught mid-air by a powerful telekinetic cushion from a stunned Glynda.
Glynda lowered Jaune onto the ground inside the shop.
Cardin was long gone. Jaune lay there, his mind reeling as the system delivered its severe verdict, the cold mechanical voice cutting through his exhaustion.
[Emergency Protocol Sanction Activated. The Host initiated an unprovoked, lethal attack on high-ranking personnel (Professor Goodwitch and Fall Maiden Amber), risking exposure of the Multiverse Shop. The System has incurred a massive expenditure of personal energy to stabilize the Host.]
[PENALTY APPLIED: Due to direct, unsanctioned use of core processing power, the System must enter a mandatory recharge state. Direct verbal communication with Host Jaune Arc is disabled for 30 days. Operational tasks and inventory access remain functional.]
Jaune felt a sudden, crushing silence in his mind where Ciel's presence had always been—a silence far more terrifying than any roar.
He sat up, pushing himself with trembling arms, seeing the looks of awe, terror, and confusion on the faces of Glynda, Amber, and Velvet.
"What... what just happened?"
Jaune whispered, utterly lost, the question directed more at the silent Ciel than anyone present.
Glynda knelt beside him, her expression a mix of stern authority and genuine concern.
"That, Mr. Arc, is what we need to discuss. In my office. Now. And you will tell us everything."
Minutes later, Jaune, Glynda, and Amber were in Ozpin's tower office.
Ozpin tried to exert his authority immediately, his cane resting on his desk.
"Mr. Arc, you will explain, fully and completely, the source of that golden energy, the power that allowed you to fly, and why you attacked a Professor of this academy."
Jaune, despite the exhaustion and Ciel's silence, found the resolve of his inner Dragon.
He met Ozpin's gaze, his own eyes locking onto the man's.
"I will not tell you anything. And if you force me, I will leave,"
Jaune stated calmly, the finality in his tone absolute.
Ozpin instantly read the sheer, unshakable will behind the threat. Jaune wasn't bluffing.
He would lose a powerful asset—someone who could provide miraculous healing and weapons, someone who was perhaps the only person capable of truly fighting back against Salem's forces.
He could not bear the risk of Jaune leaving and potentially joining hands with Salem instead, out of spite or necessity.
Jaune then offered a partial, carefully constructed truth.
He explained that his momentary madness was due to a primal surge of his Semblance, which he called Golden Lightning.
He claimed the flight and the immense power were simply aspects of its uncontrolled release, caused by the extreme stress of seeing his employee in pain.
Ozpin could not do anything but accept the half-truth.
"Very well, Mr. Arc. We will proceed under the assumption that this was an unfortunate incident of an unstable Semblance. However, until we can be sure you won't lose control again, you will be under strict supervision."
Ozpin agreed to let him go, but the silent threat of his power had just rewritten the rules of engagement.