As Karin stood poised to strike Enjya, Sandalion narrowed his eyes, wand raised in front of him to maintain his Downdraft and ignoring the debris flying in all directions from the force of the wind. It would ruin the already fragile integrity of the palace floors, but it was a necessary step if his guess was correct. Enjya wasn't the biggest threat here, he was only throwing his fire around and running away when things got too hot. No, it was Ifrit that would really be a problem, and wind was the only counter to the creature as far as he knew.

Still, fighting the magical gases' willpower was taking its toll on his own reserves as he watched the debris attempting to coalesce in the air, breaking apart into ever smaller pieces as the creature tried to add on to its own mass, and above what was once the roof, a Flame Serpent was also hovering, not moving forward as it would be immediately destroyed if it got too close to the air current.

He didn't have the insane willower stores that Karin possessed, so he wouldn't be able to maintain this forever. At best, he'd be able to manage the stalemate for a few minutes, but at the same time, Karin's Chevalier Style was useless against something with no body, even if she could defeat the mad child. He scanned the cross-section the attack gave him of the palace, looking for something to give him an edge and actually destroy Ifrit before it could outlast him. If he just fought the familiar off, the master would fall in line as well…

His eyes widened in surprise as he felt his mouth covered by a gloved hand, looking back and reaching his free hand backwards before halting in place as the masked person spoke in a low voice, right next to his ear so he could hear over the wind.

"By the Founder's shield, by Brimir's magic, and by Sasha's sword..." the person said in a voice suggesting that he was barely of age, and the marchion relaxed as his mouth was uncovered, responding in a hushed whisper.

"-We follow the twin moons' gaze." Sandalion finished, and though he didn't turn his attention from his Downdraft, he had calmed down, shaking his head. "What is a member of Blue Moon doing here?"

"Clearing survivors from the area." the boy replied, setting his hand on the blond man's shoulder. "You're the last one that needs to go, come with me."

"Wait, what about Karin? She can't fight Enjya by herself!" Sandalion responded, and the operative shook his head, his grip tightening to encourage him to follow.

"She will be fine, the king is en route right now and the castle is being surrounded by friendly forces. We were ordered to leave Karin de Maillart to her own devices and evacuate everyone else. Come with me." His insistence on moving was more forceful now, but Sandalion pushed his hand away as he scowled.

"I won't leave my fiancee behind." he responded. "No matter what happens, I am here to support-"

"She is likely to cast Heavy Wind." With that statement, Sandalion went quiet, eyes going wide at the statement. "And not only that, but Lord Innocentius and Guiteau suspect that she is very close to performing Square-class magic. If she is to use both, then-"

"Then this whole city might be annihilated." As the operative nodded, he narrowed his eyes, turning to look over the hole in the floor at where Karin had begun fighting, before biting his lip and lowering his wand as the wind faded away. "Invoking Innocentius' name...If he says something, I have to believe it. Just know that if anything happens to Karin, I will not forgive him for predicting incorrectly." As the two began to quickly move through the palace towards the exit, he turned to look at the back of the agent's head. "Who are you? Wearing masks is Gallia's thing, not ours."

"I'm just a new recruit, but if you must know my name, it is Ghoti. Please don't insult my name, I'm aware it's odd that it's pronounced 'fish'."

"Ghoti...I don't question unusual names, thank you for not attempting to force me to leave." he responded, and the boy looked down briefly, before shaking off the gratitude as they continued onwards.

It wasn't long before they made it out through the front gate, which was luckily intact as Guiteau shouted for them to move behind him as he cast his Hurricane once again, Ghoti raising his hand in a salute.

"By the Founder's shi-"

"Never mind that, just get as far away from here as you can!" the Square-class interrupted, his eyes narrowed as he focused on his magic. "Osmond, Kent, and Lady Marianne are at the other sides of the building. Kent felt some huge magic forming inside, it's too dangerous now to let you stay here. Just focus on running as far as you-"

His voice was ripped from his throat as the palace exploded in front of them, sending the other two to the ground as he barely kept his balance, raising a hand to protect his eyes as Hurricane was ripped to shreds by the powerful current of air circulating from the center of the building, creating a deafening roar as it extended into the sky and forced the smoke clouds to rotate around the tunnel.

"Heavy...Wind?" Sandalion whispered to himself, his voice lost in the sound as he stared at the sight. The last time he'd seen the spell cast, it hadn't been nearly this damaging, and though it seemed to be contained within the boundaries of the palace, this was far and above anything he'd known Karin to be capable of.

Guiteau grit his teeth, shouting over the sound of the wind. "Kent said it was just a Heavy Wind, but I've never even seen Tornado cast this strong before!"

Ghoti had fallen to the ground, his mask having slipped from his face, and he kept his head towards the ground as he scrambled for it, pulling it back on before turning around to push himself to a standing position, though against the wind, he couldn't do more than bend to a knee as they watched a dome of earth shoot from the ground at a different side, resisting the wind despite the strength as it wrapped around to block it from affecting the surrounding area.

As the sound died down with it contained, the Blue Moon agent righted himself, adjusting his mask so he could properly see through the eyeholes. "Lord Innocentius was forced to use his golemancy. This is a testament to Karin's power."

"There's no way Enjya survived that, is there?" Sandalion asked as Guiteau blinked, shaking his head as he raised his wand in preparation to cast again.

"It's strong." he stated. "I see why Kent told me to watch her progress, that's far more willpower than anyone but he possesses."

~~~With Innocentius~~~

"Boulder!" Marianne shouted, lifting the stones from the ground to smash into the wall of hardened mud conjured from Kent's body, the princess glancing back at him as her spell pushed the mud wall forward, rupturing it and creating an entrance just big enough for her to enter. "Kent, are you okay? How long can you stand up like that?"

The mud he was generating had come from his own body, leaving his arms and legs appearing skeletal as the protective mud was being diverted away from himself. However, he chuckled, one eye narrowed as he flinched from the mild pain of the spell. "I'll be fine, I'm just not used to going all-out. Can you see in there?"

"Yes, I can." she replied, keeping the Boulder functional so that it could divert the intense wind around her and allow her to move forward. "This is crazy, I've neer heard of someone who could survive that, but that Enjya is still standing. It looks like Flame Serpent is protecting him, but there's no sign of the ifrit."

"I'll defend, you press on." the Chevalier said, and she nodded, pressing past the opening as he followed soon after.

The palace had been turned to rubble, a massive expanse of lifeless stone and wood strewn about and thrown into the air by the winds, and in the center, Karin was still on the ground, not moving as Enjya stood next to her, his blue flames surrounding his body as the Heavy Wind attempted to lap away the fire.

The boy laughed as he knelt down, grabbing the pinkette by the hair again to lift her up as the blue fire spread to her body, though she was silent, unable to respond as all of her attention was diverted to the magic she was casting. Forget being able to cast anything else, she has completely lost her senses to the spell's power.

"You're strong, but suddenly getting stronger isn't going to make you win. The center of a storm is always the weakest, all you've done is make my job easier. Purgatory Flames."

With her unable to react, she had no chance to avoid the fire as it started up on her scalp, causing the woman to scream as the Heavy Wind fluttered, the current growing chaotic as her willpower was sapped away, and Enjya laughed as he threw her forward, the fire going out from the motion but doing its job of distracting her long enough for the spell to fizzle away. "Was that your last resort? Ascending to Square-class, using an unbeatable spell? But it was too strong, it would have only been a few seconds before you ran out of stamina anyway, and Flame Serpent is enough to handle-"

"Feoh! Rad! Eolh! Boulder!" Marianne shouted, and as the wind faded, Innocentius jumped forward, lifting his leg to kick the slow-moving stone and send it flying forward as the Flame Serpent reacted instinctively, abandoning its host to wash over the rock and eat away at it as Kent rushed forward, the Mud Wall crumbling as it was brought back to his body to allow him to raise his now fully formed arm in a forward punch.

Against Karin's Fist, Enjya had had plenty of time to react and Ifrit's help, but Kent was an experienced mage with the element of surprise on his side, and the child had little chance to react before he was slammed to the ground, instantly knocked unconscious as the air went still again.

Marianne rushed to Karin's side, checking her pulse before looking to the Chevalier as he reached to grab the revolutionary. "You really can't be overestimated, you're by far the strongest mage here. Is it over now?"

The man nodded, turning to look around the plain that had once been a structure before sighing. "To think that the worst damage was caused by an ally...We've lost many civilians and sacrificed Yuya's life, but this rebellion is over."

~~~A few days later~~~

As Karin roused from her rest, she groaned, raising her hand to scratch the bandages on her head before noticing Sandalion sitting next to her, the man smiling as he noticed she was awake.

"Welcome back to the world of the living." he said, and she nodded, a quiet "Hm." her response as she looked around.

"Is this...Are we still in Tristania?" she asked, and he nodded, sighing as he raised his shoulders.

"It's a temporary infirmary while they're still clearing the debris away, but it all ended. To be honest, I thought it would take longer, but I guess there's a reason Innocentius is known for his power."

"Hm. What about the revolutionaries? And Yuya?" she asked, and her expression dropped at the sad look on his face.

"When Enjya was defeated, the Purgatory Flames were extinguished, but it was already too late. Seems like her mind broke from the torture, she died right after the fighting ended."

The baronetess looked down at her lap, her hands balling into fists as she grit her teeth. "Is that so...I hope she considers it to be a worthy death. At least you're alright, Sandalion."

Sandalion nodded idly, before a small smile split his face. "I was pretty useless, sorry for leaving you behind back there. I wanted to stay, but when I saw that Heavy Wind of yours, I realized I really am a hundred years too early to match you. Karin the Heavy Wind, Square-class wind mage...I kind of want a cool nickname now too. How about 'Centurion'?"

She couldn't help but chuckle at the statement, before turning her head to look outside the window cut from the fabric shelter making up this temporary room. "Centurion...Sure, I don't mind that. What about Enjya? Was he killed?"

"No, Marteau and Enjya were both captured and Enjya's magic was sealed for now." he responded, crossing his arms at his chest as he thought. "I think Marteau was made Osmond's slave so he could keep watch over him at the Academy, but he willingly gave up so he's probably not a threat anymore. Enjya's going to be put in Margrave Gramont's soldier ranks once he wakes up, and he's also a slave now. He did a lot of horrible stuff, and he killed King Philippe, but they decided he's way too young to be aware what he was actually doing. They're probably thinking of turning him into a secret weapon or something, I don't know. I think he got renamed too, since they can't keep calling him Enjya all the time."

"What is he now?" she asked. "Something to do with Marteau's family name?"

Centurion nodded. "Yeah, he's keeping the Flame Serpent title, but he's being called Jean Colbert now."