"What happened?" Arthur asked.
He sat on a sofa in one of the mansion's sitting rooms, his elbows resting on his thighs and his fingers entwined. Isolde sat beside him with one leg crossed over the other.
"He's depleted," she replied.
"That sounds much better than what I feared. It's good that he isn't wounded, but we can't let people know he's run out of mana. If they find out, the authorities will realise the gate to Pathan can't be opened at the moment, and they'll take advantage of it. It could destroy the hope we've given these people. Imagine what they would do to Staten Island."
Isolde studied her father's concerned expression. "It's crazy how even something like running out of mana has become such a critical issue when it comes to him."
"He's beyond a public figure now. He's a symbol, a promise that Humanoid Summoners can have a better future. If he dies, there's no telling when another opportunity like this will come."
