Kira stared at him. “But—but how…”

“There’s no time, ” said Wyrdrune. “Your hand!”

She held up her hand, palm out. A bright green beam of

thaumaturgic force lanced out from the emerald in Wyrdrune’s

forehead and struck the sapphire in her palm. A blue beam leapt

from her hand to the ruby embedded in his chest. The Living

Triangle was formed, the aura of its light grew brighter and

brighter, blocking them from view. Akiro and Yohaku shielded their

eyes as the glowing triangle began to revolve, spinning around and

around, faster and faster, rapidly rising up into the sky. There was

a crack of thunder and it disappeared.

She was all alone at the summit now. As the mountain began to

tremble, people ran screaming down the trails, bowling over and

trampling those who were coming up behind them. Only those who

had been at the summit and had seen her start to cast her potent

spell knew what was really happening. The panic spread up and

down the trails like wildfire and it was instantly infectious. The

crowd surged down the trails, in the grip of mass hysteria as the

panic flowed down the slopes of Mt. Fuji like the burning lava that

would soon start streaming down its surface.

The wind around the summit was blowing with hurricane force

and dark thunderclouds roiled above the mountain. Bolts of

thaumaturgic force and jagged lightning split the sky. The ground

beneath it trembled. The molten magma deep beneath the earth

was surging upward. Soon, it would break through the crust. The

earth would split and fissures would form, belching forth steam. In

a matter of moments, the pressure would become too great and the

ground would heave and buckle. The ancient volcano would come

alive again, erupting with tremendous force, sending forth salvos of

rock and ash. Lava would flow down the trails, it would cook the

fleeing hikers and the ash would rise up high into the sky, where

the magic thunderclouds would charge it with a lethal energy far

deadlier than any natural radiation. It would cover the area for

miles, falling on the city, poisoning everything it touched. And Leila

would be above it all, absorbing all the life energy that was released

as death rained down on Tokyo. Her flame-red hair billowed in the

wind like a corona; her eyes were wild with anticipation; her lips