When Sora heard the woman's voice, he suddenly let out a sigh of relief. He struggled to turn his head and look at the woman. He was stunned to see that the woman was actually a beauty. She had long blue hair and a slim figure. Her small nose and roundish face made her look very cute. But she also had an aura about her that made it known that she was powerful. But besides all this, the thing that Sora cared about the most was that she had no malicious intent towards him or Leena. He had met many bad people and developed a keen sense to those who wished to use him or cause him harm.

With heavy eyes, Sora forced a smile as he weakly asked. “Can you take my sister? Take her away from here to a place where she will always be safe? She can use ice magic. If you could take her and let her live a better life….”

“Hmmm…” The woman’s eyes flashed with interest. She looked at the little girl then at Sora and found the two to be very funny. It was clear as day to her that the two were not related by blood. One with platinum blonde hair while the other had whose hair was now blue like her own due to her element awakening. But the main thing was that the boy in front of her had no mage soul, while the girl did, this is not something that can happen between siblings. Either they both had mage souls, or they did not. It all depended on the parents of the two. As long as one parent had a mage soul, their children would also have one, even if it was weak. But these two… 

Even though she was curious, she knew now was not the time to be asking such things. She looked at Sora and then at Leena’s pale face, who was sleeping soundly in the young man’s arms, and sighed. She never thought of taking on a disciple. She had only come over out of curiosity. But since she found a little girl who was also of the ice element, she saw no harm in keeping such a cute little girl at her side to raise into her successor. “So be it. I will do as you ask. I promise I will keep her safe and give her a much better life. As proof, I will form a magic contract with her.”

Sora weakly smiled. He had no idea what the woman was talking about, he only knew that she had said yes. With the last of his strength, passed Leena over to the woman. “Thank you… At least knowing I could save her in this life was worth it.” 

Sora felt at peace. He may not have been able to protect Ai, but at least he was able to protect Leena. He struggled to stay standing as the woman waved her hand, and a magic circle appeared under her and Leena’s feet. “I, Ellyn Perret, hereby swear on my mage soul to give this girl….”

“Leena…” Sora forced out a reply when he saw Ellyn staring at him.

Ellyn nodded and continued: “To give this girl, Leena, a better life and keep her safe until she is able to go out on her own. I will also teach her how to use her powers so she can grow up to become a strong ice mage.”  

“Thank you…”  Sora did not know if the woman was tricking him or not, but he felt like he could trust her. His body swayed as it finally gave out. He had lost too much blood. He knew death was near. But he did not care. He had kept Leena alive and was able to give her a better life. The world grew dark around him as he closed his eyes. He fell to the ground with a smile on his face. He truly looked at peace.

“Such a funny fellow. Doesn’t he know now that I promised I would give the little girl a better life, that I can’t let him die? He does look peaceful, though.” Ellyn sighed. She had arrived too late, but she saw how the young man used his own body to shield his sister. She felt this young man was very good. “It’s a shame he does not have a mage soul.”

“Mmm… Brother…” A tiny voice came from Ellyn’s embrace.  She looked down to see the little girl was slowly waking up. “Bro… Who are you!? Where is my brother!?”

“Calm down, little one. I am about to treat your brother now.” Ellyn said with a smile as she raised her hand. A magic circle formed under Sora’s body as the women whispered lightly: “Encase!”

Sora's body was suddenly surrounded by a block of ice, sealing him inside. Leena turned and looked at her brother, who was lying in a pool of blood inside the block of ice in horror. “What!? What did you do to my brother!?” 

Leena struggled with all her might to get out of the woman's embrace, but she was still too weak after using so much magic. Tears fell from her eyes as she bit and clawed Ellyn. “Little one, relax. I am saving his life. I need to bring him out of the forest to treat him. If you keep doing this, he will die.”

Leena froze upon hearing Ellyn's words. She looked at the woman with tearful eyes, unsure of what she should do. Her brother was her world. She did not wish to lose him. In her confusion, she heard the woman's voice enter her ear. “Are you sure you want me to save him? He’s not even your real brother after all.” 

“What? You're lying!” Leena did not understand why this woman would say such a thing. Her brother was her brother!

“No, I'm not. He has no mage soul while you do. This alone is enough to tell that you are not his sister or related to him in any way. Unless you both came from different mothers or fathers. But judging from the clothes you're wearing, that is highly doubtful. My guess is one of you was an orphan that was picked up. So tell me. Do you wish to save him even though he is not your real kin?” Ellyn was testing Leena. She wanted to see if this little girl was truly worthy of her teaching her. She would still keep to her contract even if the little girl did not pass. But she would not teach her everything she knew. She would just make it so she could survive.

“If we are not blood related, I can just marry him! Then we can be a real family!” Leena yelled. She gave Ellyn a nasty look before pushing on Ellyn to try to get away again. Ellyn stared at the little girl in disbelief. She never thought the little girl would answer in such a way. The little girl passed with flying colors!

“Haha! There is such a way! Alright, let’s first get your brother healed up.” After saying those words, Ellyn rose off the ground, while at the same time, the cube of ice that Sora was sealed in also rose off the ground. With Leena pointing the way, they flew off towards the village.