When Luo Zhen and the others returned to the surface, a group of girls was desperately fending off attackers in another corner of the academy.
"Wind Elves! Please help me!"
Charlotte shouted loudly as she raised her magical power and called out to the spirits in the surrounding area, causing all the wind-attributed spirits to gather and send howling whirlwinds sweeping in every direction.
There, one out-of-control Automaton Doll after another relentlessly pursued Charlotte. Caught head-on by the incoming whirlwinds, they were all blown away and vanished from the spot.
"Ha... ha... ha..."
Having already used Spirit Arts an unknown number of times, Charlotte began to pant. The magical power within her seemed to have been nearly depleted. On top of that, repeatedly concentrating intensely to summon spirits had left her utterly exhausted, and she was on the verge of collapsing.
Seeing this, Anri and Frey, who had stayed by Charlotte's side the entire time, hurriedly caught her.
"Are you all right, Big Sister?"
Anri's face was filled with worry and anxiety.
"I... I'm fine...!"
Charlotte answered while panting, but judging by her utterly exhausted appearance, she looked nothing like someone who was fine.
"I'm sorry. None of us were able to help."
Frey lowered her head in deep guilt.
"Woof!"
"Woof, woof!"
Beside them, the Garm dogs all let out cries that sounded humiliated and aggrieved. Some of them even looked as though they could collapse at any moment. Clearly, they had exhausted themselves resisting the interference of Absolute Sovereignty and were completely unable to fight.
"Sorry, Charlotte. We held you back."
Sigmund lay on Charlotte's beret with a pained expression and spoke in a low voice.
When the academy came under attack, Charlotte, Frey, and Anri had happened to be traveling together, gathering intelligence on the "Thirteen." As