In another office not far from Garon's, several mages were watching the Review Committee member who kept convulsing on the floor. This was Kolon Francois, a fourth-ring mage. Pinned to the collar of his mage robe was a silver moon badge, the symbol of the Pureblood Faction.
The Pureblood Faction had been passed down from ancient magic. It was an organization left among modern mages by bloodline mages. These mages revered purity of blood and believed that teaching magic to families without magical heritage was an act of blasphemy. Occasionally, extremist Pureblood Faction mages would commit crimes and be punished, but because the overwhelming majority of Pureblood Faction families had long histories and were relatively well-behaved, the council tacitly permitted their existence.
Opposite the Pureblood Faction was the Mystic Faction, a group who believed magic had power only when it remained mysterious. That could be set aside for now.
The normally young and impetuous Review Committee member before them now had the magic in his entire body flowing backward, bursting one blood vessel after another inside him. No one dared rashly step forward to save him, because that berserk magic could very well spread to them and trigger a chain of dangers.
"Everyone, get back."
It was not until Fleming hurried over that he reached out and grabbed Kolon by the shoulder. A vast surge of magic instantly poured in, attempting to suppress the turbulent current.
But it was already too late. Unlike the storm within Garon that had yet to rise, the inside of this mage's body was already a fully formed tsunami. Even with Fleming giving it everything he had, he could hardly stop it.
"Ah—"
With a scream, countless flowers of blood bloomed across Kolon's body, staining the wool carpet red and dyeing the entire office crimson.