"No, no..."
Evelyn was the first to shake her head.
With both hands on the old man, she persisted.
Sweat continued to drip down from the side of her face, her face growing paler. But it was useless. The frost continued to grow.
"No, no, no..."
Evelyn's expression grew darker by the second, her teeth clenched tight as a storm of emotions rippled through her. I tried my best to steady her, to calm the chaos inside her, but in the end, a blue orb of light engulfed her body.
"It's... okay."
The old man's voice whispered again, the frost taking over his chest.
"I-It's not."
Until the end, Evelyn didn't stop.
But everyone in the room could see that it was of no use.
"I can... see t-that you're trying, but you shouldn't.. waste all of your energy on an old man like me."
As he spoke, he closed his eyes and sealed his mana.
The meaning behind his actions was obvious.
He had given up.
