The trio left Allen's room shaken and confused, their footsteps echoing down the corridor.
Mary kept glancing back. "Why… why would he say something like that…?"
Suzanne folded her arms tightly, trying to hide the tremble in her fingers. "He must've been joking. Right? There's no way."
Andrews let out a nervous laugh. "Yeah! He's the world's strongest mage! He can't even die. Maybe it was just some weird test or—"
BWEEEEEOOOO— BWEEEEOOO—!!
A deafening alarm exploded through the halls.
Red glyphs flared to life along the walls.
Guards sprinted towards them, armor clanking, mages chanting detection spells.
"CATCH THOSE KIDS!! DO NOT LET THEM ESCAPE!!"
Mary froze mid-step. "W-wait… what kids?"
Suzanne's eyes widened. "…Us?"
Andrews flailed. "WHAT DID WE DO?! I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! I DIDN'T REALLY DO ANYTHING THIS TIME!!"
Panic rose like a wave as more guards thundered toward them, shouting orders.
The trio pressed themselves against the wall, trying to understand.
"We didn't even touch anything!" Mary whispered.
"We didn't cast a spell," Suzanne added.
"We didn't even breathe suspiciously!" Andrews cried.
Then—
A hand clamped over Andrews's mouth.
All three jumped.
"Shh."
They snapped their heads around.
Allen Bullard — the supposedly greatest mage alive — was crouched behind them, half hiding behind a decorative plant that was far too small to conceal him.
And they all screamed.
"AAAAAHHHHH—!!"
"DUDE!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!?" Andrews demanded, clutching his chest.
Mary stared. "Y-you're hiding?! From your own guards?!"
Suzanne's voice cracked. "Why is the world's strongest mage… crouching behind a fern!?"
Allen blinked slowly, exhaustion written all over his face.
"Well… uh…"
He scratched his cheek.
"I… kinda framed you kids."
Silence.
Absolute, stunned silence.
Mary's jaw dropped. "…You WHAT?"
Andrews pointed at himself in disbelief. "Framed. Us. For WHAT exactly?!"
Allen sighed as if this were the most normal thing in the world.
"Now everyone believes you killed me."
The trio's souls left their bodies.
Suzanne staggered back. "WHAT KIND OF CONCLUSION IS THAT!?"
Mary slapped both hands to her face. "W-we only talked to you for ten minutes!"
Andrews collapsed to his knees. "Bro— WHY!? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?"
Allen's expression barely moved…
Then slowly— very slowly— a grin spread across his face.
A tired, mischievous, slightly unhinged grin.
"Congratulations," he said lightly.
"You're now criminals. "
Before any of them could scream again—
He grabbed all three by the wrists.
"Let's run."
And the strongest mage in history…
dragged three horrified teenagers down the hallway as alarms blared and guards closed in.
The four of them pressed against the shadowy hallway wall, listening to guards sprint left and right like angry boars.
Mary sniffled softly. Suzanne wiped her eyes with her sleeve, trying to pretend she wasn't crying. Andrews stared at Allen with the most judgmental, offended expression in existence.
Allen finally sighed and sat cross-legged on the cold floor.
"…Fine. You deserve the truth."
Mary and Suzanne straightened, bracing themselves.
Andrews crossed his arms. "Yeah, you better explain, dude. Because right now, this all looks REAL illegal."
Allen's expression shifted—
the grin faded, the laziness dimmed, and for a split second he looked like someone far, far older.
"When I was five," Allen began quietly, "the kingdom realized what I was. A prodigy. A perfect weapon."
His hands tightened into fists.
"They sent me to war before I even understood what war meant."
Mary's tears welled up again.
Suzanne's face softened—this time not from shock, but from genuine pain.
"I saved the world. Again and again. I killed every threat they couldn't handle. Every monster they were afraid of."
His voice trembled faintly.
"Everyone got… comfortable. Lazy. They stopped training. Stopped preparing. 'The Great Mage will fix it,' they thought."
He looked at them with a sad, lopsided smile.
"I just… want to be normal for once. And the world won't let me step away unless someone else takes the blame for my disappearance."
A heavy silence followed.
Mary sobbed openly now, hands over her mouth.
Suzanne's cold facade shattered completely as tears streamed down.
Even Andrews stared, speechless.
"…There's no way we're falling for that sassy lie… right, guys?" Andrews asked loudly, puffing his chest out with fake confidence.
The girls bawled even harder.
Andrews frowned. "Seriously? Y'all believe that?"
He turned to Allen, squinting suspiciously.
"…This is just because you're too lazy to keep saving the world, isn't it?"
Allen froze.
Suzanne gasped. "Andrews—!"
Mary whispered, "H-how dare you—!"
Allen suddenly dropped to his knees and bowed so fast his forehead almost cracked the floor.
"H-HOW DID YOU CATCH UP TO THAT!? YOU'RE TRULY SMART!! ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!!!"
Andrews blushed with pride.
"Not to brag, but I did get a D in all my tests."
Suzanne stared at him flatly.
"…I now understand exactly what you meant by 'not to brag.'"
But panic returned quickly as Andrews grabbed Allen by the shoulders.
"Dude! We can't survive against an entire kingdom! We gotta get out of here alive! We need a plan—"
Footsteps thundered down the hall.
Guards.
Dozens.
Andrews panicked. "It's over— I'm selling you out—"
Before anyone could stop him, Andrews stepped right into the hallway.
"HEY! THIS IS ALL A MISUNDERSTANDING!" he shouted proudly. "We didn't kill the Great Mage! How could we even kill him?! That's impossible! Actually, he's RIGHT HERE!"
Allen had already begun tiptoeing away like a guilty cat.
Andrews grabbed his cloak and yanked him out, holding the world's strongest mage in the air like a confused banner.
Allen flailed. "PUT ME DOWN—!!"
The guards stared.
Silence.
Then one guard barked out a laugh.
"How dumb do you think we are!?" the guard snapped. "You expect us to believe THIS gloomy, weird-looking teen is the Greatest Mage?!"
Another guard nodded. "You underestimate our intelligence, boy!"
Allen blinked once.
Then he giggled.
Just a small, evil giggle.
The guards froze.
"…Oh no," Andrews whispered. "He's giggling."
"GET THEM!!" a guard screamed.
The entire squad charged.
Mary shrieked.
Suzanne grabbed Andrews's sleeve.
Allen snapped his fingers.
FLASH—
The world twisted.
Air cracked.
Light folded into itself.
And all four of them vanished from the hallway—
—only to reappear an instant later, stumbling onto the burning sands of a vast, empty desert.
The heat smacked them across the face like an angry parent.
Andrews collapsed. "WE'RE GONNA DIE OUT HERE!!"
Allen dusted off his cloak, perfectly calm.
"Well," he said casually, "welcome to your new life as fugitives."
The desert wind howled around them, whipping sand into their hair and faces.
Mary nearly toppled over as she tried to block the sun with her hands.
Suzanne stood absolutely still, as if trying to accept her fate.
Andrews lay spread-eagle in the sand, already defeated by life.
Allen looked around, scratching his cheek thoughtfully.
"…Huh. This is definitely not where I thought we'd end up."
Mary snapped her head toward him. "Y-you don't even know where we are!?"
Allen shrugged. "I said we should run. I didn't say I had a plan."
"WE'RE GONNA DIE HERE!!" Andrews howled from the ground.
Suzanne sighed, staring at Allen with a mixture of disbelief and betrayal. "So… this wasn't your secret hideout?"
Allen blinked.
"What hideout?"
Suzanne's voice cracked. "…You teleported us to a random place!?"
Allen pointed at her.
"Hey, random places are safer than predictable ones. Nobody would ever think to look for you in a giant deadly desert."
"That's because nobody would survive here!" Andrews shouted.
But Allen just walked over, grabbed him by the back of his shirt like a cat kitten, and yanked him upright.
"Relax," he said casually. "There's a town about half a day's walk east from here."
Andrews stared at him.
"…Then why didn't you teleport us there?"
Allen tilted his head.
"…I forgot."
Mary nearly fainted.
Suzanne silently screamed at the sky.
Andrews cried into his hands.
After a moment, Allen clapped his hands together.
"Anyway. Now that we're all here—"
"We're here because of YOU!" Mary shouted.
"Quiet, I'm having a speech moment," Allen said, holding up a finger.
The three teens stared at him with the tired eyes of people who had seen too much in one morning.
Allen took a breath.
"I believe in you."
They froze.
Allen continued, voice softer than before.
"I chose you three because I know you can handle this. You're strong, smart, capable—"
The other three slowly turned to look at Andrews.
Allen cleared his throat.
"…Most of you are smart."
Andrews gasped, betrayed. "WHAT!?"
Mary and Suzanne nodded. "That seems fair."
Allen went on.
"You three survived my pressure during the meeting. You kept up with my teleport. And besides—"
He flashed a lopsided grin.
"—there's no safer place than being with the greatest mage in the world."
Mary turned bright red.
Suzanne looked away, ears twitching.
Andrews rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah… but how did you even frame us!?" he demanded.
Allen perked up, proud.
"Oh! That part was easy."
He held up a finger like a teacher explaining basic math.
"I used magic to create a fake corpse."
Mary paled. "A f-fake… corpse?"
"Yup! Old man version of me. Super wrinkly. Very dead-looking. I really overdid the wrinkles— kinda sad, actually."
Suzanne covered her mouth. "And the guards… saw that?"
Allen nodded cheerfully.
"Then I cast a mass hallucination spell on everyone in the building. They all 'witnessed' you three stabbing the old me in the back."
He dusted his hands proudly.
"Simple, efficient, believable. Crime complete."
Mary shook violently. "T-that's horrifying!"
Suzanne whispered, "You… you really are a monster…"
Andrews squinted at him.
"…Wait. If the fake corpse was so realistic, couldn't you just… I don't know… put it somewhere else and pretend to retire?"
Allen blinked.
A long pause.
"…Ah."
Mary's voice cracked. "AH!?"
Suzanne grabbed his cloak. "You mean this entire mess—"
"—could've been avoided—" Mary added.
"—if you just retired LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!?" Andrews screamed.
Allen shrugged weakly.
"Well… I didn't really think about that."
The trio collapsed in the sand again.
But Allen knelt down beside them, expression uncharacteristically serious.
"You three are stuck with me now… but I promise I'll protect you. And… maybe this life will be more interesting than the one you were expecting."
The three teens looked up at him.
Mary sniffled. "Y-you really believe that…?"
Allen nodded.
Andrews groaned. "I swear if I die because of you—"
Suzanne nudged him. "You'll probably die because of your own stupidity first."
"HEY!"
Allen stood and dusted off his cloak.
"Alright. Let's get moving. If we walk now, we can reach the town before sunset. And don't worry— we'll blend in easily."
The trio stood up.
Mary blinked. "Blend in? How? We're wanted criminals!"
Allen smiled.
"Relax. Look around."
They looked.
Nothing but endless sand.
No posters.
No soldiers.
No search parties.
And Allen?
Well… nobody had ever actually seen his real face before.
He looked at them and winked.
"For now, we're just four ordinary travelers."
A moment of peace finally settled over them.
Then Andrews pointed into the distance.
"…Is that a giant sand-thing running at us?"
Allen squinted.
"…Ah. Yes. That's a sand wyvern."
Mary shrieked.
Suzanne turned pale.
Andrews began writing his will in the air.
Allen sighed.
"Well," he said casually, rolling up his sleeves, "time to stretch."
The sand wyvern galloped across the dunes, its massive body kicking up clouds of dust. Its wings unfurled, its jaws opened, and a low, thunderous roar shook the air.
Mary trembled.
Suzanne's hand went to her sword.
Andrews clenched his fists.
Allen rolled his shoulders, cracked his neck, and said:
"Well… guess I should warm up at least."
He stepped forward…
Raised his hand…
Looked directly at the charging beast…
Then yawned so hard he nearly fell over.
"…Actually," he muttered, "this looks really tiring."
Before the trio could even ask what he meant—
fwump
Allen dropped flat onto the sand face-first and immediately started snoring.
Mary screamed, "ALLEN!?"
Suzanne yelled, "ARE YOU SERIOUS!?!?"
Andrews shouted, "NOW!?! YOU SLEEP NOW!?!?"
Allen mumbled into the sand:
"Wake me up when you're done. Don't wanna fight stuff that didn't do anything to me…"
And he was out.
Dead asleep.
Like a baby.
Right in front of a charging wyvern.
Mary's eye twitched.
Suzanne's lips trembled.
Andrews cracked his knuckles.
"…Fine," Mary snapped, drawing both her short blades.
Suzanne pulled her black-wood staff from her back. "Let's get this over with."
Andrews smirked, drawing his sword. "Time to show this oversized lizard who the REAL MVPs are."
The wyvern lunged.
The trio moved.
Mary dashed forward, pink hair flying behind her like a streak. She slashed across the wyvern's front legs, carving glowing runes with each strike.
Suzanne muttered a cold incantation.
Dark vines burst from the sand, entangling the monster's wings.
Andrews leapt high, sword raised.
"FALCON— SLAM—!!"
The wyvern smacked face-first into the desert as Andrews drove his blade down its skull.
BOOM!
A small explosion of sand shot upward.
The wyvern twitched…
…then went limp.
All three teens exhaled, brushing off sand.
Mary glared at Allen's sleeping body. "I can't believe he made us do that."
Suzanne nudged Allen with her foot. "Wake up, you useless genius."
Allen snored louder.
Andrews puffed out his chest. "At least we handled it like professionals."
Then the ground began to rumble.
All three turned around slowly.
Dozens— no, hundreds— of sand wyverns were emerging from the dunes.
Mary: "Oh no."
Suzanne: "Absolutely not."
Andrews: "Nope. Nope. Nope."
Allen: nnnngh… five more minutes…
The wyverns roared in unison.
Mary sighed and lifted her blades again. "Fine. Round two."
Suzanne's eyes darkened as she summoned magic circles. "Let's finish this quickly."
Andrews cracked his knuckles. "If I die, bury me with snacks."
The wyverns charged.
The trio moved like practiced warriors.
Mary spun through the sand, cutting through wyverns like a pink storm.
Suzanne launched shadow bursts that pierced through scales effortlessly.
Andrews sprinted across shifting dunes, wielding his blade like a glowing comet.
Wyvern after wyvern crashed to the sand.
Ten fell.
Then twenty.
Then fifty.
Each defeated beast dissolved into harmless crystalline dust — desert magic reacting to their defeat.
Mary wiped her forehead.
Suzanne blew sand off her staff.
Andrews posed dramatically.
All three waited for the next wave.
Nothing came.
Silence.
Just the desert wind.
Mary finally let out a giant sigh of relief.
"That… was exhausting."
Suzanne pressed a hand to her chest. "I am sweating. I do not sweat."
Andrews grinned proudly. "We're awesome."
Behind them, Allen snored again.
Mary marched over and grabbed him by the collar.
"WAKE. UP!!"
Allen jerked upright. "Wha—!? Is the fight over?"
The trio stared at him, deadpan.
"YES." they shouted in unison.
Allen blinked slowly.
"…Nice. I knew you guys could handle it."
Suzanne pinched the bridge of her nose. "Why… why didn't you help?"
Allen rubbed his eyes. "I told you. I don't like fighting stuff that didn't personally annoy me."
Andrews fell to his knees. "YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST STAYED AWAKE!!"
Allen stretched and yawned again.
"Good job, team. Let's go to that town now."
Mary's eye twitched but she sighed in defeat.
"Fine… let's just go."
The four of them began walking east across the dunes—
the sun setting behind them, painting the sky gold.
Four fugitives.
One legend.
And a very annoyed trio following the world's laziest greatest mage.