Ok, this will probably come off a bit ungrateful, because the angel guy was surely heroic and stuff, or just plain stupid, but Mary really expected the battle to be more impressive.

Sure, the giant was mountain-high, burning, and occasionally fire-breathing pile of muscles, but… You know, how sometimes you meet that one fly that just can’t get that you’d both be happier if it flew somewhere else? Or that you do not like to serve as an insect landing pad? So… that would mostly be it, except for the scale and distance. Well, at least the giant was polite enough to wear a loincloth, or apart from boring, this would be rather awkward to watch as well.

Finally, after getting swatted at least twice, the angel guy came up with the idea of flying through the enemy’s eye and out the other side like a winged bullet. With a shower of blood and probably other, at least as unpleasant fluids, the ’epic’ battle ended. Unfortunately, dead giants do not usually keep standing upright. Soon, a cloud of sand and ‘small’ rocks rushed towards the academy.

“Brace yourself,” Bromman warned.

Well… it turned out to be easier said than done, and soon Mary found herself laying on the ground again. At that point, she felt she should really apologise to the sand for the earlier unpleasant comments and leave it a positive review on onwhatshouldifalltoday.com. Well, at least less negative than for the flagstone. Still, it was probably better to land on stone and get covered with sand than the other way around - it looked like the academy wards considered larger pieces of rock a projectile, and stopped them at the walls, despite the gate still being open. Fortunately, the cloud of sand and rubble wasn’t a full-sized sandstorm and passed them in a couple of seconds.

“Come on, kid. It isn’t bedtime yet, we need to keep going.” Her mentor somehow managed to stay vertical through the entire experience.

Mary groaned, but took his hand and let herself be pulled up. They walked towards the main complex, but long before reaching it, she noticed the sunbeds. An entire field of sunbeds, hammocks (some of which floated in the air without any visible supports), blankets and other picnic equipment. There were also at least three hot-dog stands and one selling fresh coffee. The smell of food was not entirely unpleasant, although Mary suspected that too long exposure would eventually be at most as healthy as fighting the fiery giant.

Some people were already rising, gathering their things and heading under the bull, towards the distant buildings. Once Mary got closer, and her personal flying, buzzing saucer kept itself a little behind, she could make out some words from the heated discussions.

“... have you noticed that? His flying efficiency…”

“... oh dear, no, heroes have no sense of dramaturgy these days. Why, when I was young….”

“ ...scandal! Why would the principal allow it, there were children in the stands! I hope Nico gets suspended after this display, such brutality….”

“So…,” Mary asked Bromman once they left the area behind them, “instead of trying to help, people here do this?

“Oh, yes, watching final battles is one of the most popular forms of entertainment here. By the way, never buy the hot dogs at the event directly. The ones in the central market will still be warm if you take them here, and they’re about half the price.” He sounded bitter, and Mary was pretty sure it wasn’t about the clever food vendors business practices.

When passing under the bull, Mary looked up to check, and yes, it was indeed detailed...

Finally, they reached the buildings, which turned out to be a total mishmash of styles and epochs. There were buildings resembling ancient Mediterranea temples, with columns for sides instead of solid walls, two pyramids, one of which was standing on its tip instead of wide base (Mary had no idea how it was balanced). There were a few modern offices, with walls covered fully with windows, and even one or two things so futuristic that she couldn’t really describe what they were supposed to look like, and many others in styles she saw for the first time in her life.

A gothic cathedral stood lonely apart from the rest, seemingly abandoned, yet still proudly presenting its many spires. The sight reminded her of the church they were going to every Sunday back at the orphanage - it was nowhere near as big, and at least twice less pointy, but the resemblance was strong enough to bring tears to her eyes - it was only a few days ago, and so much had happened… And she had a strong feeling that she wasn’t going to be attending a Meeting anytime soon.

It looked like they were heading for one of the lower, wider buildings with a mixture of large, glass windows and heavy, stone columns. Mary’s suspicions were confirmed when Bromman stopped at the base of the staircase.

“This is how far I can go,” he said, checking his watch and pulled out something from the inner pocket of his jacket. “Give this form to the secretary, and she’ll take it from there.”

“But why can’t you go with me?” Mary asked. “Couldn’t you at least stay long enough to help me with the registrations and stuff?”

Bromman shook his head. “I’ve said it already - we’re pushing it far enough as we are. I think I’ve mentioned the mentor’s job mortality rate, haven’t I? When you’re in the business as long as I am, you usually learn the rules of survival. And this is one of them - don’t overstay your welcome.”

Mary looked at him and tried to make the puppy-eyes expression she saw other girls perform. “Pretty please?” She never had much success with it herself, but she couldn’t come up with anything better.

Her mentor only smirked at her and turned to leave. “Remember everything I told you, and you should make it all right. In an emergency, you know how to contact me. Keeping me alive for now is in your best interest as well.”

He lifted his head and stared at the sky, which was already turning orange from the sunset. “My job here is done,” he said reverently. Mary thought she heard some deep sadness in his voice, but before she could do or even think anything significant, he threw some small package towards the ground. Three seconds later, when Mary was close to finishing coughing, the smoke faded to reveal… well, not really empty, but definitely her-mentor-less street.

She looked around with faint hope that he didn’t run far, but she couldn’t spot him anywhere. With a deep sigh, she started up the stairs.