The Shadow's attack was a wave of pure magical malice, ripping through the city's temporary magical shield. The massive diversion created by Tunde was breached, and fear, cold and debilitating, flooded the city.
Samuel, holding the Foundation Stone aloft, his muscles screaming under the strain, knew he couldn't leave. He was the only one physically capable of moving the Stone.
"Esther! The Seed Cache!" Samuel commanded through their psychic link, his mind a strained thread of sanity in the beast's body. "Use the chaos! Distract the Shadow!"
Esther, maintaining the Casket's stability, recognized the terrifying necessity. The Seed Cache, containing the chaotic Folium Aethel seeds, was the only weapon capable of a mass-scale magical distraction.
"Onyeka! Open the Seed Cache!" Esther yelled, her eyes locked on the captured Shaper.
Onyeka, seeing the Shadow's attack, his worst fears of a failed future realized, desperately worked the locks. The small iron chest sprang open.
Esther grabbed a single handful of the volatile, chaotic seeds. She threw them into the air, simultaneously channeling a small, focused temporal pulse a trick she learned from observing Onyeka to accelerate their reaction.
The Folium Aethel seeds, reacting to the forced acceleration and the residual chaotic energy of the Shadow's attack, instantly combusted. They didn't explode; they released a dazzling, blinding firework display of chaotic, uncontrolled silver magic.
The massive pulse of uncontrolled silver energy slammed into the Shadow's incoming attack. The chaotic power of the seeds fought the controlled malice of the Shadow, creating a spectacular, self-destructive magical storm over Port Harcourt. It was pure chaos fighting pure evil.
The Shadow was confused, distracted, and temporarily driven back.
"The three minutes are up!" Onyeka cried. "The Stone is losing stillness! Move! Now!"
Samuel, his massive wolf form now stained with the sweat of effort and the residue of the magical explosion, began to move. Slowly, agonizingly, he began his long, careful trek, carrying the Foundation Stone and the stabilizing Golden Leaf Casket out of the university and toward the pre-arranged transport vehicle destined for Owo.
Esther and Onyeka followed, leaving the stunned Pack to deal with the immediate aftermath of the magical battle.
The city was safe, but the cost was high. Samuel had pushed the limits of the Àṣẹ, embracing a primal power fueled by desperation. He was more wolf than he had ever been, his control dangerously thin.
And Fortune had revealed his enduring, temporal malice. He was not erased; he was merely waiting.
The Great Transfer was successful, but the greatest threat was now internal: the permanent stability of Samuel's soul.