บท 59: Galicia (3)
The pillar of light was falling apart, threads of Magic peeling away as it lost coherence. Elya didn't understand what was happening but her Draconic instincts screamed of danger. Strips of light fell to the ground, some as wide as a finger, some as wide as Chen in his armour. There was no sound when they hit, but Elya changed direction when she saw a bar of light effortlessly slice through buildings. A deep thrum passed through her armoured boots, the pillar in the distance wobbling dangerously for a moment before turning into a brilliant cascade of unravelling thread. She skidded to a halt, tracing the chaotic trails of Magic.
There was no escape.
Threads of light already slashed into the city, carving the ruins to dust.
Elya raised her hands, Aura surging into the sky to materialise as a Dragon phantom. Chen flashed to her side and plunged his lance deep into the ground, runes spiralling along the ground to create a lightning barrier. Even Seven raised his daggers, summoning a thick black ball of energy that shot into the sky, revolving into a net that tore through the threads descending on them. Draconic phantoms sprung up around Elya as Knights rushed to join them, their powerful Auras joining together in defence.
Beams of power descended in horrifying glory, battering their hastily erected defences. Seven hurled even more black nets to shred the light beams and Elya groaned as her Aura phantom cracked under the pressure. Digging even deeper, she released the restraints on her power, the Dragon's core filling her blood with terrifying might. Her phantom was bolstered by the surge of Aura, doubling in size instantaneously.
"Hold!" Alexis sprinted to plug gaps, her Aura sliding to fill any cracks that appeared. She'd always been dexterous and efficient with the use of her powers.
The barrage of light felt endless, a constant roar bombarding their ears and their defence came close to shattering. Chen's armour was cracked and dull, the Draconic Aura phantoms wavering in the air were almost transparent and Seven gasped for breath as he slumped against one of the few remaining buildings.
Still, they'd survived.
Galicia hadn't.
It was devastated.
Even among the ashen masonry and shattered streets they'd charged through, there had been some semblance of the city it had once been. Now, deep gashes crossed the land, and shattered buildings formed a molten mess. Little remained of the once thriving trade town. The familiar landmarks Elya had hoped to forget were dissolved in the hail of power they'd just overcome. She stepped over red hot molten metal, a crimson rivulet created by some weapons or armour left after the war which had been liquefied by the raging energy storm. It looked like Nikolai's descriptions of the fractured lands, pristine land gouged by world shaking power.
"Wait." Alexis dragged her back, ignoring Elya's snarls. They were so close. "Don't go alone Milady. Give us a few moments and we'll move."
Elya yanked her arm free but settled to one side, trying to control the Draconic rage which beat in time with her heart. The city was quiet. Nothing like the screaming horror the last time she was here. She fingered her scar absent mindedly, scowling towards the south. During those desperate days, one of the Nameless had sliced her face open with an errant tentacle while her troop charged it. They would have been wiped out if Nikolai hadn't vaporised the Demon in a burst of lightning. She raised her visor and spit into a newly formed ditch, mouth dry at the memory. Demons were nasty business.
"Good riddance. They should have levelled the city after the war." Alexis clapped Elya on the shoulder and helped her up. "There are only two dozen Knights still upright. We barely made it through the spell."
"We'll make do." Elya led the way to the remaining buildings in the distance while the injured retreated to the outskirts.
They made slow progress, sliding over unstable ground which was constantly on the verge of collapsing. The damage seemed to reach deep into the earth, creating enormous caverns. The Yesaul had almost lost his life to a yawning chasm that opened up beneath him, only his reflexes and Seven's strange magical net keeping him from toppling over. The ground crumbled around them at every step and Chen was forced to wait until they could find stable ground with enough size and strength to withstand the weight of his armour before he could hop across the debris in prodigious leaps.
Remnants of the horrific spell lingered in the air, flashes of light and mind-bending swirls of smoke rising from the last few upright structures.
[Moralesss is clossse.] The Black Raven had been appearing erratically since she agreed to the Savant's covenant. Mostly when Elya didn't need it. The agent was surprisingly flippant, acting based on its whims as much as the Savant's orders.
[Is he alright?] Elya still struggled with forming the words in just the right way within her mind. Unfortunately she didn't seem to have the knack, but her silent, fragmented sentences were better than having everyone stare at her when she ended up talking to the air instead. She'd caught sympathetic looks and hushed whispers every single time, yet the Black Raven's mercurial nature meant Elya never had time to find privacy before responding.
[Moralesss musssst continue to live.] The creatures presence flickered and Elya felt as if it was distracted by something. [I cannot remain.]
Elya suppressed the fury in her heart as the Raven slipped away, calming herself with the knowledge that Nikolai lived.
"What happened?"
"Nothing." Draconic Aura roared in time with her rage, and she brushed away Alexis' concern. "We're close. Ready your weapons."
"Isn't it strange that we haven't seen anyone? Or anything?" Alexis' fingers drummed against the hilt of her blade, a nervous tic from her youth she had yet to overcome.
"Doesn't matter." Elya shrugged, pupils narrowing as Aura flooded her veins. The deadly rasp of Razor's Edge being unsheathed led the way, the hiss of drawn weapons echoing through the last few streets of Galicia.
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