Everyone was stunned into silence. Some stood with mouths agape, others glanced around in confusion, searching for any sign of where the attack had gone. No one could process what had just happened, or where the devastating sphere of water had disappeared to.
"Where is it?" some soldiers whispered, their voices trembling.
On the other side of the battlefield, Thalara stared in disbelief. Kaedric grinned, flexing his claws in anticipation, while Lucian gritted his teeth in frustration.
Kesca herself was speechless, unable to comprehend what had just occurred.
'Where is it? How did this happen? Who could have done this?' She simply couldn't believe it.
After a long, heavy silence, the spell broke. The Frings soldiers began to shout, rallying as Mergoth quickly dispelled the traps. The Frings family readied themselves for a counterattack, while the Merlion forces looked around in confusion, their plan in ruins.
"Attack!" Kesca finally screamed, and the war erupted once more, the momentary mystery forgotten in the chaos of battle.
Amidst the renewed fighting, Eri and Kaeli exchanged a knowing glance. Kaeli activated his wind spell, letting the currents swirl around the battlefield. As he focused, he sensed a presence—someone invisible, fleeing the scene. The shape, the height, the familiar aura… Kaeli's eyes narrowed as he followed the trail.
"So, is it him?" Eri asked quietly.
Kaeli smiled. "Yes. It seems he helped us one last time."
Eri grinned. "Well, I guess it's mission accomplished."
"Now let's finish this too," Kaeli said, drawing his twin daggers and letting the wind surge around him.
"Sure, hehehe," Eri replied, and together, the two leapt back into the fray.
"Hayst, that was a close one," Rethrus muttered as he sprinted toward the northern plains. He ran as fast as he could, feeling his invisibility fade along the way. Fortunately, it disappeared only after he was safely out of the battle.
He stopped briefly to catch his breath.
'That was a lot of mana,' Rethrus thought.
Here's what actually happened:
Before Kesca's attack, Rethrus was conflicted about what to do. He knew someone had to take the hit. Seeing Kaeli and Eri nearby, he realized he had no choice.
He raised his hand toward the incoming attack and shouted in his mind, 'DEVOUR!'
He clenched his fist, and the attack vanished. The dark night helped him conceal the absorption, and since the attack never came directly from him, his invisibility remained intact.
Afterward, Rethrus felt drained, as if all his energy had been sapped. He dropped to one knee, breathing heavily. The attack had been so powerful that it consumed half of his mana.
Once the clash subsided, he started running north.
'I've helped enough,' he thought, pushing himself forward.
Back in the present, Rethrus looked at the battlefield. He scanned the area and then ran east. To conserve his mana, he occasionally switched it off in his feet while skipping, then turned it back on when landing and skipping again.
'I have to go faster. I need to get out of here immediately. I need to get back to her.'
In the capital, the ground trembled as Gerard ran with Xiaolan on his back.
"Do you think he's okay?" Xiaolan asked.
"Nah, don't worry about him. That kid is phenomenal. He'll be fine," Gerard replied.
Xiaolan remembered how Dante had completely beaten Rethrus. "But—"
"Shhh, don't worry, okay? He's sacrificing this whole city for you. Just trust him," Gerard assured.
Xiaolan stayed quiet, holding tightly on Gerard's back.
'Hope he never crosses that guy again,' she thought.
The battle in Riverdale was devastating, the ground torn and buildings shattered, but surprisingly, death was rare.
"Damnit," Cassius muttered, frustration evident in his voice. "Their healing capabilities are incredible—as expected from a water-type family." He glanced over the battlefield, watching as enemies he thought were knocked out quickly recovered. 'I could kill them with one attack,' he thought, 'but it would drain too much mana to finish everyone here. Tsk.'
As the clash raged on, Cassius's eyes drifted toward the distant Frings estate, where explosions, lightning, and flames lit up the night sky.
'I wonder what's happening over there?'
At the Frings estate, the battle had grown fierce.
"You know you're outnumbered, right?" Mergoth taunted, standing opposite Kesca in the heat of combat.
Kesca's eyes burned with determination. "I don't know what happened to my attack, but that doesn't mean it ends here!" she shouted, launching herself toward Mergoth.
Mergoth smirked, raising his staff. "I don't know what happened either. Perhaps the gods want us to win." With that, he summoned a dark blast.
Elsewhere, Eri and Kaeli fought back to back. Eri's claws, summoned from pure mana, swiped and knocked an enemy unconscious. Kaeli swiftly finished off another.
"Eh? It's not dead?" Eri asked, puzzled.
Kaeli didn't pause. "No. If you use mana-based attacks on an enemy, the mana within their body involuntarily protects them. That's why it only knocks them out." He parried a blow. "It's like how our skin, bones, muscles, and tissues protect our vital organs from physical attacks. Of course, it hurts—but it won't kill you."
"Ahhh," Eri groaned, absorbing the explanation as they continued fighting.
On the same battlefield, Diablo and Lucian locked eyes. Their jaws clenched, teeth gritted, neither caring about the extras around them.
Suddenly, Lucian launched a lightning-fast wind kick—too fast for a normal person to follow.
But Diablo caught it with a kick of his own. Lucian laughed.
"Now that's an opponent," he said, eyes gleaming.
The two began a deadly dance—a clash of wind versus wind, their movements swift and precise.
In another part of the battlefield, Kaedric faced Captain Brienne.
"Oh, a woman who's a knight," Kaedric said, licking his claws.
"Got a problem with a woman knight?" Captain Brienne challenged, sword ready.
With a sudden burst of wind, Kaedric closed the distance and attacked with his claws, but Brienne caught the strike with her sword.
"No," he said with a smile, "I believe everyone is equal when it comes to death."
The two then launched into a fierce exchange of blows, the clash of steel and wind echoing across the battlefield.
Aurelia was in a state of calamity as the battles raged on through the night.
The city watch worked tirelessly to protect civilians from falling debris and cracks opening in the ground, especially in the most affected districts. Though the attacks themselves hadn't reached these areas, the tremors from the ongoing battles shook the city relentlessly.
Gerard kept running, but the distant shouts and cries of civilians echoed around them. Xiaolan heard the anguish and felt a deep pang of guilt.
Gerard noticed her tears. "Don't worry, okay? Your life is just as precious as theirs. The city watch and other guilds are here to help."
"Ohm," Xiaolan replied softly.
Meanwhile, nobles watched the battles safely from their luxurious homes, treating the destruction as mere entertainment.
On the battlefield in Riverdale, the fight continued fiercely. The Frings family seemed to be gaining the upper hand, their power overwhelming. But Lord Merlion, mounted on his horse, was furious.
"Kesca? What did you do?!" he shouted, urging his men to reinforce the battle lines.
To the north of Riverdale, Dante and Berren exchanged blow after blow, the clash of their powers creating a steamy haze around them.
Tsk, his fire is hotter than a basic one, Dante thought, taking a deep breath to steady his exhaustion from the battle.
Berren was also tired, breathing heavily beside him.'Even though my fire is stronger now, water is water.'
The two exchanged tired smiles, the tension easing for a moment. It was fun, after all.
Then, with renewed determination, they began to boost their claymores with their respective elements—fire and water—ready to clash once more.