The crowd panics, running away from the plaza where the ceremony is happening. A stampede of terrified people caused further chaos. The townguard tries to control the situation, but the battle that erupted at the center of the event is making efforts difficult.
At the center, floating a few feet above from the stage, is Titus, emitting a visible dark aura. With him, are the lifeless bodies of Livy’s entourage encircling him as he drains their life forces further. A magic circle orbits his temple reminiscent of a crown, its effects are unknown.
Below, are Garth, Livy, Hearth, and Adi, on a defensive stance. Prepared to surround and gang up on the evil mage before them. Garth and Livy have their choice of weapons out. Both carry a sword but only the royal representative carries a huge golden shield, it seems like the scepter she was holding earlier was the handle, when activated, it transforms into a piece of defensive equipment.
While Garth is brandishing his greatsword that he made. It boasts a ridiculously thick sharp blade and its edges are finely crafted as it gleams. Its mithril hilt is adorned by engravings and runic details. The materials used are a bit obscure but it is a masterful piece of weaponry.
The mages, Hearth and Adi, have their staffs out. Nothing out of the ordinary except for the magic circles orbiting their bodies. According to the grimoire, these are buffs that enhance their magical capacities. From what I can tell, they have Divine Touch, Elemental Boosts, and Rapid Regeneration.
Divine Touch is a buff spell that grants its users added protection from dark spells, Elemental Boosts is used to give an added impact to mages adept in using the elements, and lastly, Rapid Regeneration is a spell that regenerates the user’s mana and quickly heals any injuries.
The white-cloaked mages of the ‘Circle’ are engaging in combat with the robe-wearing ones of the ‘Cult’. Both sides are devastatingly using their magic, causing buildings, stalls, and other infrastructure to collapse. A fire started by any of them rages throughout the immediate vicinity.
Meanwhile, the townguard together with the esteemed Yellowguard, the royal bodyguards, are confronting armed men led by the disgraced Ansel, who appears to be in a haggard state. There is chaos everywhere.
But under a downed carriage, we find our refuge. Here, Barth assures Anyta and me of the safety he wishes. Even if it’s temporary, we know we are in a vulnerable position. It will only take for someone hostile to find us here and it will be all over for us. But a small hole, big enough for our faces to fit, provides us a front-row seating of the events that are unfolding.
“We’ll be safe here,” his voice trembles, “T-The Yellowguard is here!”
“B-But there are only a dozen of them!” Anyta cries, “A-And they- they killed my–”
I hold them both, “Shh, please, let’s stay quiet!” I tightly wrapped them around my arms, I glanced at the hole to see the happenings outside.
“Surrender now, Titus!” Adi points his staff above, “If I only knew that you were hiding here as a Daggerhand all those years ago, I could’ve wiped out your entire family!”
Titus scoffs, “I didn’t know the Circle are allowed to kill!”
“You and your kind are the exception!” Adi casts a wave of insectoid-looking rocks with sharp ends carved like a screw. It flew directly at a terrifying speed in Titus’ direction.
At the same time, Hearth manipulated scattered concrete debris, turning them into a staircase that ascended toward the dark prince. The floating platforms were made use by Garth and Livy who sprinted with their weapons aimed at Titus.
Using the corpses he drained, Titus moves them in front of him to serve as his defense against Adi’s attack. He then turns to the two weapon-wielders charging at him, he effortlessly parries the two’s lightning-fast strikes using only his finger.
Suddenly, believing he was distracted, Hearth throws a burst of energy at Titus, which the dark prince dodges, manipulates, and uses against Adi who tries to sneak an offensive curse behind him.
While Adi was thrown back, Hearth used a flying spell to level the field with Titus. She brings with her some more concrete chunks and debris to build a hovering platform where Garth and Livy could retreat.
Garth steps back on the newly made platform, exhausted after releasing a series of attacks. He adjusts his stance, and a magic circle forms beneath him, it smolders and releases a haze, and then the symbol of the Goddess of War flashes in quick consecutive swings that Garth performs.
“Furious Smite!” he shouted the incantation. But the blessing of the Goddess is not on his side this time as Titus cancels his action with a combusting fireball that suddenly sends him flying. Fortunately, Hearth caught him before he could fall from the crumbling platform.
Livy glances at Garth. She must’ve known of Garth’s strength and prowess in wielding the Goddess’ powers. She clicks her tongue and points the tip of her sword upward. “Hear me!” she loudly declare before lunging at Titus with her shield, sword at the ready.
But the dark prince easily fends her off with a single kick to the face. Her royal beauty was shattered, nose bleeding. She, too, few off the platform but Hearth manages to catch her and begins to share her regenerative buff with Livy and Garth. She is not a mage specializing in healing spells nor a priest with divine blessings so it is taking some time to heal their injuries.
“No, no, regeneration spells are boring!” Titus said who instantly transported behind Hearth. Startled, Hearth casts a barrier, but it easily breaks with just Titus’ touch of a finger.
“Wait aren’t you the girl who interrupted my ritual?!” Titus grins devilishly.
Hearth prepares herself for the incoming attack but luckily, Adi swiftly tackles the dark prince from behind who catches him off guard, they tumble a few feet away, and both land on their feet in the middle of the floating platform.
Gasping for air, Adi casts an invisible ripple in space around Titus. It released an unimaginable pressure that even the concrete platform where the dark prince stood cracked. Adi transforms his odd-looking staff into a rapier with thundering bright light and repeatedly swings it at Titus.
The electric slashes that Titus is receiving are ruining his suit, unveiling a deformed body that exposes his unfinished form. At the last blow, Adi adjusts his position and stabs the lightning rapier into Titus’ heart.
Adi jumps away, pulling his weapon, and turning it back to his usual staff. He makes a few swirls, and a dark cloud forms above, then with downward swings of his arms, a series of lightning roars and fries the living hell of Titus. It took Adi a few moments before he took a breather but the old mage is not yet done.
Adi draws two small magic circles, grips them both, and turns them like a knob. The three-dimensional space that Titus occupies is bent, twisted, and warped in a surreal reality-suspending way.
“Ultima Espazio!” Adi barked, his voice was hoarse, and blood came out of his mouth as he said the incantation.
In the background, Hearth tries her best to keep the platform afloat as the pieces begin to crumble. The already-healed Garth and Livy struggle to hold their ground as the power of Adi’s magic begins to rapture Titus’ very visage.
Even on the ground, the force of Adi’s spell is felt. As the warping of space continues, debris and random materials are hovering toward the epicenter of the destructive power that Adi’s magic is releasing.
But the old master is not done yet, even in exasperated breathing, Adi wipes the blood from his nose and points his staff to the sky. A hole formed in the daylight sky that turned dark, revealing an impending meteoroid as big as the moon from afar but as it grew close, it became terrifyingly huge on an unimaginable scale.
Adi motions his hand as if he was controlling the celestial body. Agonizing screams from the background can be heard as it drew close. But, with Adi’s sheer power, the meteoroid compressed, turning into a smaller and smaller cannon-ball-sized object.
Impressively, the compressed meteorite still retains its practical mass and strikes Titus with the power of a genuine meteoroid impact. But the warp magic is still active, it exploded on the dark prince’s face, and the impact was contained due to the unfair, gravity-defying nature of the warp spell. Consequently, the cataclysmic effect of a meteoroid destroying a planet was confined within Titus.
A display resembling fireworks and playful lights glowed blindingly. The hole in the sky slowly closes, the distortion of the warp dissipates, and Adi’s knees finally bent weakly. Hearth rushes toward her old master and immediately begins regenerating.
I sighed with relief, glancing at Anyta and Barth with a smile. It is finally over.
“Not bad, old man,” Titus voice shocks us all, “A hundred years and your technique never changed.” he chuckles.
