The Forsaken Hero
Chapter 169: Burning Skies

Chapter 169: Burning Skies

Enormous quantities of mana gathered within the magic circles hovering over the camp. As runes fell into their places, tremendous pressure descended, crushing the souls of everyone in the entire company. The soldiers were strong and hardy, but only a few were stronger than the fourth level. My soul shuddered beneath the spell’s weight, but I hardly reacted. This new pain was insignificant compared to the constant agony inflicted by the amulet.

"Get clear!" Captain Bethiv shouted, "Regroup after leaving its area!"

Soldiers scattered, the weak leaning on the strong, rapidly trying to escape the looming spell. The mages cast their shields, filling the sky with layers of fourth-circle umbrella-like wards. Although the defenses contained lots of mana, their power was diffused amongst too wide an area to be more than paper before high-level magic. Jackal grabbed my wrist, pulling me behind him as we ran.

I glanced at the fleeing soldiers, running calculations through my mind. The mage casting the spell was experienced and powerful, demonstrating control naturally to seventh-level spellcasters. I took a deep breath and slipped out of Jackal’s grasp. He turned, raising an eyebrow, and I pointed at the soldiers.

"They’re not going to make it!"

Sixth-level spells were terrifying, forming a threshold of both strength and magnitude. While the ones I learned seemed relatively harmless, their power came not in destruction but utility. Explosive Cascade, on the other hand, was as straightforward as Mana Storm. Upon release, it would devastate everything unable to withstand its flames. Those at the peak of fourth level might survive, but far too many would die.

With the smiles and camaraderie of the night before echoing in my mind, I steeled myself and summoned my staff. Had my soul not been weakened to the peak of the fourth level, I could have dispersed the danger with a wave of my hands. But now...?

It should be impossible. Every mage in the world would tell you resisting a sixth circle spell with my current strength was as good as suicide. But my magical experience wasn’t just limited to this world, anymore. The demons we fought were significantly weaker than us, yet they still managed to push us to the edge over and over again. If they could do it, then surely there was a way I could as well.

But what could I do? Without proper time for preparation, I shifted through every memory and experience I could recall, searching desperately for a hint. As I thought of Slivera’s lecture on the unique nature of magic, an idea came to me. Spells above sixth circle were highly customizable, with additional magic circles holding no integral functions to the nature of the spell, only in adapting its power or versatility. Mana storm could be cast as an eight-circle spell, or even a ninth, exponentially increasing its effects. What if that didn’t only apply to high-level magic?

Chasing away my doubts, I raised my staff, my tail lashing with determination. There was no time to cast normally, so I clenched my jaw and pushed myself to the limit, Soul Casting third-circle spells one after the other, leaving them all hovering incomplete in the air above me.

One, five, nine...and then my mana was gone. I coughed a mouthful of blood, dropping to one knee as my soul screamed in protest. The Amulet’s threads burned like fire, and the fragments of my soul quivered from the strain.

Blinking away tears, I struggled to my feet, leaning heavily upon my staff. The dark figure in the sky stared down at me, lips curved up in a vicious smile. His derisive laugh echoed throughout the battlefield as his spell came to an end.

"Now you die!" He cried triumphantly, pushing his hand toward me.

The magic circles ignited, spawning endless torrents of fire. Even hundreds of feet in the air, the heat radiated downward, scorching the tents and drawing cries of pain from the fleeing soldiers. I ignored the initial effects, Adaptive Resistance allowing me the strength and focus on the dozen or so spells I had cast, a combination of Dispel Magic and Reflection

I waved my staff and began weaving the spells together. Circles and runes crossed and combined, drawing on each other’s strength and magnifying their effects. At times when I stuttered or the inspiration was lacking, my instincts took over, drawing on my experience to complete the Array.

Panting, I dropped to my knees, using the last bit of my mana to activate a single rune in the array’s center. The web of magic flashed, emitting a single, crystalline note. Runes swept out in all directions, spreading into a web of gleaming constellations, shining against the curtains of descending fires as the stars against the night sky.

A thick haze of chaotic mana rose from the array, wrapping around the incoming flames, and smothering them like a sheet. Instead of fighting upfront and inevitably getting blown away, the discordant mana sought to disperse the highly concentrated explosions, limiting how much power could reach the lower stars of the array in a given timeframe.

After filtering through the haze, the Explosive Cascade collided with the translucent shield bearing the Reflection Properties. The impact sent a violent tremor through the air, stirring my hair and sending thousands of hairline cracks spiderwebbing through the array. As the majority of the Fire gathered on the surface of the shield, I raised my staff and held my breath. It was now or never. If I waited longer the array was certain to collapse.

Another crystalline note rang bright and clear above the explosions. The array released a pulse of light, and the thin, lower levels of the Explosive Cascade turned in on themselves, reflecting upward into the downpour of fire. As the two flows clashed, the entire sixth-circle spell detonated prematurely.

I closed my eyes, wincing in pain as the darkness evaporated, the night turning to day. The blast roared thousands of feet into the sky, consuming the shadowy figure and blotting out the very stars themselves. Several shockwaves, each containing the full force of a fifth-circle spell, blasted outward, scattering flame to the four winds. The array strained before their might, but, after expending most of its strength against the Explosive Cascade, buckled and broke.

In the blink of an eye, the shockwaves hit the ground and spread out, flinging rocks and molten embers before them. I curled up, crying out as the winds ripped at the fragile Aegis I’d cast at the beginning of the attack. It held briefly before shattering, exposing me to the explosion. The shockwave had weakened significantly by this point, dropping to fourth-circle, but even if the other soldiers resisted it with ease, I wasn’t so fortunate. The entire world spun as I flew through the air, my vision going dark. Heavy clumps of blood dribbled from my lips as the force penetrated my organs, seeming to break my body into pieces.

I hit the ground spinning, desperately cradling my head and keeping my tail curled tightly around me. After tumbling several times, I began to relax, feeling myself slow, but that changed in a flash of green and brown. Something stabbed into my shoulder, throwing off my trajectory and sending me crashing through what felt like a grove of trees.

Something in my shoulder cracked, but the sound failed to register as I screamed in abject agony. The Sunpurge throbbed with the heat of the sun, scorching my veins even as more impacts struck my body. My ears rang, drowning out all other sounds, but even that was lost in the fire crawling through my shoulder. My veins throbbed with every heartbeat, carrying the excruciating heat to every part of my body. As at last I rolled to a stop, all I could do was curl into a ball and sob, pleading with Fate that the waves of agony would eventually fade.

Minutes later, when I finally came to, I opened my eyes to find the stars plummeting from the heavens. No, not stars, fire. Through the misty tears clouding my eyes, I could make out thousands of embers filling the skies. As the lingering remnants of Explosive Cascade drifted earthward, the blackness of the night sky returned, restoring the soft, comforting light of the stars.

After taking a moment to collect myself, I gingerly felt around the Sunpurge but recoiled after the briefest touch threatened me with oblivion. My hand felt hot and heavy, and, groaning from the effort, I brought it before my blurry eyes. Only after staring at it for a moment did I finally notice the vicious clumps of red smothering the pale white of my skin.

Following my discovery of the cut bisecting the Sunpurge, I struggled to my feet. My head spun, and I swooned, nearly falling again. By the time I regained my balance, the Sunpurge had quieted down somewhat, allowing other sensations to leak through the pain. Hot streams of blood ran down my skin, soaking my dress and dying the grass beneath me red. Besides the cut on my shoulder, several other lacerations laced my back and legs. Every organ and muscle shook from the trauma, of the shockwave, with just the mere act of standing bringing tears back to my eyes.

After checking myself for mortal injuries, I peered around, finally able to spare my surroundings some attention. I had landed in a feeling several dozen feet from camp, blowing through a thick grove of trees on my way. Many of the lower boughs were broken from the blast, with some of their jagged ends dripping with blood. I groaned, feeling at a cut on my side and pulling out a thick splinter. At least that was one mystery solved.

Summoning my staff to my hand, I checked my soul. My mana capacity was capped at fourth, but my recovery reflected that of my true, seventh-level capabilities, and a trickle of mana had begun filling the cracks left by my frenzied spell casting. Within a few minutes, I’d have enough to begin properly healing myself. Beginning before that would only increase the likelihood of scars.

I had just begun to stumble back to the army when a low growl rolled out of the brush behind me. I froze, a shiver traveling down my tail as padded footsteps rustled the grass, drawing ever nearer.

I tried to run, by my legs gave out, and I collapsed to the ground. Struggling to my knees, I looked up and came face to face with a large wolf. It was seven feet from nose to tail and had clawed paws the size of my head. Thick droplets of blood oozed from countless scratches, joining scattered burns in marring its once luxurious coat. Had it been caught up in the blast as well?

I flinched as it swung its massive head over me, finding myself unable to muster the strength to so much as crawl away. Its tongue pushed against my face, tasting the blood streaming down my cheek. It was rough and wet, grating across my torn skin. Whimpering softly, I found myself meeting its predatorial gaze, unable to so much as look away.

Its eyes glowed with infernal light, but behind that, there was pain. True, abject suffering that went far beyond the injuries it had sustained. Unable to restrain my curiosity, I squeezed my soul for its recovering mana and activated the Eyes of Fate.

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