Chapter 96: Towers 1

Elania stood atop the city's defensive wall, her heart pounding as the battle unfolded. Arlois and the Sun Emperor shot towards each other. Auras blazed with power around both of them, causing the air to crackle with energy as they closed the distance.

Their speed increased as they neared, their movements blurring into a flash almost too fast for her eyes to track.

A tense breath escaped Elania's lips. The other girl squeezed her hand. Yolani's touch grounded her, a reminder she wasn't alone.

Four guards finally arrived, carrying a machine gun and a large box of ammunition.

They looked to Elania and Yolani, awaiting orders.

"Where should we set up?" one of them asked.

The city outside the defensive domes was a charred wasteland, but somehow a few defensive positions remained.

The enemy ground army along with anyone caught outside of cover had vanished, essentially wiped out. Hostile airships still flew around the periphery, trading cannon fire with Contia's remaining defenses.

With the city's barrier down, enemy spells and cannonballs smashed into the uncovered defensive emplacements while the city's weapons continued to lick at the enemy fleet's defenses.

Yolani gestured to a spot beside them, and the men quickly set up the machine gun. It seemed like it was a bit too late. The machine gun wasn't meant for fighting ships.

Elania inhaled deeply, steeling herself for the inevitable.

"I'm going to go help Arlois," she said.

Yolani's hand tightened, concern radiating through the touch. "Be careful," Yolani said, her eyes searching Elania's face.

Elania nodded. "You too," she said. "Be careful."

Yolani pulled her into a hug, holding her close. “I love you,” she whispered.

“I love you too,” Elania replied, returning the embrace with equal fervor.

After a moment, Elania pulled away, hopping up onto the crenellation and spreading her wings. The wind tugged at her hair and armor, urging her to take flight.

“Aren’t you going to say goodbye?” Yolani asked.

Elania looked back, a wry grin tugging at her lips. “No goodbyes, just temporary partings!”

With a powerful beat of her wings, she launched herself into the air, aiming towards the battle raging above.

As she drew closer, a massive flare of purple and yellow energy erupted around the two demi-divine leaders, obscuring their forms.

The intense wind generated by the clash pushed her back, making it difficult to approach.

A red wing flickered at the edge of her vision as a weight slammed into her from the side. She grabbed the other Demi-divine's arm, ready to attack, but quickly recognized Ember.

"What the hell are you doing?" Ember shouted.

"We need to help Arlois!" Elania yelled back.

Ember's grip tightened on Elania's arms. "No! You need to help me deal with the enemy air fleet—that will be helping Arlois!"

Her gaze shifted to the remaining enemy ships firing into the burnt city below. She nodded. "Alright, I will. What do you want me to do?"

A grin spread across Ember's face. "We'll burn them all."

Elania's stomach churned. There had already been so much flame. "I've already seen too much burning."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

"I'm sorry, but that's my natural affinity," Ember said, her tone hinting she was anything but sorry.

Frustration bubbled up inside Elania. "Fine! But What. Do. You. Want. Me. To. Do?"

The grin returned to Ember's face. "I need you to shield us while we fly through, and I'll do the rest."

Elania nodded. "I can do that."

Ember tugged Elania's hand, pointing toward a section of the enemy ships. "You go first. I'll be right on your toes."

With a nod, Elania turned and flew towards the enemy fleet.

A few seconds later, a weight pulled at her ankles. She glanced down to find Ember literally grabbing onto her feet. She nearly stopped mid-flight.

"What are you doing?" Elania shouted.

Ember's grip tightened. "I need to focus, and you need to fly over the airships without getting us smashed by anti-divinity weapons!"

Annoyance flashed across Elania's face. "Fine!"

As they approached, there was a sudden drag on their speed.

Ember's wings expanded behind them, growing larger and larger with each passing second. Awe and concern mingled at the sight.

"Go faster!" Ember shouted.

"You're slowing us down!" Elania retorted.

"That's the point! Keep us moving, or we'll get hit with our own attack!"

Elania hissed in annoyance. Nevertheless, she focused on increasing her speed, jetting down toward the enemy fleet. Their expanded form would make them an easy target.

She was quickly proven right. Purple flak-like anti-divinity rounds fired up at them, exploding in the surrounding air.

Elania dove through the barrage, dodging sideways and zig-zagging to avoid the attacks. Ember's wings acted like parachutes, slowing down every maneuver and making it harder to evade the exploding rounds.

"That's good. Now take us over them!" Ember called out.

Elania complied, flying over the enemy ships and banking slightly to aim for the next group.

The anti-divinity fire from the ships behind them slowed and then stopped altogether.

A glance back nearly caused her to lose control.

Everything behind them had been turned into a roiling inferno, the flames connected to Ember's wings in a terrifying display.

No, they definitely couldn't stop. Or even slow down.

She focused on dragging them over the rest of the enemy ships, her wings beating furiously.

Some of the vessels started to flee the oncoming wall of fire, but they were too slow. The flames consumed the ships, turning them into burning husks that plummeted from the sky.

Halfway around the city, Elania spotted their starting point, still boiling with fire.

The flame wall had expanded to the size of the city, engulfing the area outside of it. The sheer magnitude of Ember's power filled her with awe. If Ember could do this, why hadn't they done it to the enemy fleet at the beginning?

A golden and purple clash cleaved an island in half in the distance, and Elania's stomach sank.

That was part of the airship wharf, the one she had helped repair. The realization hit her like a punch to the gut.

That’s why they hadn’t started with it—the Sun Emperor.

Both sides had been hiding their trump cards, slowly doling out their decks until things reached a boiling point.

“Focus!” Ember shouted, snapping Elania out of her thoughts.

Elania hissed. She had almost missed several enemy ships in her distraction.

They continued burning away the enemy armada, leaving only a few ships as they completed the rest of their circle.

As the enemy flagship came into sight, Elania made a beeline for it.

Taking down the command ship would be a significant blow to the Monevoian forces. Not that there were many left.

She pushed herself to fly faster, determined to reach the flagship before it could escape the encroaching inferno. Sweat dripped down her face from the intense heat of the flames. She gritted her teeth, ignoring the discomfort as she focused on her target.

The flagship grew in size as they closed the distance, its massive hull bristling with weapons and armor.

Elania’s heart raced as they approached, the anticipation of the impending confrontation sending a rush of adrenaline.

Hundreds of smaller guns opened up, firing at them with wild abandon just as a golden sphere formed around the ship, acting as a powerful arcane defense field.

Ember flapped her wings forward toward the ship, slamming it between the two appendages of inferno.

The heat and flames rushed over them.

“What are you doing?” Elania yelled.

Ember slid up from her ankles and grabbed her waist, pulling her close. “Hold on!”

Elania gripped the other woman as they were flung around in the inferno, Ember’s barrier somehow protecting them as the giant flame storm rushed over them and into the enemy flagship, converging and shrinking into a spear of flame as it struck.

The heat licked at them through Ember’s barrier, worse than an oven on a hot day.

Ember dragged them out of the path of flames, and Elania regained her wings, twisting to look at the enemy ship.

The golden protection sphere flickered and then died, and the colossal flame wall skewered the ship like it was a little toy. The blast punched through it and then expanded into a massive cloud that was washed away by the inferno.

Elania panted as she regained her breath. “That’s ridiculous,” she said in a strained voice.

“We should go to the central spire now and regroup,” Ember said.

Elania nodded, and they turned to fly toward the central spire.

The Purple Tower was just ahead of them along the way.

A yellow crescent suddenly sliced it in two along with the island it stood on, causing the section of the city to fall off Contia.

Elania froze for a second, her eyes wide with shock.

Ember turned and looked at her, her expression mirroring Elania’s.

Before she could ask what was going on, the other woman cursed and then shot toward Elania, shoving her through the air.

Elania shouted in surprise, regaining her balance.

“What was that for?” she demanded, but as she looked at Ember, her heart stopped.

The Crimson Aegis was impaled through the middle on a golden trident held up by a blazing demi-divine.

The Sun Emperor.