Chapter 99: Towers 4

Elania's heart spasmed. The Sun Emperor rushed toward Yolani, who fumbled with reloading.

She scrambled to her feet, but the distance was much too far. Even materializing her aura wouldn't be enough to slow him.

Yolani swapped to her wand and pointed at the ground, a sheet of stone erupting in front of her. The Sun Emperor smashed through it effortlessly, sending a spray of stone slamming into her.

He stepped forward and raised his glowing blade to strike her down.

Elania flew like a bullet. It wasn't nearly fast enough.

At the last second, a purple blur slammed into the Sun Emperor, sending the two tumbling away.

Arlois.

Elania continued to Yolani's side. Kneeling beside the other girl, Elania took in her wounds.

Stone shards buried themselves in flesh and gear, like birdshot that had worked under the skin. Blood seeped from the injuries at a slow but steady rate.

Elania swallowed. She activated [Divine Mending], forcing [Power] through it and overlaying it on Yolani.

"You're going to be okay," Elania reassured her.

Yolani's breathing was shallow and pained. There weren't any wounds on her face or head, but there was a deep gash on her neck. She reached up and squeezed Elania's hand.

The stones began to work their way out of her body as the golden glow of mending took hold.

And then the screaming began.

Elania squeezed Yolani's hand back. She fumbled with her pouch and pulled out her three remaining healing potions. One went down Yolani's throat, and the other splashed on the largest wounds Elania could find.

Yolani turned on her side and coughed up blood, then began to stir, and Elania helped her sit up.

"These healing potions aren't very tasty," Yolani mumbled, still dazed.

Elania hugged her tightly, relief flooding through her body. "What are you doing here?"

Yolani held onto Elania's arm, their eyes meeting. "Everyone needs to help," she whispered.

A loud crash erupted behind them.

Arlois was locked in combat with the Sun Emperor. Arlois was missing her left arm, but she wielded a purple flame sword in her right hand, sending sprays of gold and purple sparks through the air with each clash of their glowing blades.

"I have to go help," Elania said.

Yolani grabbed Elania's pant leg, stopping her.

Elania frowned, torn. "We have to defeat him, and then we've won."

Yolani held up a handful of small mana shards.

Elania took them. "Thanks."

She turned to look for an opening in the ongoing battle.

The sword fight between Arlois and the Sun Emperor intensified. The clash of their blades sent vibrant sparks flying with each exchange, painting the chamber in a dazzling display of gold and purple.

The Sun Emperor's strength was far superior, and each blow bashed Arlois around with brutal force. But Arlois flowed with the strikes, dodging and parrying with calculated precision.

They appeared evenly matched.

The Sun Emperor waved his free hand, cleaving the air between them with a golden crescent.

Arlois ducked under it, narrowly avoiding the attack, only to be met with a second one that she was forced to leap over. Mid-air, their swords clashed again, flinging Arlois toward a wall. She landed on her feet and shot back at him with enough force to crack the stone.

The extra force was enough to knock the Sun Emperor's sword away before Arlois dropped a purple ball in his face.

It exploded violently. The Sun Emperor's golden armor crumbled around his face, but soon began to reform as he pivoted toward Arlois' next attack.

Elania checked her revolver.

She pushed standard bullets into the empty slots. A single kinetic elemental shell remained.

With a grunt, she turned to Yolani. "We need to work on a melee weapon."

Yolani looked up at her, then glanced at Elania's back. "What about your sword?"

Time froze.

Elania reached behind her back. Her fingers encircled a hilt.

Pulling it out revealed a giant golden sword that should have been a noticeable hindrance to her the entire battle.

Recognition dawned slowly, followed by a wave of outrage.

"How could you?" she whispered to Eziel.

[No. You cannot wield me here. You are too weak. His Domain will force me to obey his orders. He would win immediately.]

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Elania trembled, swallowing the urge to rant at him.

If he was useless in the fight, then he was useless.

She placed him back on her back and turned to Yolani. "The sword is broken, so we can't use it."

Yolani frowned and nodded. "I might be able to help." She tugged Elania back down and grabbed her bracer, closing her eyes in concentration.

The metal grew slowly, a blade extending from it over Elania's hand. It grew longer, taking the shape of a triangle, resembling a katar.

Yolani finished, her chest puffing. "It's hard to work on [Regalia] like that on the fly."

Elania thanked her, then looked away. "Go back to the Neftasu District. It isn't safe here."

Yolani shook her head. "Nowhere is safe."

Elania clicked her tongue, her gaze returning to the ongoing battle between Arlois and the Sun Emperor.

The Sun Emperor stared at Elania, turning his attention away from Arlois. Her heart raced.

The Purple Wing fought ferociously, landing a half dozen blows with her violet sword as it turned into a flickering punishment for his dismissal of her.

He battered Arlois away regardless, his injuries healing with golden energy.

His eyes betrayed a complete loss of interest in Arlois.

Elania stood up.

[He knows.]

Elania jumped away from Yolani, scanning the chamber for the balcony to fly away. But she wasn't fast enough. The Sun Emperor charged through Arlois' assault and straight for Elania.

Elania's hand closed around one of the mana shards Yolani had given her, crushing it in her palm. Then she compressed the released [Power] before it could escape, gesturing at the wall and blasting an opening.

She slipped through the jagged hole, her wings spreading as she flashed into the open air. Spinning around, she leveled her [Regalia] at the hole.

The Sun Emperor emerged from the smoke and debris. She fired.

The shot smashed a dent into his pauldron, but it did nothing to slow him down.

Elania turned, wings beating furiously as she flung herself upward, desperate for distance.

A flash of red streaked by. Ember dove straight at her, crimson lance in hand. The fiery demi-divine passed by in a flash, her weapon poised to strike.

Elania flipped around. Arlois and Ember attacked together, their weapons a flurry of color as purple, red, and gold sparks erupted from the clash.

The addition of Ember didn't change the equation. Somehow. Elania bit her lip and squeezed her revolver. What did they need to do to get rid of this bastard?

Elysia arrived, her body half-encased in wood that expanded and grew until she towered over the fight. With a massive tree-hand, she slapped the Sun Emperor, sending him reeling.

His retaliation was immediate as sun orbs slammed into the wooden golem, causing Elysia to combust.

A wave of water surged out of the air, dousing the flame and leaving Elysia steaming. Lyra landed on the golem's shoulder, clutching her injured side as she joined in the fight.

Elania hovered nearby, darting glances at the other demi-divine.

Finally. They were all here. This is what they needed from the beginning: to swarm him as a team.

He wasn't invincible. She'd seen him bleeding.

They just needed to do enough damage fast enough that he couldn't recover.

The air crackled with magic, a maelstrom of elemental forces whipping between the Sun Emperor and the Four Towers.

She needed to help.

No opening to shoot appeared amidst the constant flurry of attacks. The Sun Emperor moved with blinding speed, his glowing sword flashing between each strike while his free hand summoned sun orb after sun orb to fend off the incoming elemental blasts and grasping hands of Elysia's tree form.

[They are outmatched. Flee.]

Her stomach flipped.

Were they losing?

A searing yellow whip lashed out of a puff of smoke, snaking to wrap around Lyra's middle, scorching her flesh and tossing her to the ground like a rag doll.

A kick surged out, and the Sun Emperor hit Ember in the stomach, sending her flying back.

Then he spun, his blade slicing towards Arlois, who barely dodged. Without enough distance, the Sun Emperor's solar wing slapped her, sending her tumbling.

Elysia moved to clap him between her palms, but his wings surged, growing in size and extending to slash her wrists and lop off her hands entirely. The stumps blazed with fire as they ignited from the heat.

Arlois attacked from behind, but a sun orb flared into existence in front of her, blocking the path. He focused on Elysia, beating at her with his wings, chopping the tree golem into flaming pieces.

Finally, his wing smashed into Elysia herself, sending her downward. She bounced and tumbled along the ground, smoldering sparks smoking from her outfit.

He turned toward Arlois and pressed her with rapid sword work, her defense faltering. His wings moved to smash her, but her own purple ones flared out to block the strike.

This bastard had too much main-character energy.

Elania flew in, taking aim with her [Regalia].

The Sun Emperor reached up, drawing a light spear from the air and impaled Arlois through the middle before Elania could fire. He knocked away her sword with a slap of his own blade before stabbing her with it.

Elania pulled the trigger, the kinetic round streaking towards him. It struck him in the back, the vortex of white energy cleaving off his solar wings and sending him flying into the island. His tumble punched through walls in a series of smoke-filled and masonry-destroying impacts.

Elania darted to Arlois' side, pulling out her last healing potion.

She spread the liquid out as best she could over the half dozen yellow, burning holes in Arlois' torso. The demi-divine's armor had been punctured like tissue paper.

Arlois gurgled blood, coughing out enough to hint at a punctured lung.

Elania panted, panic gripping her as half the injuries failed to heal, even with the potion’s powerful effects. She called on [Divine Mending], but it refused to take hold.

Arlois reached up, her hand grasping Elania’s arm weakly. “Flee, we’ve lost.”

Elania’s eyes darted to the destroyed wall, glimpsing the Celestial Engine beyond. She trembled, her hand clasping Arlois’ tightly.

“You swore you had the most powerful [Domain]. You said you could beat him,” Elania whispered accusingly. “I believed in you.”

Arlois choked, blood bubbling. “[Domain]… isn’t everything. Sometimes… you’re just not strong enough.”

[There is no more time. Flee now before he returns!]

Elania blinked as Eziel’s words echoed. She reached behind her back and pulled Eziel in front of her.

Arlois frowned, her eyes narrowing as she studied the golden blade. “I’ve seen that sword before,” she whispered.

Without hesitation, Elania pressed the hilt into Arlois’ hand, wrapping the demi-divine’s fingers around the grip. “Use Eziel,” she ordered.

Purple energy materialized in the air, swirling and flowing around them. Her strength seemed to return, and although her wounds didn’t close the blood seemed to stop flowing from them.

“An arch-seraph,” Arlois mumbled.

Elania helped Arlois to her feet, supporting her as she struggled to stand. Arlois held Eziel in front of them, her grip tightening on the hilt as she faced the direction of the Sun Emperor.

“Eziel, Arch-Seraph, I order you to stop this invasion and destroy the Sun Emperor,” Arlois commanded, her voice ringing with authority.

The sword vibrated in her hand.

[I am not a toy to be controlled.]

The purple energy around them intensified, pulsing with a suffocating intensity. Elania gasped for breath, feeling as if she were caught in a powerful [Domain] again. Invisible force pressed down on her from every direction as Arlois stared intently at the sword.

The purple energy crackled, flowing into Eziel as Arlois repeated her order.

A pulse of energy erupted from the sword, and the crushing pressure of the [Domain] dissipated. Elania took a deep breath, her lungs burning.

Relief was short-lived as a giant sunlight spear flashed towards them from the Celestial Engine chamber.

Elania instinctively folded her wings around herself, bracing for impact. Instead, Arlois swung Eziel, meeting the spear head-on. The light weapon shattered, its energy soaked up into the blade with a blinding flow of light motes.

The Sun Emperor stepped out from the chamber, his armor glowing brightly and solar wings reforming behind him.

“You’ve found an interesting toy,” he said, his voice dripping with contempt, “but it won’t make a difference.”

He waved his hand. An energy sword and spear formed in the air. They floated to him as he strode forward.