I looked around the enemy soldiers. It was hard to tell how many there were but probably over 100. If we got into a real fight some of them would die. But they made their choice. Although I might try for non lethal blows when possible.
Still, I gave them one last chance to walk away. “Your leader has betrayed the Empire and is about to attack foreign diplomats to further his own schemes. This is my only warning. Attack and suffer the consequences of your actions.” I said.
Some of them looked nervous and uncertain, others determined. Lucy twirled her spear looking eager. She still had a score to settle with Elias.
“Kill them.” Elias said. And so it began.
Several arrows and low tier spells were unleashed in our direction. While we had our little standoff Lucy and myself were not idle. Both of us used Storm’s Embrace. Arrows shattered when they met our armour of wind. Bolts of fire and ice tried to pierce out protection, and failed.
The inquisition followed their opening salvo with a charge. I admired their courage, or stupidity, but I doubted their swords and spears would fare well against a 9th circle spell. Elias stood at the back, two knights standing protectively in front of him. They certainly had magical equipment. Encased in plate armour and equipped with sword and shield they looked far more dangerous than the normal soldiers. The main force was only wearing chainmail for protection.
Shani met the enemy charge with her own. People went flying as the elemental unleashed blasts of wind with her swings. Lucy was right behind her and used the opening to strike at Elias. Her spear was deflected by a shield as the knights tried to stop her. I drew my sword and entered the fray.
The normal soldiers had no hope of stopping me. The few that dared to enter my path were quickly disabled. Lucy was fending off the two knights, who seemed to be actually competent. They bought Elias enough time to unleash a spell. Flame left his outstretched hand and raced towards Lucy. The knights, no doubt expecting the move, stepped out of the way. There was no scream as fire engulfed her. Instead a spear stabbed out of the inferno, nearly catching a knight off guard. Lucy reappeared, slightly singed but not seriously hurt, and resumed her assault.
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Her second opponent saw me close in on Elias and moved to intercept. I was curious how their skill with the sword would compare to my own. Using a shield and heavy armour gave them a distinct advantage. In theory at least. The knight could not compete with my speed. I effortlessly danced around my enemies sword, while poking weak points in his armour, drawing blood.
Suddenly I felt a pulse of magic underneath my feet. With my fast reflexes I easily avoided the stone spikes trying to impale me. As the spell concluded a ten metre wide circle was filled with spikes. Two of the normal soldiers were caught in the spell, impaled by their own commander. Elias did not seem to care.
As the enemy knight charged me again I unleashed a bolt of lightning. The enemy's shield glowed and my magic encountered a golden barrier. While cracks formed in the translucent dome, protecting the knight, it held. The tier three magic I used was not strong enough. My opponent dismissed his barrier and we engaged once more in melee combat. For my next move I went with something stronger. While we exchanged blows I was concentrating on another spell. Portals opened around the knight and black chains emerged. The barrier he tried to summon shattered as the chains wrapped around his arms and legs. There was a panicked cry as the knight desperately fought to break free. He failed. The knight hung helplessly in the air, spreadeagled, as his sword fell to the ground.
While I had disabled my opponent, Lucy was not that merciful. Her spear had penetrated a weak point around the enemy's knee. There was a short scream as she released a spell directly into the knight. Smoke rose from underneath the armour as electricity surged through the victim. He fell to the floor, unmoving. It was hard to tell if he was alive.
As I looked around, I saw that all regular soldiers were defeated as well. While some had fled most were lying on the floor. Some dead, some incapacitated. It looked like Shani had contained her murderous urges to some degree. She was whistling a happy tune while she casually strolled towards Elias.
“YOU HAVE BROUGHT THIS UPON YOURSELF!” He shouted.
Suddenly the world was filled with flame. An intense heat washed over me. Even covered by the protective air from Storms Embrace the heat was too much. My skin started to blister and while my armour was fine, my magical clothing was charred in a few places. A wave of force followed, the ground underneath my feet fell away and debris impacted my shield of air. Thanks to my spell I floated instead of falling.
As the fire disappeared I could see once more. At first it was mostly dust but soon it settled and I saw Lucy float beside me. She was protected by the same spell. Her skin looked worse than mine but she was still in fighting shape. Our enhanced healing was already at work, fixing our injuries.
“THE LEAST I WILL DO TO YOU IS TORTURE YOU BASTARD!” I heard Shani shout. The elemental was covered in dark spots.
As I looked around it became clear that we were no longer in a room underneath the city. We were floating on top of a crater. The ceiling, the building on top, it was all destroyed. Elias was lying in the centre, groggily getting to his feet.
The surrounding buildings looked like warehouses. At least we were not in a residential area. But people might have been working here. How many innocents did he blow up together with his own soldiers? The knight I had captured hung limply in the chains. I ended the spell and he fell to the ground. All three of us converged on Elias.