Vissna roared as she spiraled into the ground. Thick layers of ice began to condense across her scales as her power rampaged out of control. Leaking from underneath the crack around a single scale, I spotted golden flames. Vissna was struggling to suppress the fire and regain control of the zone of cold she created. She was forced to ignore her surroundings as she closed her eyes and focused.
The moment her area of ice began to fade, the Demon teleported back in front of Vissna. She did not even have time to register that the Demon had returned before he struck the vital scale a second time. Vissna roared in fury and agony as she curled into a ball. The Demon teleported away as a wave of ice exploded in every direction.
Hundreds of Demonkin were frozen solid in an instant but that did nothing to deter them. Ten of the Demonkin I had marked as likely to be fully mature waltzed into the zone of freezing cold. Layers of ice formed around their body but seemed to be unable to penetrate their thick hides completely. The Demonkin were forced to approach Vissna slowly as they shattered sheets of ice that formed on their body with every step, but while their approach was slow, the ice was unable to stop them from moving forward.
Unlike the Demonkin, I was not able to approach Vissna and help her. I could only hope that her scales were tough enough to protect her against the creatures. Instead, I turned my attention to the Demons floating in the air. If we could stop them, Vissna would have the time she needed to recover.
Dom and Svend flew on either side of me while Sebastion had already engaged the Demons. Ten beams of brilliant light shot from Sebastion’s outstretched hand. Unfortunately, the Demons were prepared for him. Shimmering in a dome around the Demons was a reflective mirror.
When the ten beams of light struck the mirror, they disappeared into its depths for a moment before reappearing. This time, the attack was not redirected back at Sebastion but instead towards me.
Svend and Dom both leapt in front of me just in time as ten beams of light smashed into their bodies. Svend was more than capable of tanking the attacks but Dom was sent flying backwards until the other domain warriors from Bellator caught him. Sebastion ignored my glare and his own mistake as he continued to fly towards the Demons.
The Demon that created the mirrors grinned at Sebastion. “My mirrors are invincible. No power can break them. All you can do is watch as we kill you little pet lizard.”
“Move to surround them,” I said calmly, “Force them to stay inside the mirror. They are not able to attack while protected by it.”
Everyone nodded as they formed a semicircle around the dome of mirrors. Down on the ground, the Demonkin had reached Vissna and begun to claw at her scales. Each of their blows sounded like hammers striking an anvil. It was a brutal sight, but Vissna did not appear to be in any immediate danger as she continued to stay curled up in a ball until she regained control.
I looked over to Cyra floating nearby and waved her over. “Do you want to play a game with me?”
“Is now really the time?” she asked skeptically.
“Yes,” I replied with a wide grin. I pointed at the Dome of mirrors blocking the Demons from view. “The rules of this game are similar to the flame control game we played when we first met. All you have to do is take control of my fire and send it back with a little more of yours. Let us stress test just how powerful this mirror really is.”
A flash of realization crossed Cyra’s face, followed by a smile. “You are right we should test who really is the better at controlling fire now that you have a domain. Whoever cracks this egg open first wins.”
I pointed towards the dome of mirrors as a mass of green flames shot out. My ball of fire moved slowly before striking the mirror. Just like every other attack that hit the mirror, my ball of flames was reflected out, still moving just as slowly. However, there was a slight difference between this flame and the one I sent, a difference I had noticed when I fought against these Demons long ago. The fire reflected by the mirror was no longer under anyone’s control. This meant that somebody with the corresponding talent could take control of the flames and use them for themselves.
Cyra caught the ball of green fire easily and sent it back towards the mirror along with a sphere of her own fire that eclipsed my little ball in a massive inferno. When Cyra’s flame was reflected by the mirror, it became a fire without a master.
Under the influence of my domain, I took control of the yellow ball of fire and it burned into a bright green flame. This game of catch was repeated dozens of times between Cyra and me. With every pass, the ball of fire grew bigger and bigger. The Demon controlling the mirrors tried to prevent our game by changing where the fire was reflected, but the ball was moving too slowly for either of us to miss it. By the time we had passed the ball back a hundred times, it dwarfed the dome of mirrors like a planet orbiting a sun.
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“Everyone move back,” I said with a delighted, childlike grin.
I took control of the enormous mass of fire and it turned green. Fire burned unstably as the mass of power raged out of control. Cyra and I both exhausted our entire energy stores to create the is one attack. The true benefit of both a Tressan and an Adept was on full display. The heat was something even Vissna’s cold could not compete with. Even before my death, when I had been at full strength, creating this much raw fire would have been a huge undertaking.
Laughing in excitement, I held out my hand and a small ball of blue fire ignited. “No talent is invincible. Everything has its limit,” I said softly as the small ball of blue fire left my hand.
Just as the ball of green fire was about to be reflected by the mirror once again, it collided with the blue flames. I watched in fascination from behind Svend’s oversized frame as ripples of gold swelled out from a single point like waves in the ocean.
There was a moment of deafening silence as the orb of golden flame collapsed in on itself as if it was a collapsing star. What followed was no less than a nuke being set off. A supernova of fire exploded in every direction. Just the shockwaves that followed were powerful enough to crack my domain armor. Waves of air buffeted us like sledgehammers as a mushroom cloud rose into the sky. Then came the sound, it shook every bone and organ in my body. Nothing could prepare me for it.
I flew back from the explosion as fast as I could. It was far more powerful than I had even hoped. If I had launched that attack at the Ciel forces surrounding us instead, it would have probably wiped out half their forces in a single attack.
It took nearly a full minute before I could recover my senses and look at the devastation I had brought upon the land. Clouds of dust still blocked much from view but from even a casual glance that explosion had likely wiped out more than two thousand Demonkin in a single moment.
I tried to focus my domain to sense beyond the dust cloud but my head instantly started pounding with intense pain. I had put everything into that one attack. It was unlikely I would be able to move much in the coming couple of hours.
“Can you sense the Demons?” I asked Svend curiously.
He nodded solemnly. “You definitely broke their shield but they teleported away before the full brunt of the blast could hit them.”
I frowned in disappointment but continued to watch as the smoke cleared. The Demonkin on the ground had scattered and spread out as if worried a second attack might rain down on them. Vissna pulled herself out of the rubble. She had been caught by the shockwave of the blast but her sturdy body appeared to have weathered the blow without much damage.
Standing above it all were five figures, almost completely unharmed. I had not even singed the clothes of the Demons. The only one that appeared to be worse for wear was the Demon that had created the mirror. He was slumped over the shoulder of one of the other Demons. His nose was bleeding and he barely looked conscious but energy depletion was not fatal. I knew he would be back on his feet in a few days, just like me.
All we managed to gain from the explosion was time. Vissna had stabilized her injury while the dust cleared. With a leap that cracked the ground, she took flight and fled the battlefield. As she flew, her dragon form faded away and she returned to looking like a human.
“Are you ok?” I asked as she approached.
“I will be,” Vissna replied as she placed her hand over her chest, “I am sorry. I did not expect that the flames I suppressed would create such a weak spot in my defenses.”
“We can worry about that later. Right now, I think we have angered the Demons,” I said as I pointed at the figures in the distance.
One of the Demons was shouting as he spoke in an incomprehensible language. The Demonkin army responded in a cacophony of roars. Waves of Demonkin charged towards the plateau where our army prepared to meet them. They scaled the step cliffs amidst a rain of arrows and glyphs. Fangs and talons clashed with swords and spears, staining the cliff face with a wave of red.
Those of us in the air, however, were in no position to help them. At the same time that the Demonkin army charged, thirty new figures stepped out of the blood mist. These thirty Demonkin were unlike any that had been on the battlefield before. It was not because they were bigger or more deformed but because of the presence they carried. Each one practically radiated bloodlust so thick it was almost tangible. It felt as if we were suddenly dumped into a sea of blood and hatred.
“They have Alphas!” I shouted in shock.
“How many resources was Envy willing to sacrifice to get this many Alpha Demonkin through the rifts this early in the invasion?” Svend asked as he clutched his halberd.
I shook my head as I flew back from Svend. An Alpha Demonkin was no weaker than a domain warrior. Sometimes, they were even stronger. Having just created the massive explosion, I did not have the energy to fight monsters like these.
I flew directly to Dad at the back of the group. He looked pale as he saw the creatures coming out of the mist.
“I need you to stay out of this one, Dad. These creatures are beyond our current strength. Svend and Sebastion can hold them off. We need to return to Dragon’s Nest in case any make it through.”
Dad nodded silently as he followed me back towards the floating island where everyone waited. In the distance, the thirty Alphas rose into the sky as if stepping on air. Svend roared in challenge as his booming voice echoed across the battlefield.
“Finally, something I can hit! Come and face me if you dare, you mangey mutts!”
The Demonkin Alphas charged towards Svend without fear or hesitation in their eyes, only bloodlust. The was a thunderous boom as a halberd clashed with talons.
I landed on the floating island and addressed my family. “Get ready for a fight."