Malysseus wasn’t convinced he had enough Mana to blast both of them to death with Arcane magic, despite the vast Mana remaining in the staff. He felt pressure on his good shoulder as Kewari leaned into him. He could see her own Mana was low after healing him. She was woozy and struggling to stay on her feet.

To make matters worse, the smaller cyclops carried a large round shield. The shield looked like it could block a lot of power, so he would be forced to attack with full storms of Mana bullets.

Malysseus considered using his wind magic to send Kewari to safety. He could see the sails were out on Opportunity the II, although the boat was still anchored. Once Kewari was safe, he could command the vessel to leave, putting Gurten in charge. Then, it wouldn’t matter how his battle went. But he hesitated, knowing Kewari would protest.

That hesitation made the choice for him in the end. The smaller cyclops circled around them, stepping on wooden buildings and crushing them underfoot. It faced Malysseus but blocked him off from the ship. It was too dangerous. The monster could attack Kewari as she traveled to the boat, and he likely wouldn’t have enough time to focus on a circuitous route. He would be attacked.

Unless he created the opportunity by force.

Malysseus summoned his storm of Mana bullets. The spells were hungry for more Mana. His eyes changed color, glowing white-blue with the sheer amount of Mana he channeled. He blasted two waves into each enemy. They were both damaged, although his energy reserves were dwindling. The black obsidian round shield did block lots of bullets. Unfortunately, the attacks made the cyclopses angrier rather than injured.

The black obsidian sword swung. Malysseus didn’t even have time to correctly call the wind to carry them to safety. More Mana flooded from him as he summoned domes of Arcane force around him and Kewari. The attack seemed to make Kewari more aware of the situation. She stood to attention, ignoring her wooziness. The cyclops’ obsidian blade slammed into the Arcane dome of energy.

Malyssesus added several more layers of Arcane shields as the blade impacted. The gigantic obsidian blade cut through the first and second. The third layer of Arcane force cracked under pressure but did not break. He took a deep breath, feeling the ground shake as the smaller cyclops made its move. It charged the domes of force protecting him and Kewari.

The steps shook the beach as the smaller cyclops drew closer moment by moment. Malysseus started thinking about how much more comfortable the fight would be with two arms. He thought that two functional arms and a powerful, enigmatic staff would have been too many advantages. Too much to hope for. With a sigh, he summoned a considerable barrier in the way of the charge.

The cyclops charged into it, but the smaller one struggled to break through Arcane barriers. The large cyclops cocked back its hand, preparing to thrash the dome with another attack. The cyclops struck again, shattering another barrier and leaving only one remaining. When the large cyclops prepared another attack, Malysseus made his move.

The winds swirled inside the barrier as he prepared an exit strategy for himself and Kewari. He threw Mana into the spell as the last obstacle was shattered, soaring through raining shards of condensed Mana. He felt the remnants of the barrier cut into his flesh, but he didn’t let it slow him down. His heart was pounding. The intensity of the battle was growing. Kewari was nearly down for the count and had trouble dealing with two enemies. It made it difficult to protect her.

Malysseus and Kewari floated down the beach, landing softly. Kewari groaned, even from the small impact. They were safe and watched as his theory was proven correct. Even with the crew stuck on the ship like sitting ducks, the cyclopses turned on Kewari and Malysseus. The monsters were chasing the magic.

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As they charged forward, Malysseus pulled more Mana from the staff. He was greedy, pulling its stored resources, but the artifact provided without complaint. He was unaware of any other staves capable of holding up to this amount of power in such a short time frame. The cyclopses charged toward him, and he readied his spell.

He summoned a plethora of crystal spears into the air of the space between them. As the cyclopses ran forward, he activated the field of death. Spear after spear sailed from the skies, landing impacts on the cyclopses at all points. The enemy creatures slowed as blast after blast struck them. But they did not stop.

The monsters charged on.

Malysseus shifted, concentrating his attacks on the smaller cyclops. Even though it blocked with its shield, the monster seemed to take much more damage when struck. He attacked without relenting. When the spears already summoned didn’t seem enough, he called more. And more. And more.

The cyclopses charged on. They ignored the field of death, drawing close to Kewari and Malysseus. Malysseus sent the winds surging with a sigh, floating him and Kewari away to safety again. The smaller cyclops slowed, so he dodged the larger by maneuvering into its path. When the smaller cyclops fell to one knee, he turned his attention to the larger cyclops. He wanted to prepare the mother of all spells to destroy the large creature before his Mana ran dry.

His choice was a big mistake.

The smaller cyclops lumbered forward from nowhere with energy it didn’t even seem to possess before. The smaller cyclops hoisted its shield, treating the equipment like a battering ram. Malysseus didn’t have time to conjure a barrier. He barely managed to create a small barrier of force, blocking some of the power of the charge. The rest of the energy transferred to him, sending him hurtling through the air.

He plunged into the sea.

Everything went dark.

He kicked his legs. And he kicked.

Moments later—with a greedy gasp—he felt air refill his lungs. Conjuring a wave with water magic, he returned to the beach and took in the situation. The larger cyclops was still mostly unharmed. Many crystal spears were sticking from it, but the creature wasn’t losing blood. It wasn’t slowing.

The smaller cyclops seemed much worse off. Malysseus didn’t know where its second rush of energy came from, but the monster seemed half-dead. Unfortunately, it currently grasped Kewari inside of its meaty fist.

Crystal spears were going to be a no-go, then.

Malysseus summoned two fists made of stone, condensing piles of sand into the spell. The fists reached from the earth and began grappling with the cyclops over Kewari. He was losing the fight, so he summoned more hands. Mana poured from the staff. He simply needed to save Kewari.

The hands wrestled with the cyclops, trying to peel its fingers away. The large cyclops lumbered closer to assist its fellow. Malysseus summoned more hands, peeling the fingers away from Kewari. The earthen hands blocked intervention as the cyclops brought its other hand to assist in locking down the human. The hands pulled down, fetching Kewari from the creature’s mouth as it tried to consume her.

He poured the rest of the Mana from his staff, pulling Kewari away and using the earthen hands to block the path toward her. The large cyclops was close. Malysseus just needed to save her.

He just needed to save her.

He drew on his own stores of Mana, surrounding her in a circular shield of shimmering Arcane force energy. He could protect her. She would be safe on the ship. Once she was there, the crew would go. They would abandon Malysseus and bring themselves to safety.

He used the powers of the wind, relying on the dwindling flames of his own Mana reservoir, and sent her sailing toward the ship. He could still see her. He could still see the boat. His intention was clear, so there would be no problems.

Wizards were prone to making errors in judgment, especially when researching new avenues or under extreme duress. He misjudged the wingspan of the large cyclops.

The large cyclops batted the shimmering ball of force as it soared through the air. The forceful impact redirected the momentum of the ball. The shimmering energy cracked but did not break. Instead, the ball sailed deep into the forest. Malysseus couldn’t even keep track of where Kewari landed. Absolute fury built in his chest.

Unbidden, magical power consumed Malysseus as his soul began to burn.