Book 8: Chapter 100: Superiority |
Viola didn't know how long she remained in that state, but the next thing she felt was the touch of a warm hand on her shoulder.
She looked up and saw the face of her distant relative looking at her with more sympathy than she had expected. "Come on, kid. We've got our orders."
Viola quickly wiped her face, feeling a trace of shame at being seen in such a state. "What orders?" she asked, deepening her voice to keep it from sounding emotional.
Her superior looked up, her gaze once again settling on the massive fortress silently hovering overhead. "We're going to take on that thing."
That finally broke Viola's emotional fugue. "Didn't you say you didn't stand a chance last time?"
The woman smiled at her, though Viola could sense the tension behind the expression. "I was alone back then. Now, we have hundreds of people and six destroyers..." She paused for a moment, resolution forming in her eyes. "It will not be the same."
Before Viola could say anything, the wind began to tussle her hair as the ship beneath her feet started to move. The creaking of wood all around made it clear that they were not the only ones who had begun advancing.
"Let's go," the woman beside her said as she took to the air. Viola followed, and the two soared upward.
"Whatever you do, don't get too close to it," the woman instructed as they flew. More and more flyers joined them, eagerly listening to the only person who had ever faced that ship before and made it back to report. "Our job is not to be the main battle line, but merely to distract and harass."
"You'll know by the fact that your heart will have stopped beating and your skin will be charred black."
The young man began to snicker but then fell silent when he noticed that their leader didn't seem to be joking. "You're serious?"
She nodded. "I've seen that ship kill dozens of Mages in a single strike. All targeted attacks, not area bombardment. Their Lightning arrays are more precise than any I've ever seen. I would suggest you don't test their boundaries. Try to stay at max range at all times."
"What if your max range is less than the fortress's?" somebody asked.
The woman didn't reply, but everyone knew what it meant.
"Why are we even fighting, then?" Viola asked. "Wouldn't it be more beneficial to keep the stalemate?"
"Truth be told, I'm not too sure about that either," the leader responded. "But from what I understand, our main purpose is not to win, but to keep them on their toes. The higher-ups believe that their commander is just a single person and not a network like ours. So every bit of attention we can draw will reduce their ability to focus on the rest of the battle. Death by a thousand cuts, so to speak..."
Viola's jaw nearly dropped when she heard that. One person was directing all their forces? And they managed to keep up with the Legion's infamous mental network? What kind of monster was that? Was that the reason Zeke had decided to switch sides, because he had chosen to follow this incredible person?
"We're in position," somebody said, causing Viola to look up.
The destroyer-class airships had taken up formation, ringing the immobile fortress in a half circle.
"...They're loading the explosive tips," somebody else remarked.
Viola had seen it too. The ballistae had switched from the regular bolts to the ones carrying payloads. Normally, they would be used in sieges to bring down gates and walls. So it was quite fitting to use them against this fortress, even though it wasn't their intended purpose.
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
"Fire!"
The same shout echoed from all directions, followed by the shrill whistles of dozens of bolts splitting the air. And still, the fortress did not move, didn't try to evade.
But in the next moment, there was a flash of light so bright that Viola was forced to close her eyes. This was followed by an explosion and a searing wave of heat that nearly charred her brows.
In the next instant, when the air began to clear, the fortress came into view. Its walls remained intact, without so much as a scratch. As for the explosive bolts, they had vanished without a trace.
What kind of defense was this?
Viola continued to stare, hoping that the answer might reveal itself, that the scene would make sense if she stared at it a little longer.
"I told you that lightning was accurate," their leader said into the silence.
Lightning? What did their defense have to do with... Wait...
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"...Are you saying they blocked our bolts not with a shield, but with their lightning attacks?"
Once again, there was no response, making the silence all the more deafening. For the first time, Viola felt cold sweat on her brow. There was no doubt left in her mind. If she entered that ship's range, her fate would be the same as the bolts, if not even more miserable.
This was not a matter of skill, but a simple truth. No matter how fast she was, she didn't stand a single chance against lightning. Maybe, if she used [Windtänzer], she could avoid one or two strikes, but it was like riding a tiger. Once you got on, there was no getting off.
"Get ready..." their leader said as the ships began to load a second round into the ballistae. "It's our time to shine. Stay out of range and try to cause as much chaos as you can. May the Winds watch over you..." There was a moment of silence before she added one last part. "...And me."
***
Zeke's eyes shot open at the massive explosion overhead. Thankfully, not many still dared to enter his zone, allowing him a moment of breathing room every now and then.
Overhead, the Alexandria was ringed by the enemy air fleet and hundreds of individual Wind Mages. Zeke recognized the Archmage he had fought before among them. She was quite brave, entering the Alexandria's strike range every now and then to draw attention away from the rest of the fleet. Quite successfully, so far.
The rest of the Mages were not so lucky. In that brief moment of observation, Zeke had already seen two of them get struck. One died instantly, while the other managed to catch themselves after dropping for a few seconds.
Meanwhile, the destroyer-class ships were taking the brunt of the Alexandria's offensive. Though Lightning was clearly less effective on armored hulls than on human flesh, that didn't mean they were impenetrable. Strike a stone long enough, and it would ultimately break.
As for the Alexandria? The damage the ship was taking was minimal.
It had truly been the right decision to jump in himself instead of putting this burden on Akasha. After all, the Alexandria was made to dominate the sky, and this was exactly the kind of encounter she was meant for.
And with more than ten Archmages on board powering her systems, she wouldn't run out of power anytime soon. Quite the opposite, actually. Despite the impressive display Akasha was putting on, Zeke could immediately tell that the ship was still operating under energy conservation rules.
This was far from going all out, and the ship could likely keep up this level of output for days. She would be fine.
No. The only thing Zeke was actually worried about at the moment was Akasha. Her body, though newly constructed and filled with energy, was still a finite resource that didn't recover over time. Did the Empire know that? If so, then Zeke could be certain that this entire aerial battle wasn't meant to be won at all, but merely to exhaust her. But could that really be it? How many lives were they willing to sacrifice merely for that?
After all, even if Akasha's reserves were used up, she wouldn't simply vanish. It would only force her to return to her host.
That would make it so that he couldn't remain on the battlefield anymore, but surely, that wasn't the Legion's goal? Thousands of lives and their entire fleet just to have him take a step back. The thought tickled his ego, though Zeke knew that it couldn't be the real reason.
The empire was callous, but not wasteful. Most importantly, though, they rarely only aimed for a single goal, but often had several hidden agendas behind the obvious ones. Zeke merely hopes that Akasha could see through their schemes better than he could.
Otherwise, it would be inevitable that she fell into one of their traps sooner or later.
***
Viola's entire body was covered in sweat, and her hands trembled so violently that she could barely aim her spells.
Ever since that giant fortress had begun to move, she hadn't felt safe for even an instant.
This... this was unlike anything she had ever seen. How could something of this size move like that? From complete stillness to full speed in an instant. It was a pattern that violated every law of aerial combat Viola had ever learned.
Mass. Velocity. Speed. None of it seemed to apply to this monstrosity. The same was true for its range. It had been hard enough to determine the safe zone when it had been stationary, but now?
There simply was no safe zone anymore.
The ship moved faster than any individual Wind Mage, except maybe her grand-aunt. Didn't that mean the ship could include you in its range whenever it felt like it?
Viola felt her blood go even colder at the thought. It was finally dawning on her. In this battle, her life and death would not be determined by her skill or strategy, but simply... by luck.
"It's coming this way!"
"RUN!"
"SCATTER!"
Viola felt herself freeze, her entire body becoming as stiff as a board as she saw the looming shadow draw closer. Had she ever felt this afraid? This powerless? Was this payback for all the times she had merely watched when her countrymen had trampled over the powerless natives?
She hoped it was. Then, at least, she could make some modicum of sense of this situation.
A lightning bolt as thick as her thigh streaked past, leaving the scent of ozone behind. Viola heard a short scream from somewhere behind her before it was quickly cut off.
NOT GOOD.
She was already in range.
Flooding her Core with Mana, Viola did the only thing she could. [Windtänzer] took hold of her, and she felt herself slip through the air as if gravity and resistance had lost all meaning.
A second burst carried her even farther, and then a third.
Finally, Viola turned back. And froze. The flying fortress, which had been drawing ever closer, had barely moved. That meant... it had nearly kept up with her at top speed.
Wait. Why did it appear as if... it was following her?
That was her last thought before her mind went blank. The next thing she knew, she was falling. Her limbs didn't react to her commands, but slowly, she felt sensation return.
Mana began to flow again. She had to activate her levitation Magic before she became a smear on the bare cliffs like so many before her. However, before she could even finish that simple spell, another bolt struck her center mass.
It was not as big as the ones she had seen kill her companions, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. More importantly, it interrupted her casting and sent her muscles into another spasm.
Damn. She couldn't be far from the ground now.
Another attempt. Another flash of lightning.
Viola found herself helplessly falling from the sky. The third strike had confirmed it for her. This was no accident. The fortress was definitely targeting her. But why? She was a nobody. What could there be gained from...
She felt herself slow down and was initially confused. But soon, she realized what it was. She had fallen into the enemy's dampening field. Her panic quickly subsided when she realized what that meant. Though it had brought her into enemy territory, at least that terrifying fortress couldn't continue to attack her.
At the same time as the first bit of feeling returned to her limbs, Viola felt gravity reassert itself. She had passed through the shield. That meant she could only be a few steps from the ground.
Do or die, Viola. Use your Magic or...
A pair of strong arms wrapped around her legs and back, breaking her fall and steadying her twitching limbs.
Viola's eyes opened wide when she saw who had caught her. Crimson hair, a sharp and handsome face, and golden eyes that showed just how surprised he was.
"Viola...?"
