Book 8: Chapter 102: No Way Out |
“A variable has occurred.”
The message resounded in Zeke’s mind just as he was about to speak. He closed his mouth, forgot about Viola for the moment, and focused wholly on Akasha.
“...What variable?” he sent back telepathically.
“The spatial locking array has weakened. It is highly likely that this occurred due to the fact that the enemy has committed many of their forces to the offensive. I am confident that we could use this opportunity to evacuate our troops from the battlefield and organize a clean retreat.”
Zeke was stunned. “You want to run?”
“Negative. I suggest a tactical retreat. It would allow us to achieve our goals for coming here. Right now, our casualties are minor while the Empire has suffered severe losses. A retreat now would be nothing less than a one-sided victory.”
Zeke hesitated for a moment. This was not the decisive outcome he had hoped for. But he could not argue with Akasha’s logic. Their entire purpose here had been to save the stranded branch of infiltrators under Cairnwyc. If they could achieve that alongside a flawlessly fought battle, then there was no reason to continue a risky confrontation.
He extended his own senses, trying to probe the fabric around him. Space was still solidified, but noticeably less than before. If he truly tried, he could likely push through it.
“...What are the chances of this working?”
That... sounded promising.
It definitely was not enough time for the Legion to react in any meaningful way. And Zeke was even less concerned about their ability to stop the Alexandria. At top speed with its shields deployed, it would be out of reach within minutes.
“Are you confident?”
“The numbers are promising.”
Zeke hesitated. Something about the idea of running while they were ahead didn't sit right with him. But then again, should he really sabotage Akasha's operation just to save his wounded pride?
“...Do as you see fit,” he sent eventually.
There was no reply, but he saw the troops around him shift. The Flesh Mages, still exhausted from their long flight, were the first to move. They gathered at an open spot in the middle of the defensive position, where two dozen of Stella’s mages were already assembled. At the same time, the Alexandria was hovering overhead, ready to accept the first wave of troops.
With his mind put at ease by Akasha’s quick handling of the matter, he finally turned his attention back to Viola, who was still looking at him with that same shocked and desperate expression.
She had been like this ever since he had mentioned Maximillian’s grave. To be honest, he had not expected that reaction. If he had not known it to be impossible, he might even have believed that this was the first time she had heard of his death.
But that was impossible.
It had been years since Maximillian had died, and Viola had always been someone who knew about everything and anything. Gossip was her second nature, and her high position meant that very little could ever be hidden from her.
But then, what was this supposed to be? A play to elicit sympathy from him? To confuse him?
No. That was not the kind of person Viola was. It was the exact opposite of her nature. But whatever the case, it left him at a loss. In the end, though, it did not really matter. One way or another, he would be gone in under three minutes.
The only thing that truly bothered him now was that their reunion would end in such an unsatisfying way, with so much left undone, so much left unsaid. If only he had the time, he would...
BoooOOOoooooMMm!!!
A massive explosion shook the sky. It was unlike anything he had heard before. And to his horror, it had come from right above his head. It had come from the direction of the Alexandria.
When he craned his neck, he saw that the massive fortress had several holes blown into its hull. Thick columns of smoke poured from the ruinous openings. At least two-thirds of the offensive arrays were either damaged or completely destroyed.
Zeke stared in horror. Even when he had rammed the ship into the mountain fortress of Strattlehold, the damage had not been this severe. What could have caused destruction on that scale? What possible weapon could the Legion have used to...
His eyes went wide as he whipped his head around. The location where the Flesh Mages had been standing earlier was now empty. Around fifty people had vanished. They had been the first batch to be evacuated... onto the Alexandria.
Could it be...!?
No. It had to be. The only question was who.
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Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.
“Akasha, talk to me...”
Silence. For the first time in his life, he received no reply from the Spirit.
A moment later, another shocking change took place. The Spatial Dampening field, the core of their entire strategy, began to waver and then disappear. From top to bottom, the dome began to fade. It would be less than a minute until it was completely gone...
Zeke whipped his head around wildly. There was no sign of Stella Eventide anywhere. She had vanished like the wind. Her elite battalion was nowhere to be seen either. Not a single trace of them remained.
“ZEKE! WHAT’S GOING ON!?”
Viola was frantic, her eyes darting from the burning wreck of the Alexandria to the disappearing dome.
Her panicked state had the opposite effect on Zeke, actually helping him calm his turbulent emotions. In situations like this, he had to remember his first priority. Keep a cool head.
“I’ve been betrayed,” he said evenly.
“What!? By who?!”
He glanced at her, unsure whether she was just acting or whether she truly knew nothing about this. But judging by how the Legion high command operated, it was more likely that they had told nobody.
“Stella or Cairnwyc,” he said, naming the most likely suspects.
Either Cairnwyc’s people had hidden detonation devices in their flesh, or Stella had somehow caused that explosion. His money was on the latter, since he could still see Captain Cairnwyc desperately fighting one of the Legion Archmages in the distance while Stella was nowhere to be found.
“You should run!” Viola said, completely unexpectedly. “Escape. Now. While they are busy securing the high-priority targets, you might be able to slip away.”
Zeke chuckled. “That won’t be possible, I’m afraid.”
“It is! Quickly!” Tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes as she shouted over him.
Zeke looked at her then, at the young girl he had once known, who had now become a young woman. He looked into her eyes and still saw the same tender feelings there. The same care. Despite everything that had happened, despite everything he had said, Viola still cared for him, still cared enough to throw everything else aside in the desperate hope that he might be safe.
A warm smile appeared on his face. “I’m sorry, Vi. But I won’t be able to slip away...”
“Why? Why won’t you even try?” Her eyes frantically followed the ever-shrinking barrier.
Zeke’s gaze followed hers. The barrier was nearly gone now. All too soon, the full might of the Legion would descend, with nothing left to stop them from piling on top of them. And with the Alexandria in its current state, even air superiority was no longer guaranteed. He would not have been surprised if attacks from the sky were to follow soon after.
But for the moment, the battles within the defensive field had stalled. It seemed the sudden changes were too much for anyone to ignore—Legion or not. Even the Archmages, Raileh, David, Irisen, Cairnwyc, Karas, and Rhea, along with their opponents, had all gone still, seemingly waiting to see how these sudden changes would shape the battle before committing any further. Even his Bloodguard and the half-elven berserkers were keeping their distance for the moment.
It was the quiet before the storm. A storm that would hit him and his people like a sledgehammer.
He could not help but sigh.
How had it come to this? How much had the Legion planned? Had they been dancing in the palm of its hand from the very beginning?
With Stella as a traitor, they could have broken through the defense from the start. But they had not. They had orchestrated this entire ploy and sent thousands to their graves just so they could strike at the Alexandria at this precise moment.
And with that, the Legion had effectively eliminated their only means of escape.
His only means of escape.
Well played.
He met Viola’s eyes once more. Right, he still had not answered her question. “I can’t escape because there is nobody more important than me. I would bet your commanders would rather let everyone else escape than give me even the slightest chance.”
Viola stared at him with wide eyes. “...Why do you say that? Why would they go so far just to deal with you?”
Zeke smiled, a trace of pride leaking through despite his best efforts to hide it. “I’m just that dangerous."
He had expected Viola to mock him, or at least respond with disbelief, but to his surprise, she simply nodded. “Then what are you going to do? Surrender? I could put in a good word for you...”
Zeke shook his head. “I don’t know how much influence you have, but I’m fairly certain that nothing you could say would change my fate.”
“Then what?” Viola asked, her voice rising at the end. “You’ll simply let yourself be killed?”
Zeke smiled. “Did you consider that I might fight back?”
She raised a brow. “...Can you defeat an Archmage?”
Zeke thought about it for a moment, but ultimately shook his head. “I might be able to stall for a while, but victory is still likely impossible.”
Viola rolled her eyes. “In that case, how is that any different from letting yourself be killed?”
That spunky attitude he remembered was finally coming through again. “Just watch.”
Zeke took a step forward, passing Viola and stopping a few feet ahead. This was where the battle had been fiercest. Before him now lay a veritable sea of corpses. Hundreds, if not thousands, of bodies the Empire had sacrificed. Most of their blood was still warm, staining the ground a mesmerizing crimson.
It might have looked gruesome to anyone else, but to Zeke, it looked like a treasure trove. Before him, he could sense the presence of an ocean's worth of Blood.
“I guess I've got no choice but to use it...” he muttered, feeling a tinge of reluctance. But a single glance at the army closing in on his position quickly dispelled those thoughts. Tested or not, if he hesitated now, he might never again have the chance to do anything. His first priority had to be survival. This was do or die.
He could hear footsteps behind him as Viola followed. “What... are you doing?”
Zeke did not respond. He could not allow himself to be distracted. If he wanted this to work, his thoughts needed to be pure. Will made manifest.
The world ceased to exist as Zeke allowed the Magic to flow through him. This was not a Blood Magic spell, not a Mind Magic spell, and not a Space Magic spell. Instead, he allowed his Core to function as it was meant to. Two parts Blood, one part Mind, and one part Space. Not separated, not controlled, but in perfect harmony with the natural state of his affinities.
Blood as the carrier, Mind as the cortex, and Space as the bridge...
The blood answered.
Not as a tool. Not as a weapon. As flesh without nerves, as muscle without bone, as a body without a mind. Shapeless, formless, yet filled with limitless potential.
For one impossible moment, he could feel every droplet as if it were a fingertip. Every stream of blood was a tendon. Every clotting mass was a joint waiting to be shaped. Space folded between them like invisible ligaments, binding pieces that had no right to touch, while Mind Mana sank into the forming mass like thought seeping into an unborn brain.
The sensation was nauseating. Exhilarating. Wrong.
The blood was too much. Too vast. Too alive beneath his will. It pulled at him, threatening to drag his awareness into a thousand separate directions. But Zeke held firm. He did not command it. He did not force it.
He became the center around which it gathered.
And then something began to take shape. Something that had no name yet. Something that had never existed before.
Before Zeke could even open his eyes, he heard Viola’s shocked voice rise from behind him.
“WHAT MANNER OF MONSTROSITY IS THIS!?”
