The Beginning After The End Chapter 516: Ever His Humble Servant

CAERA DENOIR

Sh*t!

The earth suddenly buckled at my side, tossing me skyward and sending my body into a violent spin. My crest ignited, and a rush of wind surged against my shoulders and heels, stabilizing my posture just before I landed softly on the ravaged dirt of the war zone.

Mana flared within my Dicathian regalia, shrouding my physical form in illusory smoke and mist. This haze quickly detached from me, manifesting into several faint phantoms of my own image.

A moment later, a dark stream of void wind and soulfire scorched the earth mere inches to my right, tearing through one of my decoys. I lacked the time to even survey my surroundings; I threw myself to the side as multiple black rays pulverized the ground in my wake.

Firing back with wild desperation, I unleashed all seven of my active orbitals, each projecting an identical dark beam. I sensed, rather than observed, the soulfire glancing off a formidable mana signature. Wraiths, I realized as I scrambled across the terrain, my duplicates shifting and dissolving around me only to reappear elsewhere to mask my true position.

The moment my counter-offensive ceased, I retracted the orbitals into a defensive array. The seven silver shards darted like frantic birds, linking together as their stored mana merged into a protective shield. An instant later, a fresh beam struck, impacting the barrier directly.

The shield shattered, and I gasped as mana was violently siphoned from my core to reset the orbitals. Frantic, I searched for cover, knowing another hit would be fatal. I was fully aware that if not for the growth in strength I had experienced since meeting Grey—or Arthur—I would already be a corpse.

Total mayhem ruled the battlefield. Smoke and the dim twilight obscured my vision, while the relentless strobe of spellfire only made it harder to see. The loyalist army had suffered immense casualties in the opening clash, yet I could hear their commands being barked and feel their units reforming. Our own troops were pinned between them and the hoards of beasts spilling from the twin Relictombs portals.

The arrival of a full unit of Wraiths just as Arthur vanished into Taegrin Caelum had utterly shattered our cohesion.

Before I could find safety, two loyalist Strikers spotted me through the haze. I was caught between them and the Wraith lurking at my rear, whom I hadn't even clearly seen. Another second passed, and I felt a surge of mana behind me: the Wraith was charging another volley.

A brilliant amber flash illuminated the gloom, momentarily searing my eyes. A powerful intent slammed into the dark aura of the Wraith, and a gale of wind swept away the debris and smoke for hundreds of feet. Chul!

The two Strikers had barely moved before they flinched from the shockwave. I didn't waste the opening. Wind propelled my stride as I lunged forward, crossing fifteen yards in a single leap and swinging my blade in two rapid arcs. The first Striker managed to raise a stone-clad arm, but my sword slid off the defense and struck his temple. Terror caused the second Striker’s mana to falter, his flaming sword flickering just as my blade met his. His inferior steel snapped at the crossguard, and my red blade sank deep into his ribs.

Without waiting for them to hit the dirt, I bounded onto a boulder nestled in the wreckage of a large tent. From that vantage point, I finally grasped the state of the battle.

Fifty feet above the ground, Chul was locked in combat with three Wraiths.

One, a male with four horns and glowing crimson eyes, held the shaft of Chul’s weapon with one hand while his other claws tore at Chul’s neck. Black flames clashed against the vibrant orange of phoenix fire, creating whistling flares that rained down on the soldiers below. Wherever they landed, screams followed.

The second Wraith, a woman draped in such heavy shadows that her form was a mystery, sent out dark vines to bind Chul’s limbs, preventing him from escaping the first Wraith's grip.

A massive man with horns curving down his jaw was discharging shimmering projectiles like black diamonds. These burst into acid upon contact, relentlessly striking Chul while the other Wraiths pinned the half-phoenix down.

Down on the field, Wolfrum’s battalion was trying to reorganize. After the Strikers had been broken, their Shields and Casters had been forced back against the barrier of Taegrin Caelum. Now that the barrier was gone, they were retreating to regroup while Strikers poured in from the mountain pass. Their ranks had been cut by at least half.

Our own soldiers were likewise forced into a defensive shell, huddling under Shields and a moving mist of void magic maintained by Seris, though I couldn't locate her in the riot.

Up on the cliffs, the Relictombs portals continued to vomit monsters. Four of Arthur’s exoforms were stationed on each plateau, butchering the creatures as they emerged. I thought I saw one being impaled by a massive spike of blood iron, and the location of the final exoform was unknown to me.

I processed all of this in a single heartbeat, my thoughts racing.

Chul is the most dangerous fighter here, which is why they are swarming him. If he falls, we have no hope against them. Seris can sever a mage's connection to their mana, but the Wraiths are too formidable when they fight as a unit.

I felt a build-up of mana just before a spell hit me: a shard of ice that broke against my mana skin but still threw me off my perch. My orbitals snapped toward the source, and I locked eyes with a Caster protected by a crystal shield and two Strikers. Their Shield stood twenty feet behind them.

Gritting my teeth, I flooded the orbitals with mana. Soulfire erupted from the seven silver spikes, and the crystal shield expanded to cover the whole group. The crystal shattered with a sound that echoed through the valley, and soulfire pierced all four mages nearly at once. The Shield only had time for her eyes to widen before the beam burned through her chest. It was more efficient to let the soulfire burn them from the inside, even if such a death was agonizingly slow.

A sudden rush of heat and air followed; my ears popped as the collision of massive mana signatures took my breath away.

I hit the ground as a shadow swept over me, and the four-horned Wraith was sent crashing through a row of tents nearby. I scrambled up and sprinted toward the crash site.

In the distance, a lone figure darted around the Alacryan flank, raining spells upon them.

Masking my signature as much as possible, I kept my eyes on the furrow left by the Wraith’s fall, watching for any sign of life. I could still sense his mana; he wasn't dead, but his aura had dimmed significantly.

Soulfire coated the red edge of my blade as I prepared to strike at the edge of the crater—but my heart stopped when I saw it was empty.

Suddenly, my hair was seized from behind, and my head was yanked backward. Acting on instinct, I twisted my weapon in my grip and brought the blade down through my own long hair, cutting myself free.

I stumbled forward from the release and went into a roll, coming up to face my attacker.

The four-horned Wraith stood there holding a clump of my navy hair, his face twisted in disgust. “How savage,” he muttered, dropping the hair to the dirt. His gaze then locked onto mine. “Tell me, mage, what is your blood name? For such a cowardly act, I want to find your kin and wipe them out one by one.”

I swallowed hard, unable to look away. My orbitals hovered indecisively as my mind raced. I couldn't beat him alone. My Dicathian regalia was brimming with mana, but I held the spell back. Even with my illusions, running would likely only lead to a faster death.

The Wraith sneered. “Paralyzed by fear? It doesn't matter. You are Vritra-born; someone will recognize your head after I tear it off.” He stepped toward me casually.

I erupted in smoke and flames, hiding my form and creating a dozen copies.

The Wraith paused, scanning the decoys before his eyes settled directly on me. A cruel smirk touched his lips. “Pitiful. You really don’t—”

A barrage of spells hit him, but he didn't even flinch. Two units of mages were charging us, having split from the main army. The Wraith raised a hand, and a wide fan of soulfire and void wind exploded outward. Shields shattered like glass as the attack cut all nine mages in half instantly. As the magic faded, their severed remains tumbled to the earth.

I poured more mana into my regalia, trying to vanish among my shades. My orbitals circled the group randomly, firing soulfire at the Wraith while I braced for his retaliation.

A dark shape, shimmering with gold from a wound, flew over me and slammed into the Wraith. The impact created a shockwave that sent me sliding back fifteen feet and scattered my orbitals.

A short figure encased in what looked like black diamond armor began bludgeoning the Wraith with a massive hammer. The ground cracked beneath them with every strike, and warped gravity twisted the air, pulling in the surrounding dust.

Recognizing Lance Mica Earthborn, I glanced back to where the loyalists had just been fighting her. She had left them in chaos, but at least ten units were now closing in on us.

Taking a deep breath, I stabilized my mana. My smoky clones surrounded the Wraith, some faking attacks while others kept moving. In a flash of inspiration, I extended the camouflage to Mica, and half of my copies transformed into her likeness.

My orbitals snapped back into place, and seven beams of black fire struck the Wraith, but they seemed to slide off as he evaded Mica’s heavy blows. His own counters tore through my illusions but missed the real Lance.

“He’s a Caster!” I yelled to her. Wraiths, unlike Scythes, were trained for group combat. Without Strikers to peel for him or a Shield to guard him, he was exposed. “Don't let him breathe!”

His eyes darted to me, and he fired a mana ray that passed through a decoy. Mica’s hammer slammed into his arm, but his other hand shot out, grabbing her by the throat. Flames flickered between his fingers against her diamond armor. A sickening crack echoed as the armor began to fail.

My orbitals peppered him with shots, but they did no real damage. He was simply too strong. With every second, more of Mica’s protection crumbled. She clawed at his arm and hammered at his head, but it was useless.

I brought all seven orbitals together in front of me, charging a single, concentrated blast aimed at his arm.

But the shadows shifted, and a second Wraith appeared, blocking me from Mica and the Caster. I fired, but the shadows swallowed the soulfire. A pale slit appeared on the Wraith's face where a mouth should be, and then dozens of dark tendrils lashed out.

I leaped back, pulling my orbitals into a defensive shell, but I wasn't fast enough. The tendrils struck with incredible speed, shredding my illusions and lashing across my chest, slamming me into the ground.

My vision blurred. Dark spots of purple and black filled my sight, and I feared I had a concussion. My vision cleared just as quickly, and I rolled onto my side.

The shadowy Wraith had turned away to raise a shield, but a cloud of void magic dissolved it and struck the four-horned Wraith. His mana signature wavered.

Getting to my knees, I reached for the mental tethers of my orbitals. They had been scattered, but they zipped back to me. I gripped those connections firmly and surged mana into them until each silver spike fired a steady beam of soulfire at the Shield Wraith’s back.

She spun with supernatural speed, conjuring another shadow shield. Two of my beams got through, hitting her hip and stomach, but the rest were blocked.

Behind her, Seris was approaching with intense focus, fighting to maintain her void spell.

As Seris’s magic drained the man’s power, Mica—no longer hidden by my illusions—brought her hammer down on his wrist, breaking his grip. Her armor was shattered, and I could sense the soulfire inside her, eating away at her life.

But the Lance kept fighting. She punched the hammer head into his face, then swung it into his knee. She smashed the handle into his teeth and raised the weapon for a final blow, but a shadow tendril from the other Wraith wrapped around it, stalling her.

Nearby, a massive explosion of mana nearly knocked the wind out of me. Choking on the sheer pressure, I focused all my mana into my blade and charged the Wraiths.

Several dark tentacles shot at me, but my orbitals formed a protective shield just in time.

A mace glowing with phoenix fire streaked through my vision like a comet, cutting through the shadows. The woman and her tendrils vanished as the mace buried itself in the rock with a deafening crash.

I vaulted over the crater, my sword tracing a dark red line through the air.

The four-horned Wraith turned, snarling. He shoved Mica aside and redirected a spell meant for Seris toward me.

My blade descended.

His hand, glowing with black fire, flew into the air, severed from his arm. A moment later, Mica’s hammer slammed into his head, forcing him to one knee.

Seris’s void magic overwhelmed him, and his mana signature plummeted. I spun and swung with everything I had. His skin parted without his mana barrier, but my arms jolted as the sword lodged in his neck. Soulfire erupted from the gash, his power clashing with mine.

Snarling, he tried to stand, nearly pulling the sword from my hands.

Mica’s hammer struck his shoulders, driving him back down. She hit the back of his head again, forcing him to his hands and knees. One more strike, and he collapsed. My blade came free. Mica was trembling, her strength failing as the soulfire burned within her.

She was fading.

I raised my sword to finish him.

Suddenly, Mica was pulled away by a dark tendril. In a blur, a woman in blood iron armor collided with Seris. The ground shook from the impact, and I nearly fell.

The four-horned Wraith rolled onto his back, spitting blood but smiling.

I didn't hesitate; I drove my blade through his chest and into his core. His body jerked in agony, then went still. His hateful eyes rolled back as he took his last breath, the smile never leaving his face.

At least his soulfire would stop killing Mica. “You will pay for that,” a hiss whispered in my ear.

I pulled my sword out and spun around, but the shadow Wraith was gone. Instead, I saw Wolfrum Redwater leading fifty soldiers toward me. Mica was nowhere to be seen. Seris and the armored Wraith were clashing high above near the peaks. The power of Chul’s fight pulsed in my chest, but the settling dust was hiding the rest of the field again.

“Well, wonderful,” I whispered, locking eyes with Wolfrum.

The arrogant man signaled to his units, and they began to fan out. In the distance, I could hear the main loyalist force pushing toward our center. With a final wave, Wolfrum charged, his men surrounding me.

I reached for my regalia once more, feeling the strain on my core as my mana reserves dwindled.

“I’m glad it’s me,” Wolfrum yelled over the noise of the battle. “You deserve t”