Magic Apprentice

Chapter 7: Hero (1/5)

The world around Elric was the very picture of hell. The clouds above rumbled and poured lava from them. The air around him was an influx of fire and unstable mana. Elric could even see that the clouds were brimming with fire-infused mana.

He was completely disregarding the abnormality that was the landscape around him. It was almost as if he was already used to such a scene the way he stood there. But not a single tendril of fire could get within even ten paces of him or the knights. Some sort of fire wall was preventing the lava from getting close to them.

There was another explosion as a waterfall of lava began its flow over them.

Elric rolled the spear in his right hand, spinning the shaft around so that it was aimed at the skies. Then he threw it.

Like a bolt of lightning, the spear shot into the sky and pierced the clouds.

Bizarrely enough, the lava that was beginning to pour from the cloud immediately began to be sucked back up by it.

Something in the spear was reverting the clouds back to its original state. The lava that once poured from it was no longer in sight, the red glow was slowly dimming away from the sky, and the clouds were slowly turning back to their original and carefree shapes. All was looking peaceful almost except for the lava lake down below.

None of the knights expected any of that to happen. They didnt realize something like that could even happen. But they all knew, instinctively, that the danger had yet to finish. Elrics aura was giving off a dangerous feel to it any of them had yet to be able to explain.

They werent the only ones that felt this way. Up on top of Melkruths walls, Kebrilio could feel the same premonition.

Something, he sensed, had thrown an unbelievable amount of mana into his spell and completely disrupted the flow of fire. And now his spell was going out of control.

Quickly, quickly now. Everyone must evacuate Melkruth. Kebrilio ordered. Ignoring the stunned looks he was receiving, he began to send officers and magus alike to spread the evacuation order.

People were quick to heed Kebrilios warning. Every guard within Melkruth began to evacuate and move five kilometers away to the other side.

The princess and her fellow dignitaries were the next to follow. Confused as they were, they werent stupid enough to ignore his words.

The first to even ask what the matter was was the first magi to reawaken from casting Final Day.

What happened? Why is our spell flowing this way?

But no one knew how to respond to such a question.

One by one, the other magi were beginning to awaken. Each one of them repeating the same question as the last.

Of course, the only capable of answering the question was Kebrilio.

So Charle and Flania walked to where Kebrilio and the twelve magi were.

If I may inquire, what in the world just happened? She asked. So shocked was she still that her normal polite etiquette was nowhere to be seen.

But Kebrilio chose to ignore that. Someone broke my spell and now the magic is growing out of control.

It was an answer no one expected.

Everyones guess was that Kebrilio ran out of mana to fuel his spell, thus having the magic become unstable. A phenomena like that was oft-seen with higher-tiered spells. Out-of-control magic was often known to be reflected back onto its caster, so it wasnt hard for most people to understand the need to evacuate from Melkruth.

But that wasnt the case. Kebrilio didnt run out of mana, someone managed to break it! A spell casted by an archmagister! Magical theory often said that any spell casted by one magus could be broken, but only by a spell of the same tier or stronger. This held true with forbidden magic too, and Kebrilio was the only practitioner of such magic! How likely was it that yet another practitioner was on scene to challenge him?

Discussion broke out amongst the magi gathered there for a brief moment before a tremble shot through the world. The steady ground of the valley began to tremble and shake while the clouds up in the sky suddenly splintered apart as if struck by an iron plow.

Then another loud boom as the giant fort behind them all suddenly collapsed.

Stone and rubble flew everywhere. Even from their far distance, some soldiers were still pelted with a smell stone or two.

Dust and smoke lingered in the air for a while before all became quiet.

Under Kebrilios command, the guards of the fort slowly returned to the pass where Melkruth once stood.

It was only there that the entire force could see the damage done to their fort. Not a single building was left intact. All that remained were the foundations of the fort with the rest of the materials scattered about as if a shockwave had carried them.

It was as if Melkruth had yet to have anything but its foundation erected. A fort that had yet to be finished building.

But the true sight came when they looked beyond the fort.

What once was a nice valley called Chizra was now home to mountains without any mountain tops. Flat at the same height, each mountain was entirely the same and the fragments of their tops were littered across the land between the mountains. And even more shocking to see was the line of knights walking out from behind the rubble!

Kebrilio immediately dispatched two paladins over.

Jack was the first knight to regain his consciousness. At first, the only thing he saw was a boulder the size of half his height. It was only after he staggered to his feet that he realized they were surrounded by rubble. Where were his comrades? He had to make sure they were alright. One by one, Jack made sure each of his knights woke up and were fine. Only Elric failed to respond to his waking calls.

The knights gathered around, fear lingering among their faces as they took in the sight. None of them could even believe still being alive after all that. They hadnt even battled anyone today and yet they felt tired to the bone and sore all over.

Restored of enough energy after some rest, Jack ordered the knights to make their way out. There shouldnt be anyone to stop them from crossing Chizra Valley now.

Multiple knights carefully held Elric between them, as if taking care of him was an honorable task to accomplish. Traveling across the rubble was an arduous task. The land was uneven due to all the rubble, and it expended a tremendous amount of energy for the knights to maneuver from stones both big and small.

That was when the knights saw two Karthian paladins approach. The superior of the two immediately performed a knights salute to Jack. As one who knew the honor of serving royals, the paladin had to extend his respect. Jack returned the salute.

Sire knight, please allow us to escort you. Our premier magus, Kebrilio, invites you. The paladin announced.

Jack knew the very moment Final Day was cast that the magus responsible was Kebrilio. He was the only magus in the world with enough knowledge and skill for that forbidden spell. Had he not been in such a situation, Jack wouldve been more than happy to meet Kebrilio. But what joy was there in meeting him compared to another magus even stronger than him, Elric.

He looked backed to his comrades, all of which seemed to share his opinion.

The paladin dismounted from his warhorse to bring to Jack.

If you will, He held the horse forward.

Unbeknownst to Jack, this paladins salute and the offering of his horse was a very symbolic gesture made only to Karthian heroes. 

The second paladin spoke up from behind the first. On the horse, if you please. Though we are from different nations, your survival against the odds has my deepest and heartfelt respect.

Our horses are yours. A group of paladins dismounted from their horses to offer the knights.