Chapter 214: The Storm That Answered
Oliver then spoke in a loud, clear voice, "All lumens present, charge the weapons of those who can fight with your power! It seems the soldiers cannot withstand pure light!"
"You little-!" Viva snarled and lunged toward Oliver in rage, but a flashing beam shot directly at her. It grazed the sleeve of her gown, and the fabric disintegrated into ash on contact.
She whipped her head toward the source of the attack and froze. Lucian stood there, glowing with a powerful pale green aura, just like his brother. His eyes shone with twin luminescent hues as he glared at Viva with unwavering intensity.
"Ah... I missed," he drawled. His gaze flicked to her singed sleeve, and his head tilted slightly. "Seems my brother was right about the lumen’s light. If I were you, I’d run as far as possible...considering just how many lumens you’re surrounded by."
Viva’s face paled as she glanced around and found Solan, Septimus, and Oliver all staring back at her with cold, unblinking eyes, poised like hunters marking their prey.
She scoffed sharply in denial, "So what if you can kill them? The question is, just how many can you kill before you run out of strength?"
Before anyone could react, she hurled a wave of darkness toward them, shrieking, "Attack!"
The ground convulsed, and more undead soldiers clawed their way out, one after another. Their numbers multiplied rapidly, swallowing the corridor in chaos as an intense battle erupted.
And while light and shadow clashed, with screams filling the corridor, Viva slipped away like a serpent through the chaos, heading straight toward Ivan. Her sneaky exit did not go unnoticed by the sharp eyes.
Dante shouted, "That witch is getting away! Someone follow her!"
Seira, casting spell after spell in rapid force, yelled back, "We can’t leave the students unprotected!"
Cece, fighting alongside Amara as she cut down corrupted guards, grit her teeth, "I’ll go after her! She’s either heading towards Ivan or Evelyn!"
Evelyn’s name snapped the attention of both Solan and Septimus.
Septimus, blasting aside two darkrots with a burst of blinding white light, declared, "I’ll pursue her."
Solan, defending Elara from advancing soldiers, asked urgently, "Where is Princess Evelyn?"
It was Cece who scoffed at his question, "I’m sure she must be dealing with the mess you pulled her into, Your Majesty." She viciously sliced two darkrots in half, as if venting her anger with every strike.
"I didn’t think a duke’s daughter would be so discourteous when speaking to a king," Elara passed a snide remark.
Cece’s lips curled into a smirk, "My father taught me well, to give respect only to those who deserve it."
Elara’s temper snapped. "How dare y-"
She couldn’t finish as a darkrot lunged at her, but Cece’s enchanted blade by Septimus sliced through the creature before it reached her.
"Why don’t we save our words for later?" Cece said coolly. "Assuming we survive this. I have plenty to say to both Your Majesties."
With that, she turned to Dante. "I’m going after her."
"I don’t want you going alone, Lady Cece," Dante replied in between cutting down enemies with swift precision.
"I’ll go with her," Septimus said, stepping forward.
Lucian and Amara also followed almost immediately, as they said in unison, "We’re coming as well. This matter now falls under High Council jurisdiction."
And with that, Septimus, Cece, Lucian, and Amara charged after Viva, cutting through the swarm of dead soldiers as they went.
...
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[Music recommendation: Osi and the Jupiter - Nordlige Eik Tre]
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On the west wing of the castle, where battle had already erupted, the Ignis Blades cut through the human soldiers one by one, as they steadily pushed closer to where Ivan was. Though they were few in number, they were more than capable of tearing through the advancing army, as they were Ivan’s elite for a reason.
But this was Dartmouth, and reinforcements kept flooding in from every direction, making it harder for them to clear a path.
Above them, the violent storm of darkness raging around Ivan continued to expand at an alarming rate, and fear gnawed at every loyal knight who gazed upon it.
Their prince was at the centre of it....and the storm was consuming everything.
Alex, having just cut down a wave of royal guards, pushed forward with urgency, determined to reach Ivan.
Caleb caught up beside him, "Commander Alex! This is bad!" he warned. "We don’t know what’s happening to His Highness, and the royal guards just keep pouring in. I’m afraid we’ll need backup soon!"
Alex understood exactly what Caleb meant. Even if they reached Ivan, they had no plan beyond that, and with sorcerers among the enemy ranks and reinforcements flooding in endlessly, even elites would eventually tire. And if that happened....the outcome would be disastrous.
"We hold the line until the princess arrives," Alex said grimly.
He gritted his teeth in frustration and fear at the sheer number of uncertainties ahead. At some point, he would be forced to make a choice, one that could determine the fate of every soldier under his command. Extracting Ivan was a monumental responsibility, one he could not afford to fail. The king’s men had also gone after to protect their princess, yet he had no way of knowing whether she had succeeded in finding a way to save Ivan. All he could do was hope....hope that she was safe, and that she would reach them in time, before something unthinkable occurred.
Caleb glanced at him from the corner of his eye and knew Alex was not the type to make reckless decisions, especially not now. Even though anxiety churned inside him, he chose to trust Alex and see this through, just as every member of the Ignis Blades silently had.
"I’ll follow your lead, Commander!" Caleb declared firmly. Determination flared in his eyes as he pushed forward, fighting relentlessly until they finally reached the epicentre where the dark storm surged.
Once they did, their eyes widened at the sight.
A massive tornado of thick, raging darkness roared around Ivan like a wall of destruction, swirling violently. The wind howled so fiercely that they could barely see beyond its violent rotation, unable to catch even a glimpse of Ivan within.
They looked up and saw the atmosphere itself responding to the storm below. Dark clouds gathered across the night sky, swallowing every trace of moonlight until the heavens resembled a churning void. Thunder cracked, and lightning tore violently through the sky; every strike was like a war horn heralding catastrophe. The skies swirled above Ivan, mirroring the darkness consuming him, and each bolt of lightning only deepened the dread twisting in their stomachs.
"By the Gods!" Caleb shouted over the roar of the strong wind. "I cannot believe what I’m seeing! It’s impossible to penetrate something like this, Commander!"
But Alex didn’t move; his eyes remained fixed on the faint silhouette barely visible every now and then within the cyclone of darkness.
"Your Highness..." he whispered, voice tight with grief and disbelief. His fingers curled, knuckles white. "What have they done to you..."
Alex couldn’t accept this reality....not of Ivan. He had always known the prince as someone strong, powerful, and indestructible. To see him like this was unthinkable. Suspended in midair, limbs bound by writhing darkness, fighting something none of them could see....something none of them understood.
But he was still fighting. And if Ivan was still fighting, then maybe....
"Your Highness!" Alex roared, his voice tore from his throat with everything he had. "We are here, Your Highness! Your men are fighting for you!"
The wind swallowed his voice, but he yelled again anyway, louder this time. "You are not alone! We are fighting for you! Your friends are fighting for you!"
Still, there was no change.
Alex’s chest tightened, but he refused to give up. He took another trembling breath. "Princess Evelyn is fighting for you!" he bellowed. "She is fighting with everything she has! So wake up, Your Highness!"
Caleb flinched at the outburst. In all the years he had known Alex, he was always this composed, disciplined commander of Ignis Blade, who had never once raised his voice like this. He turned toward Ivan again and waited, praying for any sign...
But for one agonising moment, nothing changed.
Suddenly, several bolts of thunder and lightning tore through the sky, one after another, striking the ground surrounding the castle like falling stars of fury. The dark clouds churned violently, spinning faster than before as the wind surged with terrifying force.
Alex and Caleb staggered back, almost swept off their feet, but they refused to yield. Both knights fell to their knees, plunging their swords into the ground as anchors, while fighting against the storm with every muscle in their bodies.
The air howled, debris slicing past them like blades. Their eyes stung, barely able to stay open, so they pressed their heads down, bracing themselves, refusing to be thrown aside.
And then, through the devastation, through the thunder, through the chaos, they heard it. A distant, echoing, yet powerful voice of a man, "Do not be disheartened, brave ones..."
