Chapter 40: Guns against magic
Alex collapsed onto one knee.
The moment I saw it happen, panic ripped through my chest.
"ALEX!"
Blood dripped from his mouth onto the dirt below while the battlefield burned around him.
The mage stared down at him emotionlessly before calmly flipping a few pages within his grimoire.
Then he muttered several quiet words.
The air behind him distorted violently.
And from the flames—
A wolf emerged.
Not a normal wolf.
This thing was massive.
Its entire body was formed from blazing fire while molten heat dripped from its jaws onto the battlefield below.
Every step scorched the earth black beneath it.
The creature slowly began walking toward Alex.
My mind moved instantly.
"Finn!"
I suddenly reached toward his side and pulled out one of the smoke bombs we had made earlier and lit the fuse.
Without hesitation, I grabbed a nearby soldier by the shoulder before shoving the it into his hands.
"Throw it!"
The soldier looked completely confused.
"W-what is this—"
"JUST THROW IT!"
The terrified soldier immediately recoiled back and hurled the device with all his strength.
At the same moment, I grabbed my rifle tightly.
"Finn, follow me!"
Finn looked at me like I had lost my mind.
"Oh fantastic. We’re charging the flying fire wizard now."
Then he immediately followed anyway.
We slid down the collapsed section of wall near the breach while chaos erupted around us.
Arrows flew overhead.
Knights screamed.
Magic exploded across the battlefield.
I pointed toward another nearby knight.
"You! Come with us!"
The knight hesitated only briefly before following.
The smoke bomb landed between Alex and the approaching fire wolf.
A few seconds later—
BOOOOM.
A massive cloud of thick smoke spewed outward across the battlefield, instantly obscuring the area completely.
"MOVE!"
We sprinted directly into the smoke.
The world became gray and chaotic around us.
I could barely see more than a few feet ahead.
Then finally—
We found Alex.
He collapsed completely just before we reached him.
"Alex!"
Blood covered nearly half his body.
The knight beside us immediately grabbed him.
"Get him back to the wall!" I shouted.
The knight nodded before hauling Alex over his shoulder and disappearing back toward the fortifications.
Then Finn grabbed my arm.
"Leon!"
I turned toward him.
"WHY AREN’T WE LEAVING TOO?!"
I looked back toward the smoke where the mage floated beyond it.
Because I already knew the answer.
"If we don’t kill him ourselves," I said quietly, "there won’t be a wall left go back to."
Finn froze.
"There won’t even be an Aldric territory left either."
For a second—
Fear completely overtook his face.
Then slowly—
He tightened his grip on the rifle.
And nodded.
The smoke finally began clearing.
And through it—
The mage locked eyes with us.
For the first time since the battle began—
His expression changed.
Surprise.
His eyes drifted behind us briefly where he spotted the knight carrying Alex back toward the walls.
Then his gaze returned toward me and Finn.
Toward the rifles in our hands.
"I have no interest in killing children," he said coldly.
"Shut up!"
I immediately raised the rifle and fired.
BOOOOOOM.
The sound echoed across the battlefield unlike anything else there.
Magic explosions were common.
But this sound—
Sharp.
Violent.
Thunderous.
Everyone nearby heard the difference instantly.
The bullet ripped through the air and punched directly through the mage’s arm.
Blood exploded outward.
The grimoire fell from his hands.
For the first time—
The mage screamed.
A mixture of agony and fury twisted across his scarred face.
"YOU LITTLE SHITS!"
He thrust his hand forward violently.
A pillar of fire erupted directly toward me.
I threw myself sideways behind a chunk of broken rubble from the collapsed wall.
The flames exploded across the battlefield violently.
"Finn!" I shouted.
"Circle left! I’ll go right!"
Finn nodded immediately before sprinting across the battlefield.
The mage clutched his bleeding arm before suddenly noticing Finn raising the rifle.
Instantly—
He slashed his hand sideways.
A massive blade of compressed wind tore across the battlefield.
Finn barely managed ducking and rolling beneath it.
The attack ripped through the ground behind him, annihilating several barricades instantly.
I steadied my rifle against the rubble and prepared another shot.
Then suddenly—
The mage roared toward me.
"You aren’t doing ANYTHING!"
A violent gust of wind exploded outward.
The rubble beneath me shattered apart while I was thrown backward through the dirt violently.
Pain exploded across my body.
The mage descended quickly toward the fallen grimoire.
But before he could grab it—
BOOOOM.
Finn fired again.
The bullet slammed into the metallic spine of the grimoire, sending it spinning away through the dirt.
The mage’s head snapped toward Finn with pure fury.
Then slowly—
He twisted both hands enduring the pain in one.
Green wind spiraled violently between them.
The air screamed.
And then—
A massive ballista bolt formed entirely from compressed gale force.
"FINN!"
The mage fired it instantly.
The projectile tore across the battlefield like a missile.
Then—
BOOOOOOM.
Dust exploded upward where Finn stood.
My heart nearly stopped.
As the dust settled—
I saw Finn lying motionless on the ground.
"No..."
Meanwhile the mage finally reclaimed his grimoire before ascending slowly back into the air.
He stared down toward me coldly.
"You should’ve stayed behind your walls, boy."
Then he flipped through the pages again.
The fire wolf reappeared.
This time it immediately lunged toward me.
I ripped one of the bombs from my belt and lit it desperately before hurling it directly into the wolf’s path.
BOOOOOOOOM.
The explosion annihilated the creature instantly in a burst of flames and smoke.
The mage’s eyes widened slightly.
Then—
Through a small opening within the smoke—
I saw him.
I immediately raised the rifle.
He stared back through the smoke, only to be greeted by the interior of a cold smooth metallic barrel.
The mage reacted instantly, throwing his hand outward to form another barrier.
But he was too slow.
BOOOOM.
The bullet ripped through the smoke and struck his leg instead.
The mage groaned heavily before nearly losing balance mid-air.
Blood poured down from the wound.
Then he began screaming curses at me.
Another wolf appeared .
It charged toward me again.
I threw another bomb.
Another explosion consumed the creature.
But the moment I turned—
Something flashed beside me.
A blade of compressed wind.
Only meters away.
I tried dodging.
Too late.
SHHHHK.
Pain exploded through my body.
Everything below my left ankle was gone.
The force sent me flying backward into shattered rubble.
My rifle slipped from my hands.
I hit the ground hard before coughing blood violently.
Pain consumed everything.
My vision blurred.
The battlefield became distant and muffled.
The mage floated above me triumphantly.
Cruelly.
Then behind him—
Two spheres appeared once again.
Fire.
Wind.
They began orbiting faster and faster.
Preparing finish me.
Then suddenly—
BOOOOM.
A gunshot echoed from the mage’s right.
Blood exploded from the side of his head.
The spheres vanished instantly.
The mage’s body froze mid-air.
Then slowly—
His corpse dropped lifelessly onto the battlefield below.
The entire battlefield went silent.
Every soldier nearby stared toward the scene in shock.
And standing there—
Rifle still raised—
Was Finn.
Smoke drifted from the barrel.
Another retreat horn echoed across the battlefield.
The Kingdom of Magneto’s forces immediately began retreating en masse.
Finn slowly slung the rifle over his shoulder before limping toward me.
He tore apart part of his shirt before tying it tightly around the end of my leg.
Then he hoisted me onto his back despite nearly collapsing himself.
Together we slowly made our way back toward the walls.
Then suddenly—
Alex appeared.
Bruised.
Bleeding.
Barely standing.
The moment he saw us, he immediately ran forward.
He carefully took me from Finn’s shoulders while tears streamed down his face.
"You idiots..."
His voice broke.
"You saved us..."
Finn gave a weak grin.
Then immediately collapsed face-first into the dirt.
Completely unconscious.
