Chapter 18 #3
One by one, the missiles flew from Alsen. The architect aimed his hand at Alsen. The blue shield blocked them. Though they came in from different directions, he moved the hand slightly, always blocking with the shield’s center.
The shield was directional, wasn’t it?
That was what Luna tried to show him with the dagger throw. He had to talk to her to coordinate.
Beneath him, Garrett swatted away a scarab, and Theron landed a deep cut. Another scarab swiped at them, but Marena’s summoned light barrier blocked it before Garrett and Theron returned to their defensive positions.
All right, they were going to live for now. He directed the wind, flying toward Luna. If he were correct, they needed to coordinate their attacks perfectly.
The architect waved his arm. Purple energy gathered around his hand and then arced at Alsen.
He pushed the wind, jerking sideways. The energy barely missed. Alsen hit the wall so strongly that it knocked the wind out of him.
His concentration wavered. With a grunt of pain, he started falling.
Damn it.
He pulled more power, ignoring the freezing cold in his veins, summoning more wind. It threw him from the wall, caught him, and kept him flying midair.
He spat out a few droplets of blood. He couldn’t get to Luna. His body screamed with pain, cold ever-present.
Even when pushing through the magical exhaustion, he had about two to three more spells in him. At most, given that he had to stay midair.
Power pulsed from the architect, aimed towards the exit. It flew down into the descending corridor, as if to pull whatever was in there towards this room.
He called for reinforcements.
Luna had better interpret his plan correctly. Alsen bolted forward through the air. He flew above the architect. Second-to-last spell. Indirect missile. Times one hundred.
A barrage of missiles flowed from him, descending on the architect. He raised his hand, forming the blue shield. At the same time, the architect gathered void energy around his other hand.
The missiles peppered the shield, exploding upon contact, achieving nothing.
The architect fired the void arc at Alsen. He pushed his wind, throwing himself back into the hall. The architect’s spell tore a hole into the ceiling, falling debris joining the still-descending indirect missiles.
Luna broke from her pursuers. She flipped the spear in her hand, took a few steps forward, and threw. With a boom that sounded like a gunshot, the spear vanished in the air.
It hit the architect in the chest, shattering its amulet, pinning the architect to the wall.
Alsen’s strength wavered. He ignored it, pulling all he could, forming two orbs of power in front of his hands. He stabilized them, pulled in a whole lot more until he felt the blood freezing in his veins, and released the spell.
Twin Dawn of the Seventh Sun.
The two miniature suns coiled through the air, spinning around one another, and hit the architect’s sides. The explosion shattered the far wall, releasing a shockwave through the tomb.
Alsen’s magic failed him. The shockwave slammed into him, throwing him back. He almost passed out from the impact alone. Stars burst across his vision. Pain screamed through his shoulder, his ribs, his skull. The cold in his chest deepened, spreading into all his limbs.
He couldn’t stop his fall.
Theron tore himself from the group. Garrett blocked the sword strike aimed at Theron’s back. Theron broke into a sprint, jumped.
He dove forward in a diving catch.
He caught Alsen before he hit the floor. Theron rolled over, pressing Alsen against his chest so that he didn’t hit his head on the ground.
Theron landed in a crouch, holding Alsen.
Alsen tried to thank him. He couldn’t speak. His entire body felt frozen. He couldn’t move either.
Marena ran to him. In his blurred vision, he saw Garrett face four statues. Luna joined him. Damn. They fought well together.
He blocked the strikes, attracting attention while Luna, daggers in her hands, landed one precise strike after another. Actually, no, Luna fought well with everyone. She perfectly complemented Alsen’s plan earlier.
Now, she fought alongside Garrett as if they’d been doing it for decades.
Alsen’s consciousness wavered. Theron put him on the floor, grabbing his axe to face whatever came next. Marena crouched over Alsen. She lowered the staff, the teal light of her power washing over him.
Warmth started seeping into his veins. He exhaled, “Thanks.”
Clanking of stone on stone echoed from the entry hall. With wide eyes, Marena turned. Theron turned, axe in hand. Even Alsen looked. The reinforcements the architect called seemed to be arriving, even in spite of him being destroyed.
A lone scorpion with two broken legs limped into the main hall.
Alsen exhaled.
Luna threw a throwing dagger, which hit the scorpion. Its gem shattered, its body going limp.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE: ENEMIES DEFEATED – THE ARCHITECT (WITH MINIONS)]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: 7500]
[LEVEL UP!]
[LEVEL: 17]
Four levels for the fight. Nice!
The dust had mostly settled. Nothing remained of the architect. A massive hole gaped in the wall beyond where he stood.
Through the hole glittered treasure.