Chapter 72: Wrath of the sky

Time is a curious thing.

Impartial and unforgiving, it also liked to play with our minds and emotions. Painful things seemed endless while enjoyable moments passed in the blink of an eye.

I had this strange feeling when the reassuring walls surrounding this city came into view.

We left the Advanced town together with Jazor to save Alianelle only the day before, but this mad run against time to return seemed painfully long to me. On the other hand, the month of peace behind these walls with this simple but welcoming family gave me the feeling that it only lasted for a moment before disappearing forever.

The memories of my time spent in this town started to resurface while I intensified my wind magic to accelerate once more.

The nostalgia invading my heart was probably normal.

So many things happened in such a short amount of time that it seemed somewhat surreal to me. However, the now almost constant threatening rumble in the sky was enough proof of this new reality.

I couldn’t go back to these peaceful days.

Everything went wrong but I could still avoid a tragedy.

If I was fast enough, I will be able to reunite Alianelle with her father.

This thought fuelling my determination and circling in my head probably made me hesitate longer than necessary when a foreign voice reached me.

“Stop right here!”

This authoritative voice reached my ears when I was finally only a few hundred feet away from the city’s wall. I didn’t go toward the front door, but apparently the threatening rumble of the sky along with the terribly violent explosions were more than enough to get these guards stationed on the wall on high alert.

An unwilling expression surfaced on my face immediately after hearing these words. I had hoped to quietly cross the wall to rejoin Paul as fast as possible but it wasn’t possible anymore.

Therefore, after a few seconds of hesitation, I slew down with my arms raised in surrender.

However, this silent standstill didn’t last long when the leader of these soldiers posted on the wall waved his hand to his men. Immediately after, several arrows and numerous earthballs headed my way.

*Bam*

I felt the mana gathering before the release of their magic so I was fast enough to react and avoid. However, this sudden attack still left me baffled.

I avoided a few other projectiles while reinforcement quickly arrived with bows aimed toward me.

None of my words were enough to stop their assault while another deafening explosion resounded behind me.

I couldn’t lose anymore time.

With a twist of my body, I avoided the earthball directed at me and released a violent gust of wind under my feet to resume my run toward the wall.

“Stop him!”

A few of the guards who just arrived as reinforcement hesitated to attack when they noticed that they were facing a child. However, their commander wasn’t as soft hearted and quickly ordered them to harden their heart and resume their attacks. A few other soldiers came closer to the edge of the wall to attack me.

However, it was already too late.

I violently stomped my right foot on the ground and rushed toward the sky with the propulsion from my wind magic.

This violent change of course was enough to avoid the following salve of attacks. Once I reached the desired height, I simply continued to use my wind magic to propulse my steps.

I ran as if I was walking on the air itself under their shocked gazes.

I couldn’t maintain this kind of feat for long but it was more than enough to pass above these ordinary guards and reach the other side of the wall. None of the attacks they launched while I was several feet above the wall were fast enough to touch me.

Less than a minute was necessary for me to cross their defense and land on the other side of the wall. A couple of other soldiers attracted by the commotion were obviously taken aback by my sudden appearance. I didn’t wait for them to react and ran away with my wind magic immediately after my feet touched the ground.

A few minutes were necessary to finally recognize my surroundings and find my way around. I continued this run until I crossed a small but familiar bridge leading to the center of the town.

I thought that it would be difficult to lose the guards who were screaming furiously behind me, but the center of the town that welcomed me wasn’t as peaceful as before. As soon as I entered the heart of the city, I understood that the scenes of destruction happening around the town weren’t just noticed by the patrolling guards.

Numerous frightened people could be seen running everywhere without any apparent goal. A few of them had light luggages and obviously didn’t intend to stay to find out what was causing these terrifying explosions staining the blue sky into an unnatural and frightening dark color.

Some guards were trying to reassure the population but only a few experienced groups of mercenaries were able to keep their calm in this situation.

A simple glance at this unusual scene unfolding in front of my eyes was enough to understand that a single feeling was currently dominating the hearts of the majority of the people around me.

Panic.

This scene preluding a future chaos was disturbing to witness, but it was most welcomed to get rid of my annoying pursuers who attacked me the moment they noticed me.

I didn’t have the leisure to wonder about their goal for trying to kill me on sight. I simply slew down and blent into the crowd as I walked toward the farmland district where I was hoping to find Paul.

After half an hour, I finally left the most bustling part of the city.

The buildings made to accommodate a large number of people or to stock various resources became smaller and rarer until only a few houses and shops could be seen. The wide street also became smaller while the number of people around sharply decreased.

I spent most of my days inside Paul’s farm so I wasted quite a bit of time to find the right street. I checked again but this time there was no doubt that I was on the right way.

The farmland district wasn’t far away but I suddenly stopped in my tracks. My senses were sharper than before. I didn’t need to close my eyes to feel my immediate surroundings anymore.

I looked around me to find a place to hide but the small deserted street didn’t offer me this kind of present.

Five guards quickly appeared and put an end to my fruitless search. Their leader was familiar but it took me a few seconds to finally remember where I saw him.

“I knew that something was wrong with you the moment I met you. I should have trusted my instinct.”

The young man who spoke these words was the one who ordered the attack on the wall but also the soldier who denied my enrolment among the guards of the city. He didn’t give me a bad first impression with his calm disposition and apparent easy-going personality, but the current expression plastered on his pale and thin face betrayed completely different emotions.

“Why are you making such a face?” I couldn’t help but ask with annoyance barely hidden in my voice.

Fear and hate were mixing together on his face while the hand holding his sword was shaking continuously. Except for my initial interaction with him more than a month ago, I never saw him again ever since then. I didn’t know any of the four other guards dressed with the same black armor either.

Nothing I ever did justified this kind of look.

The rumble of the sky was growing stronger by the minute. I couldn’t lose any more time but I didn’t want to confront them either.

“I’m sorry for jumping over the city wall without permission, but I have pressing matters to attend to. I’m not some kind of criminal so you don’t have to take such drastic measures against me.”

I tried to persuade him.

However, the mocking grin at the corner of his lips was more than enough to make me understand that my clumsy attempt to calm the situation had failed.

“What do you mean by you’re not a criminal? You tried to rebel against a Ryunno clan member. Everyone saw it and now look at the sky! You angered our lord and now the whole town will need to pay the price for your folly!”

I was momentarily stunned by his words, but I finally understood why this man was shaking with anger and why he ordered his men to attack me as soon as he recognized me.

The expressions on the other men’s face weren’t similar to their leader’s. They regularly casted dubtfoul glances at the both of us.

They obviously didn’t share the same belief that everything currently happening was my fault. The youngest looking among them also lowered his sword after a few seconds of this standstill.

I could probably convince them if I surrendered and explained the situation to them.

“Arrest him!”

However, I didn’t have the time for that.

“Sorry guys, I don’t have anything against you but…”

I clenched my fists tightly as the closest guard made a motion to tackle me.

“ … you’re in the way!!!”

I punched the empty air in front of me to release the strongest burst of wind I could muster. My magic was powerful enough to make the guards take a few steps back to absorb the sudden impact.

The closest guard with his balance completely disturbed wasn’t able to react in time when I jumped to give him a violent kick to the side of his head. His helmet flew away because of the impact with my leg covered with hard earth while this man much taller than me immediately collapsed.

The other guards were stunned by my sudden actions but weren’t slow to react.

Swords were swung, punches were thrown but none of them were fast enough to reach me.

I released my wind magic and jumped from one guard to another to avoid and deliver violent kicks to their heads or knees.

Only a few seconds were necessary for the five men to powerlessly collapse on the ground.

If they had used magic and cooperated together, it would have been harder to defeat them, but in a direct physical confrontation, none of them were my match.

I left them behind and resumed my previous run against time.

Even with my wind magic used at maximum output it still took me ten minutes to reach the part of the farmland district where Paul’s farm was located.

Praying that Paul was really inside, I violently knocked on the door in a way very similar to Jazor’s.

“Sillath?”

Fortunately, Paul wasn’t long to open the door. His face was pale while his eyes were reddened and had trouble dissimulating his surprise when he saw me.

A thousand questions seemed to cross his mind but his mouth wasn’t able to immediately follow. I wanted to reassure him, to explain that Alianelle was safe but the sky didn’t agree with this.

*Boom*

A violent explosion resonated. The impact was much stronger than before, proof that it landed not far away from the walls.

I raised my head to look at the sky above the city. Its beautiful immaculate blue color welcoming a few white clouds was gone. Dense dark clouds masked its natural color and strangely gathered together at a speed visible to the naked eyes. The dense pillar of smoke just outside the city only strengthened the urgence I felt from the bottom of my heart.

“Alianelle is outside the city. We have to go, now!!!”

I didn’t wait for his answer and dragged him by his arm.

He didn’t resist but the situation was obviously too much for him to understand.

Moreover, my body wasn’t strong enough to truly forcefully drag him.

“Faster!!!”

I screamed from the top of my lungs after a few seconds of effort.

Paul finally seemed to snap out of his stupor. I let go of his arm and followed his large steps with my wind magic.

“Not this way!”

I adjusted my speed to follow just behind him when I noticed that he was taking the direction of the town’s entrance.

Without even talking about the many guards there, it would waste too much time to cross the entire town.

The strange clouds above our heads were slowly becoming denser and gathering together above the heart of the city. I didn’t know what was creating this phenomenon but I knew what was going to happen.

We had to cross the city wall to be safe.

Only the tall and sturdy walls were enough to protect us from what was coming. Therefore, I accelerated and went past him to lead him directly toward the city walls.

It was bound to be challenging, but I was confident that my wind magic was strong enough to help him cross over the wall.

Either way, I didn’t have any other solution left.

The rumble in the sky was now constant and growing stronger with each passing second. It was enough to know that this was our only chance.

A few farmers on the way were looking at the sky with pale faces. Some were even prostrating themselves on the ground as if they were asking for the forgiveness from the gods.

“Don’t stay here, run!”

I screamed while we passed next to them but none chose to follow my advice.

We passed next to the large storage building of a farm belonging to one of Paul’s friends when the city walls finally appeared within sight.

“Sillath!”

Even Paul with his sturdy physique had troubles catching his breath. This frantic run at full speed without magic for long minutes almost completely depleted his stamina.

“Just a little more. I will use my magic for the both of us to cross over the wall!”

Paul didn’t have enough breath left to answer and simply nodded his head as he continued to drag his body forward as fast as he could.

“Paul!”

A familiar voice reached our ears while we were desperately trying to reach the distant wall in time. I only saw this man once but his long unkempt blond hair quickly helped me remember who this was. This was one of Paul’s closest friend.

He was currently anxiously screaming at a city guard with his two young sons behind him. Judging from their heights, they were probably a little younger than me. Paul slew down his steps when he recognized them.

“Don’t stop!!!”

My scream filled with anger remembered Paul about our current situation and made him resume his course once again.

“If you want to live, then run toward the wall!”

With this single sentence left behind, I accelerated once again and joined Paul. Neither the guard nor Paul’s friend immediately followed my advice. However, the rumble of the sky once more intensified and reminded them about the nature of the calamity about to befall us.

A chance to survive, as meager and hazardous as it seemed, was a god’s sent in this situation.

Therefore, the man took his sons in his arms and followed us as fast as he could. The guard hesitated for a few more seconds before casting away his helmet and heavy sword to run faster after us.

Paul’s friend was too slow to make his decision and had troubles to run as fast as us with his sons in his arms. More than a hundred feet already separated us from him and his sons crying in his arms.

“Save the boys first!”

Paul said with an authoritative voice after seeing this as if this was the most obvious thing to do in this situation.

“Don’t talk about saving others when you can’t save yourself!” I harshly screamed at Paul to answer his plea.

He only heard the explosions and probably didn’t realize how little time we had left.

I didn’t have the power to save everyone.

I kept repeating these words in my head.

Unfortunately, this truth wasn’t enough to block the screams of the young boys neither was it enough to dissipate the guilt forming in my heart.

“This sucks!”

I cursed loudly as I abruptly turned around to rush toward Paul’s friend and first take the boys with me.

“Don’t stop!”

I screamed at Paul before stomping my foot on the ground to release my wind magic to the fullest. If I wanted to save these children, I had to go all out.

However, before I could release my magic, something in the vast darkening sky above the city attracted my gaze.

It wasn’t the dense clouds obstructing the rays of the sun and hiding what was beyond the sky that attracted my attention and slowed my movements.

It was the strange white circle quickly forming on the surface of these clouds.

Few people probably noticed this relatively small circle compared to the vast amount of clouds covering the sky above the city but as soon as I noticed this, my gaze was unable to leave it.

My eyes couldn't blink in front of this growing circle becoming more complex with each passing second, just like a beautiful painting ready to be created.

The white circle was about to be completed but its details were already hidden by the dense light emanating from it and dissimulating its true nature.

My heart skipped a beat and my blood turned cold as my entire being screamed at me to escape.

Because, the short few seconds I had to glance at this circle were enough to understand the true nature of this calamity.

A lost magic was taking shape in the sky.

I didn’t have the time to think beyond this point.

My magic to save these innocent crying children was cancelled.

It was already too late to hold this kind of hope.

My wind magic shattered the ground under my feet to propel me as fast as I could to reach Paul a few feet away.

“Get down!”

I violently tackled Paul from behind to drag him on the ground when a familiar flash of white light illuminated the sky.

With a noise similar to the strongest thunder, the Advanced town beneath the clouds welcomed this attack from the sky.

A flash of white light.

A violent noise threatening to break my eardrums.

These were the last things I was able to notice before this lost magic sentenced this city and its inhabitants to oblivion.