396 - Regressor of the Fallen Family

Chapter 396 Greg scoffed, watching the aura barrier that encircled the allied mages standing close behind him. "An aura user on defense?" It would have been more rational to wield a sword and aim for one of the three targets. Even though they were suspended in the sky outside the fortress walls, there was a chance mistakes could happen amidst the flurry of spellcasting. Yet— Boom! Crash, crash, crash! The crimson aura barrier stood unwavering, enduring the onslaught of razor-sharp water raining from above, fiery showers blazing from the front, and a tempest of rocks attacking from all sides. Witnessing this, Greg's expression darkened. Even with the infusion of immense magical power, the unyielding red barrier didn't flinch, causing Greg's face to harden further. Unless they were to utterly vanquish their foes, such a feat seemed impossible. "Damn, she's a freak too." Frustration was inevitable. To mages who harnessed mana, force users were baffling beings. With individual might, they rivaled the combat capabilities of mages who utilized the world’s abundant natural forces. From that perspective, aura users, who stood at the pinnacle of force users, were incomprehensible monsters. Committing acts unachievable even with magic, they merely labeled them with simple terms like “traits” or “powers.” Fools who couldn't even explain the principles of their own strength—yet monsters nonetheless. Particularly, aura users who awakened peculiar abilities as rare as a blue moon—those like the female knight seemingly specialized in defense—were subjects of intense curiosity, enough to make one consider conducting live experiments. Thus, some mages dismissed such aura users as mutants, asserting with incredulity and awe that they were beings distinct from humans. Yet that was as far as their disdain could reach. "Stay crouched and die there!" Greg poured more power into his spell, intensifying its effect. Inside that aura veil, surely the enemy mages would find it hard to cast spells. Once that female knight exhausted her strength, this battle would be over. However, Greg soon realized how overly optimistic that expectation was. As the sword of the female knight moved, slightly lifting the aura barrier— "Gravity Pressure!" A deep voice accompanied by a powerful force pulling him inward. Uuuuuung. "Ugh!?" "Damn it...!" "What?" Instead of a damaging attack on the enemies, the magic simply shifted their position. Realizing the energy infused into it was on par with his own, Greg's eyes widened. "Damn it." The maintained spell wavered, and his body was dragged into the fortress. Glancing around, he saw Celine and Rexy in similar predicaments. Unlike him, suspended precariously in the air, they relied on floating stones and water droplets, thus being pulled towards the fortress walls even faster. And soon, Greg acutely sensed the magic enveloping the fortress. His energy, crucial for maintaining his form, suddenly dipped by nearly thirty percent, causing him to stagger. "Ugh!" The mega flare spell he forcibly maintained dissipated, and dizziness assailed him as a side effect. A brief moment of instability. But by the time he regained clarity, a two-meter-tall stone giant loomed before him. "A golem?" Yet its speed was unexpectedly swift for a magical construct. The fist extended towards him, trailing dense brown energy resembling an afterimage. "Damn!" Instinctively, a defensive spell surged forth. And at that moment, his world turned upside down. Boom! Rumble. "Urgh!" With an impact that felt like his insides were turned inside out, Greg was forced back and slammed against the fortress railing, spitting blood. Spurt! Coughing up blood seemed to partially restore his dimming consciousness, but even in that brief instant, the golem’s fist was again closing in. A vivid vision projected in his mind — a future where the massive fist shattered his head. "Am I really going to end like this…?" Just as resignation dawned upon his face— Boom! A transparent barrier appeared out of nowhere, blocking the golem’s attack and saving him. Thud! Crash! Bang! The golem pounding on the chilling blue-tinged barrier seemed surreal. A sense of rebirth from the brink of death. Dazed, Greg looked blankly ahead, trying to grasp the situation. Crack. Only when fractures appeared on the barrier under the relentless assault did his mind snap back into focus. The cold, transparent shield. To Greg's knowledge, only one person in the Empire wielded such power capable of halting the brute force of that golem. "Sir Galen!?" Greg excitedly turned, spotting the Gale Mage rapidly flying towards the fortress from afar. However, perhaps discontent with the sight— "Get it together, Greg! This is a battlefield!" The stern call from a message spell jolted him back to reality. Realizing his disgrace, Greg's face flushed crimson. "Did I… did I actually consider surrendering, even for a moment?" Seeing his two fellow mages, Rexy and Celine, barely holding their ground against the golem's assault intensified his humiliation. Though they might share the same rank, Greg always deemed them at least half a step below himself. Yet they were performing seamlessly, while he— Of course, there was a nagging question. The remarkable fortitude displayed by his comrades against the formidable golems barely differed from their usual selves. As if they weren’t affected at all by the sticky, disgusting weakening magic circle binding him. "How could this be…?" Though baffling, it seemed like he alone was ensnared by the magic. The golden dragon emblem emblazoned on his robe felt embarrassing, burdensome. Grind. "I’ll redeem myself!" His shame quickly morphed into rage directed at the enemy. Boom! Just then, as the barrier of the Gale Mage shattered, the golem charged at him. "I’ll crush you to pieces!" Blazing heat erupted from Greg, assaulting the golem relentlessly. Boom! Crash! Rumble. The blistering heat exploded, scattering parts of the fortress, as unexpected gusts of wind and rain whipped through the air. A myriad of magical energies, each possessing the force of a natural calamity, warped the space around a section of the fortress. The battleground of the mages was segregated, creating an exclusive domain where interference from outsiders was unwelcome. “Argh!” “Ugh!" Even the residual effects inadvertently swept over them, causing ordinary soldiers to cough up blood before collapsing. Amidst the brutal chaos of battle, a sharp blue wind intervened. “The Gale…” Clayton, who had been barely holding the three mages at bay, let out a sigh of despair. As his magical power was further divided to contend with a new adversary, its potency waned, allowing the momentum of the other three mages to surge. “They’ve reached their limit! Press the attack!” “Sir Galen is coming!” “Rip them apart, these bastards!” Boom! Rumble. The coexistence of burning flames and torrential downpour created a fiery storm, shaking the foundations beneath the golems and Clayton’s comrades with an earthquake. The golems, cloaked in dense brown energy like armor, charged at the mages with lightning speed. They cracked and mended themselves repeatedly. “Hold on just a while longer, Ria!” “Yes, Master!” Victoria, not even having time to wipe the blood trickling from her nose, received words of encouragement from Clayton, who was as pale as she was. All these visuals filled Aileen’s blurred view. Grind. Despite stumbling, Aileen unconsciously raised her sword. ‘Move!’ Enduring the concentrated fire from the mages while having tripled the size of the Indomitable Fortress was undoubtedly too much. Even after the impact’s aftermath faded, regaining her composure was an uphill battle. But everyone was pushing their limits. Though Maclaine held the advantage, it wasn’t without sacrifice. “Aaaaagh!” “S-save me!” “For Maclaine!” The vigilantes acted as human shields, being slain in droves, while many knights and soldiers met their end in ferocious combat. Naturally, the enemy's casualties appeared to be at least twice as high, but with screams erupting from all directions, Aileen couldn’t afford to rest. “Urraaah!” With a voice she couldn’t distinguish between a scream or a warcry, Aileen shook off the ringing in her ears and charged toward the source of formidable magical power she sensed. Despite possessing a trait that was exceptionally strong against mages, handling the Gale Mage in her current state was impossible. All she could do was stall for time as promised… until— ‘What?’ Gradually recovering her senses, Aileen noticed something off. ‘The emblem of the Golden Dragon? Why?’ Flaaash. “Let it all burn!!” Boom! The mage, wearing a blazing expression and engulfed in flame, moved in a manner unbecoming to a spellcaster. The moment she caught sight of the golden dragon emblem etched on that mage’s chest, her mind snapped into clarity. Mages, whose pride often lay more with their magic towers or themselves rather than the nation, typically adorned their robes with their own symbols. Just as Clayton and Victor clung to the golem school’s emblem. Yet there was this mage, disregarding such customs, donning robes emblazoned with the Empire's symbol, the Golden Dragon. ‘An anomaly? What a time for this…’ But for now, it didn’t matter. If anything, being ensnared by the weakening magic circle would tip the battle in their favor for the moment. The real problem lay in what followed. The effects of Maclaine’s reconstructed great magic circle, as designed by Victoria, had to remain undiscovered. It was crucial to maintain the illusion it didn’t affect mages, keeping the truth about targeting marked individuals a secret. Although one day it might be unveiled, it couldn’t be amidst this war. ‘...He must be killed here.’ But first, the more immediate threat — the Gale Mage closing in — needed to be stopped. Suppressing her rising killing intent, Aileen swung her sword toward the advancing blue wind. Wham! Crash. The blue gust clashed head-on with her aura, losing its centralized magical energy, dissipating into mere wind. The diminishing storm sharpened the dulling focus in Aileen's mind. “So, the Gale Mage isn't much, huh? Come at me!” “Huh…!?” The Gale Mage hovered outside the fortress walls, letting out a bemused gasp at Aileen's taunt. Despite the provocation, there was only a sense of surprise in his voice, with no intention to engage. It seemed the knight smashing his magic with aura was fascinating to him, but to Aileen, the delay grated her nerves. ‘Why won’t he come down?’ A glance back revealed Clayton shaking his head, sweat pouring down his face. Despite sensing a strand of magic touching the Gale, it seemed to have little impact. Which was understandable — already anchoring three mages of equal caliber to the fortress wall was a remarkable feat. The power Victoria wielded, pushing those three back, spoke for itself. ‘I just need to hold my own.’ It seemed the enemy also realized the peculiar turn of events. “For the Empire!” “Die! Invaders!!” “What about the Empire!” “Aaaargh!” The relative presence of empire soldiers in the echoing sounds around them seemed to be dwindling. With some respite, the few soldiers and knights took aim with crossbows and threw Liberatio at the mages hovering defiantly beyond the fortress. Thud! Rat-a-tat. “Hmph.” The Gale Mage deftly deflected the quarrels and bombs aimed at him, ignoring such soldiers and knights, and pointed a finger at Aileen’s group. Despite the simplicity of the motion, his golden locks, rising to the heavens, attested that the Empire's top mage was giving his all. The blue storm Aileen once dispelled returned, now expanded, engulfing her, Victoria, and Clayton. ‘The Army of the Gale!’ One spell, capable of both small and large scale defense and offense, was unleashed once more — the era’s premier battle magic.