Dharma laid down on the ground, without moving. His shield was burning with the same black flames.
I tried to stand up and run. But I couldn't.
My chest was hurting and I couldn't even feel my legs. I gritted my teeth and crawled towards him. I hurriedly took off the armor and threw it away. He was still breathing, but completely out of it. Some of his ribs were broken along with his collarbone.
I took a healing potion and made him drink.
Only after he started breathing normally, did I remember that there was another person and a beast in the air.
I turned around to take a look.
Dhana was fighting against the horse.
And its speed….
I felt like the Aurora Zephywings known for their speeds looked slow. Dhana who stood on top of the bird and all she did was try to survive. The horse dashed as if it wasn't even flying. The wind solidified under his hooves as its purpose is to allow a path for the horse to step on.
As if it was under its command.
*BANG*
*BANG*
*BANG*
Each of its step was like a gun shot.
As it dashed around, it attacked the bird and Dhana who were in a desperate struggle. It seemed like the horse didn't want to defeat them. It is like it wanted to toy with both of them. I had seen Dhana fight before. Among the Eighth Circle mages, there were few who could compete with her.
There were times when the enemies just fell to their knees on her arrival. Her mere presence scared some criminals and made them surrender.
Now, as I watched her hair disheveled and acting helplessly. Trying to just maintain the balance and not fall off, trying to make sure that the bird stayed sane, I felt a fear gripping my mind. It was more than when I saw that criminal destroy the Duke and kill him like a chicken.
At that moment, Dhana spotted me.
"WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE? TAKE DHARMA AND ESCAPE. DUKE KURMA WILL BE HERE SOON."
I gritted my teeth and picked up Dharma with a spell. I tried to run away, but at that moment, I felt a presence locking me in my position. I froze in the spot. In the air in front of me, a black-colored smoke conjured into a pair of eyes.
A pair of deep blue eyes.
"TEJ"
I heard Dhana yelling from behind, but I couldn't move, I couldn't even turn my head. The eyes grew bigger with every passing second and I slowly started losing my vision and hearing.
*BOOM*
At that moment an explosion occurred a few feet behind me. I was blown away once again and crashed into a rock along with unconscious Dharma.
The vision was gone and I looked in the air. I saw Dhana's hands glowing with magic circles. The horse stopped attacking and looked at her.
There are several glowing runic patterns all over the body, conjured purely of mana. She was using her trump cards. I don't know what happened to me a couple of seconds before that, but she had to use her trump card and use that explosion to get me out of my stupor.
"Palm of Justice."
Dhana extended both of her hands and clapped before chanting. The surrounding mana riled up and a huge palm conjured in the sky as it landed towards the horse.
This was one of Dhana's original creations. A spell that makes her crush their enemies by the force of mana and that force is exerted in the form of a palm.
*BOOM* *RUMBLE*
I heard a loud rumbling sound as the palm tried to hit the horse…
*PAK*
It sounded like a loud slap, but the horse didn't even budge. The palm literally landed on its head and the horse was only as big as the finger of that palm. However, it didn't even move a millimeter. It just stayed there for a moment.
Dhana focused her mana trying to push the horse back, but she couldn't.
The horse waited for a couple of minutes before it acted out.
*NEIGH*
With a loud neigh, it shook its head wildly and the palm shattered. It dispersed into a beautiful cluster of mana particles.
The horse took a deep breath and black-colored energy gathered at the tip of its mouth.
Dhana also gathered energy in between her palms and…
*ZAP* *BOOM*
Both of them launched energy beams at each other. Dhana's body glowed with all those runic patterns and I saw red colored aura being mixed in that beam. She was burned her life force.
Both beams collided and to my shock, Dhana's beam didn't stand a chance. It did put up some resistance, but the horse was overpowering her easily. It felt like the horse could have killed her, but it was just toying.
I noticed this situation and gritted my teeth. I hid Dharma behind a rock. Even if it doesn't provide much protection, it is better than nothing. And I was sure that Dharma had some other trinkets on him that would automatically activate.
He was the son of one of the most powerful men on the planet, there was no way, he would have died that easily.
I bit my finger and started chanting my spell. One of my main fighting weapons. One of my strongest offensive spells and also one of the spells, that grant me the strength to fight beyond levels.
"Whispered breezes, spirits unfurl,
Zephyrion, Lord of Gale, I implore.
With ethereal grace, and winds that swirl,
Rise, majestic ruler, from Gale's core.
Spirit Summoning. Spirit King of Wind. Zephyrion."
I extended my arm up, pointing my palm to the sky. A massive magic circle appeared. From within came a sky-blue-colored figure from the spirit world. I could have sworn that the horse gave a look towards the summoning circle.
Zephyrion appeared before all of us.
Zephyrion, the Lord of Gale
Zephyrion, is a majestic and ethereal being, a creature with flowing, air-like appendages and a constantly swirling, translucent form. One of the strongest creatures of the spirit world, ruling over the wind spirits. The Wind Spirit King.
"Winds of power, essence entwine,
Mage and Zephyrion, unified, divine.
Spirit fusion."
My body levitated and came in front of Zephyrion. The massive spirit body of the wind spirit king dissolved into that puny body of mine. The color of my hair changed, it turned white and blue. My eyes are a darker shade of blue. My robe's color also changed matching the colors of the wind spirit king.
I felt like I was the source of infinite energy. The air-like appendages grew over my back as I levitated in the air.
At that moment, I was as strong as an eighth-circle mage. One of the reasons the spirit mages were hated all over the world. They could unfairly borrow the power that wasn't theirs and the only prerequisite being their ability to gain the favor of the spirits.
Of course, not many people could perform summoning and fusion at the level that I did. Still, you get my point.
"Gale force, tempest annihilation."
I didn't waste any time and launched my attack. Massive wind currents concentrated at the tip of my hand and launched a cyclonic blast toward that horse.
This destructive shred through obstacles with ease, causing widespread damage and disarray as it passed through the mountain and hit the horse.
*NEIGH*
The horse neighed as it braced for the impact. It conjured a mana shield around it, but the force still managed to push it to the side. This gave Dhana the much-needed opening.
"Fist of Justice.*
She conjured another spell. The energy beam suddenly turned to a fist and launched itself onto the horse.
*BAM*
For the first time, the horse took a proper hit.
*NEIGH* *BOOM*
The beast's aura raged as it looked at me and Dhana crazily. I closed the distance and got near to Dhana.
*SQUEAL*
As if the black flames that were coming out of the horse's body were not scary enough, we heard the squealing sound from the portal.
"Why is the Duke not here? Did he not get the message?" I asked in desperation.
We were having that much trouble with just the horse, the wolf and the man were yet to open their eyes, much less fight, there was no way we could survive for long.
"He definitely did." Dhana replied through gritted teeth. Her frustration was apparent.
"We need to stop whatever he is doing. Whatever that black circle is, and wherever it leads to, it is definitely not a good thing. That energy is frying my body."
"Mine too. Before the fusion, I felt like lava was flowing through my veins."
Dhana stayed a bit silent. The horse for some reason, was not making a move. It just angrily looked at both of us.
"I think it was done toying around with us. Here is the plan…"
Dhana closed the distance and started whispering, she explained the whole plan in fifteen seconds.
"Are you sure, this is going to work?"
"It should. Your fusion won't last long. As soon as you execute the attack, you need to take Dharma and escape. I will launch my final attack and use my transference scroll. We need to get out of here. The arrival of Duke can't be counted on anymore."
I nodded reluctantly. I didn't want to do it, but that was the only option.
I extended my arm. The surrounding mana and wind became alert as if they were waiting for my command. The horse looked vigilantly and…
*BOOM*
It threw a breath of black flames at us.
*BOOM*
Dhana moved forward and blocked its attack, while I conjured my spell.
"Zephyrion's Ascendant Cyclone."
I tapped into the Lord of Gale's ancient wisdom and the raw power of the wind itself. The attack summoned a colossal cyclone, swirling with the intensity of a tempest's fury.
As the Ascendant Cyclone engulfed the surroundings, it became a maelstrom of destructive force, drawing in everything in its path. The cyclone became a manifestation of both Zephyrion's mastery over wind and my magical prowess.
The formidable attack was launched…
*NEIGH*
The horse became vigilant and it broke the stalemate with Dhana and focused on me, however to its astonishment, the attack wasn't aimed at it, instead, it was aimed at the man on the platform.
The wolf that was just lying down with its eyes closed finally stood up and opened its blue eyes. Then only I understood, that it was that wolf's eyes that I saw when I tried to leave.
The wolf transformed from its dog form to the majestic wolf form that I saw in the Duke's estate.
*GROWL*
*NEIGH*
The wolf and the horse seemed to have exchanged some words. The horse turned to Dhana with reignited fury like never before.
"Now, Dhana."
I yelled as I controlled my attack to bypass the wolf and attack the man.
Dhana's palms glowed as she yelled out.
" Shackles of Reprieve."
Mana conjured into binding restraints that swiftly encircled the targeted enemies.
In this case, the man the wolf, and the horse.
These shackles, adorned with symbols of balance and fairness, rendered the foes immobile for a brief but crucial moment, allowing us to impose a momentary pause on their actions.
The spell not only physically restrains but also imparts a sense of moral contemplation, compelling the affected individuals to momentarily reconsider their actions in the light of justice. That means it was a combination of physical and mental magic.
*GROWL*
The wolf that was covered with energy shackles looked at the man, its owner before growling forward and it swung its front paw.
The shackles on the front paw broke and the strike collided with the ascendant cyclone.
*BOOM*
Explosive sounds covered the mountain range as if the sky had broken. Dhana gritted her teeth as she tried to strengthen her magical shackles. Both of us bled through our noses and ears. Our veins bulged threatening to explode.
And at that moment, we sensed an aura.
An aura that felt so strong that it could carry a mountain. We felt some pressure being lifted on us as a huge mountain was conjured in the sky as it was directed towards the man and the wolf on the stone platform.
"You can relax now."
A man who was at least seven feet tall appeared between me and Dhana. He wore brown colored armor with a large battle hammer hanging from his back. He had a scruffy beard and was built like a massive gorilla with a huge back. Along with the hammer, he also carried a shield that looked like a turtle shell on his back.
Duke Kurma was finally there.
We heaved a sigh as we saw the gravity in the valley increase many times over and it descended upon the man with a rapid speed. Even before it closed in, the surrounding mountains and rocks exploded, and even the stone platform underneath the man cracked.
At that moment, the man in black, the person behind all this destruction, finally opened his eyes and the moment he did, everything froze.