Chapter 373: Leadership
The moment my connection with the shard ended, the gate above shuddered. Mana from all over the city streamed toward it as it struggled to support itself, a veritable black hole of magic. Falling snow reversed its course, lightning redirected, and even a few magic spells lost their targets and rose into the sky. Both the blizzard and thunderstorm broke apart and collapsed into the gate, which shuddered and began the long process of breaking apart. It was just like a Demon Gate when the core was destroyed, craving like glass and slowly imploding.
The last remnant of my magic to disappear was the ninth-level ice spirit. It continued softly stroking my hair even as it dispersed into a flurry of snow and infernal mana. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to enjoy it, too tired to feel embarrassed. It felt just like Korra...perhaps it had learned this from observing her the last time I summoned a spirit.
With a final, regretful sigh, the elemental disappeared entirely. My legs buckled as I was left to stand on my own, but Orion was there before I fell, having rushed over the moment the Dead Wing Legion withdrew.
"Did we win?" he asked slowly, staring up at the last remnants of the storm over the city.
I nodded, barely more than a shallow dip of my head. "They’re all safe...for now, at least. The demons are going to take the city and are already battling for the walls. Even if the city holds for now, I doubt Grace can close the gate, so the city is all but lost already. I just wish we had managed to catch Alverin. Then it could all finally be over."
"We did what we could, milady. We freed the Last Light Company from the gods’ curse and saved Sari, did we not? Once we escape the city and join them, our mission can be considered a success."
"I wonder at that," I whispered, looking over the heaps of corpses strewn across the ground. Most were young soldiers from the church or Dead Wing Legion, but many–too many–wore the familiar colors of the Last Light Company. They had died for me...because of me.
"Orion," Bethiv called, striding over to us. My personal guards all snapped to attention, giving the commander a sharp salute. He raised a hand and put them at ease with a half smile. "Good work protecting the lady, though I can’t help but notice she looks worse for the wear than any of you. Those bruises around her throat are particularly concerning."
Orion stiffened, and I let out a weak smile. My entire body ached, but the comment that I was worse than them wasn’t true. All of my companions, including Jenna, were covered in cuts and bruises, and through the soul bond and my ability, I could see they were all exhausted. I might have been the closest to death, true, but that was only because I was so much weaker to begin with.