Chapter 567: First Strike
As the seven supporting magic circles of Mana Storm winked out of existence, the air above the valley rippled and distorted, giving way to a titanic magic circle that snapped into being directly above the keep. It dominated the sky, casting an eerie golden hue across the snow-dusted mountains.
Grand as it was, the circle’s true magnificence lay in its sheer scale. Its outermost runes stretched far beyond the confines of the city, encompassing the fortress and the valley walls.
It was the largest spell I had ever cast, coming close to the circle that had heralded the Starfall in High Valley. They differed drastically in power, of course, but my lips twitched in a small smile all the same.
Golden light crackled like lightning between the spinning runes, rapidly absorbing the mana I poured into the spell. The magic circle didn’t merely condense this power; it imbued it with discordance and chaos, transforming it into a force of pure destruction.
As the circle neared completion, a distortion appeared in fate. I looked to see a ripple in the air far above the valley open up and a familiar presence leak from within.
Suddenly, the ripple winked out and reappeared beside me. I stepped back in surprise, my tail twitching, as Verity’s aura rolled over me. She felt more real than before, her soul more real. Beyond that, though, I’d never seen her shift perspectives in a vision before. It was an inevitable discovery and didn’t actually change anything, but every time she made progress, my advantages waned.
My fingers twitched, instinctively reaching for the mana needed to banish her, but the well was empty. The Mana Storm had drained me dry, leaving only a faint trickle to replenish the void. Frustration tightened my jaw, and I shot her a glare before a weary sigh escaped my lips. What did it matter now, anyway? A sudden pressure, like a hand squeezing my chest, drew my attention toward the city. Seven circles of blinding light erupted above the fortress walls, a defensive formation I couldn’t fail to recognize. Runes, intricate and pulsing with raw power, blazed across the sky, leaving trails of fire in their wake. The Grand Aegis snapped into existence just as the Mana Storm broke upon it. Similar to the spell I’d used against Brithlite, the mage had crafted a golden dome that sprawled across the entire fortress in a shimmering canopy. A small smirk tugged at the corner of my lips. Grand Aegis was a powerful defensive spell, but the mage clearly didn’t understand the nature of fate magic. It wasn’t a brute force attack to be deflected or absorbed, but a raw form of mana that attacked the fabric of a spell, not its actual defenses. It was like using a knitted coat to keep out the wind. And even if it were a suitable defense, their execution was flawed. They had lacked the time to properly craft a defense for the entire city and only managed to shield the fortress itself. Furthermore, even from this distance, I could already spot the cracks in their spell-casting. Subtle tremors coursed across the surface of the golden dome like ripples on a still pond, a sign the weave wasn’t perfectly sound. That kind of thing was normal in casting high-level spells without the appropriate affinity, but against my mastery of fate magic, it looked more like Sari’s first attempt at casting Aegis.
I flicked my staff down, and the energy writhing in my magic circle erupted, cascading down upon the entire valley in an avalanche of stars. It struck the upper curve of the Grand Aegis first and began to eat through the mana. In just a few moments, the chaotic wave of magic had completely enveloped the dome. It held, if barely, but the rest of the city wasn’t so lucky.
As the Mana Storm crashed into the valley, another flaw in their defenses was exposed. Shards of omniscience were impervious to the powers of a Mana Storm. In the past, I had to physically reach it in order to dismantle the crystals sustaining the Heart Crest. It had left me exposed and vulnerable, something I’d learned through bitter experiences my enemies were willing to take advantage of.