Chapter 672: Twin Dragons
The ground continued to shake as the spire split apart, trembling with the force of multiple Ninth-level auras. Above it all, a billowing cloud of smoke rose above the shattered top of the spire, as dark and endless as the sea dividing the contents. Bursts of fire lit the inside, revealing glimpses of two monstrous forms. The silhouette showed long, sinewy necks, wings of burning fire, and a body hundreds of yards long.
A thunderous roar shook the city as one of the dragons flapped their wings, sending a surge of raw fire mana sweeping outward. The wave was invisible to normal eyes, but everything–from stone to timber–burst into flames or melted in its wake. I hugged R’lissea as it rolled over us, but Adaptive Resistance soaked up its power, registering it near the peak of the seventh level.
The screams of the survivors of the keep sent chills down my tail. A fifth-level soldier staggered by us, literally disintegrating into ash as we watched. He collapsed as his knee burned away, his body crumbling to ash before it hit the ground.
"No..." R’lissea whispered, letting a half-formed Life spell fizzle away, its intended target already gone.
I shared her horror. This kind of power was beyond anything I’d witnessed, save once when the Ally of Fate dropped a Starfall on High Valley. It wasn’t something you could interfere with, and certainly not fight. There was only one hope in the face of a Ninth-level being: another Ninth-level being.
"We’re out of time," I said, my tail going limp. "They’re already free."
As the fire wave was about to drop into the main city below, Avant’s voice rose above the roar.
"Tranquil Sea!"
It was an unassuming name, but the power that surged as his spell completed left nothing to be desired. He was a dozen yards away, but the sudden surge of mana nearly shattered Adaptive Resistance. Whatever nearby buildings happened to survive the firestorm collapsed immediately, swirling around us like debris in a hurricane.
At the same time, gold light burst from the magic circles beneath Avant, spreading outward in an infinitely thin sheet of mana. The shield extended in a flat plane, passing seamlessly through the spire, expanding a mile in every direction. It divided the top of the spire from the city proper below.
The wave of fire mana crashed against the shimmering ward and washed outward, flowing along the massive shield. The tide slowed, dissipating by the time it reached the edge.