“[Blazing Cataclysm].”
A furious roar of flames erupted from Selene with her being in the center of it all as the spell spiraled outwards in all directions in a vortex of crimson and gold. Selene’s eyes shone like embers with her body engulfed in a blinding pillar of fire. She became a living inferno and her form was slowly hardening into a strange cocoon of molten rock, effectively sealing her inside a fiery shell. As the blazing cocoon formed around her, its surface cracked and oozed with molten lava, radiating an unbearable heat that turned the ground to ash.
It was the spell itself protecting the caster from what was to come next.
The
explosion.
Fire spewed from the cocoon like a tidal wave, incinerating everything within its ever-expanding radius. Screams of agony filled the air as soldiers were caught in the blast with their armor turning red-hot and their flesh blistering and blackening in an instant. Bodies were immolated where they stood, reduced to charred husks as the wave of flame tore through them. Swords, shields, and banners alike melted into molten slag, pooling in glowing, viscous puddles among the ash-covered ground.
The once-living faces of warriors twisted in their final moments of agony while their flesh was sloughing off the bone as they tried- in vain- to shield themselves from the onslaught. There was no mercy in the fire’s path- friend and foe alike were consumed in the brutal inferno. Even the earth itself was scorched and cracked, ending up splitting open to reveal the molten veins of rock churning below the surface.
Within the heart of the chaos, Selene remained cocooned in her hardened shell, untouched by the hellfire she had unleashed on her own army. Her body glowed with the heat of her magic, pulsing with the rhythm of a slow and steady heartbeat. The cocoon pulsed with her, throbbing like a twisted form of life itself, as the fires raged and roared around her.
“I’m coming, my love. Wait for me.” Cedric mouthed with a dejected expression on his features while he reached beneath his cloak. His fingers closed around a small, crystalline pendant hanging around his neck- an artifact they bought just to use in conjunction with this spell of Selene, the Frozen Tear. Blazing Cataclysm was a mighty destructive spell, the strongest in the fire specialist Wizard’s arsenal, yet it also had drawbacks. She would have to wait until the molten rocks weakened and fell off her by themselves, as for now she was imprisoned inside without the ability to cast other spells, let alone move.
As she was, the opposing alliance could encircle her and wait it out, or simply kill her while she was still stuck. Enjoy exclusive adventures from
He yanked the artifact free and instantly felt a cool, refreshing sensation spread from the pendant enveloping his entire body in a thin, shimmering layer of cold water. The item was destroyed as soon as he cast the spell imbued within. The protective shell pulsed and moved like a second skin, offsetting the suffocating heat and keeping the searing flames at bay.
With the Frozen Tear activated, he was able to plunge straight into the blistering inferno that raged around Selene. His hair and clothes remained untouched by the sweltering temperatures thanks to the thin layer of water sizzling and evaporating as it absorbed the worst of the heat, but constantly replenished itself from the artifact’s power. Each step brought him closer to the cocoon of molten rock that encased her. The air around him was distorted with the unbearable heat, but the barrier of cold water held.
Cedric swung his sword at the blistering cocoon once he reached it. The cold steel of his blade was fighting desperately against the molten rock as he hacked away, determined to reach her. Cutting hardened rock with a sword would’ve been plain stupid, but a swordsman on Cedric’s level had ways to harden his blade enough to be effective. Each strike sent sparks flying and chipped away at the hardened shell with the steam from the evaporating water hissing and mixing as the acrid smoke rose from the charred battlefield.
Finally, with one last, desperate swing, Cedric’s blade shattered the cocoon, revealing Selene’s slumped form within. He returned the sword to its sheath, reached in, and pulled her free. With her in his embrace, the thin layer of water around him instantly enveloped Selene as well, cooling her skin before it began getting severe burns. She was barely conscious and could only inhale oxygen with shallow, hard-fought breaths.
“Hang on, my love.” he muttered under his breath while lifting her limp body over his shoulder. With the pendant’s magic shielding them from the worst of the lingering inferno, Cedric bolted across the smoldering battlefield.
Behind him, the scorched earth continued to smolder, the blackened corpses and twisted remnants of what had once been his and Selene’s army lying in charred ruin. He didn’t look back- he couldn’t afford to. His only concern was getting her to safety, away from the ashes of her own creation.
“Kekekeke…” Selene began manically chuckling once they were out of the heat and the artifact also lost its effectiveness. “I got more XP in a single minute than I did in the past decade… Life has a way to make even this situation funny in a grim way.”
Cedric could only grimace wryly at his fiance’s words. He was well aware of her being pure evil, but he still loved her with all his heart. His mother also wanted him to marry this woman, so it didn’t really matter what he personally thought about Selene. Whether his being in love with her was a coping mechanism or not was up for debate, but it didn’t change the end result.
“Is it over yet?!” The evil princess’ shining knight shouted at one of the guards observing the proceedings from the edge of the cavern.
“The candidates will be notified once the first round of the Trials is concluded.” He replied in an emotionless, matter-of-factly tone. He had just seen hundreds of people burn to death, but evidently, it was just another Tuesday in his book.
“Shit…! Team, follow me. We need to run. Selene must’ve not hit all of our allies. At least, not in a fatal capacity… We will wait until the alliance finishes them off.” Their lord’s command made all ten Heralds’ expressions darken, but in the end they listened.
