The man didn’t respond. He remained still in the form of a towering monument of dread. Then, from one moment to the next, his form crackled and he vanished.
The guards blinked, stunned for a fraction of a second before a flash of lightning illuminated the place.
The figure reappeared mid-motion with his form streaking across the guards like a storm incarnate. Each movement of his was a blur despite their highly trained perception and high levels as he zigzagged between them.
“Electromancer!! Stop him before he reaches the young ladies!” One shouted while raising his sword, but it was too slow; the man’s form was already past him before he could take a swing.
His speed was almost incomprehensible – one moment he was in front of a guard, the next he was behind them. His movements were zigzagging in sharp, precise arcs and each flash of his body disrupted the air, leaving trails of faint electricity in his wake.
The guards swung and stabbed, but their weapons sliced through empty air as though they were trying to catch smoke. Their combat instincts were sharp, their levels high, but they were unprepared for this speed-blitz assault.
With a final burst of speed, the man leaped into the air. His body at long last became pristine clear to the occupants of the carriage as he sailed over the defensive line. The guards turned to give chase, but their efforts were futile.
He was already mid-jump.
As he soared through the air like a harbinger of destruction, it wasn’t the blade that commanded the storm. He reached outward with his free hand and his palm formed the shape of an invisible spear. His fingers gripped onto the invisible something as if he were grasping raw power itself.
“Got you.” His deep, ominous voice rang in the ears of the twins before pure mayhem descended on them.
“[Stormcaller’s Judgment]!” he shouted thunderously.
The heavens answered with terrifying immediacy. Dark clouds churned into a vortex above him, spiraling with fury. Thunder boomed in the form of a deafening drumbeat that reverberated across the landscape. Lightning crackled within the storm as jagged arcs of light lashed out.
The invisible spear in the man’s hand ignited and raw lightning coalesced into a blinding construct of energy. He made a throwing motion and the colossal bolt of energy tore free from his hand as it streaked toward its target.
The colossal lightning bolt tore through the heavens, striking the vehicle in a deafening explosion.
The enchanted barriers of numerous defensive artifacts the vehicle was equipped with flared to life with their translucent shields glowing fiercely as they absorbed the brunt of the devastating impact. Cracks formed along their surfaces, radiating outward like spiderwebs.
Inside the armored carriage, chaos consumed the occupants. The twins screamed as the vehicle rocked violently, throwing their bodies across the cabin. They slammed into walls and furnishings on repeat, making their once-perfect hair now tangled and their fine dresses torn. The artifact’s inner mechanisms whined and groaned in protest with sparks flying from panels that buckled under the strain.
Eira, the young maid, clutched her head and screamed in sheer terror with tears streaming down her face. She was trembling uncontrollably, as her cries pierced through the chaos.
Sylvaris moved with the grace of flowing water as mayhem erupted all around her. She grabbed onto the hyperventilating Eira, pulled her close, and wrapped her slender arms protectively around the trembling maid.
In a voice barely above a whisper, she serenely murmured; “[Lunar Shield].”
A silver veil emanated from her body, expanding outward to envelop them both in a radiant cocoon of moonlight. The barrier kept them in place without requiring further effort from either of the two.
The roaring chaos outside dulled to a distant hum within the protective veil. Eira blinked while staring up at Sylvaris with wide eyes as the terror gripping her heart started melting away due to the extreme safety she felt while being embraced by the graceful elven matriarch.
Eira began watching the twins getting unceremoniously tossed around the cabin – Vivienne screeched indignantly as her hair got tangled in the interior, while her hands were busy catching a heavy sofa that seemed adamant about crushing her into a bloody pulp.
“So this is the man you chose for yourself, my beloved daughter…” Sylvaris whispered while watching Quinlan using the see-through artifacts.
Back when she was brought to the podium to be auctioned off, Seraphiel let off a chirping sound that was the specific conversation method of a bird species that only existed in their clan’s territory. The exact sound she used was exclusively heard from female birds who chirped loudly for all to hear that she’d found a mate and that all females were to stay away.
Sera’s intention was not to command her mother to stay away from her lover, but by using a bird sound only natives of their clan would know, she signaled to Sylvaris not to make a scene because she was in good hands.
Of course, the mother knew her daughter very well, and it didn’t take her more than a single second of observing them to know that she was head over heels for the man in whose embrace she sat, so maybe some of the intentions behind her selection of the alerting sound might’ve been intentional, at least subconsciously.
The vehicle groaned once more, this time louder and more ominously. Its many defensive artifacts did their intended job admirably well – they ended up defending against the destructive lightning spell. However, the same couldn’t be said about the ground beneath.
The earth gave way under the sheer energy of the strike. A crater formed with its edges crumbling inward, and gravity took hold of the carriage.
This was when it happened – the vehicle plummeted into the crater and even flipped onto its roof with a bone-rattling crash. Inside, the occupants were thrown about once more. Well, two of them. The twins found themselves sprawled in undignified heaps, moaning in pain, while Sylvaris’ spell held her and Eira firmly in place.
Outside, the man stood atop the upturned vehicle with his silhouette bathed in the dying glow of the storm’s fury.
The four guards scrambled over the rubble in a desperate attempt to save their charges. “You won’t touch them!”
“Is that so…” The man mused before he cast a spell; “[Warp Gate].”
An otherworldly doorway materialized before him that swirled with dark energy and he dashed through it, disappearing into the void just as the guards’ blades sliced through empty air.
The strange door collapsed behind him within a mere moment, leaving the guards shocked, they’d never seen or even heard of something like this. They gasped and instinctively turned their heads to scan the area for any sign of him.
They didn’t see the tall man anywhere. But what they did see froze them in place.
From the distant shadows, numerous silhouettes began to emerge. They moved to converge on the crater and the overturned vehicle.
“Shit, it’s an ambush! We have to meet them head-on. If create a battlefield close to the artifact carriage, the young ladies will come into harm’s way!”
They all agreed, and the four guards split up with each of them dashing in a different direction to intercept the approaching forces.
…