I sat up in my bed, placing the Dimensional Storage Box down to the ground as I heard footsteps rushing around outside of my room. I was studying the various aspects of the box until I heard this ruckus. I pushed the door open, seeing Dwarfs scramble around as Golems march robotically down the hallway.

I caught sight of a familiar Engineer running by. “Aniyar!” I called out, dragging his feet to a halt. He turned to face me, blinking as I spoke. “What’s going on?”

“It’s…” Aniyar hesitated. The Dwarf glanced over at another group of Engineers, running, shouting at each other. He shook his head. “It’s finally happened. Tha damned Puer Kingdom finally did it.”

“Did it?” I cocked my head. “What’d they do?”

He opened his mouth, and someone barked out his name.

“Oi, Aniyar! What are you just doing standin’ there? Get to yer damned job!”

I nearly jerked back, caught off guard by the gruff voice as though a loose dog had tried to snap its jaw at me. Aniyar shook his head, starting past me.

“They finally did it,” he repeated himself. “They declared war.”

I stared at him as he went. “Oh,” I said, just standing there. “So… what happens now?”

—--

“It’s finally time,” a voice said. The source of said voice was a man, roughly in his forties. He had golden blond hair, blue eyes, and a face full of a neatly trimmed beard. His name was Holden Gaice, General of the Puer Kingdom’s First Army.

It had taken him decades to work his way up to this position. He had to associate himself with many less-than-pleasant individuals, just to land himself one of the most powerful positions in all of the Puer Kingdom. Even now, he was oft surrounded by unsavory men. His Lieutenant General was currently bidding farewell to his lovers— children who had been ripped from their families, taken from parents who couldn’t pay their taxes. Holden turned away from it, instead heading up to the wooden platform just ahead. It didn’t matter what others did. All that mattered was what he did.

He was now a decorated General. His life was filled with luxury, despite his many battle scars. And he was eager to fight for his country, prove himself once more capable of vanquishing their foes, and claiming more riches and glory to his name.

Holden stood before forty thousand men, on a podium that elevated him above them. His hands were behind his back, at parade rest. He bore luxurious silver armor, gleaming with mana crystals, before one of his Squires brought him a Voice Amplification Stone. It wasn’t like a megaphone or microphone that those Dwarves had. Those were inferior technology, making wasteful use of resources. He had seen the designs and blueprints of some of the Taw Kingdom’s secret weapons.

Anything they made could be replicated through simple mana tools easily enough. The overuse of other, unnecessary implements only made weapons such as guns harder to assemble. The only advantage it would ever provide was if the other side had weapons that could disable or counter the standard mana tech weaponry.

It was foolish of the Dwarfs. Such a foolish, foolish endeavor. One that would never reap any reward.

The General wanted to laugh. But here he stood before his army, and his laughter wouldn’t do much to bolster their morale. So, when he opened his mouth to address them, he didn’t cackle or show a hint of emotion. That was weakness. What he showed was strength.

“Men of Puer! Take up your arms, for now is the time for retribution.” Holden thumped a fist on his chest as his voice bellowed, a deluge over his men like a powerful wave. His army, to their credit, steeled themselves, letting his words wash over them, absorbing the essence of what was said, but not losing their ground. “The filthy Dwarfs to the north have hurled baseless accusations against our country. Their constant aggression towards our nation— towards our people— have gone on for far too long!

“Our forefathers came together in the face of their Dwarven madness. This country was built on their labor against the Taw Kingdom! And now, the Dwarfs have once again wickedly dared to threaten our existence. To bring us to ruin. We will not fall to these short, feeble men and their toys. They shall be crushed under our marching boots, like mere pebbles at our feet. Let us trample the Taw Kingdom, and bring an end to their wretched country!”

“Yes sir!” forty thousand voices shouted back at Holden.

They began their march, a clangor of metallic footsteps making their way through the hard soil. General Holden watched as his glorious army— the mark of all his achievements— entered the borders of the Taw Kingdom. This was the reckoning of the Dwarf country. It was time for Holden to once more show the might of the Puer Kingdom.

The First Army of Puer entered the borders of Taw with very little resistance. The fort stationed at Syek’eki’taw’s Valley was taken with ease. The mere thousand Dwarven men stood no chance against the forty thousand of Puer. The Dwarfs fled after only a brief skirmish, abandoning the strategic outpost.

It was so arrogant of the Dwarfs to think that their supposedly ‘superior’ technology meant that so few soldiers could stave off Holden’s forces. It was this hubris, paired with their own surprise at the declaration of war, that allowed the Puer Kingdom to so easily gain a footing within the enemy nation.

A combination of the foolishness of your enemy, and the cunning of your own. Holden had known that war would come— that all the diplomatic talk trying to reconcile both countries was nothing but a facade. He had readied his men for the day war would be declared, and he moved the moment it happened.

Now, his army marched further into Taw, leaving three regiments— about four thousand strong— behind at the fort to guard their rear. They were led by his most trusted colonels, so he knew that they’d warn him if he were to be flanked.

The villages and towns they passed as they marched on were abandoned, quickly evacuated, not that it truly mattered to Holden. Cities were what mattered in war. And he caught sight of Brinsi’taw no more than a week later.

Dwarf soldiers manned the walls and battlements, a small army ready to make a stand against Holden’s troops. The siege did not last long. The Dwarfs tried to put up a fight. They had turret towers which fired rapid, powerful blasts of mana into the First Army of Puer. But Holden had read about these weapons— he had been briefed by his country’s spies on the secret weapons held by Taw. He had already made a plan for it.

He had his trebuchets and cannons aim their enchanted munitions at these turrets, not focusing on the walls of the city. He directed his army’s attacks entirely on this brand new weapon of Taw, knowing its biggest flaw. That its great destruction capabilities was a double edged sword.

The defenses around the turrets were torn down quickly enough, the heavy, enchanted stone walls collapsing under the constant barrage of explosions. When the weapon itself— a large cylindrical tube connected to a tank of highly unstable liquid mana— was exposed, Holden simply had his best marksmen aim their rifles and their bows at it.

The explosions that occured after were entirely caused by the Dwarfs’ own inventions. Destruction that outrivaled anything Puer’s First Army could muster. It tore down the towers, bringing down the rest of the battlements and walls with it.

In just a month, Brinsi’taw was taken. A resounding victory, one which outmatched even his best accomplishments.

With this, his army’s vigor was bolstered, and General Holden continued their march. They razed the villages and smaller settlements, looting them for resources when supply lines grew thin, as his army began to take more and more of Taw’s territory. The Dwarfs barely put up a fight. They mostly fled the province, using frail tactics to delay the inevitable. They had their aircrafts and airships fire mana missiles from the sky, but those only hindered their pace, nothing more.

Eventually, Holden received word that Puer’s Second Army had arrived in Taw. He was to, together with General Darryl, take the largest city in the province, Ulken’taw.

Their forces combined to create an army over a hundred thousand strong. They set up camp before Ulken’taw, the weary men from First Army feeling an increase in morale from the reinforcements, while the soldiers of Second Army were still fresh and ready to battle.

“Congratulations, General Holden. It is thanks to your efforts, we have been able to overwhelm these Dwarven rats so quickly. When you return from this war, you will be lauded as a hero.” General Darryl nodded at him.

Holden Gaice raised his chin, relishing in the praise. “Thank you, General Darryl. I am certain you will make as much of a name for yourself over the course of this war. Our names will be recorded in history books, forever remembered as the greatest of our time.”

“Of course.” General Darryl smiled. Then he turned his gaze towards the city in the distance. He raised a spyglass, before frowning. “However, something appears to be amiss.”

“What is the problem?” Holden furrowed his brows.

“The battlements are empty. The city’s gates are left unmanned. Have the Dwarfs already evacuated Ulken’taw?”

“Impossible,” General Holden said. “They wouldn’t possibly give up such an important city so easily.” But his eyes widened when he realized it was true.

He sent scouts to investigate the city, and sure enough, it was empty. The Dwarfs had evacuated in a rush, leaving the city full of resources behind for the taking. A treasure. A gift for the Puer Kingdom.

“How foolish.” Shaking his head, Holden sat in his war tent. “They have given up this whole province to us. They will never be able to recover from this.”

“Let us not fret over the mad actions of the Dwarfs.” Darryl raised a glass. “Come, let us drink. To victory.”

They clinked their wine glasses, celebrating the night before they took the city.

Perhaps it was because Holden had too much to drink, did he have an odd feeling at the back of his head when he and his men entered Ulken’taw the next day. There was a buzzing in his ear, like an incessant fly that refused to leave him.

The two armies scoured the city, confirming that it was indeed truly completely abandoned. The things that had been left behind would solve the problem of a thinning supply line for Holden— one that had Holden stressed for the past two weeks before the siege. But now, not only did the Dwarfs solve the issue of a siege by simply leaving, they also solved the issue of supply lines for the Puer General.

“Foolishness.” He laughed, standing at the central plaza of the city. “Goddess grace us, and to think the Dwarfs are known for their genius. This shows that they are nothing more than bumbling buffoons.”

His men laughed with him, over a hundred thousand in Ulken’taw alone. Then a voice drew his attention. General Darryl called for him, pointing a hand to the sky.

“Holden. My men have spotted enemy aircrafts approaching over the horizon.”

The General of Puer’s First Army stared at the speck approaching through a spyglass. He blinked. Then he snickered. “A lone aircraft. These are used for scouting missions, Darryl.” He slapped the back of the other General. “There is no need to worry about them. Just fire your cannons into the sky, and they will be warded off. Although…” he trailed off.

The aircraft drew closer and closer. A single plane, flying at a higher altitude than usual, approached Ulken’taw without hesitation.

“It is quite the distance away for a scouting aircraft. And it is moving far slower than any aircraft I’ve seen.” He ran a hand through his beard. Then he squinted. “Wait, more of them are coming.”

These other planes came in a formation behind the first, slow aircraft. Almost like a retinue of guards escorting an important noble.

“Do you think this is a problem?” Darryl asked. “Perhaps this is some new type of aircrafts created by the Dwarfs.”

Holden just chuckled. “We’ve seen what Taw could muster. These Dwarfs aren’t capable of creating any weapon capable of stopping us. Even if they send a hundred planes to take back the city, it won’t be enough. After all, there is only so much they can do that high up in the air.” He waved a hand, barking an order to his men. “Bring those planes down.”

And the sky was filled with blasts and bullets. Mana cannons were shot into the air, exploding just below the aircrafts. Individual rifles tried taking pot shots at the plane, although most of them missed their mark.

General Holden clicked his tongue. “What are you idiots doing? Can’t you fools hit anything?”

The formation of planes were the first ones to arrive at Ulken’taw, overtaking the slower aircraft. Now that they were closer, they couldn’t avoid most of the mana bullets whizzing by them. One of them was struck in its engine, and it crashed from the sky. The others began falling too, but not before unloading various objects, each about the size of a man, down into the army of Puer.

Holden had expected blasts— fiery explosions to fill the streets of the city. But instead, he saw bright colors spreading out over the city. They had the initial spark of a mana missiles, yes. But then the smoke that spread out after wasn’t normal. Blue, green, red gas. They blanketed the streets as shouts and screams resounded all around Holden.

“Alchemical bombs.” His eyes grew wide. “Gates of Hell condemn us. Those bastards are raining poison and acid down on us! Take cover— find shelter within the buildings!” This was new. He hadn’t expected the Dwarfs to try this. He didn’t even think about such usage of an Alchemist’s concoction.

He watched as his men screamed, tearing at their faces, their body melting into the ground. Others coughed and panted, doubling over as they inhaled the toxic air, filling their lungs with death. They, too, fell. Pale corpses that littered the streets.

“Damn these Dwarfs.” He glared up at the planes as they made another run over the city of Ulken’taw, dropping more of their alchemical explosives, covering the streets with a carpet of noxious gas.

Hundreds of men were slowly killed, but most of them would survive. This was nothing more than an act of desperation by Taw, killing Holden’s man in such a cruel way, no less effective than regular mana missiles. All his men had to do was take shelter, and the efforts of the Dwarfs would be rendered null. Then he paused.

“Unless… that’s what they wanted.” His gaze snapped over to the slower plane. It was now flying over Ulken’taw, passing by the other aircrafts— only two left— as they finally left the city. “They were escorting it here. They want to protect it.” Holden scowled.

He turned to one of his lieutenants standing right next to him. He marched past a confused Darryl, grabbing the rifle from one of the lieutenant’s hands.

“Give me that.”

“What are you doing, Holden?” Darryl blinked.

“I’m going to make them pay for what they did.” Holden raised the rifle, carefully tracking the slower plane as it passed directly above him. He squeezed the trigger, firing a single shot. “I’ll make all their damned efforts go to waste!”

The bullet shot into the air, a straight line that punched through the back of the aircraft. A puff of smoke huffed out of the plane’s back. Then it began to spiral down.

“Got you.” Holden couldn’t help but sneer.

The aircraft would crash. Its escort planes failed their mission. Holden didn’t care what it was. Whatever ruse the Dwarfs had were for naught. He chuckled to himself, standing tall at yet another victory.

“Wait, what is it dropping?” Darryl pointed at the sky.

A bloated object fell from the butt of the plane. It spiraled its way out, falling straight towards the city’s central plaza along with the falling aircraft. Holden snorted.

“Whatever it is, it doesn’t matter. This battle is already decided. We won, and nothing can change—”

As the last word left his mouth, the bloated object landed against the brick ground. Its tip touched the hard floor, and that was enough to set it off. It detonated— everything compressed and loaded into it being unleashed in an instant.

A curtain of flames closed on the city. The paved streets crumbled into the sky, and falling debris rose up like a plume of smoke. A blinding white sphere consumed everything within a mile. Its heat ate up the brick and the stone, an unstoppable wave of energy that radiated throughout the city.

It consumed Ulken’taw with a screeching silence. The monoliths and tall structures of the city were like falling droplets of sweat in the desert— it splashed on the ground, sizzling for an instant, before evaporating away. Buildings made of concrete and marble alike were vaporized into steam. The metallic armor that clung to flesh melted, and melded with the burning skin of standing corpses.

“—it.”

A single word left Holden’s mouth between the instant it took for the blast to occur, and for the decorated General of the Puer Kingdom to be incinerated by the swiftly expanding light. It scarred the earth with a deep crater as the entire city combusted into flames. Whoever that wasn’t immediately killed by the blast would be crushed by the collapsing rubble, or eaten by the raging fires washing over the city.

A hundred thousand men died that day. Both the First and Second Armies of Puer were annihilated by a weapon that was capable of such massive destruction. What had seemed like a resounding victory abruptly became total defeat, altered by a single Mana Bomb.

—--

In the MTC of Jahar’taw, an old Scientist sat before a seismograph as the room exploded around him. Messages were being sent and received by the hundreds. Data was passed along as television screens flickered to life. People all around the world were reeling from the shockwave of this event.

Countries from both Soli and Vitae directed a thousand questions to the Taw Kingdom. The Holy Xan Empire made a strong condemnation of the Taw Kingdom. Even a black-haired girl was left uncertain about the news. Only a single man felt truly satisfied and sure of himself.

Bertrand leant back on his chair, a small smile creeping up his face as he watched the fruit of his labor be borne. After months of debate and political discussion in the House of Or’taq about the ethics of it all, they had finally approved use of his most experimental and dangerous weapon. One that would forever change the face of warfare. And the first true trial of his Mana Bomb was tested against the oncoming forces of Puer.

It was an unmistakable success.

End of Book 3

Author's Note:

This scene in the final chapter has been in my head ever since I restarted Melas in February of 2020. It spent over a year growing inside of my head, and it has finally grown enough to be put onto the page.

I truly, truly, truly love Melas as a story. And I am so thankful that you guys have stuck with me throughout the story's journey. Stay tuned for Book 4, because it'll be an even better one!