Chapter 74: Wrath of the sky (Third Part)

The deafening magic that doomed the entire city under a flash of white light only lasted for an instant but the threatening noise of the shockwave that followed was much longer.

Like a wrathful god, it swept the entire town for a long time. Even the farmland district, which was quite a distance away from the point of impact, wasn’t spared.

No building or normal human being could hope to survive something like that.

With only my own earth magic as support and protection, I used my entire strength to tightly grasp the meager chance of survival offered by my magic.

Stubbornly.

Desperately.

I continued to use my mana to regenerate the cocoon of earth wrapping me and Paul in its tight but fragile embrace.

The blast was strong enough to send us flying the moment I relaxed while the numerous rocks that continuously fell on us in a murderous rain threatened to destroy our protection and crush us to death at the same time.

With each second longer than the previous, I continued to release my mana without restraint.

With my mind blurred by the violent effort and the monstrous impacts, I screamed to release my mana faster than ever before, but the deafening noise of the shockwave sweeping the entire town above us covered it up.

With each moment more painful than the previous, I continued this desperate attempt to survive.

I felt that my strength was going to run out and that my magic would collapse at the same time as any hope of survival we had.

This thought circled continuously in my head like a curse when I noticed that my scream of mixed effort and pain wasn’t covered by the noise of the shockwave anymore.

It was gone as suddenly as it appeared just like the murderous rain of rubbles.

I didn’t waste any time when I noticed this.

Without this continuous threat, I was able to use my earth magic differently than just for protection.

It took me long minutes to push away the various stones and debris of the nearby houses burying us. In the desperate search of fresh air, I ignored the pain assailing my entire body and used my earth magic to finally open a path.

The massive stones that nearly crushed us to death were pushed away which finally allowed me to get up and push myself away from Paul.

After climbing the pile of rubble, I took a few faltering steps before collapsing on my knees just a couple of feet away from the hole from where I just emerged.

I stayed for a long time on my knees, with my gaze fixed on the clouded sky above our heads while desperately trying to catch my breath and dissipate my blurry vision caused by my overuse of mana.

The sharp pain of my head hadn’t lessened, but my blurry vision had regained part of its clarity when I turned my gaze away from the clouds that nearly robbed me of my life .

Just as if a bucket of cold water was thrown to my face, the relief I was feeling ever since extracting myself from the ruins of the nearby farms around us immediately dissipated.

Even while buried under a mountain of rocks, I didn’t realize the true nature of the destruction that befell us until I saw it with my own eyes.

From my high vantage point, I had no choice but to contemplate what was left of this part of the town. This scene welcoming my blurry sight will undoubtedly be engraved in my memory forever.

What was once a wide avenue that led to the central place of the town was completely ravaged, disfigured and made completely impassable by the many cracks, holes and rocks on the way.

The peaceful farmland district now looked more like a battlefield with unkempt boundaries and the rest of the town was probably no better. The few remaining standing buildings around us were devoid of any roof or window. Much of their structures were destroyed, leaving no doubt as to how long they would remain standing.

However, what was even more shocking to me than this scene of destruction was the eerie silence that replaced the sound of children playing and farmers working.

The only noise breaking this deafening and slightly overwhelming silence was made by Paul who was still trying to awkwardly extract himself from the cocoon of earth anchored in the ground that I hurriedly created to survive the explosion.

After what seemed like an eternity, I turned my gaze away and simply continued to stabilize my current state as if not looking directly at it made it less real.

Paul finally joined me after a few more efforts.

He wasn’t as exhausted as me but he was more confused.

The explosion and my tackle from behind were too sudden for him to understand what had happened.

It’s only when his gaze landed on the same scene of devastation surrounding us that he understood the kind of calamity we just escaped from. This scene that shook my heart was obviously even worse for Paul who lived in this peaceful town for several years.

“You saved my life...”

His words, choked with suppressed emotions of mixed fear and sadness, stayed unanswered.

It was true that without my quick reaction, Paul and I would have been both blown away by the shockwave or simply crushed to death. However, the horror surrounding us made it impossible for any kind of joy to reach my heart despite his words filled with gratitude.

Moreover, even though we survived, I was more than aware of how close we came to death.

Fortunately, even if the dark sky above the city stayed the same, the menacing rumble continuously echoing beyond the clouds was completely gone.

I didn’t know if that meant we were safe, but I definitely didn’t want to wait here to find out.

That’s why, I forcefully stood up despite my shaking legs and wiped my forehead with the back of my bloodied hand. The sweat and dust I intended to wipe away were simply replaced by a large trace of blood but I didn’t have the time nor the strength to care about that .

“We can’t stay here, let’s go!”

The rumble in the sky, testimony of the eminent threat above us, was gone but this didn’t mean that we were safe. I could only feel safe after leaving this doomed town far behind.

That’s why I didn’t allow Paul to collapse in front of this terrible spectacle and urged him to go.

“You’re bleeding!” Interrupted Paul after noticing the blood flowing along my right arm.

My hand and my right shoulder were covered with blood but my legs were fine. Therefore, I ignored the pain of my right arm and resolutely walked toward the wall.

“I will survive, don’t worry. We don’t have the time to worry about that so if you can walk, follow me!”

After my authoritative words, Paul didn’t argue anymore.

It was obviously difficult for him to trust and obey the words of a child, but he surely realized who was the most powerless one between the both of us. That’s probably why he simply followed behind me in silence while we resumed our walk toward the sturdy wall still standing despite the violence of the explosion.

We survived and our goal to cross over this wall to rejoin Alianelle and Jazor didn’t change.

The only difference was the destroyed landscape around us and the mountains of various kinds of rubbles we had to cross to reach it.

The wall was within sight but crossing over these rubbles forced us to walk slower. If I was on my own, crossing such obstacles with my wind magic would be easy. However, Paul had no other choice but to carefully walk to avoid any injury.

I needed to use my wind magic to help him jump over the wall. I never tried something like that with someone several times heavier than me. That’s why I preserved my strength and didn’t try to help him to speed up our process.

This tiresome walk would have been a formality if we just had to be careful with our steps.

However, even these rubbles piled together in many small mountains weren’t able to completely hide the true horror of what happened.

A few minutes were all it took to notice the numerous bodies scattered around us. Most of them were almost completely buried and were difficult to notice. Maybe that’s why we were able to walk without sparing more than a glance at those pitiful souls.

Unfortunately, in addition to these buried bodies, other bloody corpses with missing parts lying a little further away from them were also visible.

Even for me, this sight was enough to make me sick. I swallowed hard and ignored the smell of fresh blood permeating the air around us, but Paul didn’t have the same ability and started to throw up. His pale face and tearful eyes while he was on his knees was in stark contrast to his robust physique.

I let him a few seconds to pull himself together, and before I had to remind him of our current situation, he forcefully wiped his mouth and stood up.

His resilience while confronted with this kind of scene was surprising but most welcomed. I thought he would continue with this kind of attitude but his steps abruptly stopped a few minutes later.

“No…”

Before I could open my mouth, Paul fell on his knees while large drops of tears fell along his dirtied cheeks.

It took me a few seconds to notice why he suddenly started to cry.

A man was lying face first while tightly clutching something against his chest.

I had to come closer to understand and, despite the state of his body, I finally recognized him.

This was Paul’s friend we saw on our way toward the wall. Even in death, his arms stubbornly held a young boy in his embrace. However, the broken neck of the child didn’t leave any doubt about his death.

His other son was nowhere to be seen, but the fate of a defenseless small child confronted with such a calamity was more than obvious.

While Paul finally gave up his resistance and let out loud sobs in front of these bodies, I couldn’t help but look into the boy’s dead eyes. The fear I saw in them when I tried to help earlier was gone.

Nothing but emptiness remained.

Maybe I would have prefered to see accusations in these dead eyes.

Accusation for failing to save him.

Accusation for choosing Paul over them.

However, the guilt I felt in my heart while looking at these eyes didn’t last long.

I spent years immersed in guilt after my brother’s death so I knew probably more than anybody else how useless guilt was.

Nothing good was born out of guilt.

This boy was dead but Paul, Alianelle and Jazor were still alive.

If I didn’t harden my heart, I was sure that it wouldn’t remain this way.

That’s why I chased this useless guilt over this poor boy’s fate to a colder but much more useful determination.

Determination to survive and to fulfil what I promised.

“Let’s go Paul.”

However, this time Paul didn’t answer and simply continued to cry on his knees.

“Paul!” I called out louder.

Without any answer this time either, I forcefully grabbed his shoulder to force him to stand up.

“Leave me alone!”

His scream and his sudden movement to push me away surprised me and finally let the condoleance I felt for him in this terrible situation disappear replaced by annoyance and anger.

“Stop acting like this. They are dead already so stand up!”

“How can you say things like that? Don't you feel anything when you see this?"

“I do.” I simply answered with the same forced coldness in my voice.

“Then, why are you acting like this? You’re just a child so how can you keep your calm in this situation? Are you even Human?”

Paul’s tears continued to flow as words of accusation kept leaving his mouth. However, I maintained the same coldness on my face and didn’t answer his questions this time. He didn’t really want any answer anyway. He just wanted an outlet to his sadness and frustration over the death of these innocent people.

I knew that his words probably went beyond his thoughts, but I didn’t interrupt or condemn him. I simply stayed a few steps away while his sadness slowly morphed into anger toward me and my reaction.

This kind of anger was born from the horror and absurdness of this situation.

However, I didn’t try to soothe it.

Anger even misplaced was much more useful than guilt.

“Why didn’t you save them? Say something!”

Finally, overcome by his anger and sadness, Paul stood up and grabbed me by my collar. I didn’t resist and allowed his strong arm to raise my feet above the ground. Even if he was several times stronger than me physically, Paul didn’t inspire the slightest amount of fear even while he was overcome by his emotions.

I certainly felt sad for him and his loss even if I refused to show it. I also knew that crying and getting angry was the most natural reaction in this situation.

However, now wasn’t the time for tears but the time to act.

It wasn’t time for comforting words but for the hard truth.

“Because I had to save you.”

These cold words stating the simple truth finally made Paul unable to open his mouth anymore. The strength of his arm lessened and allowed my feet to slowly return to the ground.

“Let’s go.”

We couldn’t let our emotions get the better of ourselves. That’s why, I forcibly freed myself from his grip and started to walk away.

However, Paul didn’t follow me.

“I can’t…” The anger agitating him a second ago was gone, replaced by the same weakness as before.

The kind that I desperately tried to erase.

I was grateful for his help. If not, I wouldn’t have risked my life to save him and Alianelle. However, even my desire to help was slowly replaced by my rising anger when I saw this kind of weakness get the better of him.

I suddenly turned around, and with a propulsion from my wind magic, I crossed the distance separating us in the blink of an eye.

*Bang*

My punch covered with earth violently collided with Paul’s face and made him fall on his back. I controlled my strength but despite this, Paul wasn’t able to immediately stand up.

I had trouble controlling my anger and frustration while I was looking at him.

He was unable to bear the cruel reality of our situation and chose to let his emotions submerge him.

Paul was a good man.

However, he was weak.

Just like I was.

“Stand up! If you want to cry then do it after you reunite with Alianelle!”

Paul simply gasped after my words and stayed silent.

“How can you be this strong?” He finally asked with eyes betraying how lost and powerless he truly was.

“I’m not strong.”

“...”

“It’s you who is weak.”

“I…”

“You’re weak but I’m not talking about your inability to use magic.”

My words were certainly cruel, but the anger I had toward Paul didn’t simply originate from this moment.

“Don’t think that I forgot what you did when Alianelle was taken away!”

Paul couldn’t use magic but Alianelle was just as defenseless as him. However, when she desperately needed someone to help her, Paul also let his emotions and fears stop his movements just like what he was doing right now.

He gave up on her without fighting.

That’s why I was truly angry with him.

“We don’t have the time for that, Paul. Now choose! You can make the same mistake and give up now or you can stand up to meet Alianelle and apologize to her.”

Silence was his only answer once more but shame definitely made its way on his face. The kind that it was difficult to hide to others and even more so to oneself.

A single glance at his face let me know that he only needed one final push.

“You have another chance now. Second chances are rarer than you may think so take it!” I forcefully said without hiding the bitterness in my voice.

Paul probably also realized the heavy regrets hidden behind these words but he didn’t answer. He simply wiped his tears in a rushed movement and stood up while taking my outstretched hand.

I suppressed the sigh of relief as I watched him walk as fast as he could despite the numerous obstacles to make up for the time we lost.

My wind magic was useful to avoid difficult parts on our way. Without this ability, Paul fell and scratched his legs many times but he ignored it and simply continued to walk as fast as he could.

Our walk continued for long minutes without another word exchanged between us.

However, it wasn’t a heavy silence but one filled with his newfound determination.

Despite the dark clouds above our heads, I finally felt that we were going to make it alive when a not so distant noise suddenly appeared out of the blue as if to prove how wrong my thoughts were.

The rumble in the sky was back.

Both Paul and I stopped at the same time to turn around and look at the dense clouds with equally pale faces.

This time, I didn’t need to say anything.

Paul understood just as I did what was happening so he started to run as fast as he could.

I also ran behind Paul while looking at the densest clouds visibly moving closer toward us.

“No…”

Paul didn’t interrupt his mad run, but my sudden mumble betraying my emotions didn’t go unnoticed. With a swift movement, he turned his head to look above his shoulder.

His face turned even paler than before when he finally noticed the same thing as I did.

There was no doubt that the clouds were coming closer to us as if this part of the town wasn’t destroyed enough and deserved another devastating attack. Even with the protection of my earth magic, the previous distant explosion nearly buried us alive. Therefore, I had no doubt about our ending if the explosion happened closer to us.

None of my magic would be strong enough to protect us.

I didn’t have the leisure to wonder why the attack from the sky suddenly resumed neither why it was targeting this part of the town. I stayed behind Paul and watched him try as hard as he could to accelerate.

However, this kind of devastated ground didn’t allow his efforts to be rewarded. He continuously stumbled, scorched his legs and even fell a couple of times before hurriedly standing up.

“Don’t wait for me, Sillath.”

Despite his repeated missteps among the rubbles I continued to stay behind him. It finally became obvious that I could go much faster than him especially in this situation.

However, I still denied his selfless request.

“Don’t say that and run!”

The wall was never as close as this, but it also appeared beyond our reach no matter how hard we tried.

“Don’t die here for me!”

Paul clearly understood that the clouds will definitely reach us before we could reach the wall safely if we continued to run at this speed.

The rumble in the sky continued to grow stronger as hesitation finally made its way into my heart. I could definitely jump over the wall on my own.

I could save myself.

All I had to do was to give up on Paul.

With a violent stomp of my feet, I released my wind magic at its maximum output.

However, I didn’t get past him.

Instead, I caught one of his arms with my own and used my entire strength to lift him with my magic despite the violent pain immediately coursing through my exhausted body.

“Huh?”

Paul didn’t immediately react to my sudden movement. Maybe he also didn’t understand why I refused his pleading to go on my own.

I could say that I couldn’t give up on him now, not after everything I went through to save him.

However, that would be a lie.

I did already much more than anybody could expect from me even to repay a favor.

In this instant when my mana and physical strength were almost depleted, it was difficult for me to have clear thoughts. My reasons for so stubbornly trying to rescue him and Alianelle from the twisted hands of their fates tangled themselves in my head.

Maybe I did it because I didn’t want to ignore another tragedy, or simply because I didn’t want to bear the guilt of abandoning them.

Maybe my only reason for putting my life on the line to reunite them was to maintain the hope that it was also possible for me to reunite with my own family.

Even while I was desperately dragging Paul with my wind magic, I couldn’t be sure of the answer.

However, there was one thing I was sure about.

I already made my choice when I went to save Alianelle.

I won’t lie to myself and I certainly won’t run away anymore.

This new resolve burning in my heart fueled my determination and helped me surpass my limits.

No matter the reason, I had to reunite them.

Whatever it takes.

“Sillath! Don’t!”

I didn’t answer Paul’s last plea and simply tightened my grip on his muscular arm with my own despite the pain and the large amount of blood flowing along my right arm.

I used too much mana before and what I was attempting was almost beyond my current abilities. That’s why I didn’t answer him and simply continued to concentrate as hard as I could to accelerate our clumsy flight.

We weren’t flying very high, just around half a feet above the ground, but we didn’t touch the ground ever since we left it. With numerous impulses of my feet on the air itself, I propulsed us toward the wall faster than ever before while avoiding the mountains of rubble blocking our way.

Our altitude continued to rise while Paul’s urgent screams completely disappeared.

It took a few minutes for the wall to be almost within our reach, but despite my efforts, the dark clouds reached the farmland district before we could cross over it.

The rumble in the sky once more reached its climax while a familiar flash of white light reflected on Paul’s face. A single glance above my shoulder was enough to notice the same strange white circle as before taking form on the surface of the densest dark clouds.

“Sillath!”

Paul’s scream wasn’t necessary to remind me of what was going to happen but it was too late to cross over the wall.

I gave up on the control of our flight and simply used a final violent burst of mana to send us flying more than a dozen feet forward to reach the top of the wall.

*Bam*

Without any control, the shock when we finally landed was even more violent than I expected.

Fortunately for me, Paul was there to cushion the impact.

*Boom*

I didn’t see the completion of the white circle of magic behind us, but the violent explosion that threatened to rupture my eardrums didn’t let any doubt about what was happening.

Even on top of the wall, we weren’t completely safe from the blast about to come and I didn’t have enough mana to protect us with the same earth magic as before.

Without any protection, the kind of blast that was heading our way was without a doubt strong enough to threaten our lives especially for me and my frail body.

That’s probably why Paul put his heavy body above mine. The weight and warmth above me only served to reignite the unwillingness in my heart.

However, I couldn’t do anything anymore.

Paul also understood this.

We didn’t have the time to exchange any words, he simply tightened his protective embrace as if he was telling me that it was his turn to protect me.

I didn’t have enough strength left to deny this wish or offer a better solution.

I could only wait for the blast of the violent explosion to reach us.

However, even after several unending seconds, Paul’s body stayed above mine. The burst of hot wind we felt was nothing compared to what we had already experienced.

Even if our high ground protected us from a part of the blast and the flying rubbles, the impact was way too weak compared to the violence of the noise we just heard especially considering the overwhelming strength of the explosion we previously experienced despite being much further away.

With my mind filled with questions, I slowly raised my head and looked toward the sky.

The same dark clouds painted with the same majestic and overwhelming glowing white circle welcomed my sight. But something else attracted my attention and robbed me of my voice.

A rainbow had collided with the white circle.

The farmland district under the white circle, symbol of the Lost magic used, was spared from a new explosion. It was as if the rainbow, covering this part of the city, had interfered and prevented any further destruction.

This absurd thought in front of this spectacle crossed my mind in a flash, but even after staring at this scene for long seconds, I couldn’t find any better word to describe it.

The imposing white circle glowing in the sky slowly faded as if it had never existed in the first place.

However, contrary to the dark clouds seemingly also ready to completely disappear, the strange majestic rainbow seemed to condense making it impossible to clearly see its other end beyond the opposite wall of the city.

We were overwhelmed by the strange spectacle in front of our eyes until I was finally able to get out of my stupor.

A thousand questions circled in my head but none worth delaying our escape.

I pushed Paul away to stand up and lead him toward the edge of the wall. I took a deep breath and gathered my mana while suppressing the pain circling in my entire body.

I didn’t know what was happening behind us.

Maybe I will never know the truth, but it was alright as long as we could get away.

With Paul’s large arms tightly clutched with my own covered with fresh blood, I took a step forward beyond the border of the wall and allowed gravity to take hold of us. Despite my wounds and exhaustion, my remaining wind magic was strong enough to slow our fall.

However, it’s only when my feet heavily landed on the grassy ground, hiding at the same time this mysterious sight and the dangers it represented that I finally heaved a sigh of relief.

Without any last look behind, we finally left the Advanced town behind to whatever fate awaiting it.