Gunmage
Chapter 80: The collapse

Chapter 80: Chapter 80: The collapse

"What the hell is going on?"

Lovainne could only ask in horror as he stared at the distant battlefield.

He wasn’t the only one. Every soldier was out of their depth. The siege on the major general of Ophris and his entrenched forces had been halted.

Even the resistance fighters, once rampant in the havoc they wreaked, had grown silent.

The first shockwave had nearly deafened them. Gazing into the distance, they saw two tiny figures maneuvering through the air like flies.

Then came the terror. The entire city of Drakensmar trembled when the Eye gazed upon the world. None had seen it, and those who had were no longer among the living.

The atmosphere tinged red as unholy forces bled into existence. Nobody knew what was happening, but the situation still felt within grasp—until the tornado of fire appeared.

Weapons clattered to the ground as soldiers stood dumbstruck, their mouths agape, their bodies trembling. Fear swallowed the entire city whole.

A battle was raging, an earth-shattering clash no sane person dared to approach.

But it didn’t matter. The pillar of fire detonated, leveling entire blocks. Energy rippled outward, weakening as it spread, yet still potent enough to crush buildings. The tallest structures collapsed like sandcastles.

Countless lives were lost in the aftermath. Lighter battleships Lovainne had brought with him were overturned like children’s toys.

Silence followed. A moment of eerie calm.

Then, the sky itself seemed to split open. A pillar of scorching light descended from the heavens, rolling outward in obliterating waves of fire.

The radius spanned dozens of kilometers. The ground cracked and sank in places, exposing layers long buried beneath the city.

Ancient elven ruins, forgotten by time, lay exposed, awakened only to be consumed by fire.

When the flames finally ceased, the land had transformed. It resembled a corroded anthill, an unstable landscape riddled with holes and crumbling layers.

Blackened patches of earth and remnants of the second layer stood defiant, teetering on the edge of collapse.

the entire region was now a macabre piece of 3 dimensional art where a person too deep underground ran the risk of getting buried under bricks, sand and blackened stone.

And it was here, amidst the ruin, that Lugh groaned in pain.

Lyra staggered beside him, struggling to remain on her feet.

"Where... are we?"

"Lugh... stay sharp"

She muttered with hoarse, tired breaths.

Before them stood the wretched figure of Emrys, the elf.

While the others had been protected from the summoned flames, Emrys had not been as fortunate.

His burns were grotesque, his skin peeled away in layers, leaving him barely recognizable. His limbs were twisted and his body broken—but against all odds, he was still alive.

’How?!’

Lugh screamed internally, forcing himself upright. His palm landed on something sharp. Pain flared as blood seeped from the fresh wound. A shard of glass?

Only then did he take in his surroundings.

There were bodies.

Scorched human corpses lay strewn about in heaps. His heart plummeted. Were they resistance fighters?

No. Upon closer inspection, he realized they had been dead far longer than the battle itself. Their bodies emitted no lingering soul energy.

Then what were they?

His gaze trailed to large, shattered glass containers. Burned torture tables. People, still alive, naked and barely breathing. Tubes snaked beneath their skin, their eyes hollow, pleading for release.

Lugh’s stomach twisted. He retched as recognition set in.

Even in its ruined state, he knew this place.

It was a lab. A place where human experiments had been carried out.

He was right. It was underground this whole time. Just far, far deeper than he had imagined.

Emrys seemed to have lost everything. His research, his grace, his pride. And with them, his mind. He lunged, no longer the master of refined techniques, but a feral beast driven by madness.

Lugh’s eyes darted across the rubble. There were no firearms. The inferno had consumed them all.

Lyra pushed him behind her, raising her blade despite her wavering stance.

"Lyra, run!"

Lugh tried to stand, but his legs gave way. He collapsed back onto the debris.

The heavily injured Emrys struck first. His blow landed in her gut, not strong, but enough to unbalance her. With an unnatural quickness, he wrenched her weapon from her grip.

And before Lugh could react—

The blade plunged through her chest.

Time stopped.

The world went silent.

The sword withdrew, and her body fell to the ground.

Unmoving.

"Lyra?"

Lugh didn’t even have the energy to shout.

He crawled to her side, lifting her upper body with trembling hands.

"Lyra, wake up."

No response.

"Please... wake up."

Still nothing.

He wasn’t screaming. He wasn’t wailing. His mind simply refused to accept it.

His gaze fell to the wound. The enchantment on the blade would take effect. Soon, her body would be nothing but ash.

A voice brought him out of his trance.

"A handy toy"

Emrys rasped, scrutinising the enchanted blade which remained the same.

The man who had killed Lyra stood there, still breathing. Still existing.

"As much as I’d love to kill you now, I don’t have much time left. You don’t seem capable of magic, which is good. I’ll be back to finish your pathetic life once I’m healed."

And just like that, he turned to leave.

Leave it

Xhi’s voice echoed in Lugh’s mind, distant and dim.

Let him go. Survival should be your top priority

Survive?

For what?

For whom?

Cold logic told him to let Emrys go. To regroup. To get stronger. To plan his revenge.

His body did the opposite.

"Where the hell do you think you’re going, you retarded piece of sh*t!"

Lugh! What are you doing?!

Xhi’s voice snapped in his head.

Emrys halted, his rage ignited.

Lugh reached into his pocket, pulling out a tarnished silver ring. He slid it onto his finger, expecting something—anything—to happen. But there was nothing.

Emrys’s eyes widened in recognition, then in greed. He laughed hysterically.

"Oh, what good fortune!"

Lugh’s fingers tightened. He was going to kill him. No matter the cost.

He glanced at the bodies. The unstable structures. The crumbling passages.

He took a deep breath.

"^@#@^%*"

Lugh, I’m warning you!

Shadows coiled at his feet, darker than before, deeper and more sinister. They circled him like hungry sharks. Lugh felt an imminent sense of danger.

He raised his voice

"^@#@^&*!!!"

"I command you!"

LUGH! NO!

"...Collapse."