Reinventing Magic: An Inventor's Tale
Chapter 111: The Breaking Point

Chapter 111: The Breaking Point

The battlefield became a storm of steel and magic as Pietro surged forward, Celestial Edge blazing with celestial fire. He cut through the chaos like a silver comet, his blade carving through royal soldiers as he fought his way toward Count Edgar’s embattled forces.

To his side, Victor staggered, each breath a knife twisting between his ribs. The pain was all too familiar—it dragged him back to that crushing defeat against Count Gregor, when he had been nothing but a broken man lying in the dirt.

But he was stronger now.

The Crystal Mines had forged him anew—his fourth mana core pulsed within him, a well of power he had never before possessed. Yet against a monster like Torvin, it still hadn’t been enough.

His grip tightened around Dawnbreaker and Nightsbane, their voidsteel edges humming faintly.

A cool glow enveloped him.

Alice stood beside him, her hands outstretched, the Spirit Crystal in her chest radiating healing energy. The pain in his ribs dulled, then vanished entirely as bones knitted back together.

"Thank you," Victor muttered, his voice rough. He couldn’t meet her gaze. Shame coiled in his gut—weakness was a luxury he couldn’t afford. Not here. Not now.

Alice studied him for a silent moment before speaking, her voice as steady as stone.

"You are not weak."

Just three words. Yet they struck Victor like a hammer to an anvil. His jaw clenched, but something in his chest loosened. The doubt didn’t vanish—but it quieted.

He exhaled sharply and adjusted his grip on his swords.

"Then let’s move."

---

Torvin’s breath came heavy, his muscles burning as he barely parried another of Astra’s blinding strikes. The guardian was relentless—every movement precise, every attack calculated to exploit the slightest opening.

Their blades met again in a shower of sparks.

CLANG—!

The impact sent tremors through Torvin’s arms. He snarled, twisting Ragnarok’s Maw in a vicious counter, but Astra was already gone—teleporting behind him in a flicker of silver light.

Torvin barely dodged. The tip of Astra’s sword grazed his side, slicing through armor like parchment. Blood welled from the wound, but he ignored it, pivoting into a brutal downward slash.

"Void Rend!"

The air itself ripped apart—but Astra’s barrier flared to life, golden hexagons intercepting the annihilation. The shield cracked but held.

Torvin didn’t let up. He lunged, his blade a crimson blur—

—only for Astra to phase through the strike, his form momentarily intangible as he countered with a devastating palm strike to Torvin’s chest.

BOOM.

The force sent Torvin skidding back, his boots carving trenches in the earth. His lungs burned. His mana reserves were draining too fast.

But he grinned.

"You’re good," he admitted, hefting Ragnarok’s Maw. "But let’s see how you handle this."

He slammed his sword into the ground.

"Seismic Rupture—MAXIMUM OUTPUT!"

The earth exploded. Fissures split the battlefield, jagged obsidian spikes erupting in a deadly radius. The shockwave flattened everything within fifty meters—but Astra didn’t flinch.

His Golem Mode shifted, his body reforging in real-time as he blinked through the destruction, reappearing directly above Torvin—

—his sword descending like a guillotine.

Torvin barely raised his blade in time.

CLANG—!

The impact drove him to one knee. His arms trembled. For the first time in decades, he felt the weight of his own exhaustion.

Astra didn’t hesitate. His free hand snapped forward, a point-blank Energy Projection spell already charging—

Torvin’s eyes widened.

Then—

BOOOOOOM!

A blast of raw, crimson energy slammed into Astra from above, obliterating the ground where he stood in a cataclysmic explosion.

Dust and debris billowed outward.

Torvin barely managed to roll away, his instincts screaming at him to move. He looked up—

The sky had darkened. The moon was gone, swallowed by an unnatural void.

And something was watching from above.

Astra reappeared twenty paces back, unharmed but analyzing the new threat. His Spirit Crystal pulsed rapidly, scanning the unknown mana signature.

No match found.

Torvin, still kneeling, wiped blood from his lips and laughed hoarsely.

"Well... shit."

---

Lucius’s fingers clenched around his tactical scroll as he watched the battle unfold.

His forces were struggling. Every time his knights engaged Bryndis’ soldiers, their weapons shattered against enchanted armor. Every spell his mages unleashed was met with counterspells or barriers.

"Focus fire on their commanders!" he barked to a captain. "Break their chain of command!"

But even as the order left his lips, he saw Count Edgar’s forces cutting through his flank, their cohesion unshaken.

A royal knight rushed to his side, panting. "Sir! Their armor—our attacks aren’t—"

"I see that!" Lucius snapped. His mind raced. "Mages! Switch to Mana Disruption spells! Target their formations!"

The knight nodded and sprinted off.

Lucius’ gaze flicked back to Torvin’s duel—and the ominous darkness above.

Something was coming.

And he wasn’t sure if it was on their side.

The battlefield fell eerily silent for a breath.

Then—

A deep, resonant hum filled the air, vibrating through the earth itself. The clouds above swirled, forming a vortex of unnatural darkness.

Astra’s head tilted slightly, his Spirit Crystal still scanning.

Unknown entity detected.

Threat level: Undefined.

Victor, Pietro, and Alice tensed, their weapons raised.

Torvin, still on one knee, grinned through bloodied teeth.

"Well... this just got interesting."

---

Astra’s Spirit Crystal pulsed rapidly, its analytical matrices processing the unknown mana signature with cold efficiency. The energy signature was unfamiliar—yet something about it resonated in his databases like a half-remembered nightmare.

Conclusion: The attacker wielded an Aether Core.

Without hesitation, Astra’s right arm reconfigured—nanites swirling as his limb transformed into a sleek, silver cannon reminiscent of Kael’s Proton Cannon. The barrel hummed with condensed energy, a sphere of raw mana compressing at its core.

He fired.

A beam of pure destruction lanced toward the hovering figure—only to shatter against an invisible barrier, scattering harmlessly into the night.

The figure grinned.

The unknown man floated above the battlefield, his gaze sweeping across the carnage below like a predator surveying prey.

Then—

A blur of motion. A sudden attack from behind.

He barely turned in time as a Mana Blade sliced through the space where his neck had been. The counterstrike came instantly—a backhanded blow infused with raw power that sent the attacker hurtling downward.

The force of the impact cratered the earth, sending shockwaves through the battlefield.

From the smoke and debris, Kael emerged, his Arc Nexus gauntlet crackling with energy. His normally composed face was twisted with something rarely seen—pure, unfiltered rage.

"Gregor, you fucking bastard!"

The words tore from Kael’s throat like a war cry, raw and guttural.

Gregor’s smirk widened. "We finally meet again."

Memories flooded Kael’s mind—Keira’s face, her laughter, the way Gregor had taken her from him. His hands trembled, not from fear, but from the sheer volcanic fury threatening to consume him.

---

Torvin staggered to his feet, watching the confrontation with narrowed eyes. His body ached, his mana reserves nearly depleted from the battle with Astra.

"Well, this is a fucking mess," he muttered, wiping blood from his lips.

Gregor hovered just out of reach, something flaring beneath his chest armor as he activated Titan’s Leap. His muscles bulged unnaturally, veins throbbing with unstable energy.

"Did you miss me, Kael?" he taunted. "Or are you still haunted by her?"

Kael’s vision turned red.

"NEXUS," he hissed. "Full combat protocol."

The Arc Nexus responded instantly, nanites surging across his body as his gauntlet expanded into full-armored plating. Runic circuits ignited along its surface, layering defensive enchantments.

Gregor laughed. "Still hiding behind your toys?"

Kael didn’t answer. He moved.

Astra mirrored him—both striking in perfect synchronization.

Gregor’s grin never wavered.

"Let’s see how you handle this."

A crystal embedded in his chest pulsed—its energy surging outward in a violent tremor. And then, the sky split apart, torn asunder by an unseen force.

A storm of crimson energy erupted from Gregor’s chest, spiraling outward in a catastrophic vortex. The sheer force of it sent shockwaves rippling across the battlefield, knocking soldiers off their feet.

NEXUS’s analytical systems blared warnings.

WARNING: AETHER CORE INSTABILITY DETECTED.

THREAT LEVEL: CATASTROPHIC.

Kael’s eyes widened.

’WHAT?!’