Chapter 124: Dead Center

Darwin, dazed by the impact, grabbed the emergency release lever with shaking hands. He retched directly onto the red-hot boiler casing.

​"Noah..." he wheezed, tongue barely moving. "Noah, get out. They’ll... they’re going to cut us open."

​Noah was already at the exit. In the gloom of the troop compartment, his eyes glowed a dull crimson. As the side hatch slammed open, a thick cloud of superheated steam billowed out, masking him from the mages.

​Overseer Cassian stood on his rise, voice cracking as he screamed:

"Kill them! Burn them! Deploy the second line!"

​The first-line mages frantically began weaving spells. Sparks filled the air, forming blades of pure light.

​The first mage didn't have time to scream—a short blade drove straight under his chin, bypassing the magical armor. The second tried to raise a barrier, but the blade passed through it.

​Then, from the direction of Dornheim, came the thunder of hundreds of hooves.

​"For Dornheim!" Count Wayland’s voice cut through the roar of battle.

​The Count’s heavy cavalry, armored in blackened steel, tore into the mages' flanks. Wayland rode in the front rank.

​Elyria hovered over the field, her face twisted in a grimace of rage.

"Stupid... worthless..." she whispered.

​She swung her arms. A thick, grey fog swallowed the battlefield. In this mist, Wayland’s guards saw their enemies as bright thermal signatures. The College mages were blind, thrashing in panic against the grey walls.

​"Take that," she giggled, causing weed roots to knot around the ankles of retreating soldiers.

​Cassian saw his unit being butchered. He saw the "Boar" standing like a rock in the center of the camp. He snatched a strange artifact from his robe—a black, pulsing sphere wrapped in star-silver chains.

​He smashed it against the ground at his feet.

​The sky over Dornheim turned a bruised black-purple in an instant. A pillar of pure, concentrated gravitational energy descended from the clouds with a deafening whistle. It looked like a thin needle, but space warped and buckled around it.

​"Noah! Back!" Elyria screamed, trying to manifest a shield.

​Noah froze, looking up. He lunged to intercept Cassian. But the needle struck Dornheim itself.

​The southwest section of the city—where the old warehouses and worker housing stood—collapsed into itself. The houses crumbled. Dust rose to the sky.

​"No..." Elyria fell to her knees in mid-air.

​The shockwave hit the camp, toppling horsemen and the remaining mages alike. Cassian, drained by the spell, slumped into the mud, laughing manically.

​Half an hour later, it was over.

​The fog cleared. The College camp was littered with bodies. Wayland’s guards, covered in soot, dragged prisoners into a single pile. Overseer Cassian sat in irons, his face battered, but triumph still burned in his eyes.

​Darwin and Noah carried Iron out of the tractor's cab and laid him on a cloak on the matted grass.

​"Medic! Get Albert here, fast!" Darwin roared, shaking with terror.

​Albert ran from the city, picking his way through the rubble at the gates. The old man’s medical coat was torn; bandages spilled from his bag as he moved. He fell to his knees beside Iron. He checked the pulse, peeled back an eyelid.

​"Don't touch him, Albert," Noah said. "If you start treating what you don't understand, you’ll only make it worse."

​Count Wayland approached. He looked at Iron, then at the ruined part of the city where smoke still rose.

​"A section of Dornheim is gone," the Count said heavily. "The granary, the barracks, and a dozen homes."

​Wayland turned to Albert: "Will he live?"

​"I don't know, Your Excellency. His pulse is stable, but his core temperature is dropping. We need to get him inside. Somewhere warm."

​The Count nodded. He looked at Cassian as the guards dragged him past.

​"You wanted 'cleansing,' Overseer? The College of Mages signed its own death warrant on these lands today. I will personally deliver your report to the King."

​Cassian spat blood. "This is only the beginning, Wayland. You will all burn in the shadow this boy created."

​"Take him away," Noah snapped.

​They carried Iron into the city on a stretcher. Elyria flew behind them, her vibrant dress now dark and muted.

​Darwin walked beside them, gripping the edge of the frame.

​"Come back, Iron. You hear me? We haven't finished the fountain. We haven't built the tower... Please. Come back."