‘The runt is bound to have regained even more energy than me so I must finish this quickly.’ The Elemental Lord thought. ‘I’ll put every iota of energy I’ve left into- What the fuck is that?’
When Argantyr emerged from his makeshift fortress, he discovered that it was actually his prison. Between Twilight Storm and the barrier, Argantyr had blinded himself and failed to notice anything until it was too late.
The Engine had already turned emerald and its six wings burned like small suns.
The Elemental Lord threw his Tower Spirit Spells, Collapsed Sun and Shattered Land.
The former was the Spirit equivalent of a tier five Gravity spell that would lock the enemy in place and distort space to prevent them from escaping with dimensional magic.
The only difference with a Gravity spell was that Collapsed Sun could be cast by a non-dimensional mage thanks to Spirit Magic’s ability to combine all elements without the need for keen dimensional awareness.
The latter was a destructive hepta-elemental spell capable of disrupting the elemental balance of its target, turning their own mana core against them. Combined with Collapsed Sun, it was supposed to be an anti-Guardian spell.
Based on the knowledge of the time of Argantyr’s creation, of course.
Extinction, instead, was a spell derived from a true anti-Guardian spell, Silverwing’s Annihilation. After putting into practice Yurial’s theories, Lith and Solus had combined the final result with their respective Blade Spells, Ruin and Menadion’s Wrath.
They didn’t need a powerful swing or to cut through the air to release Extinction. It was just a slight flick of the wrists, as if they were performing a quick lunge.
The tip of the blade emitted a white spark that quickly grew in size until it engulfed Argantyr from head to toe. His two Spirit Spells clashed against Extinction for a moment before being overpowered into oblivion.
The roaring wave of white energy ravaged everything in its wake, ripping through the Elemental Lord like wet paper. His stone body collapsed first, the enchantments that gave it form burned out in the attempt to keep Argantyr together.
The Chronicler of the World Tree tasked to follow the lost city around stared at the events in show and awe. From the other side of the ocean, the Yggdrasill rejoiced. He could almost feel and taste the Engine’s power through the body of their servant.
‘That tower must belong to me. With it and my knowledge, only a Guardian in their turf will be able to stop me.’ The World Tree thought yet the image of Tezka kept flashing in a corner of his mind.
Meanwhile, the Elemental Lord shrunk his form to become denser and resist the onslaught but to no avail. The defensive layers were peeled out with embarrassing ease until only his life vessel was left.
The nucleus of the lost city was a spherical white crystal mass the size of a car. It was encased in a Davross cube whose entire surface was engraved with runes of power.
‘Son of a bastard!’ Argantyr cursed as Extinction’s output decreased in order to continue the attack without the risk of damaging his pseudo cores.
The Davross of the containment cube cracked and self-repaired at a pace controlled by the Engine. With each cycle, the metal’s durability decreased and the Tower Blade Spell’s intensity decreased.
Extinction peeled the protective layers surrounding the pseudo cores away one at a time like an onion. When the first crack on the white crystal appeared, Argantyr’s enchantments sacrificed his host to gain a temporary boost in power that Lith and Solus instantly matched.
‘He has lost his mana core. The host must be gone.’ Solus shared with Lith the latest readings of the Eyes. ‘Also, the Davross is barely stronger than Orichalcum now.’
‘Time for the final push, then.’ Lith focused Extinction like a scalpel, attacking solely non-vital areas of the crystal and opening several shallow but widespread fissures on its surface.
<"Stop it! What did I do to push you to the point of sacrificing your life to take mine?"> Argantyr said in desperation, feeling his structural integrity nearing the breaking point.
<"As if!"> The dwarf lost city sneered as his attack faded away.
World energy flooded the fractured crystal and the Davross encasing it, repairing the damage at a speed visible to the naked eye. To do it, however, the Elemental Lord had to consume what was left of his energy reserves and deplete everything he drew in.
The moment Argantyr’s core was stabilized and at its weakest, the Prime Engine sealed it inside a series of concentric Sealed Spaces. Cut off from his source of nourishment and the Divine Right array, Argantyr’s strength plummeted to rock bottom.
<"What is this? What have you done to me?"> Without the link with its ignorant master, the magical formation crumbled.
The Elemental Lord’s energy signature disappeared from the infected mana geysers which slowly purged the tainted essence he had left.
“Order and Chaos, little brother. I’m glad we never tried that thing on me.” Sinmara said while landing near Lith along with Surtr and Rethia. “I honestly doubt I would have survived. At least without my equipment.”
“That was amazing!” Rethia hugged the Engine. “You guys have defeated a lost city all by yourself. Sure, it was weak, we had softened it for you, and it was a trap, but it’s still an impressive feat.”
“When you put it like that, it doesn’t.” Solus sighed and took off the Eyes to give relief to her throbbing brain.
“Anyways, is it me or does the Prime Engine hold the secret to human evolution?” Surtr pointed at the fading emerald of the body and the waning flames of the wings. “Why didn’t you share anything with us, Ripha? We could have helped you.”
“I think it’s my fault.” Solus lowered her gaze and in turn the Engine’s in embarrassment. “Probably it was all part of my legacy, like the Fury. Mom was waiting for something or maybe she was still missing a few details before passing it on me.
“She mustn’t have told you anything to not spread what was supposed to be the bloodline legacy of the house of Menadion.”
“Sadly, it makes sense.” Sinmara nodded. “If the entire human race evolved, Elphyn would have gained no advantage from Ripha’s research. She would have just been one among many.”
“On top of that, I bet that Ripha never found a complete solution.” Surtr pointed out. “Otherwise she would have tried it out on herself first for safety, then shared it with Elphyn, and lastly applied it to the Prime Engine.”
The stone colossus was back to being of grey stone, looking no different from a giant golem.
“All this babble can wait.” Rethia snapped her fingers in everyone’s face to get their attention. “First things first. What are we going to do with that?”
“Call the Councils and have them seal Argantyr here.” Lith waved at the mana geyser. “It will help the colonization parties, relieve the burden on Jiera’s survivors, and improve the relationship between the two continents.
“After all, three heroes from Garlen have just beaten an ancient Jieran horror out of the goodness of their hearts.”
“Do you want us to take full credit for this?” Rethia asked.
“We sure don’t want to explain the Engine.” Lith shrugged.
