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Demoness 2 - Chapter 63 - Dropping It
🕑 Added 2024-03-13 04:11:12 +0000 UTCThe air above the city was her domain as Elania flew towards her target.
During the few hours it took Yolani to prepare, she had flown several sorties to bombard the encroaching enemy.
She’d taken the opportunity to test [Presence Concealment] in various ways until a few things became clear.
With it active and [Power] enhanced, she was almost undetectable until the last second with it was far too late and she was already upon them.
With it just passive, or actively slotted, then as long as she maintain a certain altitude they usually didn’t notice her.
Her measurement was mostly whether they were panicking or shooting crossbows or monk-bells at her. So maybe it wasn’t an exact science.
She was taking no chances now, though, and she pushed a steady trickle through the skill.
The weight of the four oversized cannonballs tugged at her harness.
Below, the Central district causeway to the Noble district came into view, a thin ribbon of stone stretching across the chasm.
Elania spotted the guards on the wall, already in retreat.
On the other side, in the Noble district, the Lightbringers were forming up.
Despite the distance, Elania could sense their anticipation, their eagerness to cross the causeway and claim the abandoned district for their own.
She glanced down at the cannonballs. They had no idea what was coming.
Elania angled her wings, adjusting her course. Once she was directly overhead and flying down the causeway toward the enemy, she pulled the release strap for the first cannon ball.
It had a large red symbol painted on it.
Fire.
Yolani had precisely calculated how much [Power] she needed to provide. Then made her practice on mana shards until she had an exact number thanks to [Identify].
Elania closed her eyes, reaching out with her senses. She could feel the mana shard within the cannonball, a tiny pinprick of light. She focused on it, pushing her power into the shard.
It was a strange sensation, like trying to fill a cup that was already full. The power evaporated as soon as it touched the shard, dissipating into the air.
But Elania could feel something building, stuck in the runes that Yolani had etched into the metal.
She pushed harder, pouring more into the cannonball. The runes glowed, the metal heating like a hot oven.
Finally, she felt the shard reach its limit. It couldn’t hold any more power, the runes shimmering with barely contained energy.
Elania reached for the strap that held the cannonball to her harness. With a sharp tug, she released it, watching as it plummeted towards the bridge below.
Elania watched the cannonball fall, her heart pounding in her chest as it grew smaller and smaller.
The cannonball struck the causeway with a dull thump.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Elania’s heart sank, a sickening feeling settling in the pit of her stomach. Had the runes failed? Had the mana shard not been strong enough?
She started to pull from her bracer, and finish the job herself.
It was critical that the causeway be destroyed, that the Lightbringers be cut off from the retreating Guard units. She couldn’t let them pass, couldn’t let them—
A blinding flash of light erupted from the point of impact, a massive fireball that consumed the causeway in an instant.
The shockwave hit Elania like a physical blow; the heat baking her skin even from this distance. She threw up a hand to shield her eyes, squinting against the glare.
It was nothing like the [Divinity] infused explosions, or even the seraph’s laser beam. Those created fire and heat, but only as a byproduct of the energy.
This was elemental fire. It was the product.
Stone flew in all directions, chunks of masonry the size of houses hurtling through the air. The water all around flash vaporized, and she shot upwards and away to avoid the super-heated steam.
Looking behind her, the causeway was gone. A full third of it in the center was missing.
The Lightbringers on the other side were in disarray, their formation shattered by the explosion. Some lay unmoving on the ground, others staggered to their feet, their armor scorched and dented by debris.
The Lightbringers would not be crossing into the Central district today. It was a pity they’d avoided the hot vapor cooking them like lobsters.
Yolani’s modifications had worked perfectly.
Elania reached for the next cannonball, her fingers brushing against the cool metal. Three more to go, three more bridges to destroy.
Lighting, Acid, and dissolution.
They weren’t traditional elements, but whatever. She wasn’t the artifice expert.
Even if she had been confused at Yolani’s explanation on how the lighting would destroy stone.
She decided to save it for last.
Acid worked as much as she thought it would, dissolving the causeway to the slums as much as it did the Lightbringers that had been crossing it.
For the Syndicate district, Dissolution was eerily silent. The orb created a black hole that left nothing behind except a powerful implosion of air and water.
When she dropped Lightning, she was perhaps not playing it as safe, hoping to hurry on to complete the rest of her mission.
There wasn’t any shockwave.
Instead, tendrils of light lashed out in every direction. Far enough to slap her in the side and send her tumbling.
Far enough to zap several light stones above, and send them falling in an explosion of crystal.
It was worse for the Lightbringers on the ground, and for the causeway itself. The lightning tendrils tore everything asunder, regardless of what it was made of.
There was a noticeable lack of [System] messages. That was a bit confusing. She didn’t get credit for kills when dropping bombs? She needed to ask Yolani about that.
One thing during all the fighting that had only worried her later was her [Karma] going down. Despite it being a seemingly useless stat. Thirty thousand points down was a lot, though.
A numb feeling filled Elania’s stomach. The bombs were far more effective than she had been able to imagine, and had proved one thing.
If they… if she was willing to destroy the city, reduce everything, and everyone to rubble…
They’d be able to repulse the enemy army.
There would just be nothing left.
Elania banked sharply, her wings slicing through the air as she turned towards the City Watch fortress.
The wind whipped at her face, tugging at her hair and clothes, but she paid it no mind. Her focus was solely on the fortress ahead, and the assault that was still ongoing.
From her vantage point in the sky, she could see the Lightbringers swarming the walls like ants, their white armor glinting in the sunlight.
The defenders were putting up a fierce fight.
Without reinforcements, they wouldn’t last much longer.
Luckily for them, she was here.
Comments
Aphanvahrius
"With it active and [Power] enhanced, she was almost undetectable until the last second |with it was far too late| and she was already upon them." Feels like something's not right with the fragment in the ||. Maybe "when" instead of "with it"? "as long as she maintain a certain altitude" Probably should be "maintained" "She started to pull from her bracer, and finish the job herself." Something feels off about this one too. Maybe "She started to pull a shard from her bracer to finish the job herself."? "The water all around flash vaporized" Should probably be "the flash"
Aura
Or he could be mature, accept her decision, and continue respecting her as a friend. Hoping he’s dead to save a patch of interpersonal awkwardness in the story is a bit extreme 😂 . He’s always struck me as a rational and mature character. Also he’s been important in the story and to Yolani. I’d be boring for him to have simply died “off screen” at some point.
Shelbo
God I really hope Henri is dead, I really don’t want him to become the “How could you do this to me after every I did for you” kind of dude towards Yolani to assassinate his character I really like him. It’ll be a lot smoother for the story (and me) if he’s just dead
