| Marc Pelzer | Meletios Ioannidis
Her protective spell shattered further and further. Yaena became panicked. She had to think of something. But all thoughts, all ideas in her head seemed to jump back and forth. She couldn't manage to form a clear thought. She cast additional protective spells as she was pushed further toward the end of the corridor. Something in her study had to be able to help her! Suddenly it struck her. She still had a seed crystal. The crystals were usually quite insignificant but grew larger the more they were fed with magic. If she was lucky, it would absorb the black flames and attacks of the ever-advancing attacker. "Gemon! In the study on the back table is a wooden box with a yellowish crystal inside. Run!" He understood immediately. He threw the makeshift shield back on the ground and stormed off. At least this way, he could do something in this magical battle. He felt helpless and redundant in this fight. He also wondered how long it would take for the other guards to notice the battle noise and come to help. However, he could not rule out that the mage had already taken care of all the guards in advance. That would not have been a problem for him in the slightest.
When he reached the table, he scanned the stones, papers, and tools. Finally, the cherry wood box caught his eye. Without wasting any time, he grabbed it, opened it, took out the finger-sized crystal, and threw the box into the room as he was already on his way back. Yaena had already retreated twenty feet from the room and the mage continued to maliciously fire projectiles at the now almost non-existent magical barrier. When she was handed the seed crystal by Gemon, she threw it in front of her until it reached the outermost layer of the protective barrier. Indeed, it grew slightly larger when it touched it and stopped. Then she waited. The next projectile tore through her spell and the flames relentlessly crawled towards the crystal. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then out of nowhere, the crystal began to absorb more and more of the flame carpet. The constant feeding of the crystal with more flames and projectiles caused it to grow instantly, almost exploding. "Take cover!" the court sorceress shouted to Gemon and ran with all the strength she could muster towards the door. He did the same and together they jumped around the corner while the entire castle seemed to shake. An incredible and deafening noise had erupted. Silence followed. Had they won? Had the stone trapped the mage? Lying on the ground, both took deep breaths and tried to comprehend what had just happened. Yaena was at the absolute limit of her strength. Every vein in her hand hurt as if she had plunged it into burning oil. Her magic was exhausted. Her body simply couldn't do more. She didn't move any further.
"I will go check," Gemon said to her, clearly uneasy about what he was saying, "You stay here and rest a bit." He got up and carefully approached the door. However, what he saw around the corner made him stop: The crystal had not only grown a little but had become a huge stone. The outer wall had burst open, the ceiling had collapsed, and even the roof structure above the upper floor had cracked. The extent of the destruction was extreme. Gemon had never seen anything like it. He was sure that not even fire mages could cause such damage. The attacker couldn't have survived that. But he could only guess, because he couldn't see through this massive crystal. First, get Yaena out of the danger zone, he thought, as he closed the doors. They now only held the room at an angle and incompletely because the wall had shifted, but it was better than nothing. Just as he had closed the door, he heard the crystal crackle. Fine cracks formed one after the other. "That's impossible!" he stammered in disbelief. The crystal continued to crack until it finally sank into a black hole in the floor with red-black glowing. That was a kind of portal. But Gemon had no time to think about what it was, because the mage reappeared behind the crystal. His clothes were tattered, his body covered in cuts. Hatred was written all over his face. But the captain also heard a sound: armored boots and not a few. The guards had come. Maybe he wasn't lost yet. At least a dozen guards came sprinting from the end of the corridor behind the mage. The explosion noise had brought them here. "Enemy! Intruder! Watch out, he's using magic!" their captain shouted to them from the other end of the corridor. They were equipped with magic-resistant shields for such cases. If they used them, they had a realistic chance. Gemon gained some courage. The mage was quickly surrounded. But he was not in the least intimidated by the outnumbered guards. "Now, simple humans, witness my divine power! I control the world of the dead and the world of the living. You will be the first witnesses of my dominion over this world!"
The portal in the floor began to thunder and flash, spewing soot and fog. One after another, warriors, peasants, and even nobles emerged from the dark gate, all as lifeless puppets. Even stronger than before, all warmth escaped from the corridor. Even Gemon's blood seemed to freeze.
When he reached the table, he scanned the stones, papers, and tools. Finally, the cherry wood box caught his eye. Without wasting any time, he grabbed it, opened it, took out the finger-sized crystal, and threw the box into the room as he was already on his way back. Yaena had already retreated twenty feet from the room and the mage continued to maliciously fire projectiles at the now almost non-existent magical barrier. When she was handed the seed crystal by Gemon, she threw it in front of her until it reached the outermost layer of the protective barrier. Indeed, it grew slightly larger when it touched it and stopped. Then she waited. The next projectile tore through her spell and the flames relentlessly crawled towards the crystal. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then out of nowhere, the crystal began to absorb more and more of the flame carpet. The constant feeding of the crystal with more flames and projectiles caused it to grow instantly, almost exploding. "Take cover!" the court sorceress shouted to Gemon and ran with all the strength she could muster towards the door. He did the same and together they jumped around the corner while the entire castle seemed to shake. An incredible and deafening noise had erupted. Silence followed. Had they won? Had the stone trapped the mage? Lying on the ground, both took deep breaths and tried to comprehend what had just happened. Yaena was at the absolute limit of her strength. Every vein in her hand hurt as if she had plunged it into burning oil. Her magic was exhausted. Her body simply couldn't do more. She didn't move any further.
"I will go check," Gemon said to her, clearly uneasy about what he was saying, "You stay here and rest a bit." He got up and carefully approached the door. However, what he saw around the corner made him stop: The crystal had not only grown a little but had become a huge stone. The outer wall had burst open, the ceiling had collapsed, and even the roof structure above the upper floor had cracked. The extent of the destruction was extreme. Gemon had never seen anything like it. He was sure that not even fire mages could cause such damage. The attacker couldn't have survived that. But he could only guess, because he couldn't see through this massive crystal. First, get Yaena out of the danger zone, he thought, as he closed the doors. They now only held the room at an angle and incompletely because the wall had shifted, but it was better than nothing. Just as he had closed the door, he heard the crystal crackle. Fine cracks formed one after the other. "That's impossible!" he stammered in disbelief. The crystal continued to crack until it finally sank into a black hole in the floor with red-black glowing. That was a kind of portal. But Gemon had no time to think about what it was, because the mage reappeared behind the crystal. His clothes were tattered, his body covered in cuts. Hatred was written all over his face. But the captain also heard a sound: armored boots and not a few. The guards had come. Maybe he wasn't lost yet. At least a dozen guards came sprinting from the end of the corridor behind the mage. The explosion noise had brought them here. "Enemy! Intruder! Watch out, he's using magic!" their captain shouted to them from the other end of the corridor. They were equipped with magic-resistant shields for such cases. If they used them, they had a realistic chance. Gemon gained some courage. The mage was quickly surrounded. But he was not in the least intimidated by the outnumbered guards. "Now, simple humans, witness my divine power! I control the world of the dead and the world of the living. You will be the first witnesses of my dominion over this world!"
The portal in the floor began to thunder and flash, spewing soot and fog. One after another, warriors, peasants, and even nobles emerged from the dark gate, all as lifeless puppets. Even stronger than before, all warmth escaped from the corridor. Even Gemon's blood seemed to freeze.