Skykeep was shrouded in the multicolored sacred fire of Tzeentch, and Tzeentch's chosen champion, Tza-Zanek, gazed with satisfaction at the scene before him. He spread his four arms wide, basking in the moment. Once a magnificent castle, now it was engulfed in flames and blue light. The sorcerer towers, once illuminated by magical auras, now billowed with smoke, shrouded in the power of Chaos. Kalelona had begun her move, and Dietlinde, who had transformed from a changeling larva, took the opportunity to distribute corrupting potions, severely weakening the witches' resistance.
The once-glorious shops, streets, and homes now resembled torn parchment, ravaged by the distortions of Tzeentch's power. Twisted clouds and lightning, like chains, wrapped the entire castle in the evil god's influence.
The Raven Guard Legion had already entered the city. These chosen warriors of Tzeentch were blessed by the God of Sorcery, naturally endowed with high magic resistance. The witches' spells had little effect on them. In addition to the chosen warriors, terrifying Chaos demons such as the Fire Horrors of Tzeentch and the Pink Horrors also appeared in the mortal world.
For them, the Garland Witches were undoubtedly delicious prey. The magic within the witches made the Chaos demons hunger like sharks sensing blood. They frantically charged at the weaker witch apprentices, devouring their flesh and drinking their magic.
The terrified witch apprentices and outsiders who had come to attend the Garland gathering fled in panic, leaderless. They ran aimlessly, searching for shelter, with many retreating to their homes or nearby buildings, locking doors and windows, hoping to find safety amidst the chaos.
But all efforts were in vain.
Tza-Zanek watched this scene with satisfaction, raising his staff and pointing at Aurora and her group, emerging from the burning theater. "Now, kneel before the God of Sorcery and beg for submission, or you will meet the same fate as this castle."
"Hmph!" The witches were disheveled, but what confused them more was the almost complete absence of magical winds in the air. Many tried to cast spells, but with magic so weak, gathering power was nearly impossible. They could only rely on the limited magic stored within their bodies.
"Summon your courage, witches of the council!" Aurora gripped her staff, her beautiful face and mature presence hardening into determination. She shouted to the wavering witches, "Do not retreat, do not give up. Let us stand together and save our castle. This is our home, where many of you grew up. Unite, sisters! By the Magic Goddess, let us fight together!"
Theresa stood beside Aurora, struggling to cast an ice arrow aimed at the enemy.
"Ice Arrow!" A ball of freezing energy shot toward Tzeentch's chosen champion. Theresa wasn't trying to defeat him with this attack; it was merely a probe. She was no longer the inexperienced sorceress who once rushed to cast a blizzard while adventuring in Nord.
"Lightning Bolt of Eonur!"
"Melkor's Enchanting Poison Cloud!"
Following Theresa's lead, the witches unleashed a holy spell and a shadow spell, both targeting the flying champion of Tzeentch.
But the next moment, all three spells simply vanished into the air. Tza-Zanek laughed heartily, his twisted, horned face brimming with glee. He spread his arms wide. "Come on, ladies! I'll give you another chance!"
Theresa and the witches were stunned.
Spells could be blocked, resisted, canceled, or deflected, but for magic energy to disappear without a trace was something they had never encountered.
Tza-Zanek hadn't even countered. All spells below the eighth tier vanished as they approached him, leaving no trace of magical energy behind.
Their enemy's power might far exceed their expectations.
"Ice Mastery, Hailstorm!" Finally, Aurora made her move.
Dense, tangible ice energy radiated from the Archwitch as she chanted a formidable master spell. Hundreds of ice shards formed in the air, even causing Tzeentch's multicolored flames to falter. Under her control, these shards hurled toward Tza-Zanek from all directions, crashing down like a storm, targeting the chosen champion of Tzeentch.
Tza-Zanek realized that every direction he could move in was covered by ice. He calmly nodded and, without a word, raised his twisted staff. Chaos energy halted the onslaught of ice in midair, freezing the shards in place.
But Aurora did not relent. The Archwitch continued to channel her power, summoning more ice to assault Tza-Zanek. "Spells below the eighth tier are useless against this enemy! Sisters, use firearms and prepare master spells!"
Theresa and the witches all drew their pistols and fired at Tza-Zanek.
At that moment, Tza-Zanek moved. He calmly used his twisted staff to control the incoming master spell while deftly parrying the bullets with the Sword of Tzeentch.
With his remaining two hands, he held a small book made of human skin and arcane energy, quickly sketching a diagram in human blood. If Aurora had seen it, the Archwitch would have been speechless.
The diagram was the very magical structure of her Ice Mastery spell, Hailstorm!
Tza-Zanek's hands moved with lightning speed. In seconds, he had drawn the entire structure. The champion of Tzeentch elegantly brought the book to his mouth, bit into the human-skin parchment, and tore it apart.
"Rip!" The sound of tearing flesh echoed as Aurora's face turned pale. "Sisters, quickly—"
Before she could finish, the Hailstorm was no longer under her control. The ice shards turned from pale blue to the blue of Chaos energy. Tza-Zanek wasted no time, raising his staff and hurling the spell back at the witches. "So, this is how it ends."
Amidst the sound of wind and explosions, each ice shard pierced through the witches' defensive shields effortlessly. Some ice shards struck nearby buildings, collapsing stone structures, while others embedded themselves deep into the ground.
Aurora, suffering magical backlash, coughed blood from her eyes, nose, and mouth. She severed her magic link, stumbling backward, only to be pierced through the shoulder and thigh by ice shards.
Seeing this, Theresa hurriedly cast a long-prepared ice spell. "Crystal Cloak!"
A swirling vortex of ice fragments formed a cloak behind the sorceress, deflecting the incoming ice shards. She quickly shielded Aurora and retreated.
But it wasn't over. Tza-Zanek continued to write furiously in his book, conjuring spell after spell and unleashing them.
"Chain Lightning!" Two bolts of lightning shot from Tzeentch's twisted staff, bouncing among the witches. The lightning ignored their defensive charms and spells, instantly turning seven or eight witches into smoking ashes.
"Curse of Time!" The champion of Tzeentch spat out a dreadful curse, hitting Councilor Silva. Within seconds, she aged several decades, turning from a woman in her thirties into a wrinkled, toothless crone.
"Earth Awakening!" The Sword of Tzeentch pointed to the ground, summoning a thorny spike that burst from beneath Councilor Mace, impaling her body. Blood sprayed as the thorn pierced through her mouth, killing her instantly.
In just a few seconds, more than half of the witches who had escaped from the theater were dead, with many others injured or drained of magic. Today, for some reason, the witches could hardly feel the magic winds, and after casting just a few spells, their magic reserves were nearly depleted.
But it wasn't over yet. After utterly crushing the witches' resistance, Tza-Zanek suddenly stopped his pursuit, praising the name of his god. "For Tzeentch! Praise the God of Sorcery! Praise the Lord of Change!"
Clearly, his god was pleased with his deeds. Tzeentch rewarded his favored mortal with more power, and a multicolored ring of sorcery lit up around Tza-Zanek.
"Mutating Nova!"
A massive nova explosion enveloped everything within two hundred meters of Tza-Zanek. The entire Skykeep trembled.
For the human army and Garland witches still resisting, this nova was a devastating blow. Any witch attempting to cast spells had their magic violently interrupted, and screams of pain echoed as their souls and minds were assaulted. Many witches died instantly, their heads exploding. Those farther away mostly lost consciousness, while only a few withstood the blast, though they, too, cried out in agony.
In stark contrast, Tza-Zanek's Raven Guard felt like they were hearing celestial music. Their god, the sacred Tzeentch, had blessed them! Their morale soared, and in their frenzy and courage, they charged forward without hesitation.
The entire street was destroyed. In the wake of Tzeentch's sorcerous blast, the resistance of the Garland Council and the remaining defenders was nearing total collapse. Tza-Zanek looked at the shattered ruins of the street, grinning wickedly as he shifted his focus elsewhere.
This allowed Aurora and Theresa to narrowly escape. Aurora was badly wounded, barely able to stand, though most of her injuries were superficial. Theresa was in slightly better shape, with only bruises and scrapes. The crystal cloak she had summoned had dissipated into white mist under the power of the Mutating Nova, but at the last moment, a psychic shield had appeared around her and Aurora, protecting them from the fatal blow, allowing Theresa to help her mother escape.
By now, more than
half of Skykeep had been completely destroyed or captured by Tzeentch's forces. The land was torn apart, stones and dirt burying everything that once existed, with choking smoke filling the air. Only a small section remained under resistance. Theresa was anxious. "Mother, damn it, what should we do now?! I can't feel the magic winds. There's no power left. We can't teleport out!"
"My magic is nearly exhausted as well. Let's go, Theresa, to the central tower. Neither you nor I are a match for that chosen champion." Aurora, gasping for breath, leaned on Theresa for support as they fled. The once-glimmering black hair of both mother and daughter was now matted with dust and blood. Seeing Theresa cast a spell to summon an ice golem from the ruins to carry them away, Aurora suddenly shook her head. "I understand now."
"Mother?"
"That man, he's more mysterious than we are... cough, cough." Aurora weakly replied, "Do you understand, Theresa? Mystery loses its significance in the face of a higher mystery."
"Mother, are you saying that his magic is superior to ours?" Theresa grasped the implication.
"His magic belongs to the realm of Chaos, far more powerful than the standard magic we use, which has passed through many hands. Spells below master-level are useless against him, and he can absorb them directly. Only master spells can harm him, but he can unravel them with terrifying speed... cough... We cannot defeat him, daughter. To stand a chance, we would need to touch the essence of Chaos itself and the origin of magic, like he has. But that person, you know who I mean, she left just before this happened. It's all part of Chaos' plan!" Aurora coughed up blood. "Now, we can only hope the Speaker has a solution..."
At that moment, a bright red flare shot up from the heavily surrounded central tower. Amidst the ruins of Skykeep, a fiery Garland flower bloomed in the sky.
The Speaker of the Garland Council, Margarita, had emerged to face the enemy!
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