The journey through the Academy grounds and into the inner city was eerily quiet. Thorgar and Hamdal moved with such efficiency and overwhelming strength that the few lingering Eclipse Beasts they encountered were dispatched instantly, long before Blaze and the others could even draw a weapon.
As the student had reported, the worst of the invasion seemed to have been neutralized by the city's defenders, allowing the elders to move unimpeded.
Finally, after following a series of increasingly severe scorch marks and structural damage, they arrived at a ruined plaza just outside the central research district.
The moment they reached the site, the four young first years stopped dead in their tracks, their eyes opening wide in collective horror and disbelief.
The plaza was a disaster zone, evidence of a devastating clash of powers.
Huge trenches crisscrossed the ground, looking like scars ripped into the earth by titanic claws.
