After Xersies finally severed Luis's head, everything else happened quickly, like dominoes being knocked over. He gripped the head for a moment and allowed the body to drop into the depths below. Then he ascended toward the outer ring of Gloris. He hovered several thousand meters in the air and watched the army of the Polykenas collide with the last defenses of the humans. The two large frontlines had already dissolved into chaos inside the narrow streets and winding alleys of the city. What had once been two united formations had broken into countless small skirmishes made up of a dozen fighters or more.
In many of those areas, the humans held their ground with surprising resilience and even pushed the Polykenas back for brief moments. Yet they were hopelessly outnumbered. The Polykenas cared nothing for their own survival and moved with a frenzy born from an insatiable hunger for destruction.
Suddenly, Xersies' attention was drawn to a massive impact at the heart of the battlefield. A huge crack tore open in the ground. He narrowed his eyes and spotted Shire, locked in combat with a muscular man. Their fists crashed together, but Shire overpowered his opponent with ease. The man's hand shattered the instant their blows met. He dropped to one knee and, by some miracle, avoided Shire's next strike by rolling away. The blow hit the ground where he had stood. A deep crater burst open, and a cloud of dust burst outward in every direction.
The man struck Shire in the chest with his remaining fist, sending him flying backwards. He landed in a house, which promptly collapsed when the nearly three-meter-tall titan of a Poylkenas tore down a load-bearing wall. When Shire stepped out again, he had a long, broadsword in his hand. He charged at his opponent again.
Xersies turned his gaze away from the duel and caught sight of the black Patron, recognizable through the dark armor, cutting down members of what appeared to be an elite human unit. The humans had no chance against the black Polykenas.
His attention moved to the broken remains of the wall, where human mages clashed with those of the Polykenas. Here, the humans vastly outnumbered their foes, but Xersies' own Patron, the golden Patron, flew unhindered through their ranks and cut them down with blazing light. A short distance away, he saw the blue Patron releasing chains of lightning into the human defenders. They fought with difficulty and certainly did not enjoy the ease that the golden Patron possessed. A faint smile crossed Xersies' lips.
The red Patron, commanded by Ester and made up of twenty-five blood mages, fought beyond the main lines against a group of Lightweavers. The battle between them was fierce, yet the blood mages of the Polykenas held superior strength and skill. Most of the Lightweavers had rarely faced a conflict of such scale and paid the price for their inexperience.
None of these clashes compares to the fight between Ester and Ramor against two human women. Lightning cracked repeatedly against the Polykenas, wearing a raven mask, but he shielded himself with a barrier of blood drawn from the vast river of crimson flowing behind him. Each time the shield suffered damage, the river instantly renewed it.
Xersies had fought Ester many times and understood the Polykenas' strategy well. If Ester attempted to create blood from his own power in the same way Xersies created light, or Nero summoned darkness, it would cost considerably more magic. This was why Ester always kept a gigantic supply of blood nearby. Normally, he created it by sacrificing fewer Polykenas. Now the source was humans.
Even so, the lightning mage fought with surprising courage against an opponent far stronger than she was.
The battle between Ramor and the red-haired Symbolic was even more uneven. Ramor toyed with her. He painted symbols directly into the air with fluid ease, shielding himself or attacking with a variety of effects. Hundreds of different patterns flashed from his claws. Meanwhile, the woman, far less talented, struggled. She needed physical surfaces to draw her symbols like on her own skin or whatever she could reach. She could not keep up.
Then Ramor connected several of his floating symbols with the same natural ease that Xersies commanded the light, and a new effect emerged. A blinding glow rose from the symbols as Ramor lifted his hand, claws clenched. They wrapped around his hand like a glove of light. He aimed at his opponent as she frantically painted symbols into her palm.
She lifted her hand just as Ramor activated the symbols. A tiny sphere formed, no larger than a pebble, and shot toward her. She triggered the mark on her palm. A shimmering shield appeared, but it shattered instantly like a joke when the sphere touched it. The woman screamed as the projectile struck her. Cracks ran across her entire body as the sphere began to devour her magic.
In the next moment, the magical heart inside her stopped. All magic drained from her body. The symbols on her skin flickered out, and her lifeless form dropped toward the ground.
The other woman screamed in rage, half of her mask broken. Beneath it, the face of a young dark skinned woman was visible, tears running down her cheeks.
Cracks split across Ramor's arm, yet he ignored them and altered the symbols around his hand with slight movements. Then he clenched his claws again and aimed at the remaining woman, who was furiously unleashing lightning at Ester.
RXersies could see Ramor's lips moving as he spoke to Ester. Xersies couldn't hear what was being said, but Ester didn't hesitate for a second and quickly withdrew as a massive pillar of energy burst from the symbols around Ramor's arm and engulfed the woman. The beam pierced the clouds and passed close to Xersies, who felt the force shake the sky itself. Ramor changed very little on the Symbols, but the effect they created seemed vastly different.
When the blast finally shrank and disappeared, Ramor was covered in fractures from head to toe. The attack has actually used up a large part of its magic, but against all logic, the woman had somehow barely survived. Lightning flickered weakly around her while her magic faded. She hovered for a breath, then lost consciousness and dropped. Ester flicked his hand, and countless blood shards broke from the river behind him, spearing the falling woman from every angle.
She died before all of them reached her.
Xersies looked at Ramor. Even for him, that attack would have been devastating. Ramor had grown far stronger in recent years and was more gifted than ever. Xersies made note of the danger he posed. Ramor was the greatest threat to his position as Nero's second in command. However, he did not believe Ramor would ever act against Nero. Every Polykenas served with absolute loyalty, and Ramor was no exception.
Almost unconsciously, Xersies glanced toward their camp, where he saw their Duce standing. Nero looked back at him with deep black eyes that revealed nothing of his thoughts. A chill ran down Xersies's spine and he turned his gaze away. He knew he was stronger than Nero, yet the human growth over the recent years had become frightening. Nero would soon surpass him. This did not intimidate Xersies. His only goal was to help his Duce become the strongest being in existence. If he had to give his life for Nero, he would gladly do so. Nero was their leader, their Duce, the one prophesied.
In Xersies's right claw, he still held Luis's head. The time had come to end the war.
He descended slowly. Golden light poured from him as huge golden wings spread almost five meters to either side. Humans and Polykenas alike looked upward as the radiance washed over them. A wave of joy rippled through the human ranks when they saw the glow. They could not make out his form and believed only Luis could shine with such brilliance. Then the light dimmed, and Xersies stood above them all. Immediately, all the joy from the humans disappeared.
He lifted Luis's head. He said nothing. A faint smile crossed his face as golden light spread from his hand. The onlookers watched in horror as the head of their leader, the symbol of their hope, and the chosen voice of their god dissolved into ash by the very light they worshipped.
Moral collapsed instantly. Many humans dropped their weapons on the spot. Some fell to their knees, weeping. Panic swept through the ranks. A few desperate generals tried to hold the army together, but the next two events shattered every last fragment of resolve.
First Shire killed the muscular warrior who had been momentarily distracted by Xersies' display. That brief hesitation was enough for Shire to split him cleanly in half with a massive swing.
The final blow to human resistance came from the eastern outskirts of the city. A small Polykenas covered in black fur, running on all fours, charged into the flank of the human army. Behind him rushed nearly a million Polykenas.
It was Fril, whom Nero had sent eastward with part of the army. Now that the eastern force struck the human flank, it took only moments for the last threads of discipline to break. The humans ran for their lives toward the second wall of Gloris, but that wall offered no true protection. It lacked the magic symbols of the outer barrier.
Xersies smiled.
The battle was over.
Now the enjoyable part would begin.
The destruction of the city.