1963 Menadion's Wrath (Part 1)

Along with the volley of train-sized bursts of Origin Flames, Chaos spells erupted from Zoreth's whole body, each one big enough to obliterate a human-sized creature in one hit.

Emperor Beasts and plants could afford to get hit without dying, but in the heat of the battle stopping their movement was the same as becoming sitting ducks.

The Raiju had abandoned her human form and galloped through the battlefield, unleashing a rain on white bolts of lightning in her wake. Those who didn't dodge Bytra discovered that her strength was above that of an Emperor Beast.

Her horn would pierce through armor, scales, and flesh alike, draining the life out of her victims while electrocuting them.

Each hit of Dolgus' maces either killed or incapacitated an Awakened. The particles of light that his movements generated had now formed a thick curtain that crackled with power.

"Gods, no!" Senara said out loud in shock as she recognized one of Tyris' signature bloodline abilities that the White Griffon had inherited.

Light Raider turned the curtain into magical runes that took the form of arrays, Light Mastery spells, and more. Dolgus could manipulate the light element in the world energy, and by mixing it with his life force, turn it into anything else.

The runes of light now shrouded the battlefield around the Griffon, forming healing spells to mend his wounds, hard-light shields to block the incoming attacks, and tier five spells of all elements.

Light Raider was empowered by the world energy which contained all elements. To convert light into another element, the runes simply had to sacrifice themselves to conjure what they needed.

"Ignore the Tiamat and stop the fucking White Griffon!" She yelled at the top of her lungs while flying toward Dolgus. "Light Raider can turn the tables of any battle."

The Awakened were now more terrified than ever.

Despite their orders, they knew that turning their back to a Blade Tier Spell was moronic at best. They stood their ground and weaved Silverwing's Bastion, ready to take the Tiamat down the moment the Blade Tier Spell faded.

'The kid is just 19 and has a violet core. He can't have truly mastered such a complex discipline already. Also, his limit should be two consecutive Blade Tier spells tops. With all the damage he has taken, if we resist the spell and keep him from using his breathing technique, he's as good as dead.' The veterans thought in unison.

Their analysis was accurate. There was only so much that Lith could do, especially after consuming a lot of energy to conjure the Call of the Void and the Cursed Flames.

It was the reason he would've never attempted Ruin if not for Solus. She was just a blue cored Awakened and a human at that. Everyone was ignoring her and she was happier that way.

It had given her all the time she needed to cast her own Blade Tier spell, Menadion's Wrath.

What made the title of Ruler of the Flames so amazing wasn't the knowledge they shared with the rest of the Awakened community, but their ability to craft equipment that was in tune with their owners.

Without it, it was impossible to cast a Blade Tier Spell. Ripha Menadion had spent years working on Solus' Fury and making sure that it would fit her daughter like a glove.

As a mother, she knew everything about Elphyn, from her favorite foods to the way she weaved the mystical runes in her mind. Solus had discovered that if not for her weakened condition, she would have been able to cast powerful Blade Tier spells.

Her tower half was naturally attuned with her, giving her a power core that followed her every command akin to her mana core while the Fury answered to her will almost with the same ease.

The mystical hammer split into seven identical copies, each one with its mana crystals imbued with a different element.

The energy that would form the last two was shared between them, further strengthening her spell. The Furies formed a seven-pointed star that flew across the space separating Solus from Lith.

The Awakened prepared to dodge the array and remained confused when they noticed that it wasn't aimed at anyone in particular nor did it seem to slow down.

'Whatever that thing is, ignore it.' One of the most experienced said via the mind link. 'I don't know what it does but its energy is weak.

'It hasn't even charred the ground on its passage so withstanding the effects of the array for the split second it lasts should be child's play compared to blocking a real Blade Tier Spell.' Everyone nodded and conjured Silverwing's Bastion.

Lith had now completed Ruin which generated a raging storm of energy blades that covered a quarter of the battlefield. A single Bastion wouldn't have been enough to withstand it due to the Life Maelstrom empowering Ruin, but there were many and the Blade Spell's power was split among several targets.

Still, the combination of Lith's mana core and the power core of his equipment hit the seven-man units so hard that their feet dug into the ground and were pushed back of a few meters.

That until Menadion's Wrath reached them. Then, the two combined Blade Spells cut the Awakened forces apart like toilet paper.

Solus knew that with her core even a Blade Tier spell would lack the destructive power to take out her enemies in a single strike.

So, while Lith spent his days alone with Kamila she had devised a Blade Tier Counterspell.

The strong point of magic like that belonging to Silverwing's legacy was that by being imbued with the willpower of seven people, they couldn't be affected by Domination. Lith and Solus had already encountered the same problem while dealing with powerful or multiple enemies.

Domination required focus that wasn't always possible and a will superior to that of the opponent. Menadion's Wrath had been devised to make up for situations when Domination was pointless.

The seven hammers didn't carry elemental power meant to attack, but to disrupt. The array they formed carried Solus' willpower and extended the range of her Domination.

Since she couldn't control too many spells at the same time nor a spell above her level, she had given up on the idea. Menadion's Wrath released bursts of elemental power and Spirit Magic that disrupted the spells within the array's area of influence, making them go awry.

It was the result of a combination of elemental sealing arrays and Domination that attacked both the structure of a spell and the mind of its caster. On top of that, by tainting the spells with Solus' energy signature, once they exploded, they would harm their own caster but be harmless to both her and Lith.

Tier four and five spells of all kinds fell victim to the Wrath, even those that the Awakened keep at the ready. They exploded from the inside out, tearing their flesh apart.

Silverwing's Bastion was the result of the collective will of seven people, so it held against the disruptive effects of the Wrath, but only until Ruin hit. Then, the Awakened had to split their focus between the two Blade Tier Spells, failing at both tasks.