2833 Battle at the Sea (Part 1)

The different parts of the Wayfinder were still linked between them by several strings of visible runes connecting the mana crystals at the four corners of each wagon, but now they could move independently.

The wagons had each their own control panel that one of the mages used to steer the cars to avoid the impact. The Orichalcum-coated wagons dodged the titan with ease, each following their respective shortest paths before reforming a single line.

Single cars were more agile, but they could also be surrounded and kept away from the rest of the train until their energy reserve ran out.

"Let me guess. That's a sea Emperor Beast." Orion pointed his finger at the angry monster who roared his orders with a blaring snort.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Lith put on the Eyes on Menadion, discovering that the creature was called a Throndar, an Emperor Beast evolved from a Baraham, the magical beast born from the Mogar equivalent of whales.

'Since when can the Eyes identify an unknown species? I thought they had lost their database along with Solus' memories.' Lith thought as the Eyes reported the creature wearing no equipment but a few rings around its teeth, a bright blue core, and the vitality of a Divine Beast.

'Since I took care of filling the Library with all the available tomes about marine creatures and Jiera.' Solus replied via the mind link. 'The Eyes and the Library are now connected.'

"I'll deal with it!" Lith tried to jump but an emerald aura locked him in place.

"No, you don't." Raagu said. "Save your strength and conjure your Demons. We are going to need them."

She pointed at the many magical beasts that chased the Wayfinder and charged at its wagons from the sides and below. The fake mages had already taken position on the roofs thanks to their magnetized equipment, but there was only so much they could do.

A corresponding light blinking on the roofs signaled them what element was about to be unlocked and for how long, but it had to be one at a time. Otherwise the enemy could have used tier four and above spells and overpower the humans with sheer numbers.

The water further complicated the combat since it neutralized fire and earth while darkness was too slow to matter. Air blades still worked whereas bolts of lightning were quickly dispersed through the saltwater, losing their focus.

The Awakened forces of the Council employed Spirit Magic that wasn't hindered by the arrays but the sheer number of the magical beasts and their size required lots of mana to take them down.

And that's only if the Awakened managed to shoot the beasts during a jump. Under the water, the spells quickly lost cohesion and at the speed the Wayfinder moved, it was hard to hit a swimming target.

Lith closed his eyes and opened himself to the Void, conjuring the black chains. They scoured his surroundings, finding numerous souls willing to help. Lith's call wasn't limited to humans, it was just that their souls were the most abundant in an urban environment.

The shadows lurking in the underbelly of the Wayfinder took the shape of huge fish, turtles, and things that resembled oversized squids. The Eyes recognized among them shark-, orca-, and octopus-type magical beasts.

He gave them three eyes tops since their opponents were non-Awakened and their cores were below the bright cyan. By the time he needed to use Invigoration to replenish his mana, over one hundred Demon of the Darkness had arisen.

The attacking magical beasts were surprised and scared by the appearance of the enemy. They were forced to relent on the chase and defend themselves. The Demons avoided wasting strength on spells and charged at their respective targets, using Abomination Touch to increase their power.

Octopi wrapped their tentacles around their prey while carnivorous predators bit them and never let go. With every second of struggle, the magical beasts weakened while the Demons grew stronger.

"Let me show you how you are supposed to fight in high waters." Raagu opened the Sealed Box, releasing the King of the Liches from his mystical prison.

The bones rolled in the wind, bouncing off the metal of the roof before sinking into the ocean below with a splash.

"Fair enough. It was stupid of me to expect anything different." The human representative sighed, holding Nero in the crook of her arm and making sure that the phylactery was safe.

It would act as a beacon and guide Inxialot back. As soon as he noticed the change in his accommodations of course. Or rather, if he noticed.

Raagu's mage robe lit up, revealing the many array runes woven in its threads. One magic circle appeared in front of each of her fingers, one more around each wrist, and a bigger one behind her back.

She released them on either side of the Wayfinder, outside the area of effect of its elemental sealing arrays, and watched them disappear in the distance.

As soon as the magical formations materialized, one array conjured a continuous stream of bolts of lightning while another encased a cylindrical area 20 meters (66') across and 30 meters (100') deep.

The second array was comprised of water and air elements, sealing the space inside so that the bolts of lightning generated by the first array couldn't cross the boundary, keeping their full strength.

The magical beasts trapped inside the concentric circles were stunned by the increasing voltage of the water until every nerve in their body was fried and their blood boiled.

"Is that dimensional magic?" Friya asked.

"One of its applications, yes." Raagu nodded. "Like this."

More concentric circles were released, focusing the power of the water element in a reduced space. Precise chunks of water froze, trapping within themselves magical beasts who now couldn't move or breathe.

Even in the case they managed to break free with their own water magic before dying of asphyxiation, by that time they would be too far away from the Wayfinder to resume the chase.

'That's the magical equivalent of depth charges.' Lith thought, using the Eyes to decipher the secret behind Raagu's insane casting speed.

With each wave of her hands, Raagu released in front of the Wayfinder a set of three concentric arrays. The first was darkness-based, filling the space within the magic circles with entropy.

The second was a gravity array that created an upward stream of water carrying the magical beasts chasing the train. The third one was the dimensional array Containment Field, which restricted the effects of the other arrays and shielded the Wayfinder from them.

Up in the air and away from the water, the sea creatures lost the cover of the ocean and the advantage of their bulk. They were reduced to huge balloons of flesh that the mages lined up on the wagons' ceiling shot down with ease.

Even if they missed, the darkness magic from the first array dealt enough damage to force the surviving beasts to run away.

Arrays were supposed to be slow and complicated, but she conjured them with ease. At a quick glance, she was combining true magic with body casting and her robe.