Bright as the sun, half the reprocessing center tore apart.
Liron's smoke became a blazing force, ripping through all. It punched through the hall's ceiling, hurling the roof high. Kasper screamed, holding his hands in front of his face. Anna got in front of him, her whip enwrapping them both. The thong turned into stone, burying them in a coffin of rocks.
Liron saw little else of them, his spell destroying half the hall. The shockwave ripped him off his legs, slamming him into the wall. The air pressed out of his lungs, and he panted, struggling not to faint. Angin lay next to him. Liron grabbed his shirt, pulling him close. His master wouldn't survive what was to come without him.
Their floor broke, parts of it falling down. But luck was on their side once more. The plate they sat on remained vigilant. The explosion, though, had done more damage than Liron had thought. The tunnels had collapsed, starting a chain reaction. The complex pipe system was devastated by Liron's spell, imploding inside the walls. And they had transported more sewage than he had thought possible.
Without the personnel keeping all in order, the tanks had spilled their contents as they were fed a constant stream with no pause. A few seconds after the explosion had occurred, the remaining sections of the reprocessing center exploded in wastewater. The hall was a ticking bomb before they had set foot inside. Liron had sped up the ordeal. Gushing out of pipes, the tanks, and out of the wall, jets of sewage and clean water formed into a surge that couldn't be tamed.
Liron held onto Angin as the water climbed, dragging them under in seconds. He had spent all he had to offer in the bout. Running away while carrying Angin was out of the question. Liron and Angin held their breath, whirling around by the undercurrents. Slammed into walls, tanks, and the iron scaffold, Liron fought fate itself to hold onto Angin. His lungs strained, each collision with their surroundings edging to press the air out of him.
But Liron would endure. His master had moved mountains for him. His body might break, but his will wouldn't. Be it his end, he would not let go.
The gaps torn into the hall allowed the sewage to pour out, but they were not enough. The tide rose until the remaining walls gave way. The surge of wastewater thrust through the reprocessing center, flooding out, and dragging the collapsed structure with it. Around Liron and Angin, chunks of the hall's insides shot past them. They slapped them around. They were nothing but a plaything to the whims of chaos.
The surge flushed them out, slamming them down onto a surface. Liron opened his eyes, seeing the broken bricks they had rammed into. They had landed on a roof. Pressed down, Liron fought with all his life to keep his breath. The force of the tide hammered against him. Now it was his time to shield Angin, his master below him, as Liron prayed to whatever god would listen.
Seconds the surge's rule lasted, but it was one to remember. As it died down, the wastewater flooded past them, lowering until they were finally free. Liron jerked his head high, out of the sewage, and took a breath. His vision had wavered, and he had begged forgiveness from his sister, failing to save her. Angin was forgotten, Liron's selfish need to survive conquering all.
Liron grabbed Angin by his collar, pulling him upwards. It wasn't necessary, as at this point the sea level had shrunk below the house they lay on. Yet the Alchemist shot upwards, laughing as he could taste air again. Sweeter than a kiss from the woman he loved.
They both said nothing, panting. Survived again.
Their euphoria didn't survive, though.
As Liron looked around, watching the destruction the tide had caused, he saw the dozens of guards staring at them. The reprocessing center, as it turned out, was built into Kupferrang's wall, allowing the purified water to be pumped into the rivers next to the city. The larger pipes were a threat for intruders to climb into. As a safety risk, which Kupferrang still required, more soldiers guarded this section.
The explosion and surge had demolished parts of the wall. The guards had jumped to safety, watching in horror at the aftermath. After the first day of the Raven Hunt, Kupferrang had withered into a place void of hope. A holy search in Harras' name cursed the city to become abandoned by Him. Now entire neighborhoods were also covered in excrement. The stench of burned skin and death was replaced by a new one. One more foul.
The house Angin and Liron had landed on was a smaller one. Liron didn't see the entire magnitude of the destruction. The debris of the reprocessing center, the tanks, metal parts of the floors, and scaffolding had impaled the houses, many breaking altogether. A smoke plume rose into the night sky. The surge had hit a bonfire of the Hunters, their angry shouts coming towards them.
Wiping the sewage from his face, Liron tried to stand. He fell on his ass, needing a second attempt. His body ached all throughout. He hammered his fist into his legs, trying to punch out the weakness. Yet they trembled. But standing, they did.
Angin couldn't. The Alchemist lay on his back, propping himself on his elbows. His forearms were shattered, bones piercing his skin. His left leg stump bled, a puddle forming around them. He wouldn't be for this world for long.
Liron swayed his gaze through the guards. They aimed their bows at them. Iron glittered in moonlight, sharpened for foul souls like him. He wondered what they would feel like once the arrowheads pummeled him. Why they hadn't shot yet was beyond Liron. He understood as he saw Kasper and Anna among them.
They looked horrible. The Lordschaft leaned on a battlement, covered in bruises and burns. Nothing an Alchemist couldn't remedy, but having faced such a defeat had wounded his pride. Deeper than any blade ever could, and no healing hand could stitch the bleeding gap close. Anna was behind him. She was hit worse, half her face swollen blue. She had taken the brunt of the explosion for her beloved. Something Kasper didn't show any gratitude for.
No, he only grinned a wolfish one at Liron. He twitched, his face aching from the black marks when his smile grew too big. The explosion must have blasted them to the wall or close by. It saved them from getting swallowed by the tidal wave. Though, neither would thank Liron for that.
"Here we are, Ravenspawn," Kasper said. He pushed himself up from the battlement, staggering. Anna caught him, holding him upright. "I told you this would end tonight. I will grant you one thing: you are a tricky bastard. The Inquisitor was right about you. I shouldn't have underestimated you. You have earned my respect. I hope it makes the honor of dying to me… more… Ehr… memorable. Ah, fuck."
Kasper scratched his head, thinking. The guards eyed him. Liron wouldn't die by the Lordschaft's hand. He had earned his respect. What Kasper meant, was he had learned to fear a Ravenspawn no man yet. He wouldn't risk getting himself harmed. For all his bravura and arrogance, Kasper could be a smart man. A cheating and fearful one, but witty nonetheless.
"You fuckin' coward!" Liron yelled. "Too afraid to face me yourself, huh?! Makes sense. A bloody Ravenspawn, but I got the two o' you good! You can barely stand without her hand into your ass. If she shoves it deeper, she might replace your missin' spine."
Kasper blinked, muttering to himself. Perhaps he wasn't that witty.
"Nothing to say, huh?! Thought so. Then let me…"
Liron summoned his knife, but the Conduit never solidified. The smoke whirled around his hands, but it vanished. Liron lost all balance, falling to his knees. He had nothing left. No strength, no focus. Magic was like a muscle. It could be trained to grow in vigor, but it had its limitations. Liron had found his. His magic refused.
Kasper laughed, high and shrill. "Yes! Finally! See this, men! Harras is with us! He slapped the Ravenspawn across the face! What is it, oh you mighty warrior?! Where is your big tongue now?!"
Liron pressed his hands against the roof. It was the only thing he could do not to collapse onto the bricks. That was it then. If only he could die with his head held high. He wanted to apologize to the Angin one final time, but as he formed the words, a familiar sound appeared from beyond the walls, coming to life.
Kasper frowned, and all the guards looked at the forest outside Kupferrang. They all knew it. Living in a trade city, they all heard the sounds of a Machina. Angin's bike, to be more precise.
The Alchemist chuckled. "Liron, we are two lucky bastards."
The noise came closer. The guards found the origin of it, shouting attention. A few shot their arrows at it. They had stronger weaponry, but they could not waste it two days before the execution.
Perhaps they should have. The bike came closer, reaching the wall. While similar, it roared with an intensity that dwarfed Angin's Machina. A dragon on two wheels, it drove away from the hole. A tree cracked from outside of Liron's view. Before he could ask, the bike shot upwards, having used the wood as a ramp. Dozens of eyes watched the airborne Machina. A monster of green steel, twice the size of Angin's bike.
As it flew above the wall, an axe slammed into a battlement. Its end was attached to a thick chain. The rider pulled hard, changing the trajectory of his Machina. It slammed onto the wall. Without pause, it kept on driving. The driver pulled his axe free as he passed it. The soldiers screamed, jumping away as the Machina raged forward. It tore through a guardhouse, blasting through it as if it were made of paper. Not one guard tried to oppose the intruder, all leaping to safety. The bike left marks on the floor, its wheel crunching over the stone.
Kasper yelped, flailing his arms around. Anna grabbed him and sprang with him over the wall. She summoned her Conduit, the whip's tip fusing with the battlement. She slowly lowered them to the ground.
After the driver had forced all guards to dodge away, their weapons discarded, he took a sharp turn, breaking through the battlements. He activated something on his Machina, a blue flame erupting from the bike's backside. It leaped into the air, landing right behind Liron and Angin. The roof trembled, breaking in a bit. But it held.
A boot stomped onto the bricks, large enough to pop Liron's head. A voice as rough as a storm wielding the ocean like an axe laughed.
"And here I thought t'was too late to save yer sorry arse. Good to see ye still breathin', me brother."
They were men, and then there was Ragner. If mountains had heads, they would have to look up at him. Angin appeared as a child to him, reaching up to his chest, if at all. If he could stand, that is. Ragner wore an open vest, nothing underneath, showing his scarred torso. A brute, blessed with inhuman muscles. His clothes were made from thick leather, meant to endure the thickest of battle. His head was shaved, with a thin beard around his jaw. One he kept short. He used a thick chain as a belt.
A man of such ludicrous proportions ought to appear rather simple. A mind relieved of deeper thoughts. But Ragner's eyes were sharp, a fierce spirit examining all. He exuded a calmness that should be foreign to a battlefield. Drom himself would strike no fear in him. Not for any foolish bravery. Without having seen much else from him, Liron knew this man to be anything but foolish. No, Ragner's presence resembled that of a scholar, sworn to reason and logic alone. Passion would not rule his heart.
Ragner sniffed the air, holding his nose. "Aye, ye smell like shite."
"Well… it is shit," Angin said.
Ragner grimaced, stepping off his bike. The roof groaned as he put his other leg onto it, making the poor thing bear his entire weight. "Ah, sounds like I missed a fair bit. Canna say I'm jealous, lad."
Ragner turned to Liron, greeting the younger man with a warm smile. "And ye must be Liron, aye?"
Liron nodded. "Ye… yeah…"
"My pleasure meetin' ye. Angin said yer a good laddie needin' some help. And I trust me friend's judgment on yer. I'd love to chat with yer some more, but that will have to wait."
Ragner pulled out two axes from his bike. Liron would struggle to handle one with both hands, but Ragner wielded each with one hand. They had short handles. Liron had never seen axes like this, wondering about their purpose. Ragner attached the chain on his hip to the other axe's knob.
After examining whether the chains were holding to both axes, Ragner whirled one of them around. He held onto the chain with a loose grip. The force with which the axe spun cut through the air, sounding like a brewing storm. No tense fiber in him, he swung the chain forward. The guards had gotten back up, unsure of what to do. They dove for cover yet again as the axe came for them.
One strike, and Ragner had beheaded all battlements nearby. Though his axe left no clear cut. It rent them off the wall. No artistry behind it. Just sheer strength. Liron believed it to be Conduit at first. What else could create such destructive force? But he knew it to be nothing but Ragner himself that had caused this.
The guards had the wit to stay down, pressing their heads into the dirt. It would have been easy to kill them all, not giving them the chance to escape. Ragner had let them live.
He flicked with his fingers, retrieving his axe by snapping it back into his hands. The speed with which it slapped back into his hand would have broken Liron's wrist. Ragner looked down at Anna and Kasper. They hadn't attacked yet, but there was still a fight burning in the Lordschaft's eyes.
Ragner hurled the axe in his other hand at him. Anna wanted to shield him, but Kasper dashed forward, shoving her aside. She wouldn't save him again. Instead of a sphere, he used his Gift to produce a translucent wall in front of him, pushing away everything that came into contact with it.
The axe collided with it. Harras had blessed Kasper, but not enough. The wall shattered, sending the axe flying away. Ragner tugged it back, catching it without issue. The aftershock of his Gift failing rammed into Kasper. He stumbled backwards until Anna caught him.
Holding her beloved with one hand, she summoned her Conduit with the other. She whipped at Ragner, a boulder racing towards him. Building up momentum, Ragner whirled one axe around, flinging it forward. It met the spell. The clash broke the rock, the axe bouncing off. The brute laughed, pulling his axe back.
"Yer forged of stronger steel than I thought, lass."
"I have nothing to say to you, heretic," Anna spat. It was Kasper's turn to hold her. She had fallen after the spell had failed to Ragner's axe. "Your presence insults me to my very core, Kin."
Ragner narrowed his eyes. "Careful with what ye say, lass. I'm nae in a mood for killin' ye but dinna tempt me. Unlike me brethren, I dinna bury all that cross me path, but I do bury some."
"Shut your mouth, cannibal!" Kasper screamed. "I am not surprised to see the Ravenspawn having such… wicked companions. A bloody Kin! I will flay you and…"
"Flail?" Ragner asked. "Yer hands are soft, I'm sure o' it. Dinna adorne yerself with bones ye haven't earned."
As Kasper searched for a good counter, Anna was shaking her head. "Kaspy, we need to leave. We can't win this."
"What?!" Kasper asked. "You want me to admit defeat?! To a fucking Ravenspawn?!"
"Listen to her, lad," Ragner said, voice calm. "Yer are beaten, the two o' ye. Ye can barely stand or piss in a straight line. There's trouble comin' our way, so I canna take the time teachin' ye humility. We will face each other again, that I promise ye, lad. Listen to yer lass. She has realized that yer are fucked if yer stay. We won't be alone for too long."
"You think some mad plebs scare me, cannibal?"
"I wasn't speakin' o' 'em," Ragner said, pointing at the roads of the Hunters, about to reach them. "We made some noise, the bunch o' us. The city has heard it. Nae just the ones comin' for our heads."
It clicked for Kasper then. He paled, realizing he had missed his shot. He bared his teeth, looking away. "You're correct," he admitted. "Next time we meet, I will have your head."
"Oh, lad. Even yer threats are shite."
Liron didn't hear what Kasper said in response. He didn't see them leave. His vision faded, all his senses shutting off with it. He caught glimpses of Hunters climbing the wall, storming Ragner. He slapped them all only once, knocking them out. He didn't use his axe, sparing their lives.
Ragner nodded at Liron. "It's all good, laddie. I have it from here. Ye get some rest."
Following Ragner's advice, Liron closed his eyes and was gone.