Arcanum - Chapter 150

“Paul!!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs but the ringing sound in my ear stopped me even hearing my own voice, still blinded from the intense flash…. I felt the hands of two different people grabbing my arms and dragging me back away from direction Paul was. I intentionally began to fight them trying to break free from being dragged away.

“Stop fighting!! We’re falling back!!” A muffled voice tried to instruct me as another set of hands grabbed my arms and began pulling me away faster.

After what felt like a minute they put me down lying me comfortably on the floor. I waited a few seconds before getting up in all fours and began feeling my surroundings, there seemed to be what I guess are other students as I felt the feeling of clothing and an arm.

“We need to help the commander!” I heard the muffled shouts of some students making me calm down a little knowing he’s still alive.

“Follow his orders injured and harmed students first.” Another student argued.

“Look at him!! He won’t last much longer.” Another student pleaded.

“The commander instructed us to….. Pull back and evacuate the injured students!” The same student insisted.

“God I need my sight back!” I cursed as my eyes slowly regained its vision. “Help… can someone tell me what’s going on?..” I shouted to anyone who could hear me.

“It’s okay…. The commander is holding them off and managed to reduce their initial strike…. we’re not quite sure what the situation is in the other locations though..” A female voice informed me lifting me up.

“Please… if you can see.. Is he giving me a sign?..” I asked unsure how much time passed.

“I’m not sure… he looks a little busy right now..” She informed me.

“Please its important! take me to him!!” I asked in urgency.

“…. We’re meant to be pulling everyone back…” She hesitantly questioned.

“Once I get my sight back I’m gonna head that way anyways… you might as well help me…. It’s important I stay by him!” I explained.

She paused in silence for a few seconds “… You’re the one who arrived with him right?…” She asked.

“Yeah…. I did….” I answered her.

“Okay…. I’ll help…” She agreed helping me up putting my arm around her shoulder and her arm around my hip.

“Thanks….” I thanked her finding it slightly hard to walk for some reason…

“Any idea what hit us earlier?..” I asked curiously.

“No idea myself…. it just looked like a big beam of light.” The student answered.

“Was there much damage done?..” I asked worried for everyone else as my vision slowly came back to a devastated area…. bits a pieces of ground blasted away….. Fabrics of clothing….. Students helping one another off the gound.

“It’s pretty bad… Paul seemingly took the brunt of it…. Most students near the front have only received minor injuries and most students seemed to have been blinded momentarily.” She answered.

“And Paul. how’s he doing?….” I asked in a panic…..

“He’s seems to be holding them off with a barrier for now…. but he seems in bad shape…..” She hesitantly answered.

“How bad?..” I asked immediately.

“Well I’m not quite sure…. but he’s on one knee…” She answered.

“What’s stopping the Dark Elves?..” I asked as the panic set in.

“I think he’s made a barrier spanning the entire left side of the inner district wall.” She answered.

“Is he giving me a sign?..” I asked hoping that it’s the time to release the flare.

“To be honest… I don’t even know if he’s conscious….. He’s just kneeling on one knee.” She answered.

“How close are we…?” I asked immediately feeling more and more panicked.

“Almost there…..” She replied picking up the pace. “What do you plan to do?..” She asked her voice quivered slightly.

“It’s all gonna be all right…. don’t worry.” I answered her as my vision finally recovered to the point where I can see the bright yellow light of Paul’s large raised far into the sky…..

“Bloody hell….” I starred in awe as my vision finally recovered…… his barrier raised high into the sky….. Absorbing the repetitive onslaught of arrows and the occasional beams of lights again.

Without thinking I pulled out the flare slamming it down into the ground setting off a large bright red firework into the sky. “Paul!!!” I yelled out to him… red flares began shooting into the sky across the wall. He turned to me giving me smile…. He looked absolutely battered.. His body on the verge of giving out on him. His clothes blasted to shreds.

One delayed flare shot into the sky, he closed his eyes concentrating on something as three rows of innumerable large oval shaped portals appeared in the sky across the whole wall….. Quickly a large blue curved shape blanket appeared over the lower district… Without warning a light show rained down on the blanket like rain hitting the roofing of a tent. Large thick beams of concentrated colours letting out a devastatingly loud sound impacting the blanket letting off giant sparks of light.

“What is that?…..” The student muttered in awe starring into the sky.

The blanket seemed impenetrable easily shielding the Dark Elves form the constant barrage of the large devastating beams. I stood in anticipation praying that the blanket would fall, deafening sounds of cannon fire erupted out the portals as hundreds of thick large spiked tip rods easily the size of busses came screaming out, the first imbedding itself into the blanket piercing into it a little.

Then there it was. The small spark of hope we needed, with each large spike imbedding itself deeper and deeper into the blanket, until one spike flew effortlessly through the blanket then another and another… with each spike creating a large earth-shaking quake that most probably could be felt throughout the whole city.

In that instant the battle was decided… the blanket quickly vaporized into beautiful light particles signalling the defeat of the Dark Elves… as the remaining large spikes now free from the blanket rocketed into the Dark Elf army creating a devastating earthquake shaking the entire foundations of the city.

Without remorse or mercy millions and millions of small arms fire was added to the onslaught, raining down on the Dark Elves..”Oh my God….” The female student stunned witnessing the bombardment of large beams, spiked rods and the constant rain of small arms fire. “What in the heavens could that spell is even be?…..” The student muttered.

Now it all came to me….. Making everyone fall back into the inner district…… he wanted to pull them into the city and confined them in there to halt their retreat while raining hellfire on them…… He wasn’t joking about raining hellfire on them….. And showing them an overwhelming amount of force.

The slaughter was over kill… lasting for what felt like minutes, I really doubt whoever was stuck in the blast radius would have perished within seconds… and no form of surrender…As the portals laid waste to the whole Dark Elf army with little to no remorse. In an instant the slaughter stopped as simultaneously his barrier and portals vanished from existence. The sounds of roars and cheers erupted throughout the city…. Even the nearby students were all cheering in joy…. but all the celebration quickly faded to an inaudible mumble as I saw Paul lying on the ground face down into the dirt.

“Paul!!!” I screamed scrambled to my feet running straight to Paul as fast as my legs could carry me…… the sight of his final stupid smile flashing in my brain.

“Crap…” The student behind me as the silhouette of Dark Elves emerged from the dissipating smoke and rubble walking slowly towards him… ‘How did they survive????….’