Chapter 3057 Shifting Gears (Part 1)
3057 Shifting Gears (Part 1)
The Demons shared Lith's same energy signature so only Gravity magic affected them. Everything else they ignored and unleashed their own spells, wreaking havoc inside the Elemental Lord like a violent infection.
'If only I had seven Demons inside my Void Sigils, I could train them to use Silverwing Annihilation.' Lith inwardly griped. 'The problem is that even with the black chains guiding them, temporary Demons lack the finesse to employ complex spells and tactics.
'The best I can do is unleash them at the enemy and let the Demons vent their fury.'
Argantyr tried to Blink but the dimensional spell collapsed halfway through and severed him in two halves.
<"Cursed objects can enslave souls, be a dimensional mage, or manipulate matter. No one can do all these things. What are you?"> The failed Blink had put a dent in the Elemental Lord's vitality, tipping the scales for the first time since the beginning of the fight.
The answer was that Lith manipulated the Demons and the Watchtower gave Solus the dimensional awareness of a dimensional mage. The Factory had produced the shield, but only because the Library held the necessary blueprints and the mines stored enough materials for the Workshop to replicate.
None of those abilities came from the power core of the tower. Menadion had built it to assist her and give her the means she needed to exceed her limits. Unlike a cursed object, without its master the tower was just an elegant pile of stones.
Lith ignored the question and activated the Silverwing's Annihilation stored in the Mouth of Menadion. Seven lights of different colors arranged like the Big Dipper appeared on the right palm of the Engine, unleashing the Tower Tier version of the anti-Guardian spell.
<"What's that?"> Argantyr had never heard about Silverwing and his sensory arrays reported that the power of the spell-array hybrid was off the scales set millennia ago by his makers.
As the seven elemental pillars bolted forward in a prismatic beam of light, Argantyr conjured his best defensive Tower Spell, Winter Keep. The earth element raised a rock wall the size of a tidal wave while the water element coated it in a thick layer of ice that drained the heat from everything it touched.
The air element coated the colossal shield with storm winds that would deflect any incoming hit and accelerate the movements of the otherwise slow earth element.
The creators of the lost city had named him the Elemental Lord because they intended to Forgemaster a creature as powerful as a Guardian but bestowed with all elemental affinities.
With each mana geyser Argantyr infected, he gained a new source of world energy that his main pseudo cores split into its elemental components. Mogar's energy signature was absorbed, becoming part of the lost city's life force, and replaced by Argantyr's.
The process allowed his strength to grow endlessly and to have an unlimited source of Spirit Magic. On top of that, he had reached such a level of mastery over the elements that his spells could conjure small natural disasters.
Winter Keep held the power of a quake, but the Tower version of the Annihilation ripped it to shreds. The earth, air, and water pillars tore the corresponding elements comprising Winter Keep apart like fire burning through paper before joining the assault of the remaining four elements.
Argantyr's elemental-sealing arrays proved to be useless and his Spirit Barrier held only for one second before cracking and one second longer before shattering. He poured everything he had into his right arm, turning it into a shield construct imbued with emerald and orange light.
Once again, the Annihilation made short work of the defensive spells and enchantments. The Elemental Lord felt no pain while his hand crumbled and the seven pillars worked their way up to his forearm first and then past the elbow.
Great was his shock when nothing was left of his arm and, despite all of his struggling, the enemy's spell started to cut through his chest.
'If barriers don't work, I need to move on the offensive!' Air and water fusion made Argantyr incredibly fast for someone his size but the Engine only had to slightly tilt its hand to follow the Elemental Lord's every movement.
Without the Ears, Lith and Solus couldn't predict his route, but the Eyes perceived what element Argantyr was using second by second and the Watchtower was locked on his dimensional coordinates.
Lith and Solus learned what Argantyr was about to do and where he wanted to move with only a split second of delay. It was more than enough for someone with their battle experience to guess his intentions and counter his strategies.
Argantyr screamed in frustration as more of his body was torn apart and the prismatic beam inched closer to the crystalline mass holding his pseudo cores. His regenerative enchantments couldn't keep up with the Annihilation and a quarter of his body was in shambles.
By combining the power that the tower, the Hands, and the Sage Staff stored in the Armory drew from the mana geyser, the Engine could hold Silverwing's Annihilation for much longer than any group of seven bright violet cored Awakened.
'We've dealt him a huge blow.' Solus said. 'Many of the enchantments of the Elemental Lord are collapsing and his aura is getting weaker. Yet the tower has lost over half of its full power.
'Unless we locate his pseudo cores soon, we can't win with just the Annihilation. We need to stop.'
Argantyr had no way to know this and put all the strength he had accumulated in preparation for fight against the three white cores into a single spell. Earth magic shattered the ground below the two colossi, opening deep fissures that reached Mogar's molten essence.
Fire magic drew the incandescent magma to the surface and highly compressed light magic formed a rough laser that crossed the space between the Elemental Lord and the Engine in an instant, collecting the magma in its wake.
Together, the three elements formed the Tower Spell Searing Light.
The light element stoked the flames, amplifying the heat of the magma and melting more rocks as it moved. Searing Light moved forward at supersonic speed while also spinning on itself like a drill.
The newly-collected solid rocks were amassed at the tip of the laser beam, giving it substance, and were moved inside as they melted. The ensuing quake robbed the Engine of its footing but Lith still managed to redirect the Annihilation to hit Searing Light's center mass.
The Elemental Lord couldn't win in raw power so he splayed his fingers and the beam of lava and light split into countless smaller projectiles.
"Shit!" The Annihilation was too small to destroy them all before they reached the Engine and Lith couldn't afford to waste the remaining power of the tower in a barrier so he Blinked away.
<"Not so fast, you fucker!"> Argantyr turned around, pointing his remaining hand at the exit point while Searing Light kept pouring out of his palm and the old projectiles turned around to chase their prey.
Blink had a limited range and the laser beam moved so fast that the Engine had less than a second of respite before the onslaught reached it again.
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