Black Onyx - Forgotten Magic

Chapter 282: Rain of Fire

Tap, tap, tap

A staff striking the stones on the ground sounded out on the dark cobblestone road. In the early morning hours, before the sun even revealed its first rays, a procession of Mages slowly advanced towards the northern city wall. That's where the attacks were most brutal and that's also where most of the monsters were coming from.

It was only logical for them to go there.

The Paladins that came before them cleared out the area so they could do their job in peace. Their thick crimson robes, embroidered with gold and silver, served as great protection from a chilly morning wind.

They arrived at a watchtower. The roof of the building was unfortunately collapsed, but that didn't seem to bother the group of Mages. Instead, a few of them used Earth magic to clear the debris out of the way and went up. The top floor was just a few meters higher than the wall, giving them a good view of the entire battlefield around them.

The old mage that lead them, the famous Grandmaster Mage Spark, waited until all of them were gathered, and then tapped with his staff on the floor.

Everyone stopped speaking and took their staves as well and stood at the ready.

Then Grandmaster Spark stared speaking with closed eyes, "In the name of Innos, the Father almighty, the giver of life and all that is Holy"

"...We follow the Sun!" the rest answered in unison.

"For the life, we were given, that we guard and we cherish, and for all that is good" Spark continued, slightly raising his voice.

"...We follow the Sun!"

"From the darkest Abbys to the highest mountain peaks"

"...We follow the Sun!"

"By the monsters we fight, and the blood that we spill"

"...We follow the Sun!"

As they continued chanting, a peculiar atmosphere arose around them. The sounds of war all around diminished with each passing moment and soon only their words could be heard.

Those that could see Mana would notice the resonance of each person sync with the rest and the Mages slowly as if in trance, took a step forward with closed eyes and formed a line one step behind Spark.

The man continued chanting, and the Aura of each individual increased and started merging with the rest. Soon the synchronization was complete, and the Mages extended their hands, placing them on Grandmaster Spark's shoulders.

The old man opened his eyes abruptly and his entire being started to glow. His Aura grew seemingly without end, much higher than Gerald's ever could, reaching the height of some Gold Ranked beasts.

He gripped his staff with both hands towards the sky with completely clear eyes and a serene expression. At that exact moment, the first ray of sunshine pierced the darkness and illuminated the heavens.

"As the Sun as my guide"

"I call from the sky"

"A pillar of flames"

"And a drop of Sunshine!"

Mana surged through the Mages, traveled across their hands and over the body of Grandmaster Spark, and exploded out of the Crystal on his staff, shattering it in the process.

"By Innos' Will, a Rain of Fire!"

RUMBLE!

***

"How are you feeling," Xilia came to ask. She carried a piece of cloth covering her mouth.

Gerald cracked his neck and stretched his limbs, "Hmm, I feel Refreshed! And hungry too."

He quickly took a snack and started eating without further ado.

"Bleagh! How can you eat at a time like this?" She covered her mouth with one hand and placed the other on her stomach.

"What? Oh, you mean the stench?" Burning human flesh and entrails of the dead didn't exactly make for a romantic combination.

Gerald shrugged, "Meh, I have smelled worse. You should have tried the perfume of my first girlfriend, one sniff and you would end up in an emergency room. Actually, now that I think about it, no wonder I always had a headache around her"

"Huh?"

"Nevermind..."

Sometime later another person came to greet him. This one was covered in bandages and had a leg immobilized with a splint. Still, with the help of crutches and another warrior, he came close.

"Are you Gerald?" he asked.

"Uh, yes?"

The man bowed and introduced himself, "I'm Otis, leader of the Dark Lions, people call me Dark Knight. I heard you were the one who saved my nephew, Ethan, and for that, I'm eternally grateful."

It seemed that the action was quite painful for him, so Gerald quickly helped him back up. "Oh, that's your boy? Don't worry about it, I was just doing what I can."

However, the Dark Knight Otis stubbornly kept his head down, "You don't understand! It might have been nothing much for you, but for me he is everything! He is the last family I have after my sister"

He didn't continue.

Gerald sighed and placed a hand on the guy's shoulder. Then he started aggressively healing him.

"Huh?! Such powerful magic!" Otis immediately looked up in shock as foreign Mana invaded his body. "I can't even resist!"

"Stand still dude, you got some dangerous internal bleeding. Even if you survive this you would suffer some life-long organ damage if nothing is done," Gerald said and kept healing him.

"T-thank you" Otis shut his mouth and closed his eyes, just letting the magic flow through him. He was in fact experiencing some painful stomach aches, but he thought it was nothing too serious. He already drunk a potion too, but it clearly wasn't enough.

A few minutes went by and another person came. This one was Tabbris.

"Oh, hey! You are finally up. I thought you are just going to sit there forever," he joked.

"Why? Was I gone for long?"

"Four hours, man! Almost four hours!" Tabbris laughed at Gerald's busted time awareness. "But forget about that, look!"

He pointed towards a watchtower in the distance. A red glow radiated from it.

"I told you you are in for a surprise. Come, the show is about to start!"