NOVEL NEXT Chapter 109: Collapse
Heat buffeted Leif as a column of fire ignited the common area of the guild building. [Amber Aegis] flickered around him, the golden barrier deflecting most of the splinters and flames as the shockwave rolled over him. He whirled, cloak burning around the edges only to see a wall of smoke and dancing flames.
Someone stumbled towards the door, their body almost entirely engulfed as they blindly scrambled to escape. A second blast of fire rocked the building, chunks of the ceiling coming crashing down to disappear into the inferno. He conjured an amber limb and thrust it out towards the adventurer who was blindly groping for a way out. Leif hauled their smoking, near dead form from the building as a wave of cinders blew through the door frame and out into the street.
Healing energy flowed into the adventurer as Leif’s golden eyes fixated on the burning building. He could sense the panic and terror from those trapped inside, with every passing moment their lifeforce grew fainter and fainter, several presences flickering out one by one. Standing by and watching as people died was something that struck him like a physical force, but the flames were a danger he couldn’t ignore.
Not just physical in their threat, if he charged into the inferno there was a significant risk that his identity as being non-human would come to light. The adventurer in his arms let out a gasping breath, their whole body shuddering as the worst of the damage was washed away in a tide of healing magic.
“Please.” They rasped, raising a trembling hand towards the guild hall.
Leif hesitated, hating himself for doing so. He willed [Amber Aegis] to protect the adventurer, bestowing the minor healing over time effect as he lowered them to the ground. Men and women were spilling from the front door, several diving out of windows or breaking their own way out with enhanced [Might] or skills that empowered their physical blows. Leif stood, rolled his neck, then reached towards the burning building with an effort of will. Using [Wood Manipulation] he ripped the wall outwards, smoke and fire spilling out of the newly created hole.
He stepped forward, then knelt down to place a palm on the charred floorboards. Amber energy flooded into the scorched material, then tendrils of wood rose from the floor around his touch, each snaking off into the building to grab presences he could detect through the burning chaos. One by one he hauled survivors free, each receiving a quick [Healing Palm], the worse off being targeted by [Amber Aegis].
The flames were spreading quickly, too quickly to be natural. As Leif pulled survivor after survivor from the building he began to sweep his perception in search of the cause. He couldn’t detect anything below the building, but similarly with the enchanters shop the fire had clearly come from the ground. Maybe from below the building? Leif thought, several golden arms shooting out to catch a wooden beam as it fell.
He distantly became aware of bells ringing, people shouting out or groaning in pain. Smoke billowed from the ceiling as the structure's upper floor began to collapse. There were still people inside.
“Protect.” He commanded, forcing as much power and authority into his shielding skill as he could. A golden barrier flickered around him, a dome of protection to keep back the encroaching fire. Leif strode into the building, the ground at his feet was distorted from both the heat and his manipulation skill. The ceiling groaned, but he mentally wrestled with it as he held it back from collapsing with [Wood Manipulation].
His will trembled against the weight, even as the last survivors made mad dashes for any exits they could find. A group of three humans came stumbling down the stairs, cloth wrapped around their faces protecting them from the smoke even as they flinched away from the heat.
“Go!” He said, his voice echoing out even as the final support beams gave out and the building fell apart. A figure he thought was Frederick stumbled, Peri trying to pull him along. The imperial officer’s upper body was a disfigured mess of burnt skin and charred cloth. They weren’t going to make it. Flames ate away at the shield surrounding him as the three humans staggered passed.
The ceiling fell. Leif stepped forward.
Gods dammit. He thought as amber arms wrapped around the three humans.
A building crashed down atop him.
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The light filtering down from above was specced with dust and ash, they mixed together in swirling patterns to land among the detritus and the dead. An ivory fist punched out of the rubble, followed by a figure wearing a tattered cloak. Golden eyes scanned their surroundings, taking in the moss stained stone and the faint trickle of water dammed up by fallen wreckage.
The stone passage was damp and dark, nothing but the sounds of Leif extricating himself from the pile of charred wood could be heard. He cursed, amber limbs working in tandem to clear away his surroundings. Charred and unrecognisable corpses littered the passageway, likely the remains of low levelled victims who had rapidly succumbed to the flames and the heat.
Three bodies were slumped unmoving at his feet, vitality only present within one of them. The scion leaned down and scooped up Peri, walking a fair distance away before placing her down. One of her arms was mangled and her breathing was rough and uneven, but she would live.
Frederick was dead, as somebody who likely lacked a single combat class his physical attributes hadn’t been enough to survive the fall. The imperial captain was likewise deceased, a large wooden splinter having staked him through the skull. Leif looked up and sighed, this wasn’t the first time he had fallen into a place unknown to him, but at least he had suspected it to happen this time. And it wasn’t like the surface was too far away.
The ceiling to the sewer, for what else could it be, was barely ten metres above him. Too high to climb without significant effort on his part, but not so high that his predicament would be inescapable. The charred exterior of his body flaked away as his healing took care of the minor wounds and burns that covered him, but that wasn’t the issue. His clothing, cloak and all were barely enough to cover him, let alone disguise his nature. He raised a hand to his face, and the mask was gone, if anyone was conscious to see him his cover would already have been blown.
He willed a mostly unburnt section of floorboard out of the dam blocking the sewers flow, it was dry and clean. Within moments he had reshaped it into a replica of his old mask, though the colouration was different. Leif placed a hand on the shoulder of the unconscious soldier at his side, healing her enough to save her life, but not enough that she would regain consciousness.
[Amber Aegis] flickered around her, the skill faintly warping the air as golden motes of light slowly orbited her body. Every few seconds one of the motes pressed up against one of Peri’s many wounds, the skill slowly restoring her.
Leif’s perception warped, then golden grains of sand began to rewind the events that had recently transpired. He saw the bodies and detritus that surrounded him fall upwards, the floor of the guild building flowing back into place. He waited, for over a minute no further information came to his sight, then three hazy figures walked backwards out of the tunnels gloom.
He watched as one of the vague outlines had raised their hands, a ball of fire falling down to hover between their palms. The figure channelled the skill for over a minute, their other two companions keeping watch from both sides of the tunnel. The fireball winked out, then a second fell from above and was channelled. As Leif observed, anger built within his chest. He didn’t care why these people had done what they had, what their motives were or if they were following orders. People had died, been murdered in cold blood, and he had been stupid enough to step in and try to save them.
“Fuck.” Leif said, glowering in the direction the attackers had come and left in.
By the time the people above had picked their way through the ruined guild office and were peering down into the sewer below he was already gone.