Help! My Moms Are Overpowered Tyrants, and I'm Stuck as Their Baby!-Chapter 183: Show-off

The footsteps multiplied heavy, measured, and echoing with authority down the ruined corridor. For a moment, all of us sword-wielding, shadow-weaving, and one midnight-snacking child simply listened. In that heartbeat of silence, I locked eyes with Elira. She grinned, wild and bright and blood-smeared, and I knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Ready to stop playing nice?" she whispered, flexing her fingers, the air around her humming with energy.

I grinned back. "Thought you'd never ask."

Velka glanced between us, eyebrows arched. "Oh, finally. I was beginning to think you two were committed to the subtle approach." Her voice was pure sarcasm, but her eyes glittered with anticipation. She backed away a respectful step, dragging the confused child with her. "Please, don't let me get in your way."

The corridor erupted as the next wave arrived. These weren't just guards there were at least a dozen, and their masks bore elaborate sigils glowing with arcane menace. Behind them stalked two golems twice the height of the last batch, carved from black marble and etched with gold.

One of the guards lifted a staff, chanting in a guttural dialect. The rune-lit marble at his side flared.

I drew in a deep breath, letting the world narrow to the thrum of power beneath my skin. I could taste the magic iron, ozone, the sweet, electric flavor of possibility.

"Elira?" I said, just to check.

"Let's do this," she said, and the words shimmered with power.

I let go.

For a split second, the world went silent. Then a ripple spread out from my feet, cracking the floor. The torches along the wall flickered and spat as wind burst down the corridor, my hair whipping around my face like a banner.

Elira lifted her arms, fingers tracing complex sigils. I felt the weight of her magic earthy, sharp, and unyielding like the pressure before a storm. She slammed her palm into the ground.

Stone buckled. Roots tore up from beneath the flagstones, thick and ancient, snaking forward with predatory speed. They wrapped around the feet of the first line of guards, yanking them off-balance. As they fell, Elira snapped her fingers, and the roots constricted, holding them immobile.

"Nice touch," Velka breathed, eyes wide.

I was already moving. My own magic flared, blue-white light racing down my arms. I reached for the wind, and it came to me like an eager hunting hound. I slashed my sword forward no longer steel, but a blade of condensed air and sent a wave slicing through the advancing guards. Their staves shattered, the force tossing them against the wall as if they weighed nothing at all.

One of the marble golems barreled forward, swinging a fist the size of a bread oven. I ducked and sent a pulse of wind straight up its arm. The stone cracked and, with a shriek of tortured magic, its hand exploded into a fine dust that sparkled in the torchlight.

"Show-off," Elira called over her shoulder, but she was smiling.

The second golem let out a grinding bellow and stomped toward her. She met its charge with a wild grin, leaping aside at the last moment. As it lumbered past, she slammed her foot down and the floor erupted into jagged spires of rock, spearing the golem's legs and pinning it in place. She vaulted up onto its back, carved a sigil into its marble hide, and whispered a word of unmaking.

The glyphs on the golem's body flickered, fizzled, and then pop! every rune went dark. The whole thing sagged like a puppet whose strings had snapped, toppling with a thunderous crash that rattled dust from the rafters.

Velka, watching from her corner, clapped her hands together, beaming. "Magnificent! I knew you two were hiding something. Please, continue. I'm taking notes."

I spun, catching two more guards in a whirlwind and tossing them through the shattered remains of the old headmaster's portrait. They landed in an undignified heap. "You all right over there, Velka?"

She gave a lazy salute. "Living my best life."

The child inched closer to Velka, wide-eyed. "Are you going to turn into a dragon too?"

"Not unless things get truly out of hand," Velka replied, utterly deadpan.

The remaining guards regrouped, some limping, others glaring at us with the resignation of civil servants paid entirely too little for this sort of overtime.

Elira dusted off her hands and strode forward, cracking her neck. "Let's see if the next batch is more fun."

They were, in fact, less fun. They were smarter sticking to the walls, hiding behind shimmering shields, casting spells in tight formation. Their leader barked an order, and three launched a barrage of flaming bolts down the corridor.

I swept my arm in a wide arc, gathering the wind, and sent the flames back at them. The heat passed over me, stinging but harmless. The guards yelped, shields sputtering.

Elira went low, sliding across the broken floor and smashing the lead guard's shield with a rock-spiked fist. He spun, dazed. I darted in, tapping his shoulder with my sword. The magic discharged, sending him sailing backward into the lap of a marble bust, which promptly fell on his head.

"I hope that wasn't an original," I said, wincing.

"Probably just a cheap reproduction," Velka called.

The guards broke, one by one, under our assault. One tried to run, but Elira wrapped him up in roots, dangling him upside down from a torch bracket.

The golem I'd half-destroyed was crawling, trailing chips of stone. I strode over, pressed my hand to its glowing glyph, and flooded it with wind magic. Its eyes flared one last time, then the head popped off and rolled away like a melon.

Silence fell. Only the sounds of groaning guards, settling rubble, and Velka's applause remained.

"I am sincerely impressed," Velka said, sauntering over. "You know, I was beginning to think Elyzara was the only one here who could unleash apocalyptic magic on command. This has been extremely educational. Ten out of ten, would recommend as a spectator sport."

Elira and I exchanged tired grins. "You're welcome," I said. "Next time, you can fight the golems."

"Oh, I wouldn't want to deprive you of your fun," Velka said. "Besides, you're much better at making a mess."

The child tugged Velka's sleeve. "Is it over?"

Velka looked thoughtful, then toward the far end of the corridor where a set of reinforced doors began to rumble.

"Almost certainly not," she replied. "But the good news is, now I'm feeling inspired."

The doors burst open, revealing not more guards, not golems but a swirl of magical energy. The air hummed, thick with spellwork. A voice, calm and cold, echoed through the hall.

"Intruders. Surrender immediately. Lethal force is authorized."

"Oh, now they're just showing off," I muttered.

A trio of magi stepped forward, faces obscured by golden masks, each holding a staff pulsing with runes. The magic in the air shifted heavier, more dangerous.

Elira and I shared a look. "Ready?" she whispered.

"Let's go all in," I said.

She closed her eyes, drew in a deep, shuddering breath, and the stones at her feet rippled, rising up in a wave. I threw my hands wide, calling the wind, the corridor trembling as the magic built between us.

The first mage sent a crackling bolt of red lightning at Elira. She blocked it with a wall of stone, the impact sending shards flying. I caught a second bolt on a current of wind, twisting it back, and the mage flung up a hasty shield, barely in time.

Velka watched, arms folded, a look of utter delight on her face. "Honestly, I feel underdressed."

The third mage sent a sphere of crackling black energy rolling down the hall Elira leapt over it, flipping in midair, and landed behind him. She struck the floor, roots exploding upward and wrapping around the mage, hoisting him into the air.

I focused on the second mage. He tried to encase me in a cocoon of force I sliced through it with my windblade, the pressure so fierce it ripped banners from the walls and sent loose pages fluttering like startled birds.

"Impressive!" the mage called, voice muffled by his mask.

"Thanks!" I called back. "Now fall over, please."

He obliged, sort of. I sent a gust under his feet and swept him into a bookshelf. The shelf collapsed with an echoing crash, burying him in tomes titled Advanced Transmutation for Stubborn Idiots and Defensive Hexes That Actually Work.

The first mage squared off with Elira, sending bolts of energy in rapid-fire bursts. She ducked, rolled, parried them with slabs of stone. Then, with a shout, she stomped the ground. The corridor split—a canyon opening at the mage's feet. He tumbled down with a scream and a particularly undignified flailing of arms.

Velka strolled forward, nudging a fallen mask with her boot. "I think that's everyone."

I blew a stray lock of hair from my face. "That felt excessive."

"Not at all," Elira said. "That was deeply cathartic."

The child clapped politely. "Are you going to explode the castle now?"

Velka patted her on the head. "No, dear, only if Mara tries to cook again."

I scowled. "That was one time!"

Before anyone could reply, the ground shook. Dust rained from the ceiling. Somewhere above, bells began to clang an alarm, magical and physical, echoing through every stone.

Velka's smile faded. "That's our cue."

We sprinted, the corridor streaming past in a blur of rubble and groaning adversaries. Down the hall, up a flight of cracked marble stairs, Velka leading with preternatural speed, the child in tow.

"Shortcut!" Velka shouted, ducking through a tapestry and into a hidden stairwell. We burst out onto a balcony, the night wind cool and sharp.

Below, the grounds of Arcanum were chaos students fleeing, more guards rallying, spells flickering like fireworks. Far off, the city lights of the capital gleamed, serene and unaware.

Elira gripped my hand. "You ready?"

I nodded, gathered my magic. Together, we leapt.

Wind and stone cradled us, carrying us down in a dizzying, wild arc. Velka followed, shadow wings spreading from her back, the child whooping with glee as they soared over the hedge maze.

We landed with a jarring thump, tumbling to our feet. I looked back smoke curled from the broken windows, the castle silhouetted in the moonlight.

Elira pressed a kiss to my cheek, breathless and laughing. "Next time, let's just take the front door."

Velka smirked. "And miss all this? Never."

The child tugged my sleeve, grinning. "Can we do it again?"

I looked at the battered, filthy, glorious faces around me Elira's wild grin, Velka's feral pride, the child's shining eyes and felt the heady pulse of victory.

"Maybe after a nap," I said. "And possibly a month-long vacation."

Velka nodded, eyes shining with something suspiciously like affection. "You two are terrifying," she said, voice low. "Remind me never to get on your bad side."

Elira looped her arm around my shoulders, smirking. "That's good advice for everyone."