Reinventing Magic: An Inventor's Tale-Chapter 110: The Prism’s Fall

The sky split.

Torvin’s Ragnarok’s Maw pulsed with apocalyptic energy, its crimson aura warping the very air. The ground beneath him shattered, fissures spiderwebbing outward as the blade’s Endbringer’s Call reached its zenith. The sheer pressure of his mana crushed nearby soldiers—royal and Bryndis alike—forcing them to their knees.

Yet Alice and Astra stood unwavering, their expressions blank, their bodies untouched by the crushing aura.

Lucius Drayford squinted against the blinding radiance of the Solflare Prism, his tactical mind racing. The artifact was the linchpin of Bryndis’ strategy—its searing light had crippled the royal army’s coordination. If it remained, the battle would tilt irreversibly in Bryndis’ favor.

Gritting his teeth, he thrust a finger toward the source of the light and bellowed:

"Torvin! Destroy that artifact!"

The command cut through the battlefield’s chaos. Torvin’s steel-gray eyes flicked toward the Prism, gleaming atop Bryndis’ walls. His lips curled into a smirk.

"Gladly."

With Ragnarok’s Maw in its final form, his speed and strength had ascended beyond human limits. Silently, he wove an augmentation spell—layering it atop his sword’s already overwhelming power. His muscles coiled, his grip tightened—

And then he vanished.

A sonic boom cracked the air as he reappeared mid-swing, his blade carving a crimson arc toward the Solflare Prism.

---

Kael had anticipated this.

From the Arcanum Forge’s control room, his fingers had already danced across the Arc Nexus, reinforcing the Prism’s defenses. A multi-layered barrier shimmered into existence—Aetherium-hardened shields, rune-infused deflection matrices, and a final emergency displacement ward meant to teleport the artifact to safety if breached.

But against Ragnarok’s Maw at full power?

The first barrier shattered like glass.

The second evaporated.

The third—

Torvin’s blade struck true.

The Solflare Prism erupted in a cataclysmic burst of light and heat, its enchantments unraveling in an instant. The shockwave hurled nearby defenders from the walls, their screams lost in the deafening roar of annihilation.

For a heartbeat, the battlefield was silent.

Then—darkness.

The blinding radiance that had crippled the royal army was gone. The Prism was no more than scattered ashes.

---

Lucius exhaled sharply.

"Now," he murmured, "we fight on even ground."

His fingers flicked, signaling the royal mages. The moment the Prism fell, their spellwork resumed—firestorms, lightning barrages, and earthquakes ripping through Bryndis’ ranks.

But Kael was already moving.

"Astra," he commanded through their mental link.

The guardian’s Spirit Crystal pulsed. Across the battlefield, strategic barriers flared to life, intercepting the worst of the royal mages’ assault.

Alice’s hands rose, her Aether Core humming as she wove a counter-barrage—ice lances and arcane volleys streaking toward the enemy’s rear lines.

Yet the tide was shifting.

---

Torvin landed gracefully amidst the wreckage, his blade still pulsing with residual energy. His smirk widened as he locked eyes with Pietro and Victor.

"No more tricks," he growled. "Now, you die."

Pietro tightened his grip on Celestial Edge, its celestial glow flickering. Victor spat blood, his ribs protesting as he forced himself upright.

Alice stepped between them, her Spirit Crystal blazing.

"Master Kael’s orders stand," she said softly. "We hold."

Torvin’s laugh was a dark, grating sound.

"Then hold your graves."

He lunged.

---

Inside the Forge, Kael’s gaze hardened.

The Prism’s destruction was a calculated loss—he had expected it. But Torvin’s power exceeded projections.

"NEXUS," he said.

The AI’s voice resonated in his mind. "Torvin’s energy expenditure suggests a 53% depletion rate. His final form cannot be sustained indefinitely."

Kael’s fingers hovered over the interface.

"It’s time to move."

---

The world slowed to a crawl as Torvin lunged, Ragnarok’s Maw carving a path of annihilation through the air. The blade’s segmented edges vibrated at molecular frequencies, leaving behind a trail of distorted space where matter simply ceased to exist.

Alice and Astra moved in perfect synchronization.

One moment they stood before Torvin’s killing strike—the next, they were gone, teleporting twenty paces back in twin flashes of silver light. The ground where they’d stood erupted in a cataclysmic explosion as Void Rend tore reality apart.

Astra’s Spirit Crystal pulsed. A sword of pure eldersilver enchanted nanites materialized in his grip, its blade humming with ancient enchantments. Without hesitation, he disappeared again—

—reappearing behind Torvin with his weapon already mid-swing.

CLANG!

The soundwave from their collision flattened nearby soldiers. Torvin had pivoted at the last possible instant, his obsidian blade meeting Astra’s with earth-shaking force.

"Fast," Torvin growled, his scarred face twisting into a grin. "But not fast enough."

He triggered Seismic Rupture.

The ground beneath them exploded upward in jagged black spikes. Astra’s body reconfigured instantly—his Golem Mode activating as nanites restructured his form. The stone spears shattered against his reinforced chassis as he backflipped away.

Torvin didn’t let up. With a roar, he swung horizontally, unleashing another Void Rend. The invisible wave of destruction erased everything in a fifty-meter arc—

—only for Astra to raise his free hand. A hexagonal barrier of golden light intercepted the attack, the shield’s surface fracturing but holding. The Spirit Crystal in his chest blazed as he channeled an ancient defensive matrix.

"Interesting trick," Torvin admitted, already charging forward. His boots cratered the earth with each step. "Let’s see how many you know!"

Meanwhile, at the battle’s edge...

Pietro wiped blood from his lip, his grip tightening on Celestial Edge as he watched the duel unfold. The sheer force of their exchanges sent shockwaves through the battlefield.

"We should help," he said through gritted teeth.

Beside him, Alice remained perfectly still, her silver-gray hair undisturbed by the chaotic winds. "Unnecessary. Astra’s combat efficiency remains at 92%."

Victor coughed, clutching his injured ribs. "Your confidence is... reassuring."

As if to prove her point, Astra suddenly unleashed a counterattack that made the very air scream. His sword transformed mid-swing—the blade elongating into a whip-like chain of segmented energy that wrapped around Ragnarok’s Maw. With a sharp tug, he yanked Torvin off balance.

Torvin snarled as he was pulled forward—straight into Astra’s palm.

The Energy Projection spell detonated at point-blank range.

---

Lucius watched from the command post, his tactical mind analyzing every development.

"Captain," he snapped to a nearby officer, "have the mages focus fire on their flanks. We’ll—"

A explosion rocked the eastern flank. Lucius’ head whipped around to see Count Edgar’s forces smashing through the royal lines, their enchanted armor deflecting conventional attacks.

"Damn it," Lucius hissed. He grabbed a messenger. "Order the battlemages to switch to Mana Disruption spells. Their armor can’t withstand direct magical assault!"

Even as he spoke, he saw a Bryndis soldier take a spear through the chest—only for the weapon to shatter against hidden armor plating. The soldier retaliated, cutting down two royal knights before they could react.

Lucius’ jaw tightened. Every piece of intelligence he’d gathered suggested Bryndis’ forces should have broken by now. Instead, they fought with equipment and coordination that defied all conventional warfare doctrine.

"Who the hell is orchestrating this?" he muttered.

---

Back at the duel...

Torvin skidded back from Astra’s blast, his armor smoking. For the first time, something like respect flashed in his eyes.

"You’re not human," he observed, rolling his shoulders.

Astra said nothing. His Spirit Crystal pulsed again, and suddenly the air around Torvin erupted in a dozen floating rune circles.

Torvin barely had time to curse before the spells triggered—Gravity Crush combined with Soulfire Lances. The ground cratered beneath him as invisible forces pressed down while spears of blue flame rained from above.

With a defiant roar, Torvin activated Endbringer’s Call once more. A crimson vortex exploded outward, consuming the spells in a maelstrom of destruction.

But Astra was already moving.

His form blurred as he teleported in rapid succession—appearing left, right, above—each time striking with precision that would have bisected a lesser warrior. Torvin parried frantically, his enhanced reflexes the only thing keeping him alive.

The two combatants became a whirlwind of clashing steel and erupting magic, their battle carving a wasteland through the heart of the battlefield.

---

Alice’s eyes glowed faintly as she monitored the fight through her Spirit Crystal’s analytical matrices.

"Torvin’s energy reserves are depleting at 1.3% per second," she observed clinically.

Victor coughed out a laugh. "So we just... wait for him to tire out?"

"Negative." Alice raised her hands. "Master Kael has another objective."

Her crystal flared—and suddenly the ground beneath the royal mages erupted in Arcane Geysers, disrupting their spell formations.

Pietro took a steadying breath and raised Celestial Edge. "Then let’s clear a path."

As the three moved to rejoin the larger battle, the sky above darkened ominously. The real battle was just beginning.

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