Chapter 86
She slid out of the wind wall, and the raging wind that extended for miles instantly blew her over. Her body swayed like a leaf in the wind and quickly slid away from Aimekotes.
A large amount of water overflowed from the void, formed into the shape of a spoon by the wind, perfectly enclosing the Elemental King. Solid ice shuttle-shaped blocks fell from the air and landed on the sandy ground. The ice blocks sunk into the sand, and Xerath struggled to stand up. Her hair and robe were completely wet, making her look like a hatchling that had just pecked out of an egg.
Her breathing became erratic, and she completely lost the archmage's dignity and composure. Facing the swirling storm, she excitedly and urgently took deep breaths, shouting loudly amidst the rumbling thunder.
"Ah—!"
"What on earth - - - -?"
The wind seemed to be caught by her, swirling around the invisible "rocks," creating a vortex. More and more wind spun around the vortex, quickly becoming strong enough to lift the sand and rocks around her into the air.
The archmage in the middle felt like he was on a secluded island. The raging winds in the wind tunnel ceased, and the jubilant elements rushed into the air. Even the sudden appearance of the Earth Child could ride on them and ascend into the sky.
"What is true and what is false - - - -?"
"How can I be certain - - - -?"
The wind tunnel grew larger and seemed to threaten the center of the storm. The half-closed silver suddenly radiated a dazzling light, like an eye abruptly opening. The "eye" stared directly at the archmage. The storm appeared to be getting closer. Dense plasma continuously oozed out from the clouds like a massive, grotesque creature stretching out its withered arms, grabbing hold of the sand sea as it advanced.
"...It's not just my imagination - - - -!"
Xerath kept her eyes wide open, fixed on the "eyes" in the distance that had the same color as her own.
The unusual tidal force of the Elemental Gate often caused leaked elements to gather into a core. These cores were influenced by active elements elsewhere, frequently leading to fusion. Rapid movement was common, especially when they were attracted by active elements.
The center of the storm reached out to her, and she fearlessly reached back.
She knew she might die, and she knew she was insisting on asking something that would never answer her.
The electrical grid surrounded her closely, while the wind protected her, like a wind wall that kept the lightning away. The archmage stood calmly in the almost windless center, watching the storm's core getting closer.
Beside her, the lively wind element was excited by the arrival of the king, and countless whispers gathered together, carrying long echoes across the wilderness.
"The great king has arrived here, and you should join us..."
"The great king has arrived here, and you should join us..."
The monster saw her as an active core like itself. Its giant eyes hovered over her head, as if it wanted to devour her in one bite.
The archmage's heart surged as she remembered the first time she took Sylas out to face the storm. She couldn't control which crazy factor in her heart was triggered, causing her to lose all sense of calmness. The excited archmage emitted golden magic from her body, and the overwhelming magical pressure made her feel like she was about to ignite.
"Ah—!"
"The wind from the north is cold, the wind from the south is hot, the wind from the west is desolate, and the wind from the east is warm."
"I command you all solemnly—"
"Leave this place—"
"Never look back—"
The banishment spell was complete, and the gentle whirlwind seemed to freeze for a moment, as if these winds couldn't believe their ears. But then, as if hearing the command "let the celebration begin," they howled and flew into the sky along with a burst of golden light.
"Ho—" The whispers of countless elements turned into roars, as the banishment tornado, created solely by the archmage, rose from the ground towards the heavens. Silver eyes were pierced without any defense, making a sound like striking leather.
It was probably an illusion caused by the visuals, as the true noise of annihilation only reached from above long after. The sound was so loud that she had to cast a silence spell on herself. In the extreme silence, she watched helplessly as the lightning-like liquid dropped onto the sandy ground hundreds of yards around her. The storm reversed from its center, instantly dispersing all of her allies. The black clouds ruptured as if an invisible hand tore them apart, and starlight leaked from the core of the destruction.
The archmage, almost completely drained of magical power, struggled to stand and fell to his knees. He rubbed his hair and laughed at himself in self-mockery.
"What have I...done?"
She took a break and slowly stood up. She cut open a crack in the space. Hyectra squeezed out from the narrow crack and asked cautiously, "Madam, are you alright? You scared me."
Xerath shook her head gently, opened her arms and said, "I'm tired. Take me back."
Hyectra created a saddle and caught Xerath. The archmage was exhausted and lay on Hyectra's back. The round water ball floated slowly across the desert. Crystals formed puddles of glass on the ground, left behind by the earlier lightning.
After the archmage single-handedly destroyed the storm, the surrounding wind seemed to be subdued by the power of the Elemental King. The air was almost still, and even occasional breezes couldn't stir up much ripple. The archmage used the last remaining magic power to maintain a gentle breeze. Only under the warm breeze, she started to feel a little better.
"I almost forgot how disheveled you look."
"Hmm."
"What happened to you? Did something in the letter say something?"
"No... it's not that. Let me think it through before I tell you. I can't think clearly right now. Please stop asking."
"Yes, Madam." The water lord, who loves to worry, had to stay silent. "The young lady will probably be on vacation in less than a week. Would you like to go pick her up?"
"Yes... I have to go pick her up, or else how will she come back? But I'm afraid..."
She suddenly stopped talking. Hyectra had to find another topic. "The library may need to be rearranged. Before you go far, I put an ice cube on the window. Hopefully it won't get messy again."
"...I'm sorry. I made you worry."
"Oh, don't say that. It's only right for me to worry about you. That moose seems like a nice pattern, it's what protected the whole library."
Sylas, Sylas, the whole world seemed to be filled with Sylas. It was already like this when she wasn't around.
In the middle of the night, the tired archmage returned to the mage tower. After washing up casually, they collapsed on the bed. Creating a storm drained almost all the archmage's magic, it was almost unthinkable.
However, exhaustion didn't let her fall into a deep sleep. Compared to the lazy body, her mind was extremely active and unstable.
It seemed like she didn't sleep well the whole night. Strange dreams one after another. At first, it was a chaotic and vibrant mess, as if standing on clouds. In the dream, she was tossed around and each time she landed on a thick cloud, there were different people questioning her.
"Are those poems truly good enough for people to overlook their messages because of their artistic qualities?"
"Are you really determined enough to read these forbidden poems that tempt the weak-willed?"
She explained repeatedly and meticulously the artistic qualities of these poems, skillfully avoiding the need to explain what thoughts and emotions they expressed. She tirelessly repeated these complex and convoluted sentences, almost wearing out her lips, just to ensure that no one would doubt her intentions towards her students when reading these poems.
Normally, she wouldn't even bother responding to such ridiculous questions.
Just when she felt parched and dizzy, she was thrown into another cloud. She was prepared to continue explaining once the questions stopped, but this person, whose face she couldn't quite see due to their serious expression, pointed at her with severity:
"Since this question has nothing to do with whether or not you like your students, why don't you give a straightforward answer?"
"A straightforward answer... about what?"
"Are you, or are you not..."
Xerath shouted out, interrupting the question that was about to be asked, and then loudly repeated, "I don't know! I don't know! Don't ask me! Don't ask me! I can't be certain! I don't know how to be certain!"
She was attempting to silence the other person, using a manipulative and crude technique that she had never stooped to before.
She suddenly woke up from her own yelling and found herself in her own bedroom. However, she wasn't sure if she had actually screamed.
She reached up and wiped her forehead, which was covered in sweat. The deep exhaustion made her unable to resist sleeping a little longer, but then the alarm clock rang.
Everything had to proceed smoothly until the owner of Aimekotes could handle everything with ease. The water lord understood this well: the archmage liked to disguise tranquility.
Worried, it stretched out an eye from the Elemental Realm, with its mouth hanging behind the eye, and struggled to speak, "Madam, wouldn't you like to sleep a little longer?"
Xerath closed her eyes and reached out a hand to pull it out from the Elemental Realm. The water lord floated in the air, saying, "My lady, you don't look well at all."
"I'm getting up, let's notify Elvis to cook. Shouldn't Virgil be up as well?"
"He should be, he's always punctual."
"Hopefully he slept like a log last night and didn't notice anything happening outside."
It's hard to say, because the commotion was really loud. The enormous noise of annihilation was ten times louder than thunder. But in the storm-ravaged Aimekotes, it was not surprising for storms to become anything, and the enormous core was more likely to cause natural disasters. The excessive tidal force would open holes between dimensions, and the uncontrollable storms would be sucked back into the Elemental Realm, disappearing without a trace.
Xerath turned around and quietly lay on the pillow for a while before slowly getting out of bed.
The pajamas she wore yesterday were already completely ruined. When she came back to take a shower, she threw them in the garbage bin. After randomly putting on a shirt, she fell on the bed and slept for half the night. When she woke up, that expensive shirt was all wrinkled.
The thick stone walls kept the temperature inside the mage tower always the same. But now she felt small again, just like when she was a child who didn't want to get out of bed because of the cold weather.
