Chapter 274
NightmaresThe debris from the house rained down on the grounds below, causing the Tier 1s to scatter in every direction.
He didn’t bother grabbing it again.
Alexander had fought enough wizards now to realize they had a massive weakness.
The fact was that they were far too used to fighting other wizards. They all had the same basic abilities, and even when it came to their automated casting, they favored the same set of spells.
It made sense. If he were forced to face people who could teleport, he’d want to be able to teleport himself. Unfortunately, the only teleportation he had access to would probably try to kill him.
By sending him into the gateway or something.
But wizards were predictable. Maybe because they only fought other wizards who were also predictable. Maybe because the Empire enforced their spell selections.
It didn’t matter.
He was no wizard. And he’d figured out which one was the Marquess. Probably. Hopefully. Which meant the other one could go first.
Alexander abruptly changed directions, rocketing toward the younger of the wizard pair.
She shifted her staff, moving the transparent, amorphous blob of dark energy into his path.
Alexander put on speed, snapping into sharp turns as he maneuvered around the blob. The younger wizard adjusted, trying to keep the dark energy between them, but Alexander wasn’t heading straight for her. He was circling, keeping her between himself and the older wizard, who was flying hard to close the distance from behind.
The younger wizard tracked his movement.
Alexander raised his cybernetic hand. Electrokinesis built in the plating, charge cycling through the arm, building and building until the air around his fist crackled.
She jammed her wand into the holster at her hip, then drew a second one. A curved barrier shimmered into existence, translucent and rippling with layered enchantments.
Alexander unleashed Electrokinesis.
“Soul Circuit.”
The lightning didn’t come from him.
Droney, positioned behind the young wizard, erupted. A bolt of electricity tore from the little drone and crashed into the woman’s back. Her spine arched. She screamed. The energy-draining spell in front of her flickered, the magic bleeding away as her concentration shattered.
Alexander pulsed Metallokinesis and threw himself at her.
He hit the barrier knee-first. The shield cracked on impact, shards of translucent energy scattering around him as the collision rattled up through his leg. He winced, but he was already through.
The woman tried to bring her staff between them.
Too slow. He was inside her guard. His cybernetic fist connected with her face.
Cartilage and bone crumpled under the impact with a crack that echoed across the estate grounds. He didn’t pull the punch. His fist continued through, dragging her head along with it, her body going limp a fraction of a second behind.
Then it caught up.
She shot toward the ground. Hit the grass with a crunch, bounced, smashed through what remained of the estate wall, and carried on into a building on the other side. Stone and timber exploded inward around her.
Alexander came to a stop in the air, watching her carve a path of destruction.
One down.
Wizards were also really bad at taking hits. They needed to get into fist fights more often if they ever hoped to reach Tier 3.
“Kash’tel mor!”
Alexander turned. He recognized the incantation. Erasmus had used it against Augustus.
The Marquess was flying through the air toward him, the head of her staff pointed in his direction.
Lightning erupted from the tip.
Alexander laughed and caught the bolt with the gauntlet on his right hand. It burned a little on the way into his body, but his Will quickly overwrote the spell and absorbed the energy.
The Marquess didn’t look amused. She raised her staff, pointing it at the sky.
“Kol’veth aran!”
Alexander’s eyes narrowed. He recognized that one too.
Several bolts of lightning shot from the clouds above, targeting him.
He seized control the instant they passed into range of his Domain. The bolts twisted, circling around him like tame lightning snakes, then gathered above his upturned cybernetic palm.
Alexander shook his head. “You wizards need to learn to specialize.” His cybernetic fingers curled into a fist, crushing the lightning, and absorbing it into the arm’s capacitors.
The Marquess leveled her staff again.
“Don’t,” Alexander said, Droney translating. “I don’t want to hurt you.” He paused. “Okay, that’s a lie. I do, but I won’t if you cooperate.”
The Marquess hesitated. “Kash’tel gre!” Fire erupted from the tip of her staff.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to NovelBin for the genuine story.
One of Alexander’s mental threads contemplated pulling out the shield drone. The other decided it wasn’t worth it.
Alexander unleashed lightning again. This time he shaped it into the sphere he’d practiced, pouring more power into it than was strictly required.
It was a necessary test. He roughly understood what should happen, but that was before Will and superpowers and magic interfered with the physics.
The cone of flame crashed against the sphere, then distorted, the fire bending around it harmlessly before dissipating.
Alexander reached into the ring with a thought, and pulled out a couple of heavy metal chains. Then he launched at the Marquess, who was already waving her staff around, mouth opening to shout the next spell.