Chapter 1583 - The Pain Of Loss (Part 1) (1/2)
Vastor conjured a red sphere the size of an apple on his left hand and an orange one on his right. The heat generated by the former drained the humidity from the air, raising the temperature by several dozens of degrees per second.
The latter, instead, broke down the solid ground below him until it turned into fine sand, each grain of which was no bigger than a speck of dust.
Vastor brought the two spheres together, and the tier five War Mage spell, Red Storm, revealed its true form.
It was a mix of fire and earth that Kigan had researched ever since he was still a Phoenix, in the attempt to safely conjure a destructive power on par with Cinder without having to deal with its counterpart, Zero.
Aside from Decay, cursed elements were dangerous even for Eldritchs. Red Storm was the result of Kigan's studies and he had taught it to Vastor to make sure that if anything happened to him, someone would live on and continue his legacy.
A blood-colored sandstorm flooded the area surrounding Vastor, sparing only the people at its center. The mercenaries conjured several kinds of protections against the unknown threat but all of them failed.
The red color of the spell was caused by the intense heat that coated each grain of sand while the storm was generated by the earth magic that made the spell spin around its caster.
Together they formed an incandescent whirlwind that could not be dodged or blocked.
Shields made of ice disappeared as soon as Red Storm dried the air. Walls made of earth and air domes could stop the fine particles, but not the heat that they released as more and more of them piled up on the surface of the conjured protections.
All those who failed to understand the true aim of Kigan's spells died without understanding what they had missed. Red Storm didn't target the people inside its area of effect directly, it killed them of dehydration.
The heat made the mercenaries sweat bullets but the dry air made the sweat evaporate as soon as it formed so that it was impossible to notice the phenomenon until it was too late. First, their vision blurred, then they had difficulty breathing, and lastly, they turned into mummified corpses.
Once Red Storm disappeared, only the backlines and those who had managed to Blink to safety were still alive. At least until Vastor unleashed more spells that the Abomination hybrids of his Organization had taught him.
Zinya couldn't avert her eyes from the horror taking place in front of her. People exploded, burned, or simply disappeared in flashes of darkness, spattering blood and entrails everywhere while the stench of shit made the air almost unbreathable.
From time to time, she lowered her gaze to make sure that Filia and Frey were alright, yet the sound of the carnage kept drawing her attention like a siren whose song she was unable to resist.
She cried, puked, and even peed herself as she witnessed the death of countless people.
The mercenaries didn't fare any better and they didn't stand behind the safety of Vastor's back but faced his unbridled fury. Those who surrendered died and so did everyone who offered him their backs in the attempt to escape.
Panic started to spread and even the backlines started to fall back. Orderly at first and then in a chaotic, desperate run for their lives. They trampled everyone that moved too slowly or that simply stood in their path.