Darwin, dazed by the impact, grabbed the emergency release lever with shaking hands. He retched directly onto the red-hot boiler casing.
"Noah..." he wheezed, tongue barely moving. "Noah, get out. They’ll... they’re going to cut us open."
Noah was already at the exit. In the gloom of the troop compartment, his eyes glowed a dull crimson. As the side hatch slammed open, a thick cloud of superheated steam billowed out, masking him from the mages.
Overseer Cassian stood on his rise, voice cracking as he screamed:
"Kill them! Burn them! Deploy the second line!"
The first-line mages frantically began weaving spells. Sparks filled the air, forming blades of pure light.
The first mage didn't have time to scream—a short blade drove straight under his chin, bypassing the magical armor. The second tried to raise a barrier, but the blade passed through it.
Then, from the direction of Dornheim, came the thunder of hundreds of hooves.
"For Dornheim!" Count Wayland’s voice cut through the roar of battle.
The Count’s heavy cavalry, armored in blackened steel, tore into the mages' flanks. Wayland rode in the front rank.
Elyria hovered over the field, her face twisted in a grimace of rage.
"Stupid... worthless..." she whispered.
She swung her arms. A thick, grey fog swallowed the battlefield. In this mist, Wayland’s guards saw their enemies as bright thermal signatures. The College mages were blind, thrashing in panic against the grey walls.
"Take that," she giggled, causing weed roots to knot around the ankles of retreating soldiers.
Cassian saw his unit being butchered. He saw the "Boar" standing like a rock in the center of the camp. He snatched a strange artifact from his robe—a black, pulsing sphere wrapped in star-silver chains.
He smashed it against the ground at his feet.
The sky over Dornheim turned a bruised black-purple in an instant. A pillar of pure, concentrated gravitational energy descended from the clouds with a deafening whistle. It looked like a thin needle, but space warped and buckled around it.
"Noah! Back!" Elyria screamed, trying to manifest a shield.
Noah froze, looking up. He lunged to intercept Cassian. But the needle struck Dornheim itself.
The southwest section of the city—where the old warehouses and worker housing stood—collapsed into itself. The houses crumbled. Dust rose to the sky.
"No..." Elyria fell to her knees in mid-air.
The shockwave hit the camp, toppling horsemen and the remaining mages alike. Cassian, drained by the spell, slumped into the mud, laughing manically.
Half an hour later, it was over.
The fog cleared. The College camp was littered with bodies. Wayland’s guards, covered in soot, dragged prisoners into a single pile. Overseer Cassian sat in irons, his face battered, but triumph still burned in his eyes.
Darwin and Noah carried Iron out of the tractor's cab and laid him on a cloak on the matted grass.
"Medic! Get Albert here, fast!" Darwin roared, shaking with terror.
Albert ran from the city, picking his way through the rubble at the gates. The old man’s medical coat was torn; bandages spilled from his bag as he moved. He fell to his knees beside Iron. He checked the pulse, peeled back an eyelid.
"Don't touch him, Albert," Noah said. "If you start treating what you don't understand, you’ll only make it worse."
Count Wayland approached. He looked at Iron, then at the ruined part of the city where smoke still rose.
"A section of Dornheim is gone," the Count said heavily. "The granary, the barracks, and a dozen homes."
Wayland turned to Albert: "Will he live?"
"I don't know, Your Excellency. His pulse is stable, but his core temperature is dropping. We need to get him inside. Somewhere warm."
The Count nodded. He looked at Cassian as the guards dragged him past.
"You wanted 'cleansing,' Overseer? The College of Mages signed its own death warrant on these lands today. I will personally deliver your report to the King."
Cassian spat blood. "This is only the beginning, Wayland. You will all burn in the shadow this boy created."
"Take him away," Noah snapped.
They carried Iron into the city on a stretcher. Elyria flew behind them, her vibrant dress now dark and muted.
Darwin walked beside them, gripping the edge of the frame.
"Come back, Iron. You hear me? We haven't finished the fountain. We haven't built the tower... Please. Come back."
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