Chapter 63: The Battle for Solmara

The alarms howled through the fortress, an ancient wail of warning that had not sounded in centuries. Solmara had awoken, and so had its enemies. The distant thrum of approaching forces echoed through the halls, growing louder with every passing second. Dust and debris rattled from the ceiling, disturbed by the rhythmic tremors of something massive marching toward them.

Elias clenched his fists, feeling the pulse of the Vanguard Core within him, now fully integrated into his armor. His systems recalibrated instantly, responding faster than before. Data streamed across his visor—enemy movement, power readings, energy fluctuations. His mind processed it all at once, effortlessly. It was different now. It wasn't just technology. It wasn't just magic. It was something entirely new, and it was his.

Reinhardt cracked his knuckles, his massive frame tensed with anticipation. "About damn time they showed up. I was starting to think they ran scared."

Lira twirled a dagger, eyes fixed on the hallway ahead. "No, they were just waiting for us to make the first move. They wanted us to be distracted."

Ivy nocked an arrow, her sharp gaze scanning the darkened corridors. "They're not just here for a fight. They're here to take Solmara."

Cecilia smirked. "Let's make sure they don't get the chance."

Marco was frantically working on his interface, rerouting energy through Solmara's defensive grid. His hands moved in a blur across the console, eyes flickering between screens filled with ancient scripts and warning glyphs. "I've managed to activate the first layer of automated defenses, but the power output isn't stable. The Core's integration with Elias has disrupted the control network."

Elias' visor flickered as he processed the data. "Then we don't rely on the fortress to protect us. We take the fight to them."

The ground trembled as the first wave of enemies surged through the main passageway, spilling into the chamber like a flood. The corrupted constructs came first—war machines similar to those they had fought earlier, but these were larger, heavily reinforced, their plating fused with a dark, writhing energy. Their eyes glowed with an eerie violet hue, and they moved with unnatural precision, each step deliberate, controlled.

Behind them, the true threat emerged.

Academy forces, but not the kind Elias had fought before. These weren't standard combat mages or arrogant noble elites. These were Warcasters—specialists trained specifically for battle, wearing armored robes lined with defensive runes, their staffs crackling with stored power. But there was something off about them, the same eerie aura that had surrounded the Inquisitors.

Lira muttered under her breath. "Great. More of these void-freaks."

Kierian's sword gleamed as he took a step forward. "We end this quickly. If they break past us, Solmara will fall."

Reinhardt didn't wait. With a battle cry, he charged, his hammer slamming into the nearest construct. The impact sent shockwaves rippling outward, cracking the stone beneath their feet. The machine staggered but didn't fall. Its corrupted core pulsed, absorbing the force, redirecting it back outward in a blast of concussive energy.

Reinhardt was thrown back, skidding across the chamber floor. He shook himself off, grinning. "Alright. That's new."

Elias surged forward, his thrusters igniting as he closed the distance between himself and the Warcasters. The moment they saw him, they reacted in perfect sync, raising their hands. Spells launched in unison—arcane lances, kinetic bursts, fields of disruptive magic designed to strip away defenses.

Elias didn't slow. His suit's adaptive shielding flared, absorbing the brunt of the impact. His left gauntlet pulsed, and with a flick of his wrist, he redirected the stolen energy, sending it back as a focused shockwave that crashed into the Warcasters like a cannon blast.

Two of them were sent flying. A third barely managed to conjure a shield in time, but before he could retaliate, Ivy's arrow struck his chest, piercing through his barrier with a crackling burst of energy.

Lira darted through the chaos, her blades flashing as she struck at the weak points in the constructs' armor. Each time her daggers found their mark, small explosions of void-tainted energy erupted, forcing her to retreat before she could be consumed by the backlash.

Marco worked from the back, fingers flying across his interface. "I'm rerouting Solmara's power to activate automated turrets—give me ten seconds!"

Cecilia's voice crackled over comms. "You've got five."

One of the constructs lunged at Elias, its arm transforming into a massive blade, swinging downward in an arc that could cleave him in half. He didn't move.

His gauntlet flared.

The moment the blade made contact, it stopped mid-air, frozen as Elias' kinetic dampeners absorbed the full force of the attack. The construct twitched, struggling, but before it could recover, Elias unleashed the stored energy, sending a devastating shockwave up its arm. The corrupted plating shattered, and in one swift motion, he drove his fist straight into its core, overloading it with raw energy.

The construct imploded, collapsing inward as its power source detonated.

A deafening boom echoed through the chamber.

Marco's voice cut in. "Turrets online! Firing sequence initiated!"

From the walls, ancient defense turrets whirred to life, long-dormant cannons releasing bursts of arcane plasma into the battlefield. The Warcasters immediately shifted their attention, throwing up barriers to deflect the oncoming assault. But now they were vulnerable.

Reinhardt grinned as he slammed into them like a wrecking ball, his hammer sending one crashing into another with bone-shattering force.

Lira and Cecilia moved like ghosts, weaving through enemy lines, cutting down targets before they could react.

Elias pushed forward, closing in on the last standing Warcaster. The mage lifted his staff, dark energy coiling around it, preparing for a final desperate attack.

Elias didn't let him.

He reached out, his gauntlet flaring with golden energy, and grabbed the staff mid-cast. The magic surged, but instead of being repelled, Elias absorbed it, channeling the raw power through his suit. His visor flickered for half a second, adjusting to the overload.

Then he let it out.

A blast of condensed energy erupted outward, hitting the Warcaster at point-blank range. The force lifted him off his feet, sending him crashing into a wall with enough impact to crack the stone. His body slumped, motionless.

The battlefield fell silent. The last enemy was down.

The fortress was still standing.

Elias exhaled, his armor humming softly, adjusting back to normal levels. His visor scanned the room. Every single enemy lay defeated, the last remnants of their corrupted energy fading away into the void.

Reinhardt dusted himself off. "Well, that was fun."

Lira wiped blood from her blade. "They'll send more."

Kierian sheathed his sword. "They didn't expect us to win."

Elias looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers as the last traces of golden energy flickered across his gauntlet. His connection to the Vanguard Core was stronger than ever. But so was the realization that they were now a direct threat to the Primordial Lords.

Ivy's voice was quiet but firm. "What's next?"

Elias looked up. His answer was simple.

"We don't wait for them." His gaze was cold, determined.

"We take the fight to them."