The main gates of Arcanum Bellator had become a hellscape of writhing shadows and tearing claws.
The dome of brambles Flower Dawnfire had raised around the shattered carriage was rotting away at a terrifying pace. The Void demons were in an absolute frenzy, drawn by the beacon of emerald light pulsing from the fragment of the Green Heart Staff. To the creatures of the abyss, such pure life magic was an irresistible delicacy.
A greater demon—a quadrupedal beast the size of a carriage, armored in black bone plates and slavering acidic drool—shattered the last branches of the barrier.
Ellie stepped in front of Flower, gripping her short dagger with both hands. She cursed her own moral reluctance to kill as she braced herself to sell her life dearly. Behind her, Flower raised the staff, trembling, yet refusing to back down.
Suddenly, the air superheated.
A meteor of purple and black fire smashed directly into the greater demon's back. The force of the impact cratered the cobblestones. The abyssal beast didn't even have time to shriek; it was instantly vaporized by the thermal and kinetic shockwave.
[COUNTDOWN: 41...]
[THREAT ERADICATED]
Phantsin rose in the center of the crater. The Void Aegis enveloped him completely, but the armor glowed cherry-red, barely able to contain the overload of the Ignis core. Incandescent fire bled from the metal joints.
"Phantsin!" Flower cried out, tears welling in her eyes.
He didn't turn immediately. Ahead of him, dozens of lesser hounds and two colossal gargoyles were advancing through the breach in the gates.
"I'll handle the big ones!" Phantsin roared, his voice distorted by the helmet and the overwhelming surge of power.
He launched himself at the gargoyles, propelled by sheer Overwhelming Force. He caught the first by the throat and unleashed a blast of purple fire that melted the monster's obsidian skull into slag.
The smaller hounds attempted to flank him to reach Flower.
A blur of wind and gray fur fell upon them. Rikka landed amidst the lesser demons, her twin daggers gleaming in the firelight. The Umbra wolf-girl was a blur of pure, murderous agility.
In less than three seconds, she hamstrung a hound, vaulted off its back for momentum, and hurled a handful of dirt and ash into the eyes of a second. As the beast howled in blind agony, Rikka slid beneath it and gutted it with both blades. A third hound lunged to bite her; she dodged, crushed its throat with a single devastating kick, and finished it off by driving her daggers deep into its skull.
"Back, beasts!" Rikka snarled, spitting black blood and baring her fangs. "No one touches the pack!"
"Flower! What the hell are you doing here?" Phantsin gasped. The overload was scorching his vocal cords, producing acrid smoke with every exhalation.
"I came to help you!" the girl said, holding the emerald staff high with pride despite her terror. "Look! I have magic now! I can fight with you."
Phantsin looked at the Aethelwyrd and then at his sister. A swell of pride collided with absolute, sheer terror.
"Your magic is drawing them in, Flower. You're a beacon to them," Phantsin said, his breathing sounding like a broken bellows. "You can't fight here. Your light is too pure."
Phantsin glanced toward the inner courtyards of the Academy. In the distance, he could see the runic flashes of Eliana's unbreakable shields and the green, healing aura of Lyla in the rearguard.
"Ellie," Phantsin ordered, locking eyes with the maid, who was already on her feet, brushing off the dust. "Eliana Dawnshield is securing the central courtyard. Take as many civilians as you can and head there. Use your Celerity if you must. Flower, you're going with her. Use that staff to help Lyla Moonshadow heal the wounded."
"I'm not leaving you!" Flower protested, clinging to her brother's armored arm. The heat radiating off the metal nearly seared her fingers, but she refused to let go.
Phantsin felt his heart break. He placed a trembling, bloodstained hand against the girl's cheek.
"If you stay, I'll have to protect you, and I won't be able to stop them all. Go to Lyla. Make my sacrifice worth it, shorty."
Flower understood the weight of his words. The tears finally fell, but she gave a firm nod, stepping back toward Ellie, who was already muttering a Blessing spell over the girl to ward off the toxic smoke.
Phantsin turned to the wolf-girl, who was keeping two hounds at bay with threatening snarls.
"Rikka."
The Umbra girl squared her shoulders instantly, ears perked up, wiping the blood from her daggers on her thighs.
"Alpha?"
"You're their escort. Protect the pup and the elf to the central courtyard. Clear the flank for them. With your life, Rikka."
Rikka looked at the small human, then back to her Alpha. She understood the command. It was the most sacred duty of the pack: protect the young.
"With my teeth and claws," Rikka swore, her eyes shining with both devotion and fear. "But... you... you are burning up from the inside, Alpha. You smell like ash."
[COUNTDOWN: 31...]
[CELLULAR DETERIORATION AT 62%]
"I'll be fine," Phantsin lied. The symbiotic helmet sealed shut over his face once more with a sinister, metallic snap. "Go! NOW!"
Rikka grabbed Ellie by the arm and shoved Flower toward the inner corridors.
"Run!" she screamed at the cowering civilians near the gates. "Follow the princess!"
Ellie cast a final Celerity spell over the three of them, and they sprinted toward the relative safety of the formation Eliana was holding with iron will in the courtyard.
Phantsin was left alone at the main gates of Arcanum Bellator. He looked up at the sky, toward the Rift spewing pure darkness. A massive swarm of demons, led by monstrosities the size of siege towers, descended, drawn by the echoing remnant of Flower's magic and the overwhelming Void signature of his armor.
Phantsin needed to draw them away from the central courtyard.
He marched toward the stone bridge connecting the Academy to the city of Valoria, stepping right beneath the main archway. If he held his ground there, none could pass without facing him first.
He released all suppression on the armor. He allowed the fire of his Ignis and the dark energy of the Aegis to fuse and expand outward like a blinding beacon.
"HERE!" Phantsin roared, his magically amplified voice echoing across the entire valley. "COME GET ME, YOU BASTARDS!"
The demons snapped their hideous heads toward the bridge. The avalanche of monsters collided with the Purple Knight.
[COUNTDOWN: 25...]
[COMBAT MODE: TOTAL ANNIHILATION]
And within the narrow breach of the bridge, Phantsin Dawnfire unleashed hell.