The combined efforts of Paul and Osvald kept Thavuk in place. The massive wooden construct clashed against the void creature's limbs, holding his movements in check, while Paul pressed in from the sides, striking whenever an opening appeared.
Thavuk quickly realized that brute force wouldn't be enough. His physical attacks met constant resistance, his strikes slowed or redirected before they could land cleanly.
So it shifted tactics.
While his hands remained locked against the wooden construct, writhing tentacles along his body lashed out to intercept Paul, ten spheres of pure void formed around it. Each orb pulsed with dark energy, large enough to wipe out an entire army if unleashed. The air around them warped, light bending and fading near their surface.
The orbs surged forward.
At the same moment, lightning spheres appeared around Osvald's construct, crackling with bright energy. They shot forward in perfect timing, each one colliding directly with a void orb. The impacts rang out across the battlefield, flashes of light and darkness canceling each other out as the attacks were stopped mid flight.
"Did you already forget about me?"
Bernal's voice cut through the chaos. He hovered off to the side, high in the air.
Above him, the sky churned with lightning. Thick clouds gathered unnaturally fast, filled with blinding flashes that lit the battlefield in rapid bursts. The energy in the air grew heavy, charged to the point where every breath felt sharp.
Bernal raised his right hand and pointed downward. Lightning gathered at the tip of his finger, condensing into a single, blinding point.
Then he fired.
A massive beam of lightning tore through the sky, crashing down toward the void creature with overwhelming force.
In response, a tear opened in the air directly in front of the lightning beam. It expanded just enough to catch the attack, then pulled it in completely. The beam vanished as if it had never existed, leaving only faint sparks where it had been.
A smirk spread across the void creature's face.
Bernal watched it for a moment, unfazed. "Lightning isn't the only element I use."
Around him, ten massive spheres of fire formed, each one swirling with intense heat. The air distorted around them, waves of heat rippling outward as they grew. With a flick of his hand, the orbs shot forward.
They didn't travel in a straight line. Each one curved and shifted mid flight, taking a different path as they closed in on Thavuk. The movement made them unpredictable, impossible to block with a single counter.
But the moment they reached the creature, more tears opened, dozens of them, scattered across Thavuk's now monstrous body. Each orb was swallowed before it could make contact, pulled into the void and erased without a trace.
Bernal narrowed his eyes slightly as he observed. Below him, the battle hadn't slowed. The wooden construct and Thavuk continued to trade heavy blows, each impact shaking the ground, while Paul moved in and out of range, striking whenever he found an opening.
Thavuk was doing all of it at once, fighting two opponents in close combat while effortlessly neutralizing every spell thrown at it.
A small smile formed on Bernal's face.
Now this was interesting.
If that was the case, then he had plenty of spells left to test.
Fire gathered in front of Bernal, condensing rapidly. In seconds, it formed a dense, blazing sphere, compressed to the point it resembled a miniature sun. The heat alone distorted the air around it, and the ground far below began to crack under the pressure.
With a slight motion of his hand, the sphere shot forward at high speed, tearing through the air toward Thavuk.
Just as it was about to hit, a tear opened on the void monster's body directly in his path, ready to swallow it like the others.
A smile spread across Bernal's face.
The moment the sphere reached the opening, it detonated.
The explosion erupted outward in a violent surge of fire and force, overwhelming the void's attempt to contain it. Flames burst in every direction, and the shockwave slammed into the battlefield, forcing both Osvald and Paul to fall back as the ground beneath them cracked and shifted.
Even though dozens, no, hundreds, of void openings appeared across Thavuk's body, the explosion still found gaps. Fire forced its way through, striking parts of the creature directly and burning through his form.
When the flames finally died down and the smoke began to clear, the monster's silhouette emerged.
Parts of Thavuk's body had been torn away. In those damaged areas, the void unraveled like threads, stretching outward into nothingness before slowly pulling back. The wounds began to close, dark energy weaving itself together, repairing the damage piece by piece.
But then the healing slowed, and stopped in certain places.
From those open wounds, smaller creatures began to crawl out, distorted forms made of the same void, twitching as they took shape.
That wasn't the end of it.
Across the battlefield, the ground began to shift. Tentacles of varying sizes burst out from below, ripping through stone and dirt. They lashed wildly at anything nearby, smashing debris aside and striking without pattern. At the same time, clusters of void energy gathered at their tips, firing dense spheres of darkness in random directions.
The battlefield descended into chaos, no longer just a fight against a single enemy, but against something that was spreading.
"What is happening?" Paul asked, steadying himself as he stood atop the massive wooden hand.
"The void is limitless," Bernal replied, hovering slightly above them, his gaze fixed on Thavuk. "But that doesn't mean his will is. He's losing control of it. That can work for us, or against us."
As he finished speaking, he raised one hand.
Thousands of chunks of stone tore free from the ground and rose into the air. They hovered for a brief moment before shifting, reshaping themselves. Limbs formed, torsos solidified, and weapons emerged in their hands, swords, spears, axes, each one different. Within seconds, the sky filled with stone soldiers, suspended and waiting.
Then lightning fell.
Bolts crashed down from above, striking every single construct at once. The impact didn't destroy them, it changed them.
Veins of lightning spread across their bodies, glowing lines carving through the stone like cracks filled with energy. Their weapons pulsed with the same power, and their eyes ignited with a bright blue glow. The air around them buzzed with raw electricity.
Next came the wind.
A powerful current swept across the battlefield, passing through every soldier. As it did, two wings formed on each of their backs, shaped from compressed air, constantly shifting and flowing. The soldiers adjusted midair, stabilizing instantly, now able to move freely through the sky.
Within minutes, thousands of elemental soldiers stood ready.
Osvald looked up at them through the eyes of his creature. His wooden construct opened its massive mouth and let out a deep, resonating roar. The sound carried across the land, and the power of nature answered.
Energy surged outward.
Wood and nature wrapped around each soldier, forming layered armor that reinforced their bodies. Vines tightened along their limbs, bark hardened across their torsos, and their forms became heavier, more durable, yet still charged with lightning and guided by wind.
Bernal watched the transformation, a smile forming on his face. "Fascinating."
Then, without hesitation, the army moved.
The soldiers shot forward, their speed matching the wind that carried them. They tore through the air and collided with the spreading void creatures. Each strike landed with force, lightning crackled, wind cut through space, and reinforced bodies crushed anything in their path.
One soldier was enough to cut down dozens of void creatures.
Even with reinforcing thousands of soldiers flooding the battlefield, Bernal wasn't finished.
With a simple wave of his hand, the ground beneath Thavuk froze instantly. Frost spread in every direction, locking the earth in solid ice. From it, a massive serpent of ice rose, its body thick and jagged, coiling tightly around the void monster. The creature tightened its grip, layers of frozen scales pressing inward, locking Thavuk in place.
Bernal raised his right hand toward the sky.
The lightning above intensified. What had been scattered strikes now gathered, drawn toward a single point high in the clouds. The air grew heavy, charged to an unbearable degree.
Then, for the first time, Bernal began to chant under his breath.
The words were low and steady, almost drowned out by the growing storm, but the effect was immediate. The world itself began to tremble. The ground shook, the air vibrated, and the light in the sky dimmed under the sheer density of power being pulled together.
The lightning didn't just gather, it compressed, folding into itself again and again, becoming something far more dangerous.
Thavuk sensed the threat. His body shifted, void energy surging as it tried to break free.
But before it could move, Osvald acted.
He drove his hand into the ground, and the land responded. From every direction, thick wooden branches erupted upward, twisting and expanding as they wrapped around the monster. They reinforced the serpent of ice, binding Thavuk tighter, layer upon layer, forcing it to remain still.
The sky roared louder with each passing second. The gathered lightning swelled, its glow turning almost solid, its presence pressing down on everything below.
Then, the clouds split.
From within the storm, a massive shape began to emerge. The head of a dragon formed from pure lightning pushed through the clouds, its eyes blazing, its body still hidden within the storm above. Energy arced across its form, and every movement sent waves of power rippling through the sky.
The battlefield fell under its shadow.
Bernal lowered his hand slowly and the dragon answered.
It surged downward, not with weight, but with the speed of lightning itself. Its massive form cut through the sky in an instant, the air splitting around it as it descended toward Thavuk.
Sensing the danger, the void reacted. A new mouth burst from the top of Thavuk's head, forming in a split second. The moment it took shape, it opened and released a concentrated beam of void energy, dense, violent, and powerful enough to erase entire mountain ranges.
The two forces collided. Lightning and void crashed into each other, tearing apart the space between them. The impact sent shockwaves rippling outward, distorting the air and shaking the ground below.
Paul didn't hesitate.
He launched himself forward, closing the distance in a single motion. Drawing all his strength into one strike, he drove both fists into Thavuk's core, right where the belly would have been on a normal creature. The impact landed with full force.
For a moment, the void faltered. That single disruption was enough. The beam wavered, losing its stability.
The lightning dragon broke through.
It tore past the collapsing void beam and slammed directly into Thavuk's head.
The explosion that followed swallowed everything.
A blinding flash erupted, followed by a wave of destruction that ripped across the land. The ground was erased, not shattered but gone. Trees and stone formations thousands of meters away vanished instantly. Even farther out, entire forest were torn from the earth, roots and all, dragged into the air by the force of the blast.
The battlefield became a void of dust, fire, and scattered debris.
A little a way, Bernal stood atop the wooden construct's outstretched hand. As the explosion expanded, he raised a barrier around himself, Osvald, and the space surrounding them. The shield held firm, layers of condensed energy reinforcing it against the overwhelming force.
It was his strongest spell, just short of invoking his domain.
…
Alina appeared behind an orc in a blur of motion. Her dagger sliced cleanly across his back, dropping him before he could react. She pulled the blade free and shifted her stance, already preparing to move to her next target.
Then a distant explosion echoed across the battlefield.
The sky lit up in the distance, flashing bright enough to draw everyone's attention. The fighting slowed as heads turned toward the source, confusion spreading through both sides.
A few seconds later, the shockwave reached them.
A powerful gust of wind tore across the field, forcing soldiers to brace themselves. Dust and debris filled the air, and many raised their arms to shield their faces, struggling to keep their footing against the force.
Alina narrowed her eyes, steadying herself as the wind passed. "What was that?"
"That was an elemental attack," Dave said from nearby, his voice rough but steady.
Alina turned sharply. He had regained consciousness and was pushing himself up, still weak but aware.
"It has to be the Primarch of Elements, Mr. Bernal Galvan," he continued. "No one else could produce something on that scale."
Alina barely registered the explanation. Relief spread across her face as she rushed toward him, a smile breaking through the tension of the battlefield.