Chapter 22: The Battle for the Spire

Chissler proved to be a reluctant ally, but in the end, he did acquiesce as I knew he would. Men like Chissler always desire what they do not have, and the one thing that Chissler did not possess was Elemental power, or Mystic power in the case of my family. The plan was relatively simple. He would provide me with a way out of the Tarrus Empire and I would give him access to the Lurranna family’s fabled Shadow Elemency. However, I knew full well that he would betray me once he got what he wanted, that is why unbeknownst to my greedy partner, I was also colluding with my former superior, the Desolate One. After we were out of the Tarrus Empire’s reach, the Desolate One would provide protection for my family. Though the Desolate One had proven to be somewhat devious in the past, I had never known him to tell a lie, or to go back on a deal once it had been made. In his own words, he would often say, “If there is anything I cannot abide, it is discourtesy, and there is nothing more discourteous than fibbing. Outright lying is the crudest form of deception, for there are always much more sublime methods of manipulation.”

“Here they come!” shouted Ryan to the rest of the Green Team behind him who had just taken up defensive positions around and in the Spire.

Thankfully, the Spire came equipped with catapults and torrents for defense, and judging by the number of players coming up the hill towards them, they were going to need all the help they could get if they were going to defend the tower.

With her keen eyes, Torsha scouted out the enemy ranks. “It looks like the Yellow and the Purple Teams have made an alliance.”

“They outnumber us two to one!” cried the stout, ginger-headed boy in dismay. “What the heck are we supposed to do now?!”

Ryan only scoffed and looked back at the boy with a confident smile. “You act like these are impossible odds or something. Haven’t you ever heard of a little thing called ‘the 300 Saurians’!”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“It means that this is nothing in comparison. Besides, this isn’t a real battle. It’s just a game. So try to have a little fun with it and don’t sweat the details! Kay!”

The boy looked at Ryan like he had just grown another head.

“Ryan is right,” said Julia, giving Ryan a bit of a start at her sudden appearance. “We were the first ones to take the tower. Our team has done amazing to make it this far. Whatever happens, I couldn’t be more proud of us.” Julia ended her speech by winking at Ryan.

Ryan gulped slightly.

“When did you start becoming such a lady’s man?” asked Torsha playfully in Ryan’s ear.

“Are you kidding? I was born with a natural magnetism.”

“Well, let’s just see how you fare without my help for a little while. We mentors were instructed to stay out of the fighting during the last phase of the test. Though this is just a game, this will be your first battle. Try not to get too overwhelmed by the chaos.”

“Pfft! Chaos is my middle name,” responded Ryan haughtily.

“I thought it was Joseph?” asked Torsha.

“How the heck did you know that?”

“Less talking, more fighting!” ordered the stout boy just before the opposing teams came to bear.

And in an instant, Ryan was swept up in the battle for the Spire. Without a second thought, Ryan plunged headfirst into the fray ... literally. He lowered his head like a bull and plowed through the first half-dozen candidates who came at him. Ryan wasn’t sure what had come over him. All of a sudden, a sort of adrenaline-powered frenzy had kicked in and he was a flurry of movement. Even though his comrades of the Green Team trailed farther behind him, Ryan drove ever deeper into the ranks of the Yellow and Purple Teams. None of the candidates were a match for his superior speed and strength as he batted them away with his fiery sword and burning gauntlet. His other distinct advantage lay in the fact that most of the other candidates had never been in a real fight where their lives were at stake. Best of all, Ryan knew he could fight without reserve because of the dampening field that deafened his blows so that his victims would only receive a slight kick, but would never be fatally wounded.

Although, I really hope that what happened with that wolf-guy was a fluke, otherwise, this is going to be a blood bath!

“Ryan! You’re getting too far from the tower! Come back!” called Julia as she defended the steps to the Spire with the bulk of the Green Team behind her.

As Ryan looked back, he realized that in his ecstasy for battle, he had plunged deeper into the enemy ranks than he had intended to. While staring back, he noticed another enemy force approaching the tower from behind in the distance. This third force was composed of what remained of the Red Team. Ryan hadn’t expected the Reds to arrive so quickly, not after the thrashing he had given them, but he supposed it wasn’t the first time he had underestimated them.

“The Red Team’s coming from behind, Julia!” Ryan shouted. “Turn your forces around!”

As Ryan knocked his foes out of the way effortlessly to make his path, he was starting to fill like a Giant among Brownies. That is, until someone sucker-punched him from behind. Ryan did a front flip forward as someone hit him in the back of the head with the full force of a fire shot. Though fazed slightly, Ryan twisted in midair to land back on his feet while falling. Ryan looked back to the guy who sidewinded him and grinned forebodingly.

The Yellow Team Member held a flaming mace and gulped slightly before saying, “You’re out, right?”

“You’re only out of the game if you fall unconscious or the pain becomes too much to continue, which isn’t the case for me ... but it will be for you, pal.”

Unfortunately, Ryan’s cool speech was cut short as more and more members of the Yellow Team finally got up the courage to counterattack. Small shots of fire and lightning peppered him from all sides, most of which he blocked with his sword and gauntlet, but the ones that hit home smarted something awful. Even with the dampening field in place that prevented fatal injury, Ryan was definitely starting to feel a little bit more than fazed this time.

Summoning as much psions as he could, Ryan shot his arms up and sent flames in all directions. The bubble of fire that he created around himself acted like a shield and an attack at the same time as it exploded all around him, sending his opponents flying in different directions. Ryan started panting as he made his way back to the tower to stave off the attack from the Red Team.

When Ryan finally made it back to Julia, things looked bleak for his Green Team. Though his efforts had greatly reduced the other teams’ numbers, it had not slowed them down enough. All around the tower, Ryan saw members of his team groveling on the ground in too much pain to continue fighting. What’s more, the Red Team was already in the tower’s back entrance despite the deterrent of the Spire’s turrets that sprayed pools of lava at the opposing army.

Turning to Julia, Ryan said, “I’ll go bolster our defenses in the south entrance of the tower if you can hold it here!”

“That might prove a bit difficult, but we’ll manage!” shouted Julia while firing off a few fire blasts with her Psionic Weapon into the enemy ranks. “I’m sorry I can’t spare any guys here to help you!”

“That’s okay! Not to toot my own horn, but in case you haven’t noticed, I’m kinda awesome at this!” bragged Ryan as he casually swatted away three attackers at once with a single swipe of his sword.

“That may be, but even you might not be enough to hold off all these guys! At this rate, we’ll end up sharing the tower at best!” replied Julia as she continued shooting small flames from her fingertips.

As Julia said that, Ryan spotted a fourth team trailing right behind the Red Team. It was the Blue Team, and the dazzling figure leading their charge was none other than the silver-haired princess herself, Éclair. That’s when Ryan got another really cool plan.

“Sharing the tower, huh? That’s not a bad idea.”

Éclair shot arrows as fast as she could. The Red Team had nearly broken through the Green Team’s lines at the tower’s back entrance when Éclair’s team caught them from behind. Unfortunately, Leon could not participate in the battle himself as he was only a mentor in this fight, but he did say that she hardly needed him, which made Éclair feel amazing. Just as the remaining Red Team members had realized that they were getting attacked from behind and prepared a counterattack, the Green Team renewed their defenses of the tower.