Forbidden Constellation's Blade-Chapter 173: Battle For Khaz Vordun (5)

A ringing sound pierced through his skull. The world swam in and out of focus, light and shadow smearing together as though someone had dragged a wet brush through his vision.

For a moment, Ryn remembered he was standing, looking out...but the next, he was on the ground.

Cold stone pressed against his cheek, his cloak damp with water. He tried to inhale, but his breath caught halfway before he coughed it back out again.

With sheer will, he managed to push himself up. His arms trembled, not from weakness this time but from the residual shock.

Ryn turned his head, trying to look for the others. A form to his right, Taylor, was half-sprawled against a broken crate, her clipboard just several feet away.

Jay was a bit closer, flat on his back, one arm thrown over his head to protect it from something. His glasses were askew, eyes barely open.

It seemed like Jay was muttering something, but he couldn’t hear them. The ringing drowned everything.

He forced himself to sit upright fully. The docks were no longer orderly...it was a complete wreckage.

What had been a beautiful city by the sea had become ruined. Wooden houses were half-collapsed in, broken chunks of stone laid out in the street, and glass fragments had embedded themselves everywhere.

How did—What happened?

But his mind almost seemed to answer itself instantly. His eyes cleared before the sight as he looked up. Where a large wall of ice had stretched above only moments ago...was now nothing but open, black sea.

Ryn stared at the absence, the realization settling in before the rest of his body caught up.

Strength returned to him as his eyes widened.

"The wall..." he muttered. "It’s gone."

Ryn lifted his gaze higher.

Leviathan towered beyond the ruined docks, its colossal body rising above the broken harbor as it just...stared.

Its tired?

The creature’s chest rose and fell, slow and deliberate, as though the previous assault had demanded something from it.

Fuck, I need to get it away. Now.

He pushed himself fully to his feet and strode toward Jay first, gripping the alchemist’s shoulder firmly.

"Jay."

Jay blinked sluggishly, the ringing clearly still clouding his senses.

"Jay, get up," Ryn said sharply, shaking him once. "We don’t have time."

He moved to Taylor next, crouching and pulling her upright by the arm. Her eyes snapped open almost immediately, sobering up faster than Jay.

"What—?" she asked under her breath. "What happened?"

"Leviathan," Ryn answered. "It destroyed the wall."

"But it’s tired," he added. "So I need you to get up, and we need to move now."

Jay was finally pushing himself upright, rubbing at his ears.

"What are we doing?" he asked hoarsely.

"We need to find Amelia," Ryn replied immediately. "After that, we need to drag it away from the city on our airship."

Taylor’s head snapped toward him. "You’re serious?"

"If it recovers before we reposition, Khaz Vordun’s finished," Ryn replied evenly. "This is the only window we’re getting."

Without further questions, they broke into a sprint. Ryn didn’t wait to see if Jay was steady enough or if Taylor was keeping pace. All he could think about was Amelia.

He blitzed down the wreckage, weaving past shattered beams and jumping over splintered carts. The defense line had become unrecognizable.

What had once been a field of battlements and reinforced platforms was now a wasteland of frozen debris. Massive shards of ice lay scattered everywhere, each fragment the size of buildings, embedded deep into the ground.

After a while, they managed to reach the beach.

Ryn slowed instinctively as he looked at the scene in front of them. The only thing it could be considered as, was a forest of ice spires.

The same chunks of ice but this time, each were as tall as several story buildings, some even fell in chunks like full glaciers.

His heart began to pound harder.

"Amelia—" he muttered under his breath, scanning desperately.

But what he found instead made his heart drop even more. Just as he turned the corner, the familiar shape burned into his eyes.

The Kraken. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Its once towering form was barely recognizable. The creature’s body had been crushed beneath the falling slabs, tentacles twisted and pinned beneath enormous blocks of ice. Black ichor seeped into the freezing water around it. It was completely dead.

If something that large had been obliterated so thoroughly—

Then what about—

"Over here!" Taylor shouted.

Ryn turned instantly toward the source of the sound and sprinted as fast as he could. Near the edge of the beach, partially buried beneath fallen shards, stood an iron dome.

Its surface was dented, some parts even caved inward, but it was somehow still intact.

He ran toward it immediately, leaping over splintered ice and sliding down the last incline of sand before reaching the structure. The metal was till warm under his palm, faintly glowing from whatever Essece had been used to sustain it.

"Braum!" he called out. "It’s me! Ryn!"

The dome hissed, steam escaping the top before it opened up. Braum sat braced at the center, both hands planted against the ground. The veins on his arm were bulging from the strain, almost like they would pop.

But beside him...was Amelia.

Her flames were gone, and she was kneeling now, but very much alive and well.

Ryn ran toward her immediately and pulled her into a hug, words coming out before he could stop them.

"I’m sorry! My plan was reckless and—and I shouldn’t have—"

Amelia stopped him before he could continue on, slowly patting him on the back of his armor.

"It’s alright..." she said softly. "We’re alive and that’s all that matters."

Behind them, Braum let out a low breath that almost sounded like a laugh.

"You two done?" the dwarf muttered hoarsely. "Because the big one’s still standin’."

"And you owe me one, Captain."

Ryn exhaled a breath to calm himself before nodding. "Whatever you want, Braum."

"Alright," he hardened his eyes as he stood up straight. "We don’t have long."

Braum pushed himself fully upright, rolling one shoulder with a wince. Amelia followed as they all stepped out of Braum’s dome.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

Ryn didn’t hesitate.

"I’m taking our airship and pulling it away from the city," he said. "It’s mindless right now, so it’ll follow any stimulation. We’ll get it to chase us."

Taylor stepped closer, already understanding. "And when it does?"

"Braum comes from behind with his ship," Ryn replied. "Full artillery, cannons at close range. Not to kill it, just to make it slow down."

Braum’s brows furrowed, but there was no hesitation in his stance. "Ye’ want a pinch."

"Something like that."

"We don’t have the firepower to destroy it outright," Ryn continued, eyes never leaving the creature. "But if we keep it occupied, if even just a few more minutes...Fritz gets the time he needs."

The name hung in silence but nobody objected. The plan hinged on his solo mission. They couldn’t afford another plan if he failed.

No. He had to succeed at all costs.

Behind them, the broken docks creaked as seawater receded and surged again. Leviathan’s head shifted, once barely moving its head as it scanned the surroundings.

And without waiting for another word, Ryn started moving.

They moved quickly through the wreckage, the path toward the flagship was once again littered with all sorts of wreckage and ice. But the vessel itself still stood intact at the edge of the city.

Leviathan remained distant, its colossal shadow loomed against Khaz Vordun, seawater swirling beneath it.

"Crew," he ordered as they reached the boarding ramp. "Who’s still operational?"

A handful of dwarves answered immediately, shaking off lingering shock as they scrambled into position.

They were bleeding, some limped and others were still shocked, but they moved regardless. This was their hometown on the line, their culture, and their land.

Braum turned toward his own vessel further down the docks, already issuing rapid commands to the surviving artillery crew. His airship groaned as its anchor chains were loosened, steam blasting away as the engine roared to life.

Ryn stepped onto the deck of his own ship and gripped the railing, eyes locked on Leviathan the entire time.

"Pull anchors," he ordered.

The wheel in the middle worked immediately, reeling the anchor in as the ship began to hover.

"How far up, Ryn?" Jay called from behind him.

"Not much," he replied. "We need speed more than height, conserve energy as much as possible for now."

Across the harbor, Braum’s vessel followed suit, starting to hover at around the same time.

For one moment, it felt as though they might make it. But that was when they heard it.

ROARRRRRRRR!

The sound tore through Khaz Vordun, shattering what little calm remained. Waves crashed into shore just from the force alone.

But worst of all...Leviathan moved.

"Now!" Ryn shouted. "Full lift! Full speed ahead!"

Engines worked at full load as the ship tore upward. Across the harbor, Braum’s vessel followed right after them, cannons locked and loaded.

Below, Leviathan’s massive frame shifted, the ocean beginning to rise around it once more.

They had waited a second too long and the corrupted guardian had decided the pause was over.

Both ships blasted through the open sea as the roar echoed behind them. Ryn held out his fingers, condensing light into his hand as he activated a single skill.

[Orion]

"Come at us, you overgrown snake."