Trees snapped and earth was overturned as the rolling wave howled toward them. Gabby stood, locked in place. Major Elementals were no joke. Creatures like them could go toe-to-toe with Master Tiers, or even Grandmasters, depending. Gabby feared that these were on the higher end of that scale.

The waves closed in.

"Entropic Paradigm!”

A wall of chitin burst from the ground not twenty feet from her. Already thick, it layered itself across a latticework of upturned earth, weaving its material up into reinforced pillars before the lengthwise shape of the wall rose in a rush of wind. The water hit, crashing into the chitin and forcing a deep, dangerous groan from its surface. Water splashed over the top, falling in a deluge from its lip even as the entire thing bent slowly inward.

“Order Departs!”

Elowen flew down, her body limned in purple-gold radiance as her telekinetic Skill shoved at the wall. The flexing stopped.

“Thanks!” Beef gasped. Chitin broke free of the earth as new supporting buttresses pressed into the wall's sides.

Wendell cheered. “Just like that, son!”

Beef grunted, his crystalline armored sides heaving with uneven breath as chitin formed with every gesture. The wall built up, higher and thicker—but it wasn't enough.

Water hurled above the top of the wall, condensed into a vicious foam-flecked spike bearing a pair of titanic elementals within its cold depths. It crashed down from above, a bestial ice creature and a humanoid rock monster landing in the crushing spray. Legionnaires fell back, the first ranks overwhelmed by the dark tide. Even the remaining Dwarves weren’t spared. They were swept into the same currents, some were even crushed against their own siege engines.

Another wave sent more dark water slopping over the wall, this time bearing two earthen hulks with it. They crashed to the side, a hundred yards or more away, just as other waves crested the bulwark. Gabby backed up, hand flexing on her weapon nervously. At least seven of the Elementals had emerged and all of them pawed at the ground or slammed their fists to the earth, raging against…

Gabby blinked. Her Affinity was confusing her. They’re not mad. They’re…scared.

“Core Manifestation,” said a voice beside her. “Tidal Collapse.”

The dark water that soaked their shins suddenly reversed course, rushing back toward the nearest two Ice Elementals. It splashed against them, forcing them back, before it stretched upward into a swirling orb. The Ice Elementals panicked, trapped, slamming their bodies into the suddenly solid sides.

“Major Elementals.” Zara’s voice was bitt at Gabby’s side. There was serious strain in it too as she lifted her ocher-colored hands. “We must move swiftly. General! Evacuate your people!”

“Fall back into the city!” Vess cried, her voice booming over the field. It shocked the Legion into movement, abandoning their attempts at defense into full out retreat.

The few corrupted Dwarves that remained tried to strike from behind, but dark arrows and poisonous darts riddled their Bodies, dropping them into the muck. Shadow and Kevin darted through the retreated soldiers, weapons and magic trained on the encroaching Elementals.

Zara clenched her fists tight and the orb of water collapsed. The Elementals were crushed along with it, their screams only lasting as long as the gurgling water still existed. Then all three were gone, compressed into nothing.

A darkness surged among the remaining Elementals, and Gabby felt the sharp sting of acidic wrath through her Affinity. It overcame their hidden fear, and the creatures moved.

Fast.

Evie leapt over them, chain whirling. "Zara! I didn't know you had a core manifestation." Her spiked chain wrapped around the thick head of a bestial elemental. Sparks flew from the metal on stone as she hauled back, slicing through chunks of enchanted flesh and sending her flying onto its back.

"I've not been idle while you were away.” Zara’s words were proud but also weary. More waves splashed over the rim of the wall, and she lifted another hand. "Tidal Collapse!"

The water burst, crushing down to a single point and shattering the hands that had reached to climb up over the chitin.

That didn’t take care of the ones already on the ground, however. Those Elementals bashed forward, around the scattered Unbound as they hunted down the retreating soldiers. Gabby saw Wendell move as well as Ondine, but couldn’t spare the time to watch—she raced to her nearest foes.

An Earth, Ice, and Water Elemental were clustered together where they’d landed, each one varying in size, but none smaller than twenty-five feet tall. They dwarfed all but the largest of the Frost Giants, and their largest could crush the others. None in the Legion could face the Elementals down alone. Even as a group, they were outmatched.

It was good that they were almost through Hevaan’s gates.

The Earth Elemental gave a sideways leap, sending its bulk hurtling through the air toward the Legionnaires’ retreating backs, arms up as if to slam into their ranks.

“Luminous Raiment!”

Gabby ripped across the field, a wave of mud arcing in her wake. Between one step and the next, golden light congealed and lifted her into the air as armor formed into a body twice her already impressive size. Without her golden boots leaving the muck, she intercepted the Earth Elemental, and tackled it into the ground.

A wave of mud splashed outward as they hit. The Elemental swung its bulbous fists, but she caught them in construct gauntlets, stopping it cold. What she didn’t expect was the short knee that slammed into her side, driving the breath from her lungs even through the golden construct. The Elemental rolled, turning with the momentum it had created, and got atop of her.

Its eyes gleamed.

“Cocky bastard. If you have legs, you can fall.” She hooked her own foot behind its knee and shoved its ungainly stone body sideways. It collapsed, falling to the earth. Gabby fell atop of it, again, hands already pummeling at its joints. Each punch crashed into the stone Elemental, chipping chunks of rock that puffed with a dark black shadow.

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A bubbling scream was the only warning as a Water Elemental latched onto her back, piling across her shoulders. Dark water, infused with surges of shadow, swarmed around her shoulders and upper arms, thickening as if to stop her savage blows. It did, for at least a moment, enough time for a speeding train to hit her.

Gabby was thrown back, her Luminous Raiment flashing brilliantly. She tumbled through corrupted Dwarves, slaughtering them inadvertently, before careening through one of the siege weapons. It exploded in a shower of shrapnel and trapped magic, hurling her even farther, until she speared her golden fingers into the dirt. She stopped.

Warning!

Your Mana Has Dropped To 50%!

The train that hit her was an Ice Elemental. She saw that clearly now as she rose onto shaky, golden feet. It was shaped into what she could only describe as a massive rhino, heavy in the shoulders and covered in spikes of purple-white ice. It roared at her, eyes flashing black and green, the same as the sigaldry etched into its craggy form, and distinct from the darkness that stained the edges of its ice. It charged again.

Gabby thrust out her arm. "Brightblade Crescendo!"

A massive broadsword formed in a mighty spectral hand to her side, and if her Luminous Raiment was large, her Brightblade was larger still. She made a fist, her massive armored gauntlet mimicking the motion.

The rhino bellowed, frost pouring off its hide, rushing toward Gabby.

“Eat shit.” She swung, and the Ice Elemental was sheared in two.

You Have Killed A Major Ice Elemental!

XP Earned!

Clouds of purple-white vapor burst into the air accompanied by the cymbal crash of System notifications. Both clouded her vision Gabby fell back as dark water splashed through its remains. The Water Elemental latched onto her, parts of itself freezing as it passed through the dissipating aura of its kin. Shards smashed into her Raiment, blasting into her vision before it swarmed her with occluded liquid, blinding her.

Just in time for a sucker punch.

Gabby buckled beneath the blow of the recovered Earth Elemental. Even through her armor, she felt her lip crack and bleed. The thing was strong.

"If you want to win, that hit should have killed me." She firmed her grip. "My turn."

Midswing, Brightblade morphed into a hammer and crashed into the earth elemental, smashing its arm off at the shoulder. The Water Elemental clutched harder at her joints. Her shoulders twisted, bent out of true.

“Heliacal Blaze!” Amplified by her Raiment, the Blaze tore through the area around her like a descending sun. Light and heat Mana seared through her construct Body, boiling the water from across her back and squeezing out a bubbling scream of horror and pain from the Elemental. Until it went silent.

You Have Killed A Major Water Elemental!

XP Earned!

"HRAH!" Gabby swung her golden hammer, crushing through the Elemental’s stone leg. She brought it back on the upswing, but even down two limbs, it still moved with an impressive Agility.

These things are different from the Dwarves.

Her hammer came down again, smashing through one of its hands as the force of her blow toppled it onto its back. Gabby stood over the wounded Elemental, dropping her hammer once more as it tried to stand up—its last arm broke apart. Black tendrils flailed from its wounds, scrabbling at its parts as if to hold itself together.

Well, not too different.

She stepped on them, golden light sizzling through the dark.

They're equally affected by the shadow, but they move with far more precision.

Gabby peered down into the sigaldry that was scrawled across the Elemental’s rocky head and chest. She didn't understand a lick of it, but the shadow shied away from the blackened green lines. Not everywhere, though. Here and there, the dark clung tight to the inscriptions, infesting them. The Elemental thrashed up at her, despite its broken limbs. She placed a foot on its chest, forcing it back down.

"Fight's over.” Gabby brought her boot down with a savage stomp. Its chest caved in, sigaldry sparking into an instant conflagration of blackened-green light…before it all faded away.

“Guh!” She swooned. A deep pang struck her, shaking her Affinity as it rippled outward in weakening rings. Far from anger or blame, the only emotions she felt from the Elemental were sudden clarity and tragic relief.

You Have Killed A Major Earth Elemental!

XP Earned!

Gabby stepped back, staring down at the corpse she'd made. It had wanted to die. Why?

Thunder shook the air as General Dayne, standing atop her Dawn Wyrm Companion, hurled her Spears like bolts of death. Wherever they hit, the Elementals fell back, pieces shattered. “Unbound! Behind the walls, now!”

More Elementals crawled over the chitin walls, attacking the remaining champions from all sides. Vess’ Spears burst against them, hurling them back from the lines, but the wall was breaking.

A sharp retort cut through the din. Water sprayed from one section, then another.

“I can’t hold it,” Elowen cried, her power guttering. She dropped to the ground and started running. “Beef! Move!”

"Retreat," the general boomed. The others finally listened. Wendell scooped up his son whose face was screwed up in concentration, too busy rebuilding chitin walls to operate his own legs.

Gabby followed, lifting her weapon to block the boulders and ice waves hurled from the enemy. They both sizzled against the vibrant gold, stopped well before they threatened the open gates. That was the worst of what they did, however—the creatures shied away from her gaze, demonstrating an intelligence Gabby hadn’t expected. Yet instead of her, they found a chain-wielding madwoman, a twenty-foot Lizard with exploding swords, and a winged princess of storms. Lightning sheared down through the creatures, carving a line in the dirt. Heat and wind blossomed on the other side, blasting Water Elements apart and forcing Earth Elementals onto their backs.

The Kobolds were already at the gates, using their magic and arrows to cover the encroaching Elementals same as the general. Evie and Harn rushed through, both of them a blur, followed closely by Archie and Ondine, who swooped low alongside several Chimera.

Elowen stumbled through only shortly after Wendell and Beef, and the both of them groaned as the chitin walls crumpled completely. Dark water rushed forward, sweeping the Elementals from their feet and driving them all toward Hevaan.

Gabby spun and, with her enormous golden arms, slammed the gates shut.

That tidal wave, held back for so long, rushed forward. It crashed against Hevaan, sending prismatic ripples up across the wards that covered the city. Gabby braced against the gates, but needn’t have bothered—all of the momentum of the wave had been robbed by Elowen and Beef's efforts. Elementals screeched into the night, but it was the sound of defeat.

For now.

When Gabby dropped her Raiment, Beef was busy getting slaps on his back from soldiers and his father, even as the Elementals outside raged against the wall, smashing into it with muted booms.

"We aren't done here,” Gabby muttered. “You.”

She seized Beef by the shoulder, startling the Minotaur. “What? I couldn’t hold the chitin anymore—”

“I don’t care about that! You know about controlling things, right? Like with your Risen?”

“I do. Why?”

“Necromancy. Didn’t Karys say the Khadan people used it?”

“He did,” Vess said, landing at her side. Ice burst against the walls behind her, shards rising above the battlements.

“They’re covered in sigaldry,” Ondine pointed out from the air. “Densely packed too.”

“They’re controlling them through the arrays.” Gabby licked her lips. She could still hear the Elemental’s mournful relief. “Can we break them?”