A few minutes before.
Deep red blood-soaked eyes behind a rusty helmet, a blood-soaked uniform with faded symbols from a bygone era, a rider accompanied by a stallion seemed to have been born from darkness itself, the gaze of the horseman of war penetrated into their very souls.
Elara was the mage. In fact, she lived her entire life gazing at the pinnacle of all mages. Her father was one of the seven Zeniths, known as the greatest mage in the world. Despite any issues she had with him, he was a figure worthy of utmost respect.
Mages often operate based on logic. Calculations, understanding of matter, mana manipulation, etc. Anything that seemed impossible could be explained logically once we break it down.
Of course, they felt emotions like everyone else, including her father. But after her mother's death, he slowly changed. At some point, he completely shut off his emotions and started behaving logically. He rose to the pinnacle of magic by abandoning his emotions. As talented as Elara was, it was hard bearing the weight of all the expectations placed on her.
She was expected to follow in her father's footsteps. Of course, she did not mind. After all, reaching the same place as her father was her dream. Her performance was better than her father's when he was her age, which wasn't surprising. He did it all alone, whereas she had guidance. She didn't mind the judgment, expectations, and the fact that she was constantly compared to him. She had both talent and resources to back her up.
But what made her sick was reaching the same place as him with exactly the same methods. She did not want to throw away her emotions and start seeing it like a chessboard. Using everyone around her as chess pieces, manipulating people, and fostering power and connections through engagements did not sit right with her. Her father already had a candidate in mind for her to marry. Someone with great potential, a powerful background, and possessing great character. From a father's point of view, it might seem like the perfect scenario.
That's why she left the magic tower. Not because she disagreed with the engagement. She wanted to find an answer to the contradiction in her heart. She wanted to find out whether she could reach that same place without abandoning her humanity. If not, she has no choice but to follow in his footsteps. It's been a year since she left, and she was introduced to a world she never ever imagined being a part of.
She learned things that cannot be explained by logic alone. She traveled to many places, met all kinds of people, and learned new things. That was precisely the reason her father turned a blind eye towards her rebellion.
A person with ordinary talent would work hard to meet the expectations others place on them, just like Theon. They would try to substitute their lack of talent with hard work. Elara belonged to the other side of that coin. She was a genius. Whatever expectations, rumors, or comparisons that were forced on her, she would rise to the challenge, completely proving herself.
That talent itself was the problem. While other mages were mastering hard spells or creating new ones because they had certain ambitions, Elara was simply doing it because she could. Her magic was efficient and fast, but robotic, colorless, and dull. It had no purpose.
She was like a cog that was moving too fast. She needed to slow down and see the colors of the world and find her purpose. She understood that fact after meeting them. Each type of person who went through similar or completely opposite experiences to her. She met each member of the Bloodwolf party. Among them, she met another cog, completely opposite to her. A cog that was too slow in moving through the world. When Elara kept interacting with him, she felt that her own personality was undergoing a change. And when these two cogs clashed with each other, they started moving in perfect harmony.
She didn't know what he was doing right now. But she knew it was important. Once that task is done, he will join them. Until then, they had to hold back this thing. There was nothing much about the "Horseman of War" in literature. He was a myth whose very existence was passed down from person to person. He was the incarnation of war. Some soldiers claimed to have seen him during the war. Some soldiers have never even heard of his existence.
She understood what Theon asked them to just hold this thing back. Because that's all they could do at their current level. There's no way they can kill him. They stood in the presence of an absolute being.
Rod moved in a golden blur, landing strike after strike on the horseman. But literally nothing happened. No injuries. Not even a flinch. Kleines threw a barrage of steel spikes, which just bounced off him. Veryn's illusions did not work, probably because war is not a living being but a concept.
Then the horseman slowly raised his sword. A dreaded feeling washed over everyone. Going through a number of life and death situations, they understood. This strike cannot be stopped. No barrier or shield could block this attack. Horseman's red eyes gleamed as he swung his sword in a gentle movement.
Rod streaked out of the way. Kelines grabbed everyone else and created a small steel globe around them and moved underground. The attack landed in a split second. There were no crashing sounds. Just an eerie quiet. When they regained their senses and came above ground, the horseman was simply looking at them. They turned around, looking for any damage, and saw the sword slash on the sector of the first wall. To their horror, the upper part of the wall slid off the lower part. The sword strike slashed through the wall itself.
No, they were wrong. It didn't just slash through the wall. It slashed through every wall. All 3 walls, destroyed in a single strike.
There was no time to admire that strength, the horseman started moving again. Same rhythm. Not a step slower or faster. It was like an unstoppable mountain, steadily moving. But Elara wasn't just watching idly all this time. Just because death is coming, that doesn't mean they have to lie down and take it. And unlike before, her magic shines brightly with a myriad of colors.
"Walpurgis sacred art: Vincula Reverentiae"
Golden chains with an otherworldly glow materialized behind Elara. She slowly started levitating a few steps above the ground. Her eyes shone with an Amethyst hue. Golden chains shot towards the horseman, wrapping around him and holding him in place. It was absurd, a single spell of a mortal held back an existence even older than the gods.
Horseman was caught off guard. These chains reminded him of something. An ancient memory was buried deep within his countless years of life. A memory of a red-haired woman surrounded by golden color god binding chains. It was a memory he wanted to forget. He wished to forget that woman. The one who chained him beneath the sky in a completely humiliating way.
The chains held him in place. Horseman wailed and tried to move. He tries to break through the chains with all his might. Even if the chains were created to defeat absolute beings, the one who was utilizing them was human. Elara's eyes started bleeding. Her heart was on the verge of rupturing, and her mana was running out. But still she kept going.
Kelines, Rod, and Veryn attacked the horseman with their strongest techniques, trying to divert his attention. They were able to endure and keep the horseman sealed for a few minutes. But at the end of the day, they were human. And humans can only endure so far.
Elara's mana completely ran out, and the spell disappeared. Horseman raised his sword again, this time determined not to miss. They were too drained to avoid this attack.
But then, some sort of a miracle happened. Entire area, no, the entire city was engulfed in a fiery dome, lighting up the entire city. They heard a familiar sound reverberating all around.
"Ignis Regnum: Flame King's Domain"
A barrage of flames kept attacking the horseman, keeping it from moving its sword. Maybe he was weakened from Elara's spell, or maybe he let his guard down, but either way, the horseman was caught off guard.
Then the dome disappeared. The horseman regained his senses.
He was getting truly pissed now. He just came here for sightseeing. He was too exhausted from work and wanted to see something relaxing. Brutal death, blood and flames, that sort of thing … you know.
That sword slash is also supposed to be a warning. Sure, he went a little overboard, but can they blame him? It's been a while since he used a sword.
He didn't even do anything, but these mortals attacked him out of nowhere. And those damn chains, why sin did he commit to see those damn things again. Enough is enough. It's time to go back home before another idiot appears out of nowhere and picks a fight.
He raised his sword to strike but felt his instincts flaring. Suddenly, the sky above them lit up with a brilliant light. He raised his sword in just enough time to clash with the oncoming attack. That attack had enough momentum to push him back.
"Son of a Bi-"
He didn't have the time to finish his curse. The newcomer pushed and dragged both of them into the crack behind them.